Opinion: Don’t saddle the military with an irrelevant climate mission
In a well-intentioned and idealistic op-ed published last week, a promising high school student argued that if combatting climate change were added to the U.S. military’s mission set, our armed forces would be more attractive to the author’s generation, which could reverse current recruiting shortfalls.
Respectfully, I feel obligated to put forward a counterpoint that draws on my extensive experience with this topic.
First and foremost, we must identify and address the root causes of the Department of Defense’s recruiting crisis. At the top of the list is declining eligibility. A 2022 study from the Pentagon showed that 77 percent of young Americans would not qualify for military service without a waiver due to being overweight, having a criminal record, or suffering from mental and physical health problems. These issues are beyond the scope of this op-ed, but options are being explored.
Another factor is that fewer young people are willing to serve in the first place. While the author’s proposed solution attempts to address this issue, there could not be a worse time for our armed forces to add extraneous responsibilities to their primary mission of deterring conflict and winning wars when deterrence is unsuccessful.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/opinion-don-t-saddle-the-military-with-an-irrelevant-climate-mission/ar-AA1pjROr?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=HCTS&cvid=687bd376dd65499aa98e4a85de615c7e&ei=20
