That said, one way that the military subtly kicks people out of the service when it's downsized, and I've seen a couple waves of this, is that they change the BMI standards slightly, making it harder to make weight. Believe it or not, a lot of folks can't lose 10 pounds for the life of them. Then, when you need retention, they change the standards back to a looser one again. At the height of the Iraq War, you saw some porkers, but after the 2013 "Sequestration," they tightened the standards as a way to reduce the size of the service after budget cuts.
That said, one way that the military subtly kicks people out of the service when it's downsized, and I've seen a couple waves of this, is that they change the BMI standards slightly, making it harder to make weight. Believe it or not, a lot of folks can't lose 10 pounds for the life of them. Then, when you need retention, they change the standards back to a looser one again. At the height of the Iraq War, you saw some porkers, but after the 2013 "Sequestration," they tightened the standards as a way to reduce the size of the service after budget cuts.