US Army may relax physical requirements to recruit

[Holidazed]

US Army may be forced to relax physical requirements to recruit 'cyber warriors'

Quote:

The US Army is facing a recruitment crisis. With only 30 per cent of American citizens aged 17-24 currently eligible to join, military officials are considering relaxing their requirements in order to sign up some fresh blood.

A recent report from Military.com (and picked by The Daily Dot) cites three main bars to recruitment (obesity or health problems; lack of a high school education; and criminal histories”) but points out that the problem is particularly acute for the latest addition to US military might: the cyber warrior.

This particular branch of the Army - US Cyber Command - was created in 2009 in order to develop technologies that can “destroy, deny, degrade, disrupt, corrupt or usurp” enemies in cyberspace, with plans to use this expertise alongside ‘traditional’ attacks as well as in isolation.

However, recruiting talented young hackers under current requirements may prove difficult in a country where reports of obesity alone have risen from 5 per cent of children aged 12 to 19 in 1980 to 17.6 per cent in 2006.

A n'etwork defender' at the US Air Force Space Command Network Operations & Security Center in 2010
"Today, we need cyber warriors, so we're starting to recruit for Army Cyber," recruiter Major General Allen Batschelet told Military.com.

"One of the things we're considering is that your [mission] as a cyber warrior is different. Maybe you're not the Ranger who can do 100 pushups, 100 sit-ups and run the 2-mile inside of 10 minutes, but you can crack a data system of an enemy.”

Batschelet added that this didn’t mean recruiting individuals purely based on hacking talent, and that cyber warriors would still have to be “physically fit”. “You're a healthy person and maintain your professional appearance,” he said, "but we don't make you have the same physical standards as someone who's in the Ranger Battalion."

The US Army is currently a third of the way through a recruitment drive to drum up 6,000 "cyber-focused personnel by 2016", and admits that as well as fitness regulations it also has to account for competition from private tech companies who have the prestige, perks and pay to steal the most talented computer engineers.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/us-army-may-be-forced-to-relax-physical-requirements-to-recruit-cyber-warriors-9823183.html

[Old Blue Collar Joe]

]Your future soldier. The only way you'll see him run is if he's chasing a doughnut truck...

[Texadar]

Old Blue Collar Joe

]Your future soldier. The only way you'll see him run is if he's chasing a doughnut truck...

For hackers it's more criminal histories (that being Marijuana) than obesity

They want hackers, hackers do illegal things and thus have a criminal record.

[Old Blue Collar Joe]

Texadar

Old Blue Collar Joe

]Your future soldier. The only way you'll see him run is if he's chasing a doughnut truck...

For hackers it's more criminal histories (that being Marijuana) than obesity

They want hackers, hackers do illegal things and thus have a criminal record.

I'm tired of the feds using pot as a justification for criminal prosecution. Personal opinion is the cops and law enforcement don't want it legalized because then they'll actually have to go after violent criminals.
Potheads only get violent if you make a move for their hot pockets or dorito's.

[David2074]

"...but points out that the problem is particularly acute for the latest addition to US military might: the cyber warrior."

So let me get this straight.
You want to recruit people who are really good with computers because they like to spend a great deal of time sitting in front of a computer?
And for some reason you are finding these people are more prone to being overweight?

SHOCKER!

LOL!

I don't know about now but back when the weight standards for the Navy seemed kind of low.
I did split service. After six years I got out for a couple of years and then went back in for three.
When I reenlisted I was just slightly over their weight limit but I wasn't "fat". I've just always been big boned. And I mean that literally. Like - if I buy a wrist watch I have a hard time finding watches with bands that will fit around my wrist even though my wrist feels quite solid and not 'fat'.
I remember the doctor who examined me taking me in to the chief surgeon's office (or whatever the boss guy was called) and holding up my arm and saying, "Look at this! You should waive the weight requirement" (And they did)

So yeah, it's totally believable to me that the computer hacker / nerd type people they want to recruit may be a tad over their current weight limits. I know not all computer enthusiasts are fat but the limits are kind of low in the first place. Or at least used to be.

PS - Out of curiosity I just went and looked it up. The Army is actually stricter than the Navy but it also accounts for age. But the numbers seem a bit higher than I remember so maybe they have already relaxed the standards some over the years.
I'm 70" tall (5' 10" ) and male.

To be a recruit in the Navy the max weight is 191
http://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/navy-weight-rules.html

For the Army a person 17-20 years old would have to be 180.
But for someone over 40 (me) the limit is 192
http://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/army-weight-rules.html

[Roy Cura]

Not to s**t on the Army, but I’ve heard their standards are pretty low already.

Some of my friends in high school wanted to go into military, and joked that to get into the Army you only need a pulse.

[Ratttking]

Whatever happened to the 'fat boys' units? My roommate was in the Army for a while and told me that they would accept fatties then but make them work off the excess weight.

[JamesWN]

What a load of horsecrap. I spent most of the last two years I had in the Navy sitting in front of a surface radar console while underway and I still had to meet the exact same PRT standards as everyone else.

Not to mention, how will they deploy these people and will they be anywhere near combat zones? They need to be just as capable as everyone else.

Hell, Dad was an Army dentist officer and he still had to meet the usual PRT standards. They weren't meant to be on the front lines either. ...Except for that one little problem during Desert Storm.

[lVlIGHTY]

call of duty black ops 2 badass right here, sign me up! rofl

[Medscooldropout]

Wow, this is sad. No wonder the new guys in my company cant pt :-

[Mei tsuki7]

Roy Cura

Not to s**t on the Army, but I’ve heard their standards are pretty low already.

Some of my friends in high school wanted to go into military, and joked that to get into the Army you only need a pulse.

And yet they have really stupid requirements like you can't be on ADHD medication and even ADHD period can disqualify you. Same with most other mental illnesses. My college friend was kicked out of ROTC because they found out that she was diagnosed with depression when she was in middle school.

[Vestri Umbra]

Roy Cura

Not to s**t on the Army, but I’ve heard their standards are pretty low already.

Some of my friends in high school wanted to go into military, and joked that to get into the Army you only need a pulse.

Nope. I've had friends turned away for a number of reasons. They really try hard to disqualify you at MEPS.



- Soldier

[Vestri Umbra]

FULLY AWAKENED BEING

call of duty black ops 2 badass right here, sign me up! rofl

Actually interested in serving? Don't want to spend all that time away from home, class or work?

Ask me about the National Guard wink

[Vestri Umbra]

Medscooldropout

Wow, this is sad. No wonder the new guys in my company cant pt :-

Can't PT at all or can barley pass the 50point mins for APFT?

[Ringoringa]

Maybe there's something I'm missing (and by all means, tell me if I am) but if your job is literally just to do computer stuff, having a physical fitness requirement beyond "probably not going to die shortly after they get hired" over simple vanity is just dumb. I can understand needing the people doing all the physical stuff to be fit. That makes sense. But you're going to cut out a lot of perfectly qualified and talented people out of the pool of candidates by insisting on that sort of a standard.