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180 Comments
- inactive, on 04/23/2008, -3/+40What, you think the Army can't get a person into shape?
- TwoKings, on 04/23/2008, -1/+34Because YOU ARE A DISGUSTING FATBODY Private Pyle!!!!!!
- bosssmiley, on 04/23/2008, -0/+28Army policy on fat people? Sweat the lard off 'em and turn them into soldiers. Srsly.
I once saw an old British Army information video from the '80s called "Too Fat to Fight". The answer: PT hell! - xtrench, on 04/23/2008, -2/+26What about detectives? their job is to think, not chase bad guys. Or desk cops? Or a dozen of other police duties that don't involve patrolling the streets? Just a thought
- ThatEvilGuy, on 04/23/2008, -1/+24That disqualifies 95% of Digg.
- NCSUspoon, on 04/23/2008, -3/+21You climb obstacles like old people f**k!
- mckinnej, on 04/23/2008, -0/+17Move along folks. There's nothing to see here. As a 24+ year military veteran, I can guarantee you this: the military has ALWAYS adjusted its standards to meet retention/recruiting goals. When I joined in the late 70s, retention was so bad that drug use would only get you a slap on the wrist. Only serious addicts were discharged. Weight restrictions? Don't remember there being any. Fast forward to the 90s when retention was high and you find the zero tolerance drug policies and ever stricter weight and physical fitness standards.
This isn't news. This is simply the pendulum swinging the other way. - IPublius, on 04/23/2008, -1/+18@Hookmaster - National Guard is not Regular Army, different standards.
As former military, while you can usually eat your way out I don't recommend it. It is a long and uncertain process that is very unhealthy for your body. Also, if the commander suspects that you are trying to do this, you can expect the process to be drug out as long as possible (read years here), so long in fact that your enlistment may end while you are still chunking up.
Additionally, the PT tests (and therefore weight screenings) do not happen while you are deployed unless the Army has changed their policy recently, so it won't get you out of a deployment and then you will have to wait a year or more before you can try to prove that you are still fat.
I knew several fairly overweight soldiers who were on the Army's weight program the whole time they were in who were also great soldiers and could pass their physical fitness test. Honestly, if a soldier can pass their physical fitness test to a 70/70/70 (push up, sit-up, 2 mile run) standard rather than the Army minimum 60/60/60, their weight should be noted administratively, but their body fat should not be checked or used against them. If they can perform, I don't really care what they look like. - fitqueenb, on 04/23/2008, -3/+19At 32% body fat, you are quite chunky if you are under the age of 27, This should also be implement for police force, they seem to get hired fit, and then their entire career is working on their every so expanding waist lines.
Those percentages are hight for acceptance, guess they are desperate enough. - inactive, on 04/23/2008, -16/+32I would rather have an overweight person who shows up to enlist than a skinny person who shows up to picket the recruiting office. The overweight person also has an abundance of courage, duty and honor. THAT is what makes a good recruit.
- staticneuron, on 04/23/2008, -3/+18If your job is for intelligence or to press buttons, why would it matter? Not everyone in the military is going to be running around and being a super soldier.
- 360news, on 04/23/2008, -1/+13The worlds police force is overweight
- pigfarts, on 04/23/2008, -0/+12I work on a barracks in Heidelberg, Germany and see groups of soldiers (male and female) doing PT at least 3 times a week. Believe me when I say the Army is not getting all of them in shape. Watching them run is like watching a high-school gym class run, many of them walk when they're out of eye-site of whoever is in charge. We have a fair share of surprisingly chunky soldiers over here and I don't think having Popeye's, Burger King, and Taco Bell restaurants on Post are helping the cause.
- VeritasAequitas, on 04/23/2008, -0/+12Keep in mind that their way of finding your body fat percentage is not accurate. When I took my Meps they told me I had a 24% body fat, I had just gone a week before and had the whole work up dunk tank and everything (my buddy is a tranier and dietician) and I was actually more like 17% - 18% still no skinny mini but that is a pretty big difference.
They "tape" you that means they measure your stomach and neck and then figure your BMI from a chart compared to hieght and weight. but they don't have an easy way of taking things into consideration like muscle mass etc.... That was 3 years ago though so maybe they changed but I doubt much. sadly I still faile MEPS since my hearing is crap, took the test 3 times apparently I wouldn't be able to hear bullets coming or something ;) - g30ph, on 04/23/2008, -0/+12I've got a slight weight problem.
- No!
- Yeah, I do.
Anyway, I went to this doctor.
Well, he told me I swallowed
a lot of aggression...
...along with a lot of pizzas.
Pizzas!
I'm basically a shy person.
I'm a shy guy...
...and he suggested taking one
of these aggression-training courses.
You know, these aggressive- training
courses like EST, those type of things.
Anyway, it costs bucks
to join this thing.
Well, I didn't have the money.
And I thought to myself,
"Join the Army. It's free."
So I figured while I'm here
I'll lose a few pounds.
You got a six- to eight-week training
program here, a tough one.
