THE SENATE S.C.R. NO. 39 THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022 STATE OF HAWAII SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO RAISE THE MINIMUM AGE FOR MILITARY COMBAT SERVICE TO TWENTY-ONE YEARS OF AGE.
THE SENATE S.C.R. NO. 39
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII
THE SENATE
S.C.R. NO.
39
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII
SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
URGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO RAISE THE MINIMUM AGE FOR MILITARY COMBAT SERVICE TO TWENTY-ONE YEARS OF AGE.
WHEREAS, young adults are eligible to enlist in the United States Armed Forces at eighteen years of age, or seventeen years of age, with parental permission; and WHEREAS, neuroscience shows that adolescents' brains continue to develop until approximately twenty-five years of age, with the prefrontal cortex developing last; and WHEREAS, the prefrontal cortex is responsible for impulse control, problem solving, and the ability to understand long-term consequences; and WHEREAS, until the prefrontal cortex is fully developed, adolescent brains operate primarily from the amygdala, which is associated with emotion, aggression, and impulsive behavior; and WHEREAS, based on these developmental milestones, adolescent military recruits may not be neurologically equipped or sufficiently experienced to make life-or-death decisions in combat situations; and WHEREAS, new recruits may need additional training to allow them to become quick-thinking leaders in volatile and unexpected situations; and WHEREAS, raising the minimum age for combat eligibility would provide the military services the opportunity to better train young recruits and to prepare them for battlefield realities, including the possibility of injury, capture, or death; and WHEREAS, providing additional training for young recruits would help the military services develop a ready pool of well-prepared, fully-capable, and combat-ready forces; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, the House of Representatives concurring, that the United States Congress is urged to raise the minimum age for military combat service to twenty-one years of age; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, Chairperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and all members of the United States Congress. OFFERED BY: _____________________________ Report Title: Military Service; Minimum Combat Age; Twenty-One
WHEREAS, young adults are eligible to enlist in the United States Armed Forces at eighteen years of age, or seventeen years of age, with parental permission; and
WHEREAS, neuroscience shows that adolescents' brains continue to develop until approximately twenty-five years of age, with the prefrontal cortex developing last; and
WHEREAS, the prefrontal cortex is responsible for impulse control, problem solving, and the ability to understand long-term consequences; and
WHEREAS, until the prefrontal cortex is fully developed, adolescent brains operate primarily from the amygdala, which is associated with emotion, aggression, and impulsive behavior; and
WHEREAS, based on these developmental milestones, adolescent military recruits may not be neurologically equipped or sufficiently experienced to make life-or-death decisions in combat situations; and
WHEREAS, new recruits may need additional training to allow them to become quick-thinking leaders in volatile and unexpected situations; and
WHEREAS, raising the minimum age for combat eligibility would provide the military services the opportunity to better train young recruits and to prepare them for battlefield realities, including the possibility of injury, capture, or death; and
WHEREAS, providing additional training for young recruits would help the military services develop a ready pool of well-prepared, fully-capable, and combat-ready forces; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, the House of Representatives concurring, that the United States Congress is urged to raise the minimum age for military combat service to twenty-one years of age; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, Chairperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and all members of the United States Congress.
OFFERED BY: _____________________________
OFFERED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
Military Service; Minimum Combat Age; Twenty-One