A lot of articles about the military recruitment crisis since the Wall Street Journal’s article, The Military Recruiting Crisis: Even Veterans Don’t Want Their Families to Join. Some of these articles blame everything including the kitchen sink but fail to face the big elephant in the room: the woke ideology infecting the military and the questionable ethics of the government who push this and demonize anyone not going along with their amoral agenda.
Here are some of the articles on the recruitment problem:
On “The First”, Jesse Kelley talks with Sean Parnell, host of the Battleground Podcast and a former veteran like Jesse. Despite their service, both have discouraged their sons from following in their footsteps, which Parnell says is having a massive effect on recruitment numbers. The continued degradation of quality and woke indoctrination has made the military almost unrecognizable from what it once was.
Watch the video here (9:44)
Can Military Recruiting be Fixed? (Town Hall, 1 JUL 23)
By Tom Kilgannon, President of Freedom Alliance, a nonprofit organization that provides support to America’s military families and advocates for a strong national defense.
. . . . In theory, the necessary components for a successful all-volunteer force are few and simple: First, our leaders must create and manage a military that young Americans are eager to join. Second, our nation must produce adequate numbers of young Americans that are qualified to enlist. Sadly, we are failing on both counts.
Since 2018, the public’s esteem for the military has plummeted according to the Reagan National Defense Survey. In that time, the percentage of Americans who say they have a great deal of trust and confidence in the armed forces has gone from 70 percent to just 48 percent. The contributing factor most cited is an overly politicized military leadership.
Today’s leaders have damaged the military brand by promoting woke nonsense. The policies they’ve embraced damage the esprit de corps which results from a common pursuit of excellence and achievement. They also confiscate limited training hours that are needed to teach troops how to stay alive.
Secretary Lloyd Austin, in particular, impugned the integrity of his troops and damaged his own institution’s reputation, when he issued a memo on “Extremism in the Ranks.” It blamed his troops for widespread “corrosive behaviors” and “discrimination, hate, and harassment,” among other slurs. His accusations have twice been debunked by his own DoD and the Rand Corporation, but he has yet to apologize.
They demoralized veterans of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) by allowing 20 years of sacrifice in Afghanistan to end in tragedy. Those GWOT veterans are now advising their own children on whether or not they should enlist and continue the family tradition. Many are opting not to. Military leaders callously tossed 8,000 troops from the ranks because of their deeply held concerns about the Covid vaccine. . . . (read more)
Mentions everything but the big elephant standing in the room.
US Military Recruitment Crisis: Is National Security at Risk? (SOFREP, 2 JUL 23)
Lives in a DC national security elite bubble that doesn’t get/doesn’t see what is really going on and why:
US Military’s Recruiting Woes Are a National-Security Crisis (Bloomberg/Military.com, 4 JUL 23)
By Admiral James Stavridis, ret USN, former supreme allied commander of NATO
. . . . Additionally, the right-wing media hypes and decries the supposedly “woke” activities of the armed forces. Many critics on the left characterized the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan as imperialistic misadventures. Neither of those narratives is accurate, but they have a discouraging effect on recruiting.
Finally, the growing sense of political division across the nation is diminishing the young person’s faith in America. This may be the most disturbing factor of all, and the one that ultimately defeats the all-volunteer force. The respect for the military overall, still atop the list of the country’s institutions, has been dropping sharply. Fewer than half of Americans now say they “trust” the armed forces, down from 70% just five years ago. . . .
Summarizes other articles, but never mentions the political woke agenda
Can the military solve its recruiting crisis? (The Week, 3 JUL 23)
Actor Gary Sinese addresses current US military recruiting crisis: Afghanistan withdrawal was ‘harmful’ (Fox News, 2 JUL 23)
Actor and humanitarian Gary Sinise said the Biden administration’s catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan is one of the many reasons behind the U.S. military’s recruiting problem that’s left some branches barely able to meet their goals while others are coming up short.
The Army and the National Guard are thousands of soldiers below their goals, Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade said Saturday, citing numbers from The Associated Press. The Air Force and Navy, meanwhile, met 10% of their goals while the Marine Corps came in at 30% of its own.
“[There] could be multiple reasons,” Sinise said of the recruiting crisis. “I know what happened in Afghanistan was very eye-opening. That wasn’t helpful at all… [it was] very difficult on many, many veterans who had served there multiple times over the last 20 years. I think that was harmful.” . . .
What People Are Saying
(Comments on the article)
“I try and dissuade kids from joining the woke clown show the military is today. It’s not worth it to put your life on the line for a country that hates you for doing it. They can pound sand.”
“Imagine having to ship your daughters and sons off to die in a war created by a socialist or communist government, it is earth shattering to know your children will die for a government that hates you and wants you to do nothing but sacrifice for the sake of a totalitarian government. Now you have a small idea of how most American loving citizens feel about the democrat party.”
“Why would anyone join the military with the commander in chief that this country unfortunately has.”
“I respect his opinion, but as a veteran from a military family, and my first son serving 8 years including an Afghanistan tour, the botched pullout hurt, but was not what influenced the conversations I have had with my 23 and 16 year old sons (19yo daughter engaged to a crayon eater, but hey), this conversations were real about the direction of our military and the risks to their future by being a part of it. There is no higher calling than serving our country, but not at the price of their mental health and futures in case they say the wrong thing. No, they are better off performing civil service than joining the military. I hope one day that changes.”
“The Afghanistan Cut & Run was harmful. But the real reason recruiting is in the toilet is that most people eligible to serve, have no confidence in Biden, Austin and the Generals in charge of the services, caused by their total absence of leadership.”
“I come from a military family — my Navy older son has been telling my younger son to please not join, as he had hoped to, because of this horrific mess of Biden’s making.”
“I would advise any young man to not join the Military under its current leadership both civilian and otherwise.”
“I am proud to have served during the Korean war and am a combat vet. There’s no way I’d sign up to serve under the likes of this administration.”
“An absolute lack of trust and faith in the entire chain of command is why this family will not recommend anyone continue our tradition of service. 7 members of my immediate family in the USMC since 1962, no longer.”
“Alienating the best and most patriotic young people with Wokeness” and incompetence, coupled with spineless General officers who are willing to sacrifice the good of the service in favor of their own personal professional ambition, by supporting a corrosive progressive agenda where liberals who never served use the Armed forced as a petri dich for their social experimentation – THAT is “harmful.”
“I think the push for DEI is a bigger factor. No one wants to be forced to accept the insane. The military says you have to accept the soldier next to you who looks like Klinger from MASH, even if goes against everything you believe in and stand for.”
“Forced vaccinations and forced experimental medicines (i.e. Covid “vaccine”) are having the most impact on deterring younger people from signing up. NOBODY wants to have their medical right to choose taken away…especially by a government agency – Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard. And the idea that you can be dishonorably discharged for saying NO to them putting highly experimental drugs into your body is a DEAL BREAKER for many.”
Evidence that the DEI/CRT agenda in the military DOES hurt recruiting and retention
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