My DS is currently at NROTC NSI Session 2 at Great Lakes. For the uninformed, NSI is New Student Indoctrination. It's a brand new program (1st year) where they send all NROTC kids to a 3 week indoc at the Great Lakes training facility.
As a salty KP grad who went through my own indoc 33 years ago and also was an officer at indoc for the Class of 1993 (damn I'm old), I tried to impart some wisdom to my boy as he shipped out. Tales of "walking the gauntlet" outside Delano Hall and Plebe Beats where the pushers seemed to crank up the temperature in the barracks, kids were passing out, and I tried to dissolve into the the wall or sang the fight song and the alma mater in the hopes that I would be ignored. Now as far as attrition rate at KP when I was there, there was no way it was 1% or 2%. In my company alone, we lost an entire room over a 2 day period just in my end of the hall. I know we lost at least 8 to 10 kids during those 2 weeks. Kids would go to the infirmary and never come back. I dont think they left on medical. They may have gone there initially for a twisted ankle or headache, but thats not why they left. It's not for everyone. I remember people crying at the payphones during our 5 minute call home. Some of them stayed and some didnt. I dont think the Class of 23 is in any different shape physically than any preceding class. We had kids who showed up totally out of shape in my class and the Class of 93 had its share of kids who were no where near being in the shape they should have been in. I'm sure the percentage of out of shape kids this year is probably no different than it's been over the past 30-40 years. Does it make it easier to get through indoc if you are in shape? 100%. If you are terrified to go to PT because you can't run a mile or do pushups, you are just adding additional stress to yourself. Indoc is stressful enough that you don't need to add more pressure, so I think kids in shape may be less likely to drop on request.
I believe the reported attrition rate at USNA was less than 1% last year. They started with approximately 1300 plebes and lost 10 from indoc. I had no idea it was that low. I was pretty shocked when I read that. If KP is putting out statistics that their attrition is normally between 1%-2%, then maybe that's what it is now. Maybe indoc has changed or they are getting kids who are more prepared mentally. They have the numbers, I don't.
Stay safe and smooth sailing!