National Security & Defense

Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(115,611 posts) Tue Apr 4, 2023, 08:31 PM Apr 2023

Recruits, Especially from the South, Are Getting Injured at Alarming Rates in Basic Training

Army recruits are getting injured at an alarming rate in basic training, costing the government millions of dollars to rehabilitate them or eventually pay them disability compensation, according to a study published in the Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases medical journal.

Researchers found that 34% of the Army's 99,335 trainees in 2017 sustained at least one musculoskeletal injury. Half of those injured were from eight states in the South, namely Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and North Carolina.

Southern states contribute the most Army recruits compared to each state's general population of young adults, according to data from the Council on Foreign Relations.

Army planners in recent years have become increasingly concerned over new recruits' declining physical fitness. Participation in high school sports has dropped in recent years while childhood obesity rates have reached "epidemic levels," according to research from the National Library of Medicine. 17% of U.S. children are obese, the research found, a number that has been steadily rising for decades.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/recruits-especially-south-getting-injured-194451960.html

Yikes! I think I remember only one person in my company being injured during basic training back in the 70s.

6 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Recruits, Especially from the South, Are Getting Injured at Alarming Rates in Basic Training (Original Post) Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Apr 2023 OP

👇👇👇💪 Goonch Apr 2023 #1

Basic Training is probably the first time many of them have Baked Potato Apr 2023 #2

I went through basic training in 1980 ggma Apr 2023 #5

Yo Mama, I am a little younger than you, not much, but a bit. bottomofthehill Apr 2023 #3

When I was in boot camp in 1970 if you broke your arm they would tell you, Chainfire Apr 2023 #4

I enlisted in the army in 1961, we didn't have any injuries in my basic training company. friend of a friend Apr 2023 #6

Goonch

(3,817 posts)

1. 👇👇👇💪

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Tue Apr 4, 2023, 08:36 PM

Apr 2023

Baked Potato

(7,733 posts)

2. Basic Training is probably the first time many of them have

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Tue Apr 4, 2023, 08:38 PM

Apr 2023

had to run, carry something, or even sweat.

Ok, I will probably be alerted on here, but I think our society is soft.

ggma

(711 posts)

5. I went through basic training in 1980

Reply to Baked Potato (Reply #2)

Wed Apr 5, 2023, 03:16 AM

Apr 2023

Several injuries, all guys. Mostly due to being a MAN trying to out-MAN the other MEN. The misogyny was awful.

gg

bottomofthehill

(8,837 posts)

3. Yo Mama, I am a little younger than you, not much, but a bit.

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Tue Apr 4, 2023, 08:40 PM

Apr 2023

I have to start by saying I did not read the article, just your comment. In the 70’s and 80’s Uncle Sam did not care if you turned your ankle or wrenched your shoulder, you got up the next day, tied the boot a little tighter and got to going. The common musculoskeletal injuries are sprained ankle, sore back… some are worse, but the common strains and sprains, who cared. Now things are tracked more closely. Will it make better soldiers, time will tell, will the next generation of old soldier be in better shape in their old age, probably

Chainfire

(17,757 posts)

4. When I was in boot camp in 1970 if you broke your arm they would tell you,

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Tue Apr 4, 2023, 09:09 PM

Apr 2023

"You salute with the other hand, so suck it up, Buttercup, now get down and give me 50 for malingering, you maggot."

I really don't recall any of the guys in my company in boot camp being injured. The obese recruits were put in what the called the "fat boy" company where they got less food and more exercise until they got up to par. If the Army is having problems it is probably pushing the recruits above their abilities. They probably need to slow down and build up the recruits strength and endurance.

friend of a friend

(367 posts)

6. I enlisted in the army in 1961, we didn't have any injuries in my basic training company.

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Wed Apr 5, 2023, 02:40 PM

Apr 2023

Everyone passed every test we had. I was 5'7" and 105 pounds and had 20/400 vision, corrected to 20/40. I would have been 4F if they knew I was born with double vision and it could occur if I got very tired. I more than doubled my weight when I put on my helmet, pack, and picked up my M-14.

Reply to this discussion