GAO Finds Military Has No Plan for Ongoing Recruiting Crisis, the Real Question Is Do They Care?
By streiff | 3:30 PM on April 26, 2023
Military recruitment has hit lows not experienced since the end of the Vietnam War, even as America faces multiple national security challenges around the globe.
A Death Spiral
Defense Data for FY2023 show most military services are sucking swamp water.
Army: 69 percent of its goal
Navy: 60 percent of its goal.
Air Force: 87 percent of its goal.
Marine Corps: 100 percent of its goal.
Space Force: 100 percent of its goal.
This does not mean that, for instance, the Army is at 69 percent of its FY2023 goal. If that were the case with the fiscal year half finished, they’d be, in the words of my First Sergeant, “sh***ing in tall cotton.” The number means that they are at 69 percent of the number they need as of the date of the report to reach 100 percent on their mission by September 30. What you’re seeing is the leading edge of a bloodbath. Keep in mind that the only reason the Army is at 69 percent of its goal is to cut its end-strength from 476,000 in FY 2021 to 445,000 by the end of FY 2023. My colleague Bob Hoge covered the first glimmer of the coming disaster in Military Recruiting Numbers Lowest Since the Vietnam War.
https://redstate.com/streiff/2023/04/26/gao-finds-military-has-no-plan-for-ongoing-recruiting-crisis-the-real-question-is-do-they-care-n737130
