(Springfield, MO) -- Military recruiters are turning away some young Missourians.  A new report says about three quarters of 17 to 24-year-olds in the U.S. don't qualify for service.

The situation is not as severe in Missouri. The state performs the same or better than nation averages for overweight or obese juveniles; young people who did not graduate high school; and adults on probation, incarcerated or on parole.

However, the report shows the three biggest problems nationwide are in the areas of  fitness, education and criminality.  A local recruiter says he often has to turn willing applicants away.

Rebekah Munday wants to join the military.  She's prepping through JROTC at Nixa High School.

However, most young Americans don't meet military requirements.

"If you can't run a mile how are you going to survive like over in Iraq or Afghanistan carrying a pack on your back," said Munday.

"We find about one in three are qualified to join the Army," said Sgt. Duane West, an Army recruiter in Springfield.

A new report from the non-profit group called 'Mission: Readiness' says about 75-percent of Americans ages 17 to 24 don't qualify for military service.

"When it's your job to find people to join and they're not qualified for it, it's kind of 'back to square one, lets go find someone else,'" said Retired Army Lt. Col. Henry Anton who is the JROTC instructor at Nixa High School.

The report says more than a quarter of young Americans are too overweight to join the military.

"My brother joined the Navy and he was overweight," said Samantha Jackson, a Nixa High School student and member of the JROTC program. "Now that he's finally graduated, he lost 42 pounds in six weeks."

"Right now I have a few kids that can't join because they're having trouble passing the Army's entrance exam," said Sgt. West.

According to the report, one in four young Americans don't have a high school diploma.  That means they often won't have the math and reading skills to enlist -- even if they get a GED.

"You got to have a high school diploma," said Anton.

Sgt. West says he's seen a boost in recruitment in the last few years.

"We've always got people really who do want to advance themselves and are qualified," said Sgt. West.

The authors of the report are trying to draw attention to the issue, to be sure the U.S. will continue to recruit quality service men and women in the future.

The group reports about 490,000 young Missourians don't qualify for the military.  Overall, the state  is doing better than the rest of the country when it comes to eligible military applicants.

The leadership for the "Mission: Readiness" is made up off retired military officials.  They say early education is the best way to keep Americans in school and out of crime.