Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National SecurityThe U.S. Military’s Recruiting Crisis: Can the All-Volunteer Force Survive?
ByWallace GregsonPublished
2 days ago
I’m not aware of any deliberate surveys, but it seems we endured the traditional cycle of predictions for 2025 without any comments about our All-Volunteer Armed Forces. Perhaps we should have looked at it. Attention is needed.
The U.S. Military’s Biggest Challenge: Recruitment
Our legislators may want to ask about this. It’s not just a military or an executive branch thing. In Article I of the Constitution, Congress is charged “…to provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States.” It is specifically charged with “…the power to raise and support armies … and to provide and maintain a Navy…”
Benign neglect is not a good answer. Legislative prerogatives, once forfeited, do not come back.
All-Volunteer Force: Can We Maintain It?
The best study of the All-Volunteer Force (AVF) is reviewed in a 2023 article in The Atlantic by retired Generals James L. Jones USMC and Arnold Punaro USMC.
It’s a comprehensive analysis of the circumstances leading to the AVF’s birth coupled with compelling financial analysis of what it takes to sustain the force. It should be required reading, because our force is not sustainable in its current form.
https://www.19fortyfive.com/2025/01/the-u-s-militarys-recruiting-crisis-can-the-all-volunteer-force-survive/
