A Sad Thought on a Sad Day

A sad thought on September 11^th… I read recently that the U.S. Army has lowered its minimum standards for pushups for its combat fitness test to 10 – 10 whole pushups! – and for the two-mile run to 22 min… a slow jog for a middle-aged woman. 

Now, I am 63 years old and could easily pass both tests. That's alarming enough. But I also spend a good deal of time with young men and women who are much stronger and much faster than I am. Few of them are interested in serving, however. 

Instead, the Army seems to be so desperate for servicemen that it will essentially allow very weak and very slow young people to enlist. That doesn’t really bode well for the Army’s combat readiness, now does it? In fact, it ought to be terrifying to anyone who cares at all about America’s ability to defend itself if, say, Iran makes an aggressive move in the Middle East, or if China tries to take Taiwan.