State’s Retired Military Brass Concerned: 75 Percent Of Young Adults Unfit To Serve

Retired General Roger L. Shields, a Water Valley native, spoke at recent news conference in Jackson.On the left is Retired Army General Augustus L. Collins. – Photo by Greg Jenson/The Clarion-Ledger

Staff Report

JACKSON – Retired Army Generals Augustus L. Collins and Roger L. Shields held a news conference last week at the State Capitol to call for greater investments in early childhood education to ensure America’s national security for the future.

“We have the best ships, tanks, planes, and all this equipment is technical.  It takes well-educated, physically-fit young people to operate this equipment, and therein lies the problem,” said retired Army Brigadier General Roger Shields, a Water Valley native.

Shields and Collins are part of Mission: Readiness, a national organization led by more than 130 retired admirals and generals. The group supports policies to help young people get the right start in life so they are prepared for the workforce or military service.

Their group released a report “Ready, Willing and Unable to Serve,” showing that investing in high-quality early education would reduce dropout rates and arrest rates and increase the pool of candidates qualified for the U.S. military and Mississippi National Guard.

The retired military leaders, both from Mississippi, cited recent statistics from the Department of Defense showing that 75 percent of American young adults ages 17 to 24 are unable to enlist in the military primarily because they fail to graduate high school, have a criminal record, or are physically unfit.

Based on graduation rates, crime rates, and obesity rates in Mississippi, an estimated 250,000 young adults cannot join. However, that may actually be a low estimate because, compared to the national average, Mississippi has more young people who do not graduate on time or drop out and more young people who are overweight.

“We cannot let today’s dropout crisis become a national security crisis. Starting with early learning will ensure young people are prepared for whatever path they choose, including uniformed service,” General Shields said. “We need our elected officials to help provide early education opportunities to more young children.”

“Field commanders need our service members to respect authority, work within the rules and know the difference between right and wrong. Early learning opportunities help instill the qualities that make better citizens, better workers and better candidates for uniformed service,” General Collins said. “We ask that Mississippi’s elected leaders consider this as they make decisions that will determine the future security of our nation and the future of our children.”

The retired generals called on Mississippi legislators and Governor Barbour to make new investments in early learning by providing state funding for high-quality early childhood education and care for children birth to age five.

Visit www.missionreadiness.org to read the report “Young Mississippians: Ready, Willing and Unable to Serve” and learn more about the organization’s members and activities.

Retired General Credits Water Valley For Success

Brigadier General Roger L. Shields (US Army, Ret.), a 1965 graduate of Water Valley High School, was Deputy Commander, Joint Force Headquarters, from August 2002 until his retirement in March of 2007.

General Shields began his military career when he enlisted in the 1st Battalion, 114th Field Artillery, in 1968. He completed Officer Candidate School (OCS), at Fort Benning, Ga., and was commissioned as a second lieutenant, Field Artillery, in 1970.

He served in positions of executive officer, battalion staff officer, battery commander, and S-2 in the 1st Battalion, 114th Field Artillery and 631st Field Artillery Brigade. He subsequently served as brigade S-3 and executive officer and in 1990 was assigned as battalion commander, 1st Battalion, 114th Field Artillery.

In 1992 he was transferred to Headquarters, State Area Command, where he served in various staff assignments until he was appointed Director of Military Personnel in 1995 and Director of Plans, Operations and Training in 1997. He was named Chief of Staff of the Mississippi Army National Guard in 2000.

General Shields credits a portion of his success to his upbringing in Water Valley. “We had great programs, he said. One thing I can say about Water Valley is that we had good Bible schools. We had a great scouting program for kids. Thank goodness I was involved in all of those.”

He referenced the old saying, “It takes a village to raise a child,” while talking about Water Valley. “When I grew up in the 50’s and the 60’s, there couldn’t have been a better village to grow up in.”