Is Rhode Island Ready to Serve?

Is Rhode Island Ready to Serve?

Most Rhode Island youth are not eligible for military service because they are either overweight, under-educated, or caught up in crime, according to a new study released this month.

The study, issued by an organization known as Mission: Readiness, found that an average of 75 percent of young Americans ages 17 to 24 were unable to serve in the military. Rhode Island squarely in the middle of the pack, at number 24 in a state-by-state ranking of readiness, according to one online ranking.

“Only one in four young people can join the military,” said Lt. Col. Bruce Fletcher, spokesman for the Rhode Island National Guard. “My thought is, the military is a great opportunity for young people. It’s unfortunate they are missing out on this opportunity.”

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The Ocean State had 100,132 young people were ineligible and, with 26 percent of them on probation, incarcerated, or on parole, was worse than the national average. The state had a high school drop-out rate of 22 percent and nearly a third of kids between 10 and 17 years old were either overweight or obese, according to 2007 data used in the study.

“It is become a problem,” Fletcher said. “It just decreases the pool of eligible candidates we have.”

High Standards Keep Many Out

The state recruiting for the Air National Guard said the military standards for candidates aren’t changing. “I think it’s just inherent in the system we have,” said SMSgt. Doug Brodeur. “I don’t think we have increased or decreased the standards.”

Brodeur pointed to an increase in the number of overweight young people. But he said there are other standards that make some of the ineligible—the number, size, and location of tattoos, body piercings, a history of drug usage, and their performance on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test, or ASVAB.

Mission: Readiness, the group of retired admirals, generals, and other military leaders behind the national study, warned that the lack of eligible young Americans could have an effect on national security in the future.

Future Effect on National Security?

“The best aircraft, ships, and satellite-guided weapon systems are only as effective as the personnel the military can recruit to operate them,” the report stated. “This cannot continue. Our military readiness, and thus our national security will depend on the ability of the upcoming generation to serve. We need to take action now to reverse our current course.”

Mission: Readiness says the situation can be improved through more funding for pre-school and other pre-kindergarten programs—increasing the chances someone will graduate from high school and stay out of crime. In Rhode Island, just 20 percent of 4-year-olds are in a federally funded pre-kindergarten program, according to the study.

“Our military security in the year 2030 is absolutely dependent upon what is going on in pre-kindergarten today,” said Ret. Rear Admiral James Barnett.