Mission: Readiness Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group whose members are retired admirals and generals from our country’s armed forces, concerned with protecting our national security. Yet our security is greatly compromised when 77% of young Americans — aged 17 to 24 — cannot qualify for military services, as U.S. Department of Defense data recently showed. And this shocking figure has risen several percentage points in recent years.

The disqualifiers for enlistment range from medical (such as being overweight) to behavioral (such as having a criminal record) — factors that we can proactively address via greater investments in the well-being of children, from their earliest years of development.

Coming from all branches of the armed forces, Mission: Readiness members champion evidence-based public policy solutions that have been shown to prepare our youth for life, helping them to be able to graduate and serve their country in any way they choose — whether by going on to further education, entering the workforce, or enlisting in the military.