US Army mired in recruitment crisis

At the end of the Vietnam War, in 1973, conscription was abolished to avoid the negative publicity that the high death toll for an American lost cause had generated, reported The Spectator. “It almost seems as if the last twenty years of failed wars and thousands of wounded warriors have made would-be recruits reconsider their life choices,” it noted.

NBC reported in June that all branches of the military were missing their recruitment targets for this year. According to the Heritage Foundation ‘s Lieutenant General Thomas Spoehr, because of this, “the sustainability of the volunteer army is being called into question”.

The US military has only met 40 percent of its recruitment target for the tax year ending September 30. The reasons are lack of suitability, Covid restrictions, competition from a thriving civilian job market and no desire to serve.

Throwing unprecedented amounts of money at the problem of up to $50 000 for recruiting and remaining in the force, have not solved it either. Moreover, the Biden administration’s Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine, appears to be heightening the crisis.

Biden Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine: We need to “empower” kids to go on puberty blockers and get sex reassignment surgery. pic.twitter.com/CRPRaFYtzK

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 18, 2022

According to Army Chief of Staff General James McConville, only 23 percent of Americans ages seventeen to twenty-four are fit to serve without a special permit because of obesity, drug use or a criminal record. And the number of those who are fit to serve, is shrinking every year.

An internal Department of Defense survey cited by NBC, revealed that only 9 percent of those eligible are interested in serving in the Army. Of those surveyed, half said they would face physical problems and 57 percent said they would face emotional or psychological problems.

In 1991 a survey showed that when asked “How proud are you to be an American?” 96 percent said they were “very proud” or “fairly proud”. Gallup’s recent annual survey found that only 65 percent were “extremely proud” or “very proud.”

Pride in being American was significantly higher among men, Republican voters and those over 55 without a college degree. There has also been a geographic divide: In 2013, 44 percent of all military recruits came from the South.

Georgia and Florida topped recruitment ratios, while the Northeast, with the exception of Maine, lagged far behind. Racially, however, recruits mirrored the overall distribution of ethnicity in the United States. And notably, in 2019, 79 percent of Army recruits had a family member who had served.

Rod Dreher of the American Conservative therefore offered at least one reason for the recruiting crisis: “Why exactly should non-woke veterans encourage their sons and daughters to put their lives on the line to serve an institution that will train them to hold their family traditions and moral and religious convictions in contempt?”

The shortage of recruits will eventually force a reduction in troop levels and therefore military spending. In March the Army announced that instead of adding 70 000 troops, it would shrink by 12 000.