Which is perfect for me.
I'm gonna walk out of here
a lean, mean, fighting machine.
- Good thinking, Ox. Real good. - bosssmiley, on 04/23/2008, -2/+13You're only saying that to disguise your arousal. ;-)
- BohicaTwentyTwo, on 04/23/2008, -0/+11Seriously, do you know how many calories are in them. They were made for 230 pound light infantry men hiking 20 miles a day.
- bosssmiley, on 04/23/2008, -0/+10that, and the fact I'm a terrific coward.
- g30ph, on 04/23/2008, -0/+10Well, my name's Dewey Oxburger. My friends call me Ox. I dont know if you've noticed, but I got a slight weight problem.
- headzoo, on 04/23/2008, -0/+10Body weight isn't everything. There were guys in my company that were most defiantly overweight, but they could run for miles without breaking a sweat, and do 15+ pullups.
On the downside, the equipment issued to troops aren't designed for guys with big beer bellies. A flak jacket doesn't do a lick of good if you can't close the front of it. - BohicaTwentyTwo, on 04/23/2008, -0/+10You can get a weight waiver to get recruited into the Army, however there is no waiver process to get out of Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training (school after basic). If you cannot pass your PT test or make weight, you get "held over" after graduation and do not leave the training unit. They get to stay with our friendly Drill Sergeants who are fully trained to motovate and assist our portly trooper to achieve the proper weight and physical training standards.
- DangerMouse9, on 04/23/2008, -1/+11I'd rather stand behind a fat guy on the front lines, than a thin guy.
- BohicaTwentyTwo, on 04/23/2008, -0/+9Sorry you didn't get though MEPS. Thank you for making the attempt.
- blitzkriegpunk, on 04/23/2008, -0/+8DO YOU SUCK DICKS?
NO, SIR!
*****, I BET YOU COULD SUCK A GOLF BALL THROUGH A GARDEN HOSE! - Abomonog, on 04/23/2008, -0/+8I'm 41 and recently got an offer to join the Army through the mail. I'm not overweight but I do smoke and I got a PMR from them 22 years ago (my eyes don't focus in light). It was addressed by name and the letter reffered to my ASVAB (I think that is the right acronym) test score taken in 1984 (1142 out of 1200 by the old scoring method) as the reason for recruitment.
The Army must be getting desperate if they're sending recruitment offers to middle aged intellectual stoners who they rejected in the first place. As for the Army not recruiting fat people: Just because they are fat it does not mean they are lame. I know some fat folks who can whip ass and run the 6 mile dash with the rest of them no problems. The Army really needs to look at individual ability and not a stupid weight chart when recruiting. - MortalynFlux, on 04/23/2008, -3/+10MRE's make you fat. Especially if you eat to many. Which happens if you're bored.
- PabloPowell, on 04/23/2008, -2/+9If you have never been involved in civil service then what the hell do you know?
- kent1146, on 04/23/2008, -2/+9Yeah, but if the mess halls don't shovel hamburgers and soda 24x7 into the mouths of those tubby bastards, their weight will drop done right quick.
- ahuxley, on 04/23/2008, -0/+6US Army granting waivers to fat people as it does with people with interesting pasts?
- ravage86, on 04/23/2008, -4/+10I'm not fat, ***** you... racist.
- kreatre2007, on 04/23/2008, -18/+24If you are charged with defending this country, you have no business being fat. It infuriates me when I see a fat cop or a fat person who is in the military. All of us who are not in the military or serving on the police force can get as fat and lazy as we want but, military men and women and cops should stay fit. There should be ZERO tolerance for this.
- consoneo, on 04/23/2008, -0/+6That's more true than it might seem... Army Recruiting is a dirty business.
- Csense, on 04/23/2008, -0/+6The PT program depends on the unit you are in. I was in a Special Ops unit and we regularly PT'd five times a week. I was in the best shape of my life. But other units on post always seemed to come up with some excuse to get out of it....and the soldiers showed it. It was hard to watch some of them try and run.
- PabloPowell, on 04/23/2008, -0/+6My main problem was a skinny neck but I always passed. I was just really close every time. A year in Iraq took care of that. After my first year in Iraq, I lost so much weight that I didn't have to be considered for the body fat test anymore,
- BohicaTwentyTwo, on 04/23/2008, -0/+5The chicklets are laxatives. (Ok, that's a myth)
- sukhoi47, on 04/23/2008, -1/+6people outside of the military usually don't understand the reasons behind the little things like keeping the shoes shiny and the creases in the shirts sharp.
but the reasons behind the need for physically fit personnel should be pretty clear.... - dondara, on 04/23/2008, -0/+5Let Halibutron fight for their own oil. Why should our kids die for their gain? The only thing the Iraqi's did wrong was have oil for the criminals that run this country to steal.
