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New Report: 73% of Georgians (ages 17-24) not qualified to serve in the military

Lots of physical exercise, healthy meals and learning your numbers can help get you ready to protect the nation. In other words, “child’s play” is vital to the nation’s security.

Of course, we know that national security depends heavily on qualified adults who are willing and able to serve in the United States Armed Forces.

However, due to things like educational deficits, health issues, and behavior problems, nearly three-quarters (73%) of the state’s young adults, ages 17 to 24 are disqualified to serve in the military.

Many of the issues that prevent these young people from serving can be traced back to early childhood development said Rear Admiral (RET) Tilghman Payne, U.S. Navy.

It’s something that must be addressed as we go forward. “Bringing up our kids so that they’re physically fit, mentally alert, and capable of serving in our military and looking out for our national security needs in the future.” said Payne.

Addressing these issues early on will help on several fronts from keeping the nation safe and economically stable according to Rear Admiral (RET) Wendi Carpenter, U.S. Navy

“And this is not just about national security from the military perspective, it’s also about the next generation who can learn and who can carry on and who can fulfill the jobs of our economy. We have a lot of jobs in Georgia right now that people are saying they can’t fill.” Said Carpenter.

The admirals toured the Foundations for the Future School in Kennesaw Thursday as part of a tour to and to release the report about the benefits of high-quality child care.

The school with is Quality Rated by state standards and nationally accredited serves 200 children from infancy through elementary school with 45 staff members and its own on-site chef.

The school was chosen to highlight that high-quality child care can help address the problems that disqualify the vast majority of young Americans from military service.

The report concludes “Given the long-term benefits of high quality child care to children’s cognitive, social, and emotional development, state and federal policymakers should continue to promote quality, access and affordability.”

It also notes “two-thirds of children under the age of 6 in Georgia have parents or a single parent who works outside of the home, and many of those children may not be in high-quality child care. Support for high-quality child care is an investment in our future national security.”

The report was issued by the non-partisan group called Mission: Readiness

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