Opinion: The Pentagon’s new recruitment policy is a disaster
Opinion by Owen West, opinion contributor • 18h
Military recruiting is down sharply. More than half of adults under 30 years hold a negative view of the military. White progressives are least likely to volunteer. If the freefall is not arrested, a draft will be necessary.
Equally disturbing, the Department of Defense has undercut its own recruiting base. For 50 years, noncommissioned officers have tirelessly recruited our force, testing fitness and intellect firsthand. Recruiters were empowered to exercise judgment on the other bureaucratic requirements, including a 59-page health order, subject to a final group examination by military doctors inclined to let the determined volunteers serve.
The Pentagon has shifted judgment from our recruiters to an electronic screening system inaptly named “Military Health System Genesis,” instantly shrinking the recruiting pool. Genesis is an invasive magnifying glass that scours the cloud, highlighting doctor visits and prescriptions back to childhood. Understaffed health units — mostly civilians today — must investigate all the red flags. This is the equivalent of ordering a small police force to interrogate every speeding driver. The DoD additionally banned group physicals for fear of body-shaming. Instead of examining a dozen recruits in 15 minutes, doctors now take up to 90 minutes to complete individual interrogations.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/opinion-the-pentagon-s-new-recruitment-policy-is-a-disaster/ar-BB1iPo5P?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=407dfb6493e040b88904caf198084d6e&ei=25
