The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) have explained why they do not recruit short people into the military.
Speaking during JK Live on Citizen TV, Vice Chief of Defence Forces Lt Gen Jonah Mwangi explained why the KDF doesn’t admit recruits below five feet into the military.
Lt Gen Mwangi explained that recruits must meet the five-foot requirement for female recruits and five feet, three inches (5’3) for male recruits.
“If you come in shorter than 5 feet, there’s a probability that you’ll not attain the required weight,” said the vice CDF.
He further explained that the height requirement served to ensure the future soldiers were efficient fighting machines.
The vice CDF explained that soldiers less than five feet tall would struggle to handle the weapons efficiently.
He explained that the personal weapons KDF soldiers use are almost four feet long, saying soldiers shorter than five feet would have trouble handling them.
“So you can imagine a soldier going to fight, and the weapon is taller than them.”
“And also, if a recruit is less than 50 kg, during training as you begin, you’ll be required to carry weights between 18 and 25 kg.” So that will be half your weight, or almost 75% of your weight.”
“As the training advances and you move towards graduation, you’ll be required to carry even heavier loads that can be from 25 to 45 kg.”
Lt Gen Jonah Mwangi on why they don’t recruit short people to the KDF #JKLive @KoinangeJeff pic.twitter.com/RKX4ZOFD9d
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) August 16, 2023
In a past report, we reported on why the KDF insists on recruits having strong teeth.
It follows that soldiers can be deployed in areas where they may be forced to survive on near-dry rations for weeks, if not months, and this requires someone with a strong set of teeth.
Also, discoloured teeth that are not due to poor dental hygiene could indicate fluorosis and weak bones.
READ ALSO: KDF ranks and salaries: All you need to know
In the same vein, if push comes to shove and the soldier is in danger, they can use their teeth as a weapon.
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