Social Military having Recruitment Woes

Lord Coke

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How does America fight the next war? Do we have to bring back the draft? This excerpt is likely the most troubling issue.


A modest recruiting bump from snappy ads the service ran before screenings of “Top Gun: Maverick” helped a bit, he said. But the general pointed to larger, longer-term concerns about the shrinking pool of young Americans who are both able and willing to serve. In recent years, the Pentagon has found that about 76 percent of adults ages 17 to 24 are either too obese to qualify or have other medical issues or criminal histories that would make them ineligible to serve without a waiver.

And what the military calls propensity — the share of young adults who would consider serving — has fallen steadily for several years. It stood at 13 percent before the pandemic began, General Thomas said, but is now 9 percent.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/14/us/us-military-recruiting-enlistment.html

These are tough times for military recruiting. Almost across the board, the armed forces are experiencing large shortfalls in enlistments this year — a deficit of thousands of entry-level troops that is on pace to be worse than any since just after the Vietnam War. It threatens to throw a wrench into the military’s machinery, leaving critical jobs unfilled and some platoons with too few people to function.

Covid-19 is part of the problem. Lockdowns during the pandemic have limited recruiters’ ability to forge bonds face to face with prospects. And the military’s vaccine mandate has kept some would-be troops away.


The current white-hot labor market, with many more jobs available than people to fill them, is also a factor, as rising civilian wages and benefits make military service less enticing.

But longer-term demographic trends are also taking a toll. Less than a quarter of young American adults are physically fit to enlist and have no disqualifying criminal record, a proportion that has shrunk steadily in recent years. And shifting attitudes toward military service mean that now only about one in 10 young people say they would even consider it.


To try to counter those forces, the military has pushed enlistment bonuses as high as $50,000, and is offering “quick ship” cash of up to $35,000 for certain recruits who can leave for basic training in 30 days. To broaden the recruiting pool, the service branches have loosened their restrictions on neck tattoos and other standards. In June, the Army even briefly dropped its requirement for a high school diploma, before deciding that was a bad move and rescinding the change.


The Army is the largest of the armed forces, and the recruiting shortfall is hitting it the hardest. As of late June, it had recruited only about 40 percent of the roughly 57,000 new soldiers it wants to put in boots by Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.



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I would guess the bigger problem is a loss in faith in the government to wield the military appropriately. Lots of people don't want to die for some politician's pet cause that has no bearing on the US' safety or its core principles in any true sense.
 
I would guess the bigger problem is a loss in faith in the government to wield the military appropriately. Lots of people don't want to die for some politician's pet cause that has no bearing on the US' safety or its core principles in any true sense.
Truth. Don't discount the questionable priorities of military command these days or their willingness to interject themselves into politics.
 
I find this very interesting.
The Marine Corps and Air Force aren't having problems filling slots, it's mainly the Army and the Navy.
From what I understand, the SEALS are getting the bodies to fill their slots also.

Bry
 
I find this very interesting.
The Marine Corps and Air Force aren't having problems filling slots, it's mainly the Army and the Navy.
From what I understand, the SEALS are getting the bodies to fill their slots also.

Bry

Marine Corps is a much smaller force. It is something like a 5th the size of the Army. The Marine Corps can be more selective and fill its numbers. Air Force is smaller to but the Air Force mostly fills its numbers because it is the best service to pick up a skill set for a career and offers the most money its also the easiest and has by far the most women per capita
 
The Army could pay more and take care of their veterans. Stop bitching about problems they make themselves.

I'm an Iraq war veteran and the VA has been awesome to me and anybody that I've know that has also served that has requested their service. I don't claim disability, but I have great healthcare and a VA home loan. They even payed $1450 to have my SUV fixed when I was living paycheck to paycheck and couldn't afford it. The avenues are there as long as you get off your ass and make it happen.
 
There's been a lot of sabre rattling in regards to Russia and China in the past year.

Has that impacted recruiting?
 
Does the GI bill even cover a bachelor’s degree fully?
They'll cover most of it, but not all.

My old boss was an army ranger (actual 75th Regiment). He fucked up his shoulders during his service and VA refused to pay for his care saying it wasn't occupational. Good thing he had a great paying consultant gig to actually pay for surgeries and medications. You can guess how supportive he is when people ask him about joining the military.

If Uncle Sam constantly fucks current or retire members of the military, why would people want to join? Nobody gets a job so they can get shit on.
 
Who knew that a nation of fatasses would have trouble finding suitable recruits?
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