Pentagon Recruitment Struggling as Iraq, Afghan War Vets Warn Youth Against Service

The US military has struggled to fill its ranks in recent years amid a series of cultural shifts in American society, including “anything goes” social attitudes and fewer children growing up with veteran parents, a former Pentagon analyst told Sputnik. In addition, the military’s image has suffered major damage.

The Pentagon’s recruitment chiefs told federal lawmakers recently that the US military is struggling to meet its recruiting goals, warning the news is part of an ongoing trend in US society from young adults being “disconnected with the military to mostly disinterested with it.”

Of the military’s five service branches, only the US Marine Corps and US Space Force, the two smallest branches, met their recruiting goals in the previous fiscal year that ended in September - the Army, Navy, and Air Force all failed to do so.

"This recruiting crisis certainly did not appear overnight and cannot be repaired overnight," Army Maj. Gen. Johnny K. Davis, commanding general of the Army Recruiting Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

According to Davis, the US Army was short by 55,000 active-duty soldiers and 60,000 reservists during fiscal year 2024. However, the recruiting chief said, "We will not lower standards, we will not sacrifice quality for the sake of quantity.”

For the US Air Force, it was the first time in 24 years the service had failed to meet its recruiting goals. USAF Brig. Gen. Christopher R. Amrhein, commander of the Air Force Recruiting Service, told lawmakers that fewer young Americans are willing to serve in the armed forces.

"We've seen a steady decline in the military even being an option for our youth as they contemplate the future, with propensity dropping from 13% four years ago to 10%."

Amrhein noted that just 12% of US youth have a parent who served in the military, compared to 40% in 1995, telling lawmakers the “youth market” of potential recruits had "transitioned from being disconnected with the military to mostly disinterested with it.”

"Reconnecting with our youth and breaking down unnecessary barriers to serve in our Air Force and Space Force is our priority over the next several years,” Amrhein said.

Karen Kwiatkowski, a retired US Air Force Lt. Col. and former analyst for the US Department of Defense, told Sputnik on Monday that the Pentagon recruitment chiefs “left out the existence of ‘negative’ influencers – those who have served in the various theaters of US war and who are recommending against it to the younger generation.”

Noting that the size of American families has not changed in half a century, she noted the death rate for younger Americans has shifted “mainly due to drug overdose and suicide. There just are not enough ‘extra’ people motivated to volunteer. Obviously, employment rates are a factor, and people will serve the military if they cannot find any work, but our social welfare evolution in the US tends to buffer the need and desire for a military job.”

“Lastly, the military requires physical activity, taking orders, operating on a strict schedule, and going places that may not be fun. These factors, along with the idea of serving your country, are not as attractive to young people inundated with entertainment and fun,” she added.

“Our ‘anything goes’ narcissistic culture, DEI and wokeness, glorifying the overweight and coddling our addicts – none of this reflects well on our military image.”

Kwiatkowski explained that the Pentagon’s response to the youth recruitment crisis - turning to social media campaigns and pressuring politicians to “talk it up” to their constituents - is wasting the military’s best resource: recruiters.

“The best PR is going to be honest PR, and that’s a long road back for both active duty and Guard/Reserve because so many people, especially Guard and Reserve, were told they would serve their communities, and then got shipped off to the Middle East for up to a year. It is true that ‘what a recruiter tells you and what actually happens when you enlist’ has been a running joke throughout history.”

“Iraq, Afghanistan, the growth of drone warfare, and the general decay of the US military and its major older weapons systems – all of these things make serving in the military viewed more as a chore than an opportunity. Our target recruits do not remember 9/11.”

“If you look at where recruitment is not a problem it is in the Marines, and also special forces have little problem finding people who want to join them. The selling point of a volunteer military is that you are joining a team and going to be part of something special. That is missing for the major services. The ‘best of the best’ is always attractive – and that message is unbelieved by most people in the country, the young and also the older people who remember a prouder time for our country.”

“The recruitment problem could be reversed rapidly if a major attack on the US were to occur, or if an economic disaster resulted in Washington moving to a draft or even a martial law kind of situation. Of course, a draft and patriotic young people becoming members of the federal military bring with it its own problems for the existing leadership structure,” she observed.

“President Trump several years ago stopped or slowed existing programs to trade citizenship for members and their families for enlistment; Biden has restored the practice with his executive order Executive Order 14012, Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans. Note that the title includes the phrase ‘restoring faith.’ Immigrants, and citizens alike, have become wary of participating in government programs when policies can change overnight and be reversed.”