Not a Recruiting Crisis, But a Cultural One

Much has been written recently about the failure of the U.S. Army to meet its recruiting goals over the past few months.

Even the active Army, which had been able to achieve its goals earlier in the fiscal year, has fallen short in the past four months. As almost anyone with any interest in the news already knows, the reserve components (Army Reserve and Army National Guard specifically), have been especially hard hit by the recruiting drought, with the Guard being almost one-third off its fiscal-year-to-date goal.

There have also been some well-publicized stories about a few overworked and stressed-out recruiters engaging in unscrupulous methods to try and make their monthly goals. In fact, the recruiting picture has become such a problem for the Pentagon, that last week officials took the unprecedented step of prohibiting the individual services from releasing their monthly recruiting figures to the press. From now on, DoD itself will release all military recruiting information directly to the media.

Well, I will let you be the judge of that. In my opinion, there is not. No, what I see is actually a much deeper problem with our current American culture. There is no longer any shred of a feeling of commitment to country in the U.S. today by the vast majority of Americans of all ages.

Very few people feel that they owe anything at all to society at large for the right and privilege of being an American. In fact, when I mentioned that very concept on a radio talk show a few days ago, I was called a "dinosaur." The caller may have been right, because I see all around me aging "dinosaurs" like myself, veterans of current and past conflicts, growing old and dying out in large numbers, without the need for a cataclysmic meteor strike.

In fact, ask any military recruiter who was serving in the days and weeks following 9/11 and they will tell you that the majority of candidates knocking on their door wanting to enlist were not the 18-to-21-year-old crowd. No, it was older veterans like me who wanted to do whatever we could for our country after it had just been attacked.

I thought then, and I still feel today, that was the telltale sign to me of what this current younger generation is made of. If you are an able-bodied young person and you can't muster up enough motivation to raise your right hand when your country is literally under the gun, then you have no right to call yourself an American. I may take some flack for saying that, but I stand by it 100 percent.

I wrote an article in DefenseWatch in March 2004 headlined, "The Military-Civilian Divide Wider Than Ever," which talked about the disconnect between the average American and the troops fighting the War on Terrorism – or any service member, actually. My thesis then and now, is that nine out of 10 people whom you meet on the street have never served in the military and do not know anyone who has ever served in the military.

We are being protected by an ever-dwindling pool of patriots willing to put their lives on the line to insure that the rest of us can shop till we drop.

Add to that mix the current generation of parents (my generation) of military-age young people, many of who lived through and protested against the Vietnam War and who are against any military action, ever, and you have a recipe for a failed All-Volunteer Army. Some of these parents also harbor a deeply rooted hatred of the military in general, so any attempt at a rational discussion about military service is fruitless. I know. I've tried many times without success. Woodstock Nation is alive and well in more communities than you might believe.

Parents have now formed several new anti-war, anti-military associations. The focus of many of these groups is to prevent recruiters from entering schools or other places where their children congregate in order to stop the recruiters from speaking to them about military service. Some of the miscreants have even gone so far as to physically assault recruiters in recent weeks and, in a few instances, have firebombed recruiting stations. Fortunately, no recruiter has been seriously injured to my knowledge, but it is probably just a matter of time before that occurs.

I have to admit that when I saw a photo of an Army recruiter being jeered and taunted as he was being escorted out of a mall by security in the Seattle area a few weeks ago, my blood boiled. How dare they!

Especially in that area, the home to Microsoft and several other mega-corporations that have flourished in this country because of the many selfless acts throughout our history by "war-mongers" like the recruiter they were trying to pummel. It was quite a spectacle: parents yelling and screaming at him, shaking a fist with one hand while they held onto their $4.00 Starbucks latte with the other.

These parents who refuse to speak with their children about service to their country or even let their children consider a military career, all the while complain about a feeling of "always being afraid" of another terrorist attack and that the government is not doing more to protect them. These are the people who believe that we should negotiate with terrorists and pull out of Iraq as fast as possible, regardless of the consequences to Iraqi or American national security. These same parents have no clue as to what we have accomplished in Iraq and Afghanistan, have never bothered to learn who or what we are fighting against, and have spent every free moment over the past six months watching news of the Michael Jackson trial.

When I wrote that piece about the divide in this country between the military and everyone else a little over a year ago, I thought the situation was pretty bad. It was, but now, it's worse. Much worse.

What we are seeing now, I believe, is the beginning of a profound change in the U.S. Army from an American all-volunteer force to a publicly financed mercenary Army, very similar to what the Roman Empire used.

