This group's website (which seems to bear a resemblance to other Obama-related websites) is here:

http://www.missionreadiness.org/advisory-council/

Here is what they signed on to:

Mission: Readiness is the nonpartisan national security organization of senior retired military leaders calling for smart investments in America’s children. It operates under the umbrella of the nonprofit Council for a Strong America.

Currently, 75 percent of 17- to 24-year olds in the US cannot serve in the military, primarily because they are physically unfit, have not graduated from high school, or have a criminal record. Investing early in the upcoming generation is critical to securing our nation’s future. Retired admirals and generals understand that whether young people join the military or not, we must increase investments so that all young people can get the right start and succeed in life — whatever career path they choose.

Obesity stems from poor eating habits which are the direct result of poor or inadequate parenting which is trait found in single parent housholds which have exploded in number over the past 40+ years due to the liberal welfare state that has destroyed the American family.

This is yet another shining example of the left spending OUR money seeking a stupid solution to a problem THEY created.

Liberals are moral degenerates.

(cont'd)
The guy who oversees this and two related organizations, under the umbrella of "Council for a Strong America", is David Kass, a former deputy assistant secretary of HHS.

http://www.councilforastrongamerica.org/

Until they are allowed to kill people and break things in pursuit of total victory there is no reason why anyone should join the military.

It's not 'safe and effective'.

These things are all the "new normal." Why can't these people get that through their heads? Gay marriage is the "new normal." Having two mothers is the "new normal," and so forth. Ok, fat is the "new normal." Having a criminal record in the inner city is the "new normal." Not graduating high school in Chicago is the "new normal," etc.

The military does not keep people fit by witholding food. Excercise is the key to fitness.

From #1's follow-up"

"...because they are physically unfit, have not graduated from high school, or have a criminal record."

Again these are all problems directly related to the children being raised without a father in the household, yet not a single "solution" proposed by the left even considers addressing the actual cause.

This is being brought to you by the same people who said if we ate more "low-fat" and "fat-free" we would all be skinny.

Thirty years on, hows that working?

A young man next to me on the elliptical at the "Y" was due to enter the Navy is a couple months and was determined not to fall behind in PT, another young man who lifeguards at the local pool was going to become a SEAL. The youngsters who join are motivated and focused. The rest can stay home, eat junk food, and enjoy the freedoms these guys will be protecting.

What's the matter? Boot camp doesn't get people in shape any more?

How many schools killed PT because of budgets? They can enrich the teachers' unions, but literally kill the kids. The edumacation industry has our kids for at least 1/2 of their waking day.

It is none of the U.S. military's business what the American people eat. And I agree with what #6 said.

So what if many are not fit initially. Sort them out and give them an extra long boot camp. Then they will be fit.

The military used to be pretty good at shedding pounds (I was a pt instructor). Even on a high calorie diet. I guess the troops took "be all you can be" too seriously.

I have zero respect for general grade officers, retired or active duty, who have turned themselves into social workers. This is a joke.
Shame on the lot of them.
(Back in the good old days of the military draft, fat lads who were drafted lost that weight during basic training. Surprise! And any fellow veteran can confirm that fact.)

There is a much bigger problem that 'Dear Leader' must address.

75% of African American children are born into single parent 'families'. Obama must immediately ban unprotected sex for African-American woman.

A fair amount of what was the playground at the elementary school I attended, and where we ran ourselves ragged at every recess and lunch hour, is now a staff parking lot. A fair amount is also home to a bunch of portable classrooms.

The reason for the portables? Years ago the two story building on the campus that had housed grades 4-6 was deemed to not meet the new seismic code, so it was pulled down (our City is full of buildings of the same and earlier vintages that are doing just fine). It was replaced with portables that ate up the playground.

The rugged activity and games that we played in our elementary school years carried forward into our neighborhoods after school and during school holidays. We were energetic, mostly very fit, kids. Everyone walked to school, too. Junior high and high school were about a mile away.