- ColonelJessup, on 04/23/2008, -0/+5Well, when I enlisted, the fat recruits were sent to a two week "fat camp" before they could even begin basic training. However, basic training doesn't really get you "in shape" liek many think it does. All it really does is break you down, in basic, you are running 3+ miles every morning, six days a week. Plus you are always doing push ups, pullups, and a whole bunch of other claisthenics. The purpose is to break you down, wear you out, and make you more docile, and submissive. You are easier to train this way. At least that is the theory.
Anyway, I think this isn't really an issue to begin with. Almost as soon as I left AIT, I started gaining weight. After AIT I weighed around 170, by the time I left the Army, I weighed 192. It really depends on what units you get assigned to, and that unit's emphasis on PT. If their policy on PT is just that standard push ups, sit ups, two-mile run BS, yeah, you can get out of shape quick unless you hit the gym after duty. Then there is the issue with the mess hall food, very difficult to actually eat healthy at a chow hall. Also, pick any Army base in the world, I guarantee that there will be a Pizza Hut, and a Burger King there.
Then there is the issue with soldiers getting profiles for everything from shin splints, to ingrown toenails just to get out of doing PT in the morning, so yeah, you are going to have fatties in the Army.
Personally, I think the PT standards need to change. Their policy is too narrow. It is a "one size fits all" policy, that is intended to keep everyone more or less on the same level. I think the Army, and the military in general, needs to revamp their approach to training overall, and reward those who stay in shape. They don't put any emphasis at all on nutrition and health in any phase of training.
things need to change, but the military is notoriously slow at adopting change. The Army especially is so steeped in tradition, any change may take decades to become the norm. - inactive, on 04/23/2008, -0/+5You can be as fat as you like, just don't have thoughts of attachment and intimacy with those of your same gender, solider.
- Takfam, on 04/23/2008, -0/+5I'll dare disrespect the troops like that because it's barely a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of disrespect that the current administration has shown to them. They are not fighting for our freedom as Iraq has neither the power, nor the inclination to enslave the American people and strip our freedoms. It's great that you want to fly the flag of national pride, but I think you've been waving it so hard that it's wrapped around your eyes and blinded you.
- Cheysuli, on 04/23/2008, -0/+5I'm going to have to agree with dondara and Takfam on this one. Before you shoot me down, i AM in the military, and I was in Iraq...oh, and one more thing. Its their goddamn right to disagree, and makes them more American than you'll ever be for doing so
- jerger23, on 04/23/2008, -1/+6 Four issues with that:
1) Why should intelligence, maintenance, administrative personnel be held to different standards than everyone else (deemed unfair)?
2) You may be a service support Soldier in a garrison environment (doing office work, etc), but your next unit might be light infantry and you will have to be able to keep up.
3) Iraq and Afghanistan have demonstrated that all Soldiers, regardless of job, have the possibility of facing combat situations, and they need to be fit enough to deal with it.
4) Studies have shown that physical exercise promotes better mental health and more productive work. - KibibyteBrain, on 04/23/2008, -0/+5I think you make a good point on meeting standards, but there are some other military and medical reasons having excess fat is not good. Namely, excess fat gets in the way during surgery, especially emergency field like surgery. It can really complicate the procedure which is even an issue in a fully staffed surgical room in a hospital. So at least for combat service, there may be some good reasons like this for it beyond simple physical fitness.
- inactive, on 04/23/2008, -8/+12America is fat population, you cant expect to get good numbers if your expectations of your people are unrealistic. That being said, lose some weight fatties.
- whorunbartertwn, on 04/23/2008, -0/+41. There are already different standards. Someone who is a computer programmer in the military is held to a higher standard of intelligence, so I've got no problem with someone wielding a rifle being held to a higher physical standard.
2. Many military specialties you're going to be just that no matter where you're stationed. They don't spend all that time training someone to be an air traffic controller then transfer them to another base to be forward recon.
3. False. Some field support personnel have faced combat, many jobs haven't and likely never will.
4. Agreed. - way2muchsense, on 04/23/2008, -0/+4You don't. At least for the first three days or so in my experience. About Day 4 in the field, you finally have the urge to visit the latrine, and you crap out a 50-Couric log.
- xodex, on 04/23/2008, -0/+4Only idiots become tools. Expendable tools :)
- Number23, on 04/23/2008, -0/+4You're ass looks like a 150lbs of chewed bubble gum!
- ostracize, on 04/23/2008, -0/+4Not so in Canada AFAIK. My understanding is officers must regularly demonstrate their physical fitness.
- IPublius, on 04/23/2008, -0/+4Military men and women are fit. Fit and looking fit are different. I know several skinny people that couldn't hack it and several fat ones who could. I would take the fat and fit and capable person every time. Actually, I would take the fit and capable person regardless of build. Additionally, not all police have standards after you join. For some it is a one time shot.
The military is fairly stringent in their rules, although those pointing out that the BMI the military uses is really inaccurate are correct. The method they use is one of the most inaccurate and is often complained about within the ranks, but it's what they use so your kind of stuck with it. They use it for two reasons mainly. One, it's cheap. Two, it's simple and can be done at the company level with little to no special equipment. -
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