Essay Sample on U.S. Military Fitness Decline: Poor Recruitment, Lifestyle & Mental Health

Introduction

The fitness levels among the United States military personnel have been on the decline, for it is notable that the number of obese officers is on the rise. The issue is a matter of national importance, considering that these are the people with the responsibility of defending the country. They are supposed to be in top physical condition. Various factors are contributing to the declining fitness levels among them the poor recruitment standards, lack of exercise, poor lifestyle, and mental problems. The United States military department is undertaking various measures that are aimed at curbing the issue of low fitness levels. Some of the programs include raising the fitness standards and aligning them concerning the required levels. The sector is working on introducing the MOS-specific fitness tests, strength training, job redesign, retrenching the unfit officers, and having computerized programs that will keep data on the weight and fitness issues.

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The deprioritization process of the school-based physical education strategies is one of the causes of the lowered levels of fitness among the military. A significant number of Americans, around 70%, in the age group of 17-24 years are not eligible to join the force for they have low fitness levels that cannot endure the basic training programs (Hunt, 2018). The learning institutions and guardians are not ensuring that their children have adequate exercise to keep their body healthy and fit. Schools have eliminated the physical education programs leading to the children becoming obese with their systems and bones becoming weak. Their bodies easily convert the food that they consume into fat, making them overweight and not fit enough to join the forces. Most of the fundamental movement patterns are acquired at first grade, and the lack of following these procedures has led to the number of injuries among the trainees to rise. The problem is significantly affecting the Americans and the economy at large, with a lot of funds being used to manage the health of the injured soldiers. A significant amount of time that they would have to serve the nation is lost in their hospital bed. The lack of qualified recruits is an issue that is having a profound effect on the country's economy and military department.

When the soldiers join the force, a good number of them are in the right condition, but they fail to keep exercising, leading to their fitness levels dropping. Years of consuming unhealthy food and failing to undertake regular exercises have led to their bodies accumulating massive weight that is making them unfit to serve in the military (Colmenero, Vicente & Ruiz, 2014). The issue has made it difficult for the state department to deploy a good number of its personnel since they do not have the right tools to serve. They lack the physical fitness needed to manage the various operations assigned to them. The issue is letting the Americans down since they are paying huge taxes that are paid to the military offering sub-standard services to its citizens.

The lifestyle adopted by the military has a role to play in the declining levels of physical fitness. The government plays a role in ensuring that the forces are consuming the right food types, but there are cases that the security officers source food for themselves. Low consumption of cereals and dairy products, excessive screen times, and rise in the levels of sweetened beverage used are issues adversely affecting the sector. The dairy products, such as milk, provide the body with amino acids and carbohydrates that give energy to the muscles. Low rates of consumption mean that the muscle gain will be minimal, and this places the military personnel at risk of inability to undertake their duties. Smoking taking of excessive amount of alcohol are activities that lead to the accumulation of fat in the body. Lack of exercise means that these fat deposits are not burnt, leading to reduced fitness levels. The military in the United States is sometimes forced to spend a considerable amount of their time protecting the country from outside or inside attacks. Engaging in inconsistent or lack of adequate sleep lowers the metabolism levels in the human body leading to the inability to replenish and restore the damaged cells. Failures to undertake these measures will mean that the body will not be in the right and fit condition to undertake the military roles.

Working in the military is a tough job that wears down an individual mental state. Stress is a factor that may lower the metabolic processes in the body leading to the loss of appetite with no desire to lead a healthy life. Under the circumstances of mental stress, the officers may find themselves neglecting their state of health, leading to obesity and a decline in fitness levels. They may not realize that their fitness is lowering until it is too late. Dehydration process can make the matter worse since the body lacks the necessary electrolytes that are useful for the muscles and keeping the body fit. The lack of adequate water in the body triggers a reduction in the energy levels among the military. Their supervisors need to ensure that the soldiers are not overtraining. Training is critical to the fitness levels, but overdoing it tends to have a reverse effect on the human body. Excessively engaging in the exercising process is detrimental to health, and it can adversely affect their mental state. Overdoing the physical activities can lead to the inability to sleep, a motivational decline on the desire to exercise in the future, a drop in the performance level, reduction in the immunity levels, and body aching. The overall effect of these problems is a decline in fitness levels.

