WBUR’s “Here & Now ” reports that “the U.S. Army has been an all-volunteer force for more than 40 years because there is no military draft anymore. That means the service has to attract young men and women to sign up.”  

“And according to the Army’s numbers they’re pretty good at it. The Army has met or exceeded its recruiting goals for each of the last nine years.”  

“But the man who runs the Army recruiting operation, Major General Allen Batschelet, tells Here & Now’s Meghna Chakrabarti that finding qualified candidates in the 17 to 24 age group can be difficult.”  

“’Today about 15 percent are disqualified for obesity, and we think by 2020 that number could go to 50 percent,’ he said.”