4 ms·

When I joined the army as an infantryman back in the early 2000s there were kids who couldn’t start basic training because they weren’t capable of doing 6 pushu

When I joined the army as an infantryman back in the early 2000s there were kids who couldn’t start basic training because they weren’t capable of doing 6 pushups. 6. I believe at the time they were allowing 38 year olds to join for the first time which seemed crazy to me. Now that I’m in my early 40s I can’t imagine going back in

michaelteter 7mo ago
If they want to draft any significant number of people, they will have to greatly lower the fitness standards.
- conception 7mo ago
  They should just deploy ICE.
  - SirFatty 6mo ago
    yeah, just not the National Guard! https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/overweight-texas-national-guard-troops-sent-home-san-antonio-secretary-war-pete-hegseth-military-task-purpose https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/overweight-texas-nati...
- pogue 7mo ago
  77% of young Americans too fat, mentally ill, on drugs and more to join military, Pentagon study finds (2023) https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/03/77-of-young-americans-too-fat-mentally-ill-on-drugs-and-more-to-join-military-pentagon-study-finds/ https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/03/77-of-young-america...
- randycupertino 7mo ago
  Lucky for us Pete Hegseth declared war on "fat generals and admirals" and is going to end fat troops and increase fitness standards! /s https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5528556-hegseth-warrior-ethos-physical-fitness/ https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5528556-hegseth-warrior-e... > “Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops,” he said. “Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon leading commands around the country and the world.” “It’s a bad look. It is bad, and it’s not who we are,” he continued. > “I don’t want my son serving alongside troops who are out of shape, or in a combat unit with females who can’t meet the same combat arms physical standards as men” Hegseth said.
  - defrost 7mo ago
    I was told he also promised a throwing axe for every grunt and to rid the world of the scourge of marching bands.
  - dinkumthinkum 7mo ago
    What about what he said is incorrect? I don't know, maybe you are not familiar with the U.S. military. You can many videos produced by the military under Biden of even significantly overweight drill instructors in the Marine Corps, for instance. I don't know if this is part of the "healthy at any size" thing or what.
    - TimorousBestie 7mo ago
      > I don't know if this is part of the "healthy at any size" thing or what. It’s not, that’s silly. It turns out that it’s kind of hard to establish uniform physical fitness standards at scale! They have to be cheap to implement and easy to execute in a wide range of environments. No one can agree on how much fitness a soldier needs to be minimally effective, but you know for sure every stakeholder has a strong and incorrect opinion on it. Oh, and if you raise the bar too high, you won’t meet your enlistment goals, and readiness suffers.
    - randycupertino 7mo ago
      I guess I expected him to be calling all those generals and admirals with decades of combat, command and special forces experience together for something more substantive like policy changes vs an unhinged coked up rant boiling down to "no fatties!" He's also rebranding to a macho aesthetic, encouraging bringing back hazing, tossing bunks, "shark attacks" and drill sergeants putting hands on recruits. I'm no expert but maybe if we're having trouble recruiting we shouldn't lead with ways to make military life suck even more?
      - jrs235 6mo ago
        Who'd of thunk that rebranding to the Department of War might also cause folks to reconsider signing up...
- TimorousBestie 7mo ago
  The US military is in the process of changing fitness standards, mostly for ideological reasons [0]. Most enlisted I’ve spoken to consider the new tests harder, especially for women, but it isn’t clear cut and implementation across services has been weird. Rumor is they’re also cracking down on (specifically medical, not religious) shaving waviers again, probably because some minorities have a skin condition that makes regular shaving painful. So it’s a bit of a conundrum! They obviously want more enlisted so they can do more wars in more places, but they also are adding disincentives for female or nonwhite enlisted. [0] https://www.fitnesswarriornation.com/hegseth-military-fitness-standards/ https://www.fitnesswarriornation.com/hegseth-military-fitnes...
  - aaronbrethorst 7mo ago
    It’s a real bummer when your ideological imperatives start conflicting with each other.
    - mlrtime 6mo ago
      Poe's law: I can't tell if you are sarcastically commenting on op's ideology.
      - AnimalMuppet 6mo ago
        I suspect that they're commenting on the administration's ideology.
      - deleted 6mo ago
        [deleted]
  - mlrtime 6mo ago
    You are seriously suggestions they are doing this for race reasons?
    - TimorousBestie 6mo ago
      There’s no other credible reason. A 1/4” beard (which is all the medical wavier allows) doesn’t affect gas mask fit. I’m hardly the only person who has inferred this: https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2025/september/new-grooming-policy-will-undermine-recruiting-retention-and https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2025/september/ne... > It is estimated that 45–94 percent of all Black men will experience PFB at some point during their lifetime. Hispanic, Asian, and Middle Eastern men also are often affected, as are some women. A 2021 study found an association between shaving waivers and delayed promotions. Since most of the waiver group (65 percent) was Black, the new policy could have a discriminatory effect. In our conversations with Black sailors, including some in senior leadership positions, many shared that they feel the new policy is racially insensitive at best—or may be designed to target them.
- ting0 7mo ago
  And raise the pay.
d--b 7mo ago
Right, but that was before older people found out about Tai Chi! Youtube keeps telling me it’s a great way get ripped at 50! /s
mikewarot 6mo ago
I've never been capable of 1 push up, or pull up, even after 6 weeks of the best efforts of MCRD back in 1983. They were looking for a few good men, turns out I wasn't one of them. I aced the aptitude test, and totally failed the PFT.
Bender 6mo ago
For a second I thought your username was sharpshooter but then it got even better as I re-read it. Thankyou for the laugh. In 2012 Lieutenant General Mark Hertling had a TED talk [1] about this very issue and I think it still very much applies today. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWN13pKVp9s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWN13pKVp9s [video][16m][TED-Talk]

michaelteter 7mo ago

If they want to draft any significant number of people, they will have to greatly lower the fitness standards.

