An op-ed was written on Fox News by a Washington intelligence insider and a marketing academic, both of whom never served in the military. They list six ways to increase recruitment in the US Army. Yet they completely miss a major reason why recruitment is down, and people commenting on the article let them know.
6 ways the Army can appeal to Gen Zers and recruit more than a few good men and women (Fox News Op-Ed by Gregory Treverton and David Sprott, 29 DEC 22)
Army needs to change recruitment to overcome declining interest in military careers
The U.S. Army fell short of its enlisted recruiting goals for 2022 by 25%. A hot job market was the proximate cause, but the crisis has been years in the making. It reflects a confluence of obesity, lack of high school diplomas and accelerated mental health crises among youth. So, too, while the all-volunteer force (AVF) has been a great success on many counts, it has separated the military from wider society, leaving declining interest in military service and the Army recruiting from a smaller and smaller pool of military families. There are changes that the Army can make to address the negative long-term trends. . . . .
What The People Are Saying
Among the comments to this article:
“As a Veteran I discouraged my son from taking a military route. Not because of my personal experiences with combat but because of the things I hear about today’s military, not only from those currently serving but those recently discharged. The whole new ideology that that military has adopted these last two years is the issue.”
“The author left one HUGE thing out. Any young person who is paying attention will be reticent to serve this president. Police recruitment is problematic as well, since candidates have good reason to doubt that (leftist) politicians will stand behind them. I personally know several military members who have left the service due to their distrust for Biden. Likewise, I know experienced police officers who have retired early, as they are unwilling to have themselves thrown under the bus by their political bosses.”
“I’m a fifth generation veteran. My great great grandfather fought for the Union in the Civil War. I convinced my son not to join. He’s making a six digit income as a chemical engineer now. My family will no longer serve in the future.”
“I’m a retired Army engineer, still work for the Army as a civilian and I can tell you that I would not recommend it. The officer corps is now more worried about getting in trouble with all the gender issues and having to deal with a bunch of spoiled children as Soldiers.”
“Families with two to three generations of military service are telling their children to not join. It’s not the military they knew.”
“I tell any kid that signing up is simply not worth it. It used to be patriotism, love of country, honor and duty. Now the military is squishy woke and a grand social experiment for the Dems.”
“I joined veterans at a university to tell interested parties that the military should only be their fallback option. We all got to talking about our military families and someone asked how we can be proud of that while giving them the impression that it wasn’t for them. I think I had the best answer: “What makes a profession great is not how much money it makes, but how much professionalism it can instill. Where you are sitting, you see your potential to be a warrior, and we know it is only your potential to be indoctrinated right now”.”
“I am third generation military, and my beloved Marine Corps has been destroyed. I do NOT want my sons serving, they both dropped out of scouting when they were required to obtain woke merit badges just prior to Eagle Scout rank. Liberals destroy every think they touch.”
“Despite my 35 years of service, I would not encourage anyone to join the service under the leadership put in place by this regime. They will not support the troops or appreciate the sacrifices those troops make following the foolish demands of their woke leaders. Who wants to be constantly told they have to step aside and watch others get promoted because of diversity, not merit?”
“Turn the military back away from being woke; recruiting levels will return.”
“The authors of this article (who by the way appear to have zero military service experience), left out the most important factor in recruiting volunteers—BE an organization of clear, consistent excellence and priorities, not one with dispersed, political, and rapidly changing priorities. The military of excellence in past decades attracted volunteers who wanted to be part of that excellence.”
“I spent 30 years in the Infantry and seeing what has happened to the Army and the military in general I have told my grandson do NOT go in the military. It has gone from a war fighting organization to a woke, feel good at all cost, give me what I want civilian organization.”
“I am a vet, enjoyed my time in when it was a professional military combat force and discouraged both my sons from enlisting into the new woke military and any of their friends. It is no longer a professional fighting force, it’s current purpose is indoctrination into the woke agenda.
“They missed the giant elephant in the room, that being the woke culture and leftist indoctrination taking place. Instead of focusing on excellence and warfighting capabilities, they’re more interested in the diversity, equity and inclusion nonsense. The sad part is that the biggest advocates they used to have for military service, those of us who spent an entire career in uniform, are no longer advocates. None of the fellow retirees who I know recommend military service anymore.”
“As an Army retiree/Vietnam Veteran, so far I have talked all of my eligible grandchildren out of joining the military. All services have changed dramatically for the worse. (5 of my children served).”
“In an economy like this one, recruitment should be up. The one recommendation I would make is very simple, get rid of the woke training. That’s all they have to do. People like myself, retired Navy vet are encouraging others not to join under the current depraved administration. Seems woke training has supplanted military ops training which will put people at risk in the battlefield. They are using the military as their grand social experiment rather then protecting our country against current threats.”
“23 years, retired combat engineer officer. Have actively discouraged my family from considering todays military as a career choice. Breaks my heart.”
“My family had a long history of military service and patriotism which influenced me at the time. I can’t think of a single veteran whom I know or associate with who will encourage or support someone in enlisting for this new “woke military” nonsense. I have 3 adult children and 6 grandkids, none of which will be going into the military under this present failed administration.”
“Five generations of Naval Service, I think we have seen the last of encouraging the tradition.”
“I have 22 years active service, and I would discourage anyone from serving under this Administration. Their priorities are all backwards. Instead of building a cohesive professional fighting force, they are emphasizing diversity and wokeness. There is no color in the Army but green, and they should be brothers and sisters in arms.”
“What did I just read? I’ll tell you why in a few simple reasons: Social engineering, equity, demoralization, unscientific mandates, and a distrust of the Democrats and the DoD brass is why.”
“I did 20 in the Air Force, ’84 to ’04, and I could not in all honesty recommend today’s woke military as a career to any kid today.”
“When the Army reverts to being a war fighting organization instead of a social experiment organization it will meet its recruiting goals.”
“Two years ago after a year in college and not quite knowing what he really wanted my son was considering the military. His grandfather a 20+ year Navy vet told him not to do it and I couldn’t really recommend it either. I worked 30+ years for the AF as a civilian. It was generally a good experience but you could see the changing environment getting more woke. I told him I’d support his decision either way and recommended the Air Force as the best. He decided against it. If you can’t convince people who’ve been around the military their whole lives it’s got to be hard getting others to consider it.”
“I come from a family with extensive military service and no one is encouraging our young ones to join. Not even up for discussion.”
“I would never enlist as long as the government is composed of socialists and woke leftists intent on destroying the country from within. What would be the point? The US used to fight Marxists, now it is governed by them.”
“It is hard to recruit people to be willing to pay the ultimate price when they have been indoctrinated to HATE their Country!”
“Grandfather, WWI; Father, WWII; ME, Vietnam Era volunteer, Son, retired USCG. Now? Our family is done.”
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