Don’t let them get you down, they are just gaslighting and is only a tiny minority. Things will get fixed.
HAHAHAHAHA.
If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you.
This decline is not new, but it has rapidly accelerated, and it's only downhill from here. The Marines are just barely going to make recruiting mission this year. Army is slated to only hit 40% and looking at ~40,000 troop shortage over the next two years. Navy and Air Force are struggling too. These are post-drawdown numbers and they still can't fill ranks.
This problem is not going away any time soon as more and more families whose children ordinarily fill the ranks discourage their kids from going. Case in point - I have two teenage sons, and a younger boy. There was a time I would've been proud for them to don the uniform......now, with the current state of things I'd encourage them to be street sweepers before signing up for this woke garbage.
My brother (also prior Enlisted) has three sons, sentiments are the same. The majority of guys I served with, and still converse with, all encouraging their kids to look elsewhere.
The draft.
I say within the next 5-10 years, that's the only way they're going to fill the ranks, and the nonsense is still going to be present and mandatory.