conception 7mo ago
They should just deploy ICE.
- SirFatty 6mo ago
  yeah, just not the National Guard! https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/overweight-texas-national-guard-troops-sent-home-san-antonio-secretary-war-pete-hegseth-military-task-purpose https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/overweight-texas-nati...
pogue 7mo ago
77% of young Americans too fat, mentally ill, on drugs and more to join military, Pentagon study finds (2023) https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/03/77-of-young-americans-too-fat-mentally-ill-on-drugs-and-more-to-join-military-pentagon-study-finds/ https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/03/77-of-young-america...
randycupertino 7mo ago
Lucky for us Pete Hegseth declared war on "fat generals and admirals" and is going to end fat troops and increase fitness standards! /s https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5528556-hegseth-warrior-ethos-physical-fitness/ https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5528556-hegseth-warrior-e... > “Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops,” he said. “Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon leading commands around the country and the world.” “It’s a bad look. It is bad, and it’s not who we are,” he continued. > “I don’t want my son serving alongside troops who are out of shape, or in a combat unit with females who can’t meet the same combat arms physical standards as men” Hegseth said.
- defrost 7mo ago
  I was told he also promised a throwing axe for every grunt and to rid the world of the scourge of marching bands.
- dinkumthinkum 7mo ago
  What about what he said is incorrect? I don't know, maybe you are not familiar with the U.S. military. You can many videos produced by the military under Biden of even significantly overweight drill instructors in the Marine Corps, for instance. I don't know if this is part of the "healthy at any size" thing or what.
  - TimorousBestie 7mo ago
    > I don't know if this is part of the "healthy at any size" thing or what. It’s not, that’s silly. It turns out that it’s kind of hard to establish uniform physical fitness standards at scale! They have to be cheap to implement and easy to execute in a wide range of environments. No one can agree on how much fitness a soldier needs to be minimally effective, but you know for sure every stakeholder has a strong and incorrect opinion on it. Oh, and if you raise the bar too high, you won’t meet your enlistment goals, and readiness suffers.
  - randycupertino 7mo ago
    I guess I expected him to be calling all those generals and admirals with decades of combat, command and special forces experience together for something more substantive like policy changes vs an unhinged coked up rant boiling down to "no fatties!" He's also rebranding to a macho aesthetic, encouraging bringing back hazing, tossing bunks, "shark attacks" and drill sergeants putting hands on recruits. I'm no expert but maybe if we're having trouble recruiting we shouldn't lead with ways to make military life suck even more?
    - jrs235 6mo ago
      Who'd of thunk that rebranding to the Department of War might also cause folks to reconsider signing up...
TimorousBestie 7mo ago
The US military is in the process of changing fitness standards, mostly for ideological reasons [0]. Most enlisted I’ve spoken to consider the new tests harder, especially for women, but it isn’t clear cut and implementation across services has been weird. Rumor is they’re also cracking down on (specifically medical, not religious) shaving waviers again, probably because some minorities have a skin condition that makes regular shaving painful. So it’s a bit of a conundrum! They obviously want more enlisted so they can do more wars in more places, but they also are adding disincentives for female or nonwhite enlisted. [0] https://www.fitnesswarriornation.com/hegseth-military-fitness-standards/ https://www.fitnesswarriornation.com/hegseth-military-fitnes...
- aaronbrethorst 7mo ago
  It’s a real bummer when your ideological imperatives start conflicting with each other.
  - mlrtime 6mo ago
    Poe's law: I can't tell if you are sarcastically commenting on op's ideology.
    - AnimalMuppet 6mo ago
      I suspect that they're commenting on the administration's ideology.
    - deleted 6mo ago
      [deleted]
- mlrtime 6mo ago
  You are seriously suggestions they are doing this for race reasons?
  - TimorousBestie 6mo ago
    There’s no other credible reason. A 1/4” beard (which is all the medical wavier allows) doesn’t affect gas mask fit. I’m hardly the only person who has inferred this: https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2025/september/new-grooming-policy-will-undermine-recruiting-retention-and https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2025/september/ne... > It is estimated that 45–94 percent of all Black men will experience PFB at some point during their lifetime. Hispanic, Asian, and Middle Eastern men also are often affected, as are some women. A 2021 study found an association between shaving waivers and delayed promotions. Since most of the waiver group (65 percent) was Black, the new policy could have a discriminatory effect. In our conversations with Black sailors, including some in senior leadership positions, many shared that they feel the new policy is racially insensitive at best—or may be designed to target them.
ting0 7mo ago
And raise the pay.

d--b 7mo ago

Right, but that was before older people found out about Tai Chi! Youtube keeps telling me it’s a great way get ripped at 50! /s

mikewarot 6mo ago

I've never been capable of 1 push up, or pull up, even after 6 weeks of the best efforts of MCRD back in 1983. They were looking for a few good men, turns out I wasn't one of them. I aced the aptitude test, and totally failed the PFT.

Bender 6mo ago

For a second I thought your username was sharpshooter but then it got even better as I re-read it. Thankyou for the laugh. In 2012 Lieutenant General Mark Hertling had a TED talk [1] about this very issue and I think it still very much applies today. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWN13pKVp9s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWN13pKVp9s [video][16m][TED-Talk]