opinion
Military recruiting has been dismal over the past few years, with the United States Army seeming to struggle the most of all branches. Arguments abound as to why fewer young Americans are raising their right hands to have all they can get from the competitive job market, the shortage of qualified young Americans, and of course everyone's favorite scapegoat – Covid.
However, a recent data analysis by Military.com