Mon, 06/03/2024 - 2:21pm
Reflections on America’s Military Recruiting Crisis: A View from the Edge
By al Dhobaba
I spent the penultimate week of May in Connecticut, celebrating my nephew's graduation from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. As I participated in the traditional fanfare, I found myself reflecting on the military's ongoing struggle to recruit enough young people to keep the mandated ranks full. In a 2022 social media post, an anonymous Army recruiter wrote:
"I'd like to summarize recruiting in the Summer of 2022. Today we approached a man in a full duck costume flipping a car wash sign in 96-degree heat. We offered him $35k and a job. He told us to bleep off. I think I am going to get a cheap bottle of liquor, find a park bench and contemplate life."
Save for the Marine Corps, force strength risks falling short of the capacity required to perform critical missions in the service of America's strategic goals. The Pentagon has conjured up a variety of excuses for the on-going shortfall, and implemented measures – particularly aimed at boosting retention – to address the crisis.
Normally, my inclination would be to write in a neutral fashion, omitting myself from the narrative. However, in this case, I think my own experience is actually demonstrative of the root causes of this predicament. Please, indulge me.
https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/reflections-americas-military-recruiting-crisis-view-edge
