I can see your points, but I just don't see, based on my own experience, that they are really terribly valid points in actual real-life practice. My experience tells me otherwise. A part of your doubt stems from the fact that you obviously don't really understand just how we do things over here. That's not your fault. No other military force on the planet is quite like the US military. We have refined our training to the point that these integrated Guard and Reserve units are just as effective and just as professional as our regular active duty forces. It has not been easy, but as you can plainly see, we have done it and it obviously works very well for us. It works so well that we have complete faith in that 50% of our military forces that are the Guard and Reserve components. They have never let us down. Nobody here as any complaints at all on that score. If it was really a problem we'd be talking about it ourselves, and we're not. That should tell you all you really need to know about that, I think.

I don't see the accident rate as terribly unusual. Not for a combat zone with 130,000+ men serving in it. Most of the accidents are not life-threatening. They're just accidents. Most of those guys get treated and return to duty.

How many accidents do you think occur in an average civilian city of 130,000 people every day? I think the number might surprise you. Hospitals and emergency rooms see a constant stream of people 24 hours a day, and these people are not even in a dangerous war zone.

Likewise, if you were to go in to Womack Army Hospital at Ft. Bragg, NC, here in the US - the stateside home of the 82nd Airborne Division - you'd see an awful lot of accidents come in every day too. Soldiering is just a very dangerous job, even during peacetime.

Lastly, on the physical fitness thing: the military conducts constant physical fitness evaluations of all it's troops. Units do PT (Physical Training) every single day. The only time they don't is when other missions temporarily take priority.

You have to be able to pass the standard AFPFT (armed forces physical fitness test) every six months at the very least, or upon demand. You have to take the test again in order to go to any school, or to transfer duty stations, or to be deployed overseas. If you can't run two miles in under 13 minutes, and do the required number of sit-up's, push-up's, etc, within the required time limits you are put on immediate remedial training until you can, or until they kick you out (you get a little time to try to correct the problem - but not very much time). There are no exceptions for anybody.

We do not have a different set of standards for Special Forces than we do for cooks. We have only one standard, and everybody is expected to meet it, or they are out.

The same standard applies to all Guard and Reserve troops. Every drill weekend includes PT - and if somebody is having a problem with it, it is instantly obvious, and it's addressed immediately. You cannot stay in the Guard or Reserves if you cannot pass the standard PT test on demand. There are no exceptions whatsoever. They never become more "flexible" on this subject - they are as totally hard-assed as they can possibly be about it. It doesn't matter what you do in the military, or what component you are with. It's the same rigid standard for everybody.

Not staying in top physical shape is the easiest and the fastest way to get kicked right out of the Guard or Reserve. The active duty guys have to do PT every day. In the Guard and Reserve it's left up to the individual to stay in proper physical shape. Either way, every soldier know the consequences are exactly the same if you don't: you're history.

20-20 vision is not required in our military. It never has been required, ever, except for pilots back in the old days. We issue corrective lenses if people need them. Prescription lenses are even built right into each soldier's gas mask, if they require them. Have you noticed all thos wrap-around "sunglasses" that guys wear over there? Many of them are prescription lenses in flexible frames. They are made of a special highly impact, shatter and scratch resistant material and they have an unbelievably good "field of view" that you can't even find in civilian eyewear. They're great. The military can also permanently correct your vision using the new laser surgery techniques that are so popular in the civilian world, if you wish. Some guys like to use the special extended wear contacts, as well. All of these methods can give you better than 20-20 vision, so this is not seen as an issue or a problem of any sort.

That black girl you mentioned, Shoshona, obviously passed all her pre-deployment PT tests, and she obviously could have passed them any time anybody demanded that she prove she could, or she would not have been there. She had to pass that PT test just to be allowed to deploy with her unit. Everybody over there did. It may surprise you that a girl like that could run at least an average 6 1/2 minute mile over a two mile long course, but she could, obviously. Same-same push-up's, sit-up's, etc. Never judge a book by it's cover, I guess, hey?