The full story can be found at the following link:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080429/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/military_waivers








And the saddest part of this issue is the fact that the army will not give a waiver to prior service members who are over weight. Even though, yu would be required to do Physical training five or six days a week once you got to base, which would decrease your weight without a problem, The army would rather spend more money on waiving those with a major criminal history, than someone who wants to go back into service, and does not need the basic training that all these new recruits need.

When I first went through basic, it cost the army about 18 to 20,000 dollars for two months of training per soldier. You can only imagine what the cost of training is now, fifteen years later.

You would think that it would be more conducive to bring back a former soldier who simply needs to lose weight, and is otherwise ready to go, than it would to spend all that money on researching criminal records, and then having to train a raw recruit.

Don't get me wrong either, I agree with giving waivers to thsoe that have shown they deserve the opportunity, no matter what the offense was. But use some common sense here, and go with the cheaper (and still viable) route first.

With the shortage, they need them all. Expect it to get worse before it gets better

so true dragoness. The sad thing is I have been wiling to go back in since 9/11, and just two weeks ago, I proved I was still knowledgeable enough to lead a company out and be fully operational in my former job specialty. This is after 10 years of being out, and I still have the knowledge needed. I am simply overweight for the army.

What sense is there in telling someone in my position that they can not go back in until AFTER they have lost the weight, when normal military life is going to bring it off faster than non-militarty life?

Well its been in the media a LOT lately, the Army and Marines are recruiting CONVICTED FELONS!!!!!

Just look it up. They were even doing special segments on gang members joing the service just to get trained and come back on OUR STREETS! They even had shown a clip of a gang member who was in the Army, and he used his training to execute another opposing gang member outside a store and it was caught on survalence video!

Welcome to the great USA!!!

remeber this moto.... "Don't mess with a nation that NEEDS MEDICATION!!!!"

its trul;y a sad state of affairs.
I mean,a s I said I have no problem with granting waivers to those that have shown they deserve it, no matter what the offense. But to tell someone they can not come back in, no matter how trained and prepared they are, because they are overweight? Come on, thats nonsense.

What's really scary is that alot of these guys could end up as cops.

It doesn't surprise me at all.

Not sayin' why.