America’s army has launched a scheme to slim down its recruits
The shortage of potential soldiers able to pass physicals has forced the army to change tack
A few months ago Michael Devey, an obese and homeless 22-year-old, wandered into the army recruitment office in Sacramento, California. Desperate for a bed and an income, he longed to enlist but knew his size precluded him. It turned out to be his lucky day. A brand-new programme to whip overweight recruits into shape was just kicking off. Mr Devey signed on the dotted line and within weeks shipped out to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, for army fat camp.
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Marching on their stomachs”
United States January 14th 2023
- After a spectacularly chaotic start for Congress, more discord looms
- What California’s deadly storms reveal about the state’s climate future
- America’s army has launched a scheme to slim down its recruits
- Polyamory is getting slivers of legal recognition in America
- America’s culture wars extend into medicine
- How rappers are strengthening Donald Trump’s movement
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