"75 percent of 17- to 24-year olds in the US cannot serve in the military, primarily because they are physically unfit, have not graduated from high school, or have a criminal record."

I do believe that of the 3 causes why 17-24 yo's can't serve, obesity is the smallest factor. No doubt high school dropouts (or inability to pass military reading test), and criminal records are the major causes.

So let's focus our $$ and energy on school lunches. Beyond stupidity!

Satire: Mission readiness is in the eye of the beholder. With fat guys on the front line, they make bigger targets and take the heat off the skinny in shape guys that then have an opportunity to kill the enemy. The fat guy is expendable.

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." William Pitt the Younger.

These retired officers doubtless mean well - but they are being used by those whose agenda consists of mission creep: governmental mission creep.

This is a slippery slope with no obvious end point. Once people begin to rationalize the need to control others and limit their freedom, the matter becomes one of ingenuity, creativity and rhetoric. As we see from this absurd claim -that junk food is a national security issue- there are always those prepared to go to any length to justify what they have already decided should be done.

With government medicine -for that is surely what Obamacare will devolve into- there are practically limitless opportunities to intrude and infringe upon personal liberty in the name of cost savings, good health, national security(!) etc.

Do-gooders and control freaks never see themselves as such, as those into whose business they are always sticking their noses see them. These pestiferous busybodies always insist that "they are just trying to help." The very idea of simply minding their own business seems selfish, scandalous and immoral to them. How can they stand by and do nothing when there are so many people who urgently require their assistance(even though they are unaware of it, the most desperate state of all) and dire problems to be solved? It wouldn't be right!

The military is having absolutely no trouble meeting their enlistment quotas. They are finding plenty of qualified, non-fat recruits.

when I was drafted, boot camp was 16 weeks and we ran everywhere. I think there was one fat guy out of 50 of us and by the time we all graduated boot camp he wasn't fat anymore. I know he cried a lot during this time, they were merciless with him, limiting what he ate and making him do extra laps when we did PT, but you know what he thinned down and shaped up!
put the play grounds back in let the kids run around at recess, stop playing safety nannies, skinned knees happened part of growning up. Best part of recess... seeing who could bail out of the swings the farthest. Guess that doesn't happen any more.

Spare us from experts and "ex-military leaders"!

#20 nails it again.

The therapy pool I use is located near several recruiting offices: Army, Air Force, Navy/Marines and National Guard. I don't think the Coast Guard has an office there. When A drops me off early in the morning we very often see potential recruits out running in groups. Almost all are of normal build, just a few overweight. If these recruiting offices require fitness before being officially accepted, then why is being overweight/junk food a national security threat? Surely it's not just because the recruiting offices are tired of organizing the physical fitness groups!

From Wikipedia regarding Vietnam conscripts:

Of the nearly 16 million men not engaged in active military service, 96% were exempted (typically because of jobs including other military service), deferred (usually for educational reasons), or disqualified (usually for physical and mental deficiencies but also for criminal records to include draft violations).[18] Draft offenders in the last category numbered nearly 500,000 but less than 10,000 were convicted or imprisoned for draft violations.[26]

Ninety-six percent of 16 million were exempted? Just how many recruits do they want these days, given the advent of computers, robots, drones and other paraphernalia replacing humans--not to mention the tens of thousands currently being laid off?

Yeah, it's never bad decisions, never bad behavior. Somehow, it's always something that those with plenty of power can control.

#24. Wikipedia forgot to mention that at the end of 1969, Nixon introduced a lottery system for the draft and then in April, 1970, abolished all new job deferments.

I do remember that, #26, especially being married to a military man until 1969, but before that point we did know we were in a serious war situation and the numbers quoted by Wikipedia for the start in 1964 don't seem to support the numbers in this new "National Security Threat" program.

Unfortunately, I can't do more research right now, have to run, but perhaps someone with more time can come up with more useful numbers. Something really stinks about this new program which #20 addresses. I'd just like to find some solid numbers.