The Next Veteran - 284

I have occasionally mentioned, "Democracy is the best form of government, and to be effective, a democracy must have educated citizens." How are we doing? If recent articles from the American Legion are accurate, we are losing the battle.

In June, the American Legion magazine reported the Armed Services were having a tough time fulfilling their recruiting goals because many volunteers were obese. Only 23% of the population eligible for service are fit to serve.

Recently, the news is even more depressing. The November issue of the American Legion notes the Navy, Air Force, and especially the Army are struggling to meet recruitment numbers because only one-third of the applicants can pass the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). This is down from two-thirds who passed only a decade before.

Here is what the authors of the article had to say, "Years of dwindling resources in the nation's public schools resulted in a batch of high school graduates who cannot pass the (ASVAB), let alone fill high-end jobs in the services, such as air defense and cyber security, that will play center stage in future conflicts."

The ASVAB tests are not tough. It appears we are a nation opposed to anything intellectual. When I first tried to figure out why we have been unable to understand and act on climate science, the surveys I examined estimated only 15% of the adult population in the USA are science competent. Scientist Carl Sagan, fearing our slide away from science towards political tribalism, ancient superstitions, and ignorance, wrote the book, "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark." His warnings and the motivational books and the television documentaries he created to energize our scientific curiosity have been in vain. The results, demonstrated by our young adults' ASVAB scores, are strong evidence we need to wake up and power up the light of education.

Despite coming up short recruiting, the Army refuses to lower its standards. Today, the Army has kicked off a program called "The Future Soldier Preparatory Course.” "Quality", said General James McConville, "is more important than quantity." The program brings in new undertesting recruits early to slim up and smarten up. It costs, on average, an additional 15,000 dollars per new recruit to bring them up to minimum starting physical fitness and academic standards.

I find this situation embarrassing. What happened to academic and physical achievement? Do we have to depend on the Army to educate our kids? We must support our K-12 students with money, time, encouragement, and by being good examples. If not, we will not have veterans who can look back and say, "I defended this great nation."

While I thank everyone who has set aside time to honor our veterans, we must start looking forward by supporting the young. They are the next generation we need to protect our nation and our Earth's environment. Now is the time to raise our fitness, academic, and environmental standards.

More related reading: Wired Magazine's August 2022 article titled "The World is Going Blind", focuses on a vision problem afflicting Taiwan kids. Tawain is a super academic achieving nation because they are academically focused. Eye doctors discovered the kids were developing severe and early cases of Myopia, or nearsightedness. Were they reading and studying too much? The short answer is no. Scientists who study the eye discovered that our eyes need sunlight to create a chemical essential to maintaining its shape. Taiwan now mandates at least 120 minutes of outdoor daylight time per day. I find it interesting Finland also requires outdoor time for its students. The Finns, too, are super achievers.

In short, we need to devote more time to our academic studies. At the same time playing outside means keener sight, sharper minds, slimmer bodies, and a better connection to the world around us. High academic achievers do not need to keep their noses in the books all day. There is a healthy balance and we, as a nation, need to find a better one.

Last week, I mentioned the best individual way to fight climate change is by wasting less food. Here are two books you may find helpful in making your kitchen more efficient: "Cooking with Scraps" and "The Everlasting Meal Cookbook."