Posted on 12/30/2022 8:18:14 AM PST by rktman
The military’s standards for committed members and new recruits have dropped in 2022 as the services struggle to overcome challenges in filling the ranks.
Army recruiting plummeted in 2022, while the remaining services just made their recruiting goals for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, according to Department of Defense (DOD) data shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation. The military is scrambling to adjust policies in a way that attracts more recruits, prompting some lowering of physical fitness and academic standards that could negatively impact military readiness, a military expert told the DCNF.
“The military and the administration are trying to overcome the greatest recruiting challenge they have ever faced by reducing certain standards,” Thomas Spoehr, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Center for National Defense, told the DCNF.
The Navy opened up the service to more prospective sailors who score at minimum levels on entrance examinations that test physical and mental aptitude on Dec. 5, Cmdr. David Benham, a Navy Recruiting Command spokesperson, told Military.com. New guidelines will allow 7,500 recruits, or roughly 20% of the new active duty enlisted cohort, from the lowest acceptable aptitude level to join.
While the Navy met its fiscal year 2022 recruiting goal with a surplus of just 42 sailors, the target for 2023 raises the ceiling by an additional 4,000 new applicants, according to Military.com. Officials insisted the change did not reflect a lowering of standards.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
That was when I was in...it was an interesting time.
We didn’t have any race issues, though I did get jumped and beaten by four black guys one night on the base. Purely racial...they said they “didn’t like my hat” which was for my squadron, the VA-46 Clansmen. I am sure they no doubt thought that was “Klansmen”.
The thing I remember was that we didn’t get good equipment (No real cold weather gear though we were above the Arctic Circle) and had to stuff our jackets with cleaning rags for insulation, we did less steaming and flying, and our deployments were only about 6-8 months, nothing like what they do today I am told.
OTOH, when we went ashore overseas, we were largely free to go anywhere we wanted on Liberty, even as a lone individual. I am told that is a thing of the past now, and you have to go on Liberty in large, organized groups to specific places.
Damn, if that is true, it sure sounds dreary. I guess I can see why, so you don’t end up in an orange jumpsuit in a basement getting ready to have your head removed, but...still.
Back then I despised Jimmy Carter more than I dislike him today, though thankfully, we are hearing his disgusting ruminations less often these days.
I do wish I could have served under Reagan. I got out before he was elected.
Would the draft be a solution if draftees refuse the jab?
All the things being done to weaken our military forces is intentional.
None of this is a ‘mistake’.
"You do your job for me, and you'll keep getting your omelettes made to order at the Air Force dining facility. If you don't do your job, I'll ship you off to our sister battalion in Mannheim. They're attached to the 1st Infantry Division, and they spend 8 months training in the red mud at Grafenwohr...it's your choice."
All it took was one who tested me, and off he went to Mannheim. Six months later, he came back to visit, telling his friends, "the LT was right!" LOL
I loved my time as a Platoon Leader...about the most fun I had in the Army.
More importantly, they don't want a large pool of people with combat capabilities that can be an internal threat, they already have enough issues with veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.
They will increasingly resort to relying on mercenaries via PMCs, just like every collapsing civilization.
It took a certain amount of courage in those days to wear a uniform — I think most ROTC units around that time didn’t recommend their cadets wear uniforms to class — is that true for when you attended?
I had a friend who attended pilot training at Williams AFB (Chandler AZ). Occasionally he drove through Tempe (where the Arizona State campus is). He said coeds would sometimes spit on his car when they saw the blue officer sticker.
We had plenty of reasons to despise Carter:
Our pay was delayed for two weeks in October of 77-78, thanks to the budget showdowns. It was no problem for me, I was a bachelor. We came together to assist our married soldiers, though.
The headlong rush to put women into combat support units, such as Nike Hercules batteries, without updating facilities. What that meant was a female E-1 could live on the economy immediately upon arrival. Male E-5s and E-6s were forced back into the barracks...you can imagine the hit to morale.
I was at Hahn AB, when they received the first woman base commander at a tac fighter wing. On her first Tac Eval, I was called to the Eagles Nest when an NBC input was dropped. That had been standard procedure since my first tac eval. Long story short, his expert made the wrong call, I corrected it, and became the wing commander's go to guy on NBC matters.
The new base commander made the mistake of questioning my presence, which earned her a public dressing down from the Wing Commander...it was beautiful, lol.
It is more the wokeness enforced by the UCMJ than even the useless, costly Neocon interventionist misadventures. IMO. Corporate political correctness is bad enough but it’s worse in the military because it is enforced by orders and legally beinding. You can’t just Johnny Paycheck out of there when faced with nonsense. Straight, White, Christian men feel unwelcome in today’s military and that is what the recruiting numbers reflect.
Wore our uniforms every Thursday. It was an extremely active program, and prepared me well for active duty. The numerous weekend keggers prepared me well for life in Germany. I was one American who could hold their own against the natives.
The first four days of spring break were always spent at Fort Lewis for training. All I wanted to do the rest of Spring Break was to catch up on my sleep.
From McNamara through to Austin, General Ray Theon and his cadre have been in charge throughout.
Recalling US troops and assets stationed in 150 countries around the world would allow concentration of military personnel, but of course that is not what is wanted.
What is wanted is a number that General Ray Theon and General Milli-Vanilli can bring to their bosses and say, "What good boys are we."
Not enough fit volunteers? Conscript them! Because we are at war! So does it seem. The only question is: against whom?
Let the fags and trannys in. Lower the physical requirements so women and girlie men can play soldier. Bust somebody’s balls for pronoun usage and tell them to look the other way while grown men bugger little boys. Then wonder why real manly men choose not to participate. It is baffling to liberals.
Oddly, in Reno, the Veterans Day parade is full of HS ROTC cadets. I was kinda shocked the first one we went to one downtown at the amount of kids in ROTC. Every HS in town has an ROTC unit it appears.
They are hiring people now that don't know enough to breath in then breath out.
Yes, at the high school level they're doing well. And many of the universities/colleges that prohibited ROTC units on campus back in those days have units now. Times have changed, in both good and bad ways. Under Democrats, the changes are almost always bad.
I seem to remember a page from my history book that described the same situation at the end of the Roman Empire. I suspect we will do the same with identical results.
—” In my years I have seen very few that survived 4 years let alone prospered.”
Project 100,000
Entrance requirements were loosened, but all the Project 100,000 men were sent through normal training programs with other recruits, and performance standards thus were the same for everyone.[10] The US Army received 71% of recruits, followed by 10% by the Marines, 10% by the Navy, and 9% by the Air Force.[1]
Project 100,000 soldiers included those unable to speak English, those who had low mental aptitude or minor physical impairments, and those who were slightly over- or underweight
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_100,000
I served with one that the judge gave a choice; Join up or go to jail.
He found his wife with another and tossed the guy out the window. Of the fifth floor, Texas.
He would tell any and all, as we proceed through some hot dry valley...; “I should have taken jail”
An OK guy.
Nobody with a brain or a moral compass belongs in the U.S. military today. End of story.
I graduated from high school in 1976. My career counselor was a 30 year man. He told me “My army has nothing to offer you. You should go to college.”
They’re decided to admit stupid fat people?
This was the norm in the 60's with a hot shooting war going on. I was 16, got in trouble and got this option to 'join' on my 17th birthday a few months out.
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