Reinstate The Draft? An Alternative To The Military Recruitment Crisis
ByJason Wingard, Senior Contributor.
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Feb 17, 2025, 09:44am EST
Would reinstating the draft be the only way for American leadership to maintain military readiness in an era of declining enlistment?
How does America’s recruitment crisis threaten national security?
Could a reimagined approach to military service address both the armed force’s personnel shortages and the workforce skills gap challenges?
Recent data underscores the severity of the U.S. military’s recruitment challenges. In fiscal year 2023, the military services collectively fell short of their recruiting goals by more than 41,000 recruits. Ashish Vazirani, acting undersecretary for personnel and readiness at the Pentagon, acknowledged that this shortfall “understates the challenge before us”--especially since recruitment targets have already been lowered in response to a difficult environment for attracting talent.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonwingard/2025/02/17/should-the-draft-return-how-to-solve-the-military-recruitment-crisis/