That Roman army consisted of a very small percentage of citizens trained to be warriors who were sent out to fight for the empire in far-flung corners of the world, sometimes in unpopular wars, while the rest of the population stayed home and carried on with their rapidly deteriorating culture as if they were on another planet. No doubt, had they had TV back then, they would have watched their legions battle the barbarians on prime time. Only their lower classes filled the fighting ranks of the Army. Officers came from the upper classes and expected and received special privileges from their government. Lower enlisted routinely paid for the mistakes of their generals and civilian leaders.

DefenseWatch Contributing Editor David DeBatto has resumed writing for us after a brief leave of absence. He is a retired Army staff sergeant and Counterintelligence Special Agent who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom where he was injured in combat. He is the author of a novel based upon his military service, CI: Team Red. He can be reached at dave@davedebatto.com. Send Feedback responses to dwfeedback@yahoo.com.

There's always been an anti-military attitude in "blue" states in the Northeast and West Coast.

But I don't think that explains the current recruiting problem, because these "blue" communities never sent many recruits to the military in the first place.

Something has apparently changed in "red state" America to drive the lower recruiting numbers.

The left wing media does not help the situation either. 1700+ precious American heros have been lost fighting this war that is as important for our survival as any war before it. But if you listen to the media you would think it was as many as were lost at Gettysburg or on D-Day and that they were fighting for Imperial America under the flag of tyrant Bush.

The left is delighted that recruitment is down. They are actually happy. Its sick.

"Something has apparently changed in "red state" America to drive the lower recruiting numbers."

What happened was a "real" war, with real casualties. This is the first real war since they did away with the draft. I always figured this would be a problem.

Of course, I also agree with the author about the general lack of any sense of duty prevalent in our nation today. But I would say it is worse than he puts it. Not only do people not feel a sense of duty to their country, they feel none towards their communities or even their own families. Even their parents, spouses, and children.

What has changed is the world.

We need young men to go into battle. To go into battle to destroy the enemy's will to resist. To flatten his cities, to kill his soldiers. Quickly and efficiently. To do this we need to have the best trained, best equipped and willing soldiers in the world.

Do we ask young me to join the military to kill the enemy, to protect our homeland, to defend our country, to do battle for the rest of us?

No, we ask them to be "All they can be", to join the "Army of One".

We do not elevate the most successful of the military, those who kill the most of our enemy. We decorate and praise those who are the most sensitive to the needs of others, who care.

Folks, this is not about caring, it is about killing. Kill them before they kill you.

We care so much about feelings, we are willing to send women into combat. Women as a group lose to men as a group. PERIOD, there is no argument.

If you want to up recruiting, tell the truth, ask for what you need, then REWARD IT.

The problem with this country is that there is a HUGE culture of entitlement that has emerged post-Vietnam. Too many young to middle aged people think that America should just give them everything and that they don't have to give back jack squat.

Part of the reason that this feeling emerged, I believe, is the controversy with and the subsequent doing away with the draft. Up until Vietnam military service was pretty much mandatory for all males, and women participated in the war effort in other ways. In the WWII era it led to a real sense of national pride. Unfortunately, socialism entered America circa the end of WWII. Out of this came the Beatnik movement, the hippy movement, and it became "chic" to be a pain in the ass to America.

Now, in this day and age we are dealing with the fallout of it. Everyone "supports the troops", but nobody wants to help out by joining them on the front lines.

I don't agree with much that Europe does, but the one thing that I do agree with is that when a young person graduates High School they are required to give two years of service to the government. If they can't serve in the military then they have to perform some other form of public service. America needs that to crush this culture of entitlement. People actually believe that they are serving America by working on some politician's election campaign. It's gotten ridiculous.

"If you reinstitute the draft, the other half of the redemopublicrat superparty takes power in the very next election cycle. I'm sure you don't like that idea."

If they are really a "redemopublicrat superparty", then why would it make any difference.

"The draft is dead, and I hope its grave remains undisturbed."

Wrong. The "Selective Service Act" has NOT been repealed. Kiddies still have to register with their draft boards on turning eighteen. And, unlike you, I think the draft was and would be a "good thing", as it would pull some of the innocents that would never serve voluntarily "kicking and screamaing" into the real world. I have always been somewhat reticent about the "all-volunteer army", as that sets the stage for a "professional army"---which is what the FF were opposed to. If we can't have a real "militia", where EVERY individual is REQUIRED to get basic military training (my preference above all), then the draft is the next best thing, as it assures a leavening within the military ranks of folks who are NOT interested in making the service a career.

I agree. I would love to serve in the military and I love what they are doing but I know I am not cut out for it physically and maybe mentally too and not everyone is. At 110 pounds and rather short and a girl, I am all brains and no brawn. But now that ive graduated from college, Im taking a job using my education and brains to help our folks in uniform fight war effectively and our policy makers make the best decisions. I know a lot of people in my graduating class who have chosen careers like this and if they havent, most of them admire and support those of us who have.

