Posted on 08/16/2022 9:59:07 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The U.S. Army is expected to fall nearly 40,000 troops short of its recruiting goals over the next two years. Fiscal year 2022 is expected to miss the mark by 10,000 troops, while the number in fiscal year 2023 could reach 28,000. These figures mean that this year is on track to be the Army’s worst recruiting year in almost 50 years.
The Army plans to circumvent the problem by offering $1 billion for its recruiting program and placing more emphasis on the use of its reserve units.
The Epoch Times reached out to the U.S. Army Recruiting Command for comment, and Maj. Charles Spears of the Combined Arms Center replied to various inquiries about the state of recruiting. Spears offered several reasons for the Army’s recruiting challenges in the years ahead.
First, he said, “only 23 percent of American youth are qualified to serve without a waiver, [noting that] obesity, addiction, medical, and behavioral health are the top disqualifiers for service.”
The Army is also competing with corporate America, he said, adding that “social media’s virtual public square shapes the values and perceptions of American youth, which is increasingly unfamiliar with the benefits of Army service.”
According to Spears, the American population is “increasingly disconnected” from serving in the Army and military service, Spears said. “Oftentimes, influencers [like parents, teachers, and coaches] do not recommend military service.” He also added that “the share of youth who have seriously considered military service is at a historic low of nine percent.”
Finally, Spears said, “the COVID-19 pandemic severely limited the ability of recruiters to interact with prospects in person, [and] also exacerbated academic and physical fitness challenges, limiting the pool of qualified applicants.” As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, there has been a nine percent decrease in Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) scores as well as increased applicate obesity.
In addition to these factors, servicemembers have expressed other concerns that they say have contributed to the recruitment crisis.
The Epoch Times spoke to an active-duty Army soldier with over 15 years of service on the condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals. He is gravely alarmed about the Army falling short on recruitment numbers.
“In the past,” he said, “the Army targeted a specific demographic of people based on their values, [and these recruits] were patriots and loved America.” In today’s general population, he doesn’t see the same interest in patriotism. “Much of the country doesn’t love America like it use to,” he said. “And with a military no longer upholding the values, the oaths, or the creeds it once did, what kind of new recruits should we expect [to join the Army]?” he asked.
“From a macro perspective, we had a significant breach of trust in the last election.” By oath, he said, the military swears to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” But the U.S. military has said nothing about the previous election, according to the soldier. “I’m not saying there is a final answer, but as defenders of the Constitution, they owed open and transparent conversation to the force and to the American people,” he said.
Instead, he said, “they happily encourage mandated vaccines, back the transgender issue, and speak out in opposition to the Supreme Court of the United States in regard to Roe v. Wade—all of which are very political.”
In his opinion, “we now have a Department of Defense [DoD] that has taken various political positions that are very much opposed to the heart of America.”
All the while, he said, the size of battalions is shrinking. “Some are less than two-thirds of where they need to be,” he said. And many of those who remain are not “usable deployables.”
He said, “Much of America is missing the fact that the Army is intentionally kicking people out in a precarious way that it knows is unnecessary, because the data shows that it’s unnecessary.” He is under the impression that “our military is intentionally being weakened.”
Rather than watching the military “decay,” he said, “military leadership needs to take action for the good of the America people.” But he’s not convinced this will happen, because “for the most part, the higher-ups are cowards and they lack the personal courage to take the actions needed to put an end to this sad state of affairs.”
As recruiting woes mount and solutions appear scant for the U.S. Army, service members of the nation’s other military branches are equally concerned.
Read more here...
Both sides did that in that war. Remember Lincoln only called for 75,000 volunteers for 90 days - until First Manassas......
Desertions must have been from the urban areas. In small towns everyone knew everyone else and being a coward was about the worse thing one could be.
My great great grandfather and his brothers and a few cousins served in the 14th and 49th Tennessee Infantry and only left when wounded or the war was over.
But no doubt there were deserters.
“Desertions must have been from the urban areas. In small towns everyone knew everyone else and being a coward was about the worse thing one could be.”
Actually, support for the Southern cause was not at all homogenous throughout the Confederacy, and as the war dragged on, the casualty lists poured in, and they realized they were losing, that support ebbed further and further.
I can believe it. Just didn’t happen in my family.
The scene in”Gone With The Wind” where they’re reading off the dead and wounded is heartbreaking.
I believe one of the reasons behind the Hatfields and McCoys feud was that one of the heads of family had deserted from the Confederate army and the other head of family had not.
Where is you patriotism people? The Deep Swamp needs fodder to mold!
“Where is you patriotism people? The Deep Swamp needs fodder to mold!”
My patriotism lies with the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and Equality before the Law. Dad and Granddad both came close to dying for this country, and they taught me what was worth dying for. These pricks, and what they’re trying to turn our nation into, are not worth dying for. If I saw a liberal on fire, I wouldn’t cross the street to piss on him. Let alone pick up a rifle to defend him.
They are not competing with corporate America for new enlistments. Job training and college was always a good reason to join. Biden the Dem’s running around promising free college is killing the military - why join if the president is going to forgive college loans? Who wants to work for Satan’s spawn. They seen the traitor Milly undermibning President Trump with notifications to the Chinese. The the SecDef is a clear cut racist and implements racist policies. I knew him and his wife when he was LTC Battalion commander in the 82d Abn Div - what a complete sellout now.
Any officer who still willingly holds a commission under this corrupt, tyrannical, oppressive regime clearly hasn’t read the oath he took upon commissioning.
Resign. Do not bear arms or authority under a tyrant.
Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, co-authored by the Marquis de Lafayette and Jefferson:
“12. The security of the rights of man and of the citizen requires public military forces. These forces are, therefore, established for the good of all and not for the personal advantage of those to whom they shall be intrusted.”
Well the Dems threw that one right out the window.
Amazing. All they want is subservient, skinny jean wearing hipster, pajama boys.
Having Idi Amin as your Secretary of Defense is bound to diminish interest in the military in a big way.
YUP; 1st Bat 12 MAR 1968-1973.
Our ONLY JOB was to KILL COMMUNISTS, blow shit up, and break everything in our area!
IF IT’S RED, IT’S DEAD!
SEMPER FI
I’m retired military and I wouldn’t serve in today’s military.
“Oftentimes, influencers [like parents, teachers, and coaches] do not recommend military service.”
Parents, teachers, and coaches are not their problem. The potential enlistee can find a military veteran or retired veteran to consult. When they lose the recommendation of veterans, that is a real problem.
Also happened at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
I was due to finish active duty in mid-Oct. Was discharged early Sep., as ship deployed to Med cruise. Two weeks after being home, those on active were extended a year and even some discharged in critical/high skilled ratings were recalled.
My battery test scores in 1960 were high enough that I was offered any training school offered by the Navy, including nuclear. ...The catch was I had to extend my 2-year active commitment by the length of the school course.
Being an 18-yr. old (only 2 months earlier), I wasn’t ready to agree to more active-duty time. I had joined the Naval Air Reserves a year before in my Sr. year of HS.
Seems from earlier posts that the military changed and allowed training schools to “eat up” active-duty time.
Could be but the spark that lit the powderkeg was over a hog, which sounds odd today but a hog provided a family a years worth of meat. Difference between life or starvation.
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