The Real Reason Why the U.S. Military’s All-Volunteer Force Is In Trouble
Opinion by Brandon Temple • Yesterday 9:40 AM
Stuart Scheller took to the pages of RealClearDefense recently to identify a real crisis in America’s military. The all-volunteer force is in great peril, he argued. On that point, Mr. Scheller will find no rebuttal from me—we are indeed at an inflection point and changes within and outside of the military are required.
Scheller’s reasoning seems rooted more in politics than relevant data. What’s more, the conclusions are a projection of his well-documented grievance against Department of Defense (DOD) leadership. I argue the root problem is not so much leadership or politics but the recruiting pool itself. More importantly, this problem predates many of the failures of leadership and so-called “wokeness” that Scheller cites in his editorial.
It is no secret the DOD is struggling to recruit young talent. The DOD missed its recruiting goal in FY22, with the Army having the most trouble and missing its goal by more than 10,000 troops. Scheller suggests the primary reason is political when he asserts that “young Americans are not lazy or stupid.” He argues they can sense hypocrisy. “On the one hand, military leaders preach higher purpose, sense of duty, honor, and other noble virtues. But with the other hand, they rack up long lists of failures and double standards.” He argues the pool of 17–24-year-old men and women are opting out of military service because they distrust military leadership.
What Scheller fails to mention is that 77 percent of that recruiting pool is ineligible for service under current entry standards.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/the-real-reason-why-the-u-s-military-s-all-volunteer-force-is-in-trouble/ar-AA17qRTw?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=95beed4b4d4848e0baf47b4d54c019b8
