The military's real problem: Fewer Americans are joining

Politico ^ | December 15, 2015 | John Spencer

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When President Barack Obama announced that women would be eligible for combat roles in the military earlier this month, he stated “our armed forces have taken another historic step toward harnessing the talents and skills of all our citizens.” Secretary of Defense Ash Carter echoed those thoughts: “Our force of the future must continue to benefit from the best people America has to offer … in the 21st century, that includes drawing strength from the broadest possible pool of people.”

This change is going to help the military in any number of ways: It’s a step toward greater fairness, and it makes a new talent pool available to combat positions. But before we get too complacent, the Army has another challenge in front of it that opening the door to women is just one small step toward solving: It is understaffed for the challenges it faces, and faces an even bigger recruiting struggle ahead.

[Night Hides Not]

Well, let’s see why they’re not joining:

One reason is enough for me, to not volunteer my kids:

The breakdown in the chain of command, and the rules of engagement they force our soldiers to follow. OK, that's two.