Standards

by: Brandon Friedman

Fri May 23, 2008 at 12:54:34 PM EDT


WTF is this?

This is a full-blown, four-alarm, Army-wide emergency as far as I'm concerned.  I swear to God somebody needs to answer for this on Capitol Hill.  The Defense Department, the Army, the generals. . .I don't care.  Just somebody.  This is a failure in leadership from top to bottom.
Brandon Friedman :: Standards
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Standards | 31 comments
Not a surprise... (4.00 / 1)
...that people show up on deployment in no condition to deploy.  I just got a guy who doesn't even have a Secret clearance (IRR guy).  WTF indeed.
Although... (4.00 / 1)
...the reflective belt does add that extra flair of "Awesome!".
[ Parent ]
Too bad that awesomeness (4.00 / 1)
does no good when it's hidden underneath. . . .
[ Parent ]
it may just be the diagonal black strip of the sling. (4.00 / 1)
sooo, unflattering.
[ Parent ]
I thought black was supposed to be 'slimming' (4.00 / 1)
  My NG unit had several guys who were way outside the weight/body fat standards, so this is no surprise at all.  
[ Parent ]
Clearance is non-deployable (4.00 / 1)
If the position requires a clearance and did not have an interim at least, they are non-deployable.

You should have never even received the individual.

If the guy wants to go home and is not eligible for an interim, he can probably get home.

[ Parent ]
Nice pun! (0.00 / 0)
This is a failure in leadership from top to bottom.


"No U.S. soldier ever dies in vain because they're carrying out the missions of their commander in chief. And we honor all the service that they've provided." - Barack Obama
That's not a reflective belt, it's 15 feet of crime scene tape. (4.00 / 3)
Holy shit, look out.  For God's sake, somebody get that troop a sportsbra and a bigger head. Also, is that a goddamn strawberry cheesecake on his tray?

Casey

Definitely looks like it. (0.00 / 0)
The Army has failed this soldier.
[ Parent ]
A JELLY DONUT?!?!?! (0.00 / 0)
  "They're paying for it, YOU eat it!"
[ Parent ]
In the Navy..... (0.00 / 0)
Size matters.

When the ship is going down ~ To Hell with the Dixie Cup!

Hang with the fat guys and use them as your floatation device.

In all seriousness. (0.00 / 0)
It's not only about body BMIs.
The "unfit" are a danger to themselves and to others.

Prepare these soldiers for combat for Christ Sake!

WTF is right!

[ Parent ]
Jesus, what does he use for a flak? (4.00 / 4)
A Humvee?
You all laugh but that man was thin before he went in (0.00 / 0)
what you DON'T KNOW is he has been trying to get kicked out for the past three years and eating himself sick to do it and so far, NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE.  He figures when he has to be removed from the conex by crane on a special episode of MAURY he might finally dodge the next round of stop-loss orders...

... maybe.

Make wars unprofitable and you make them impossible.
~A. Philip Randolph


IRR Good to Go (0.00 / 0)
Carissa, there is truth to your tongue in cheek comment.

In the early days of IRR mobilizations there was a very reasonable thought you would never ever be deployed if you were way over weight and could not come close to passing the APFT.

I know as fact that Officers at certain deployment sites are never weighed in, beyond a physical, and never take a PT test or participate in organized PT.


[ Parent ]
slipping standards (0.00 / 0)
WoW... every time I see a over weight soldier it makes me cringe.  I had to sit next to a fat-body in class who stretched out his ACUs to the max.  I dont know what kind of standards ROTC has but this guy had to be tipping the scales.  Seems to be an Army WIDE problem.
I guarantee (0.00 / 0)
he has an MOS like supply or something similar and less "active" and dangerous.  Hey, I'm usually fine with whatever people's weight is if they can pass their PT test, but clearly this guy can't.

Plus he can get four all-expense-paid, all-you-can-eat meals a day.

Recruiting tool? Weight loss stories on mil sites. (0.00 / 0)
Just sayin' that there are "before and after" stories out there:

AF recruit loses 128 pounds:

http://www.af.mil/news/story.a...

Navy recruit  looses 150:

http://findarticles.com/p/arti...

He loses 240 pounds to join Army:

http://usmilitary.about.com/od...

[sorry, can't get a direct link to this story. You have to scroll down to the  bottom to get a link to this story. The pic is worth it.]

At least they use the 'self-discipline' meme, not the just buy our meals like Jenny Craig. Looks like the Army wins "The Biggest Loser".

http://www.nbc.com/The_Biggest...

Buddy Carry (0.00 / 0)
how many infantryman can carry this guy on thier back. I am not trying to be mean, but if big boy gets wounded how many troops is it going to take evacute him.  
The Empty Flight Suit, after meeting with his Generals on the Ground, (0.00 / 0)
calls Press Conference in the Rose Garden to announce the Pentagon's Rapid Response Teams plan to get the Troops down to their fighting weights.

Play the caption for a Picture Game here [tonight's actual winner was totally lame]:

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/200...

or

"After contractors are paid, this is what is left to 'Support the Troops'," The Empty Flight Suit tells the press.

