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Recruiting.It’s hard for the military to meet their recruiting goals when approximately 71 percent of young Americans between 17 and 24 are ineligible to serve in the United States military. This means that over 24 million of the 34 million persons in this age group couldn’t join the armed forces even if they volunteered.** The military is considering lowering the minimum age of enlistment below the current 17 years old. Studies show 16-year-olds show a greater propensity toward military service than 18-year-olds — 23 percent versus just 12 percent. For the record, I’m strongly against that idea.That leaves roughly 29% of people in that age group who are eligible for military service. Of that number, how many actually want to serve? As it turns out, not that many.Let’s look at the Army for a second. Back in 2018, their initial recruiting goal was 80,000 enlistees. Early in that year, the bar was lowered to 76,500 enlistees. Ultimately, they ended up with 70,000 recruits. Far fewer than hoped.A deeper dive shows us that of the 70,000 new recruits, 10–12% required waivers of existing standards to be accepted. A full 1.9% of the new enlistees were what we call Category IV (CAT IV). That means they scored between the 10th and 31st percentile on the Army’s aptitude test.Why is that troubling? CAT IV soldiers typically perform between 20–30% less efficiently than other higher-scoring recruits. This produces a quality vs. quantity issue despite offering unprecedented enlistment bonuses.Why are a full 71% of young Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 ineligible for military service? There are a multitude of reasons.** The stats speak for themselves. The numbers vary a bit depending on the source, but you get the idea.What are the possible repercussions of this manpower issue? In the worst case, it could negatively affect national security. We need a strong military to defend our national interests. That military depends on qualified volunteers.The American public has come to expect a qualified Army that can defend the nation. That mission simply cannot be achieved if we lower our standards any further.—Visit my Space, Alpha Male, for more valuable information.

When I was 8 (1985), I was diagnosed with acute intermittent porphyria, and spent a couple months in Children's Hospital at Stanford the next year.We were very poor, but had pretty good insurance (CHAMPUS — ,for military dependents, dad was Air Force) but it paid slooooooowly. And didn't pay everything. Since I was heathy looking, and when not having an acute attack could do most anything any other nine-year-old could do (it took several months from being first diagnosed to CHS admission) they offered to have me in a commercial to pay a large portion of what CHAMPUS wouldn't.So, I'm in this studio set up like a test room, I'm going to be walking on a treadmill with a breathing mask thing, and in walks this pretty lady wearing the same jelly bracelets I'm wearing, in the same way. And I get VERY excited — she's the first adult I'd ever seen wear them that way. We talk about the bracelets, how best to wear them, then she asked, “What are you in in for?" and listened patiently as I tried to explain what porphyria was, what it did, and how much it hurt. She cried a bit, I hugged her, the director comes in and I'm expecting her to leave — I thought she was just a babysitter…The lady doesn't leave. I say something like, “Oh, are you another patient?“She looks very amused. “They didn't tell you who I am? You're probably a little young to recognize me.”Maria Osmond. She was SERIOUSLY nice to a little kid in a lot of pain. She actually was a pen pal for the rest of the time I was in the hospital.

Without US participation , NATO would lose most of its force projection and expeditionary capacity: the ability to fight wars in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria.NATO would instead be reduced to defending the home territories of its members; a task I'm confident it could still achieve against any realistic currently-existing threats. The United States would in turn either need to withdraw from its commitments in the Middle East, or conduct them without its current allies.