You are exactly right! The "what's in it for me?" mentality is antithetical to patriotism. The past three decades of recruiting has all been about "money for college", "free job skills" and "visit exotic locations." That said, some of the finest young men and women are serving in the armed forces today. The problem is the rest of the country.

The truth of this article is startling--the warrior ethos is being driven out at the upper echelons and the troops are left to face charges of murder for engaging in honest warfare. If things don't change--damn soon--we are in for "interesting times."

Yes.

Lately I have been going to a very cool hip bar full of 21 to 26 year olds. Prime Military age, mind you. Recently some Marines in Dress Blues came in and guys were buying them drinks and girls giving them long wet kisses.

Fine. Outstanding. Urrrrrah.

But something was out of place, something was just not feeling right. Some of the musicians called up the Marines to the stage. Now these musicians were the same age as the Marines, and they were tripping over themselves, to praise and thank the Marines for "keeping us free and allowing us to enjoy life...." blah blah blah. Then it hit me.

You see, I was accustomed to seeing kids that were under 18 or adults over 40 praising Americans in Uniform. NOT 18 to 28 year olds. Not men who themselves are of military age. And certainly not men of military age - during a time of war.

It was as if these young people were actually saying "Man, I'm glad your doing it 'cause I ain't going over there". And then yeah, I could see the uneasiness, between the college age guys thanking and praising the Marines and the Marines themselves, as if there was some sort of embarrassment on part of the civilian guys, and the Marines seeing right through their Bullsh*t.

Many young people are treating our servicemen as if they were cops or firemen. As if it were just a career choice these men had made that was turning out very good for the rest of us.
Yet in a time of war, a country can not think that the duty or responsibility to defend the country only belongs to the ones who just happen to choose that career field, or maybe closer to what many youth think, the ones who weren't smart enough to do something else.

When a country is at war, it is as if your neighborhood is on fire, if you consider it just the job of the firemen to put out the fire, you may just find out, there weren't enough firemen to save your home in time.

If they are really a "redemopublicrat superparty", then why would it make any difference.

In all honesty, it wouldn't make much of a difference. But you can rest assured that if the Republicans reinstate the draft, they lose power in the next election cycle, especially since they said they would not reinstate it.

Wrong. The "Selective Service Act" has NOT been repealed. Kiddies still have to register with their draft boards on turning eighteen. And, unlike you, I think the draft was and would be a "good thing", as it would pull some of the innocents that would never serve voluntarily "kicking and screamaing" into the real world. I have always been somewhat reticent about the "all-volunteer army", as that sets the stage for a "professional army"---which is what the FF were opposed to. If we can't have a real "militia", where EVERY individual is REQUIRED to get basic military training (my preference above all), then the draft is the next best thing, as it assures a leavening within the military ranks of folks who are NOT interested in making the service a career.

The selective service is just the foundation that the government left in place in case of another draft.

EVERYONE required by the government to join the military? Wow. That doesn't sound like an America I would want to live in. You see, I kind of like the idea of people choosing their own careers and paths. You know, the whole freedom thing. Forcing people into careers against their will doesn't sound much like freedom. It sounds more like communism.

The terrorists can't take our freedom. Only the government can do that. A lot of people around here used to think that, at least. Now the climate of this board is decidedly more authoritarian.

I like the draft. It helps bring people together, break down stereotypes, and allows us a bigger military for much less money spent on pay and more on weapons. And let me tell you, when you are facing death, you could care less about your paycheck and you want the best dam equipment the most guys on your side.

We won WW2 with the draft so the crap about draftees not being good fighters is just that. Draftees or Volunteers will go into combat motivated to win, if their leadership is motivated to win.

Semper Fi.

fyi...as of today NY and PA each have buried 81 US servicemen killed in Iraq, California has buried 188....all volunteers. The only "red" state to come close is Texas with 159 deaths to date.

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Want to re-think your statement that: ""blue" communities never sent many recruits to the military in the first place."?

"That's true. But OTOH, we wouldn't be killing if we had effective foriegn policy. After all, when you sit back and think about it: wouldn't our world be better without killing, if at all possible. When we get rid of the terrorists, maybe we should ask ourselves that, before we have another "war..."

Here is the problem.

As long as the other guy will not sit down and reason with you, there is no such thing as "effective foreign policy." And when he decides to hit you, you must be able to defend yourself.

Neville Chamberlain and William Clinton, the Rodney Kings of foreign policy, should have been enough to convince the densest of our citizens that appeasement will never prevent war, it only makes it bloodier.

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