THIS WHOLE COMMENT THREAD REALLY SUCKS!!! (0.00 / 0)
I can't believe the vitriol directed at this soldier. Regardless of what he looks like, he is a soldier and a war veteran. We have no idea what his circumstances are, what type of unit he's with, what his MOS is, or more importantly whether, despite his physical condition, whether he is good at his job. How devastating would it be for his friends and family, worried about him being deployed, to see him being mocked and castigated by fellow vets? Is mocking soldiers, still in the service, the best recruiting tool for VoteVets? Is it the policy of this site to mock people in harm's way? We have a lot to be proud here at VoteVets, especially after this week's success with the Webb GI Bill. However, making fun of an overweight soldier, without having any knowledge about him, is disgusting and beneath the dignity of our group. Our goal should be to support ALL veterans, whatever their shape or size.
MOCKING SOLDIERS (2.00 / 2)
Mocking soldiers, especially fat bodies like the one pictured, is a time-honored tradition in which Marines take great pride.  Semper Fi.
[ Parent ]
I mean, we can go here if you guys want, (0.00 / 0)
but it's gonna get ugly.
[ Parent ]
I definitely see your point, and to an extent I agree (0.00 / 0)
But this soldier is a danger to himself and everyone around him.  I have personally been there when REMF MOS soldiers who never thought they would see combat were ambushed in Baghdad.  They were just trying to get from one place to another.  All soldiers need to be combat-ready, because regardless of your MOS you are always a soldier first.  Someone else mentioned on this thread that if he was wounded he could not be carried.  What if another soldier was wounded; could he carry them?

I agree that mocking and making fun of soldiers is wrong.  However, the Army has hieght/weight standards for a reason.  They are there to make sure that you come home, vertical and breathing.

"No U.S. soldier ever dies in vain because they're carrying out the missions of their commander in chief. And we honor all the service that they've provided." - Barack Obama

[ Parent ]
I hear what you're saying. BUT: (4.00 / 1)
1.  The intent of the post was not to mock the soldier.  The intent was to highlight the Army's apparent and now-dangerously low physical standards.

2.  Regardless of MOS, every soldier in Iraq must be a functional infantryman.  (See: 507th Maintenance Company.)  Every soldier will be on the roads at one time or another.  Thus, every soldier must be capable of carrying out basic combat tasks.  In the case above, the soldier represents a danger to both himself and others on account of his size.

3.  I'm not blaming the soldier.  I'm blaming the Army's leadership for some or all of the following: a.) Allowing him to enlist in the first place, b.) allowing him to gain so much weight (i.e., failure to train him properly), and c.) sending him into theater.

Thoughts?

[ Parent ]
Dittos (4.00 / 1)
To carry Brandon's remark a step further.

This soldier should not be in Iraq. He should be in CONUS undergoing a physical fitness program until he meets the HT/WT and APFT.

Deploying this soldier is no different then deploying soldiers with orthopedic or back conditions.

With this soldier it is easy to see why he should not be deployed. A soldier with disk problems is not visible. A soldier with PTSD does not show a visible condition.

In the old days, the 80's and 90's a soldier like this would not be deployed. But neither would soldiers with any of the other conditions I outlined would have been deployed.

We are in the seventh year of the GWOT and there is no reason for deploying any soldier with any type of medical problem.

The all volunteer Army was designed for the period of peace after Vietnam. It was never designed for a long term conflict.

This soldier, unfortunately is the poster of what has gone wrong.

This overweight soldier has not failed the US Army, I applaud his spirit in joining the Army that most of us have grown to love and call our own. The failure is that of leadership, the entire chain of command has failed this soldier.

[ Parent ]
Failure (0.00 / 0)
The Platoon Leader who did nothing to stop the deployment of this soldier deserves a scathing OER.

The Company Commander who did nothing to stop the deployment of this soldier deserves a scathing OER.

The Battalion Commander who did nothing to stop the deployment of this soldier deserves a scathing OER.

The Brigade Commander who did nothing to stop the deployment of this soldier deserves a scathing OER.

The Medical Officer who did nothing to stop the deployment of this soldier deserves a scathing OER.

This is not asking any of these people to make a determination on PTSD, though that should be easy in my opinion.

Anyone can look at this soldier and say keep him in CONUS. Every Officer in the soldiers chain of command that could not see that deserve a scathing OER for putting this Soldier in harms way and those around him in harms way.

Do you send a split option 11B to Iraq that has not completed AIT? Hell no. This is no different. But maybe the way things are going that will be next.

When will this Country wake up and support the troops?

Add to my list of those responsible, the BCT Cadre and the AIT Cadre. I do not hold USAREC responsible since they assumed someone would do their job.  

[ Parent ]
I think you are assumng a lot.. (0.00 / 0)
this guy may very well have been in missions were he functioned as a rifleman. The point is we don't know. Of course, its obvious that he doesn't meet the minimum standards, but we can't take that logic any further than that. We should not judge this book by its cover. However, I do agree with your point that his entire leadership chain has failed him. His body never should have been allowed to get to that point.
[ Parent ]
All of this and more. (4.00 / 1)
As I said earlier, the "unfit" are a danger to themselves and to others.

This is surely a failure in leadership ~ who are tasked to properly prepare the soldier for military duty.

There is also a personal responsibility.He enlisted for this job of warrior. Maybe it's just me. But I understood my commitment to be the best I could be.

Not a super hero ~ just dedicated to pushing myself just bit harder. I don't think anyone in my chain of command asked for more then that.

And I believe I owed to my comrades- in-arms and to myself.  

[ Parent ]
Other Photos (0.00 / 0)
This soldier sticks out because of his weight but there are other examples that are also telling.

I am not old for my rank, even though I absolutely cringe when other soldiers call me the "old man."

But as we all know there are a lot of soldiers, in particular the Guard and Reserve, that are of  lower rank and they are damn old men and women.

The worse case that I know of was an E-4 deployed to Iraq and he was around 58 years old.

There are plenty of E-5's and E-6's who will be getting their first retirement checks (age 60 in the reserves) shortly after they get back from Iraq. Some of these guys are in the IRR getting recalled.

That does not even consider the many fine doctors and nurses who are getting recalled and they are well into their 60's!!!

In the seventh year of the GWOT why on earth are we deploying old men and women?

lol (0.00 / 0)
"You gonna eat that tray?"  
Standards | 31 comments
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