Various measures need to be followed among the military persons in the United States to ensure that they achieve the desired levels of fitness that will allow them to serve in the right and desired way. All the persons willing to join the military in the United States will be required to undertake a fitness test. Additionally, after taking the basic training, they are needed to have a similar test every six months, and this is aimed at ensuring that they are always excising and following the procedures that will maintain high standards. The United States military is categorized into Marine Corps, army, air force, navy, and coast guards, they all receive fitness tests that are in line with their line of duty to ensure they are better suited to serve. The Marine Corps have the most difficult tests, such as USMC physical fitness test, that requires them to do pull-ups and run an additional mile.

The department is working on introducing the MOS-specific fitness tests, strength training, and job redesign programs. The strength training program is mainly geared towards enabling women to reach their potential while the redesign process helps to lower the amount of physical exertion. The body strength of a woman is different from that of a man. Their weight is 20% less, with 10% more body fat and 30% less muscle. The muscle strength is categorized into isometric and dynamic strength with eth women body showing 60% to 70% strength to the male body. Therefore, these differences call for the need to have the strength training programs for the women to ensure that they are in a position to realize the desired fitness levels. The program enables them to endure the force that may encounter in their daily routines through variation of techniques and adapting. The military is working on ensuring that the soldiers are undertaking the endurance and occupational training processes that will raise their ability to manage their activities with ease.

Job redesign is another solution that the United States military is undertaking to ensure that they are managing the problems of low fitness among its personnel. Additional, the move is aimed at increasing the number of women that are joining the forces. Reducing the physical demands that are required in the force will help to reduce the number of injuries and save the taxpayers money millions of dollars. The redesign process involves collecting data that is related to the nature of the task at hand, offering training on the way that the task will be managed, and registering the accident details about that activity. There is the identification of the duties that requires a lot of strengths to accomplish, and the operations that are available to the personnel include packaging alterations and engineering aids.

There is a need to revise the military standards and have new and updated programs that will ensure that the youths joining the military have the right fitness levels. The diversification of the programing opportunities is calling for the need to have high-intensity interval training, virtual fitness programs, functional fitness, and increase the number of facility hours (Attwood, 2016). The military is calling for the need to go back to the physical activity fundamentals. The musculoskeletal injuries are accounting for more than 75% of the injuries that the soldiers experience, and the number of college athletes that experience the same injury is only 25%. These data indicate that there are some activities that the military personnel is not undertaking in comparison to the college students. Some of the damages are caused by overtraining and the fact that the soldiers do not understand the way to follow proper techniques (Jones et al., 2017). Using the wrong fitness programs is causing massive losses, and the state department is working on ensuring that the military is taught the right way of exercising. Incorrect and inefficient movement programs have played a vital role in the low fitness levels, and there is a need to change the techniques.

The military is working on having a computerized physical fitness program that will be supported by weight management procedures. The United States department does not have a tool to track the soldiers' compliance with fitness regulations. Therefore, there is a desire in this sector to adopt systems that will measure the data on weight, height, and fat content to ensure that high fitness levels are maintained. The systems will notify the seniors when an officer is beyond the expected limit regarding weight managing to know the team that needs to be placed on the fitness program.

The possibility of retrenchment is another move that the military in the United States wants to undertake to ensure that the fitness levels are maintained. The fear of losing a job will keep the officer motivated to work on weight and fitness. Additionally, dismissing the ones that have nit managed to achieve the desired levels of the workout will ensure that the taxpayers' money will be used in the right way. The military has set two standards that every person that is joining the force must meet. Some of the criteria are supposed to be fulfilled by the recruits for accession purposes when they are joining the force, and the others should be met to ensure that an individual is retained in the force. The various military categories have their specific standards that they maintain regarding body-fat, weight-for-height, and gender-specific levels for the entry group to avoid the recruitment of unfit persons.

Encouraging officers to live a healthy life is critical in the management of the fitness issue among the soldiers in the United States. The government is working on holding training programs that will enlighten the officers on the benefits of eating cooked food. Junk food has high-fat content, and it should be avoided. Eating right and failing to sleep will not have the desired effects, and the department is working on ensuring that it has an adequate number of officers. The large number will make sure that each person is not overworked...