Be All that You Can Be, in the Army … or Not!

We all know that succession planning is becoming ever more important now that Millennials are entering the workforce, and Baby Boomers are stepping out of it. But for one American organization they’re having a hard time finding people who are Army strong.

According to The Washington Times, a vast majority of all potential Army Reservists do not meet the standards required to be in the Army Reserves. Recruiters are saying that the majority of potential candidates are either hooked on prescription drugs, have too many tattoos, are overweight, or have mental conditions that prohibit them from joining the military.

Statistics, that were compiled last year, are showing that 71 percent of people who want to join the military would fail to pass service tests because of their physical, moral, or cognitive shortcomings. And the problems keep growing from there.

The Defense Department wants to recruit thousands of people for every branch of the military for both active forces and reserves, but with a shrinking budget and small selection pool, they might need to figure out a new way to attract top recruits.

According to Lieutenant General David Barno, “There’s lots of jobs out there, and now it looks like the military is not as involved in as many operations that seem exciting to 18-year-olds,” Gen. Barno said. “So it’s going to be very, very tough to recruit in that population. It’s going to be some really, really challenging times coming up for recruiters.”

Some analysts suggest changing their recruitment efforts by creating a preconditioning camp designed for those who would fail the physical test but want to join, thus delaying their active duty until they can physically qualify. So in theory, this would only work for the people who are overweight, and possibly for the people who have mental conditions who can prove they do not require prescription drugs. However, I don’t see how the tattooed people will ever be able to join, unless the Army’s idea of “physically” qualified is having the tattoos “physically” removed.