75% of Americans unfit for military service...uh huh. Right.

Why is the military, of all organizations, so strict about its standards. I mean, in the Army, which is the most lenient of all the services, won't allow the bottom 31th percentile (in terms of intelligence) aren't allowed to join. Anyone who is overweight isn't allowed either. Another caveat is that you have to have a high school diploma (in almost all cases, not even a GED) to join. What is up with that? Do they not teach you how to pull a freaking trigger until 12th grade? In addition, anyone who has a criminal record beyond one misdemeanor or 6 major traffic tickets or virtually any drug use is disqualified. Also, the standards have ridiculously high medical standards. Anyone who has or has had ADD, asthma (past the 13th birthday), depression, a severe food allergy, sleepwalking, eating disorders, just to name a few of the most ridiculous disqualifications from enlistment. This is not only turning down tons of brave men and women willing to serve our country, but it turns away opportunities for many urban youth who have often have little opportunity. Studies have shown that urban youth, particularly those in poor or working-class neighborhoods, are disproportionally affected by obesity, in addition to conditions which affect the respiratory system, such as asthma and hayfever (which is disqualifying if not controlled by medication) due to pollutants in the air, which do not allow the immune system to develop. Also, people of lower socioeconomic status are more likely to be disqualified in all areas (with the possible exception of poor rural folk who are less susceptible to certain diseases and obesity). This puts the military at a crossroads. Upper-middle-class kids, who have little reason to join (due to their many opportunities), tend to be the kids who meet the military's medical standards, whereas poor and working-class kids, who often want to join due to a lack of opportunity, are often disqualified. This only leaves the middle-class kids, the number of whom are shrinking fast, who often have just enough opportunities to be unwilling to join, although this is often not the case. If the military's only recruitable and willing kids are the middle class, there will likely be less "suggestions" from those who are "well-educated" (due to their privileged background, and there will be less diversity, socioeconomic and racial, due to a lack of poor and working-class kids (except for those who come from rural areas). Note to military: if you ever want to meet recruiting goals after we're out of this recession, loosen your standards.