Stay the course on school lunches, retired brass say

SPRINGFIELD, Va. — About seven in 10 young adults are ineligible for military service, according to a new report from a group that is pushing school nutrition standards as a way to improve that situation.

Only a portion of that ineligibility list — about one in four Americans aged 17 to 24 — is comprised of individuals considered too fat to serve. But Mission: Readiness, a group of 450 retired generals and admirals, see the nutritional requirements included in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 as key to reversing that trend.

Lawmakers are considering waiving some of those requirements, a move pushed by schools that are running red ink in cafeterias as students balk at buying healthier options. At least 150 schools have pulled out of the federal program, Bloomberg Businessweek reported in August.

“There are going to be hiccups along the road, because not everybody, me included, gives up cheeseburgers that easily,” said retired Rear Adm. Casey Coane, a Mission: Readiness member and former executive director of the Association of the U.S. Navy. “But the fact is, kids are adapting.”

The report, titled “Retreat is Not an Option,” notes that while obesity is a leading cause of ineligibility for service, it’s not the only one; criminal records and insufficient education also add to the totals.