Late one recent night, Command Sgt. Maj. Ashmen and I, returning from Hunter Army Airfield and seeing off Soldiers to Iraq, visited the headquarters of a Marne battalion - a random visit. (We assumed the day had by then quieted down and the staff duty NCO would have time to chat.)
The SDNCO was doing his pre-midnight unit checks in accordance with the unit Standard Operating Procedure. Two runners were left at the desk, both specialists. Both were very visibly overweight. They responded well enough to our questions; they knew their duties, and soon the SDNCO returned. He was on top of his game and evidently a good sergeant; we talked for a few moments and went on our way.
It brought up an important issue - that obesity is a big problem in this country, and it is a major problem with our children. The First Lady has made fighting childhood obesity one of her priorities. More about that in a moment - suffice to say, it is also a major concern of ours at Fort Stewart and Hunter.
The 3rd Infantry Division is a combat division with a battle record not bested by any unit in the U.S. military. Short of health reasons, there is little justification for a Marne Soldier to exceed the Army's standards for weight. And health reasons are handled through a deliberate system that should include adjusted PT and appropriate dietary choices.
We are a team of teams, dependent on each other for our strength, which is the strength of the nation. Yet a Soldier is responsible for his or her condition; a Soldier out of shape is less ready to meet the challenges accepted in our oath, those that make our way of life the stuff legends are made of.
That's not empty talk - think about which institution in this country is rated by the American people as more deserving of trust and confidence than any other. That institution is the U.S. military (Gallup Poll, 2008 and 2009), and that rating is earned one Soldier at a time.
Weight gain is insidious - it goes on one gram, one ounce, one calorie at a time; one poor decision at a time. Even the supersonic metabolisms of young Soldiers may not be equal to the caloric onslaught of undisciplined eating.
The same goes with kids. Research shows without a gram of doubt that an overweight child faces the likelihood of an overweight adolescence and an overweight adulthood. Overweight children don't magically become slender teens. They face an overweight life, with its health challenges and other challenges, often cruel and unjust.
That's why we are focusing on obesity in kids. Thirty-two percent of kids in Fort Stewart and Hunter Families are overweight or obese - that's no better than the nation itself. Our children deserve the best shot in life we can give them. We are working with our schools on post to ensure they have healthy food and physical exercise to match a fine education. Our educators care deeply about their students.
This is tough stuff: we are arrayed against a culture of snack and junk foods, super-sized portions, beguiling food and drink ads, parents heroically juggling busy lives, and the decline of physical activity.
And because some of these children will grow up to be the young men and women on whom our nation will call in her need, it is a matter of great importance that we make the right decisions on their behalf and teach them well. But that is not the most important reason. The most important reason is that they are our kids, and we owe them our best.
And we Soldiers' In our life, we are making our own decisions. Let our decisions ensure that we can give our team and our nation . . . our best.
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