According to a new report, three-quarters of young people ages 17-24 are ineligible to enlist in the military because they have either failed to graduate from high school, have a criminal record or are physically unfit.

 Approximately one out of four young American adults lacks a high school diploma. And, while students who receive a general equivalency degree (GED) can sometimes receive a waiver of the graduation requirement, most do not score well enough on the military’s entrance exam to qualify. Additionally, about 30 percent of potential recruits with high school diplomas do not pass the entrance exam.

 One in 10 young adults is prevented from enlisting by a conviction for a felony or serious misdemeanor.

 Obesity is the third major factor identified by the report as preventing enlistment with an estimated 27 percent of young Americans identified as being too overweight to join the military. As the rate of obesity among American adults has more than doubled over the past four decades, America’s youth suffer from an obesity epidemic. Experts expect weight issues to prevent more potential recruits from enlisting in the coming years.

 All told, these factors mean that, for 75 percent of young American adults, military service is not a career option. For many, military service also is a way to receive critical job training and reimbursement for college expenses.

 What’s more, say the retired military leaders of Mission: Readiness, the bi-partisan, non-profit group that produced the report “Ready, Willing, and Unable to Serve,” the shortage of eligible recruits is a threat to national security. In recent years, the armed forces have been able to meet recruitment goals, due in large part to high unemployment rates. However, military leaders expect to encounter a shortage of eligible men and women to serve in the armed forces once the economy improves.

 According to Mission: Readiness, early childhood education is the key to reducing two of the three major obstacles to military eligibility – the high school dropout rate and criminal activity among youth and young adults. Many studies have demonstrated that children who participate in high-quality pre-kindergarten programs as three- and four-year-olds are more likely to graduate from high school and less likely to become involved in criminal activity.

 To that end, members of Mission: Readiness are calling for Congress to pass the Early Learning Challenge Fund initiative, which would grant states up to $1 billion per year to improve the quality of early education programs and expand access to more at-risk children. In some states, as few as 10 percent of four-year-olds currently attend federally or state-funded pre-kindergarten programs, and only children in high-quality early education programs enjoy improvements in graduation and criminality rates.

 Contact your local Boys & Girls Club; some now offer programming for preschoolers. For more information about supporting your child’s academic success, see the Your Child pages of this site.