General

I know this is a bit of a doomer post but with the whole situation in Iran seemingly bringing us closer to a war it's been on my mind. If the US outright declares war on Iran would obesity be considered a medical condition that could get you exempt from service? And if so what would the cut off be? Like at what weight would they say "oh they'll lose it in basic training" vs "this guy isn't even worth our time". I know a draft isn't very likely even if we do go to war, but it seems like in the last year or so the worst possible outcome for a lot of major events has happened. So my hopes for this situation aren't very high

We have a military of over 2 million soldiers. The likelihood of any American is on the flood.

With that said, each branch has it's own body fat limitations. So it is possible to be too fat to be drafted. But once you get in, you can run into quite a few obese soldiers.

stop.publichealth.gwu.edu/LFD-jan17

I've known some larger people in the military. When all of the other soldiers are done for the day, the obese ones are made to run and exercise into the night.

I just got out of the army reserves beginning of this year. Boots on ground & a draft is highly unlikely. Also yes being obese would most likely get you passed up. You can enlist & go to basic training if you are a bit overweight, but they expect you to lose weight & meet the standard before graduation. There are a lot of things that disqualify people from serving so no need to worry

Wow, this is a doomer post, and I understand why you, the OP might be worried about this.

But, I don't think a draft is going to happen, and I'll tell you several reasons why. With any hope, this might put your mind at ease. Also, apologies in advance but I don't think I can answer this thread without getting somewhat political.

I suppose it's easier for me to be calm about this, as I'm not at all in the target category - too old, not physically up to snuff, etc. But what I'll tell you, is similar to what my father told me back in '03. There was a rumor that Dubya wanted to institute a draft for the Iraq conflict, possibly to garner votes for John Kerry. Back then, like you, I was afraid there might be a draft and I might get caught up in it.

1) Most of those age 18-24 aren't eligible in the first place.

That link Munchies provided was certainly illuminating. I had expected the number to be 80-85%, or 15-20% eligible. I wasn't far off. I do notice those numbers are from '17, I wonder what they are now.

Years back, I remember hearing some crazy general who mentioned on live TV that something like 67% of those age 18-24 are too heavy to join even if they want to, and it's a national security concern. I think he was just being fat-phobic because this doesn't actually matter.

2) It would be political suicide. It hasn't been politically feasible since the late 60s/early 70s (Vietnam), and would be insanely unpopular.

I'm not just talking about today's young people, or if you want to go some years back, those who are now up to 40 years old. Ones who increasingly want nothing to do with the armed forces. They don't like or support the conflicts they end up in. They've heard too many horror stories of a recruiter performing bait-and-switch. They've seen how "well" the disabled veterans are taken care of. And who wants to fight, potentially even die for a system that seems to increasingly work against them and not want them to succeed?

Older folks sure as hell don't want their younger relatives to potentially be forced to fight either. It would be very, very deeply unpopular, I promise you this.

World War 2 was different - everyone understood the threat the Third Reich and Axis Powers presented. An Allied victory was the only acceptable outcome, whatever the cost might be.

But, recall that in Vietnam, thousands of American soldiers died and they didn't win; that's what the draft meant. Between that and the current geopolitical climate, I don't see folks forgetting that anytime soon.

3) Voluntary enrollment actually went up this year compared to last.

Some hardcore Trumpet MAGA type told me this, which at first I didn't believe. But I looked it up. It's true, the Army recruited more soldiers than they did the previous year.

Now, he seems to have bought the propaganda hook, line, and sinker. He said it was because would be soldiers didn't like the prior leadership, meaning Biden, et. al.

But, I'm really supposed to believe they feel better about Darth Bone-Spurs? Sorry but no, I don't believe that for a New York minute. Here's what's more likely happening.

Back in '09, there was a huge surplus of would be recruits. At one point the waiting list got to be a year long.

So if anything, it's younger people thinking they're out of options so they feel forced into it. Average person I know would rather work in an Amazon warehouse or even fast food, but they might find themselves not able to even do that. That's basically what happened back in '09.

This is actually the most disturbing of these points I've made. It's also known Army recruiters focus their efforts in depressed, low-income areas knowing those people have fewer options.

4) It's a lot easier to hire mercenary organizations.

Should be obvious.

5) In the armed forces themselves, the idea of a draft is also massively unpopular.

For some folks, the armed forces really are a calling, and more power to them. For these folks, they accept everything that service entails, and take it seriously. This is actually an advantage to volunteer/optional recruitment. If not forced to be there, just about everyone who's there, wants to be there. This in fact, can make the force far more effective.

Now that said, I've heard the modern military is facing some challenges, despite this.

But imagine how much worse it would be, if 1/2 or 2/3's of the soldiers don't want to be there. They'd basically have to keep cracking the whip. It's going to be a very ineffective force.

A long time ago, my father suggested I should join. I didn't trust the recruiters, so I asked other soldiers. Every single one of them said, if you don't 110% want to do it and be there, don't even think about it.

I almost want Trump to attempt this; the political fallout even in his own party would be truly bigly on a scale never before seen.

I can promise you that people who were in combat MOS’s (jobs) very much disliked the past admin for a plethora of reasons. I’m not getting into all of it since this is a site for things not related to politics, but I was a combat engineer from 2019 to 2025, moral of troops, trust/ confidence in leadership & combat readiness was in worse shape compared to 2016-2020 & currently

"The draft during the Vietnam war was extremely unpopular and when that conflict ended for the U.S. in 1974 Congress dropped the draft and has not made any attempt to reinstate it since.

Members of Congress are, for the most part, keenly aware of how unpopular drafts are, especially drafts for service in conflicts where the security and interests of the U.S. are not directly at risk. If they want to stay in office they'll not introduce or vote for a draft for those kinds foreign conflicts."

I stole this quote from a Reddit user since I am bad with putting in my own words lol. On a side note I would recommend taking a break from social media for mental health sake. I know it has been a shitty year so far but the best we can do is just stop and smell the roses. The news/media love to fearmonger because more views equal more money. There is a Green Day song about that.

I know in the British Military apparently some relatively fat people do join (source: family member who used to train them).

If there was WW3 and some kind of draft, I'd expect those with at least some mobility to still be made to join but in a non-combat position or worse be forced to join and 'suffer' as they're made to lose weight.

That said, I'd also expect it to become a 'point of shame' unless you choose a 'protected' career path like teaching, even if you are made to join but in a non-combat position as long as you're wearing the uniform.

Now that I think about it, this reminds me of a MASH episode where someone was forced to lose weight or be kicked out.