The Military’s Biggest Threat: Video Games

Last month the Military Health System put out a release that helped justify my father’s reasoning for ignoring my ongoing pleas for a Nintendo Entertainment System during my formative years – video games make you lazy. Granted, he was also worried about us monopolizing the TV in the living room, but his approach does reinforce the concerns in the release – namely that new recruits are struggling with initial entry training, or boot camp, because their bodies are just too weak.Quoting the release, “Today’s recruits are coming from a far more sedentary lifestyle, making their skeletons more prone to injuries because they’re not used to the kind of intense activity they will face at basic training.” Just to clarify, the MHS is targeting Gen Z recruits aged 18-25, so it’s not those ever-aggravating millennials … this time.The release goes on to quote Army Major Jon-Marc Thibodeau who states that, “The ‘Nintendo Generation’ soldier skeleton is not toughened by activity prior to arrival, so some of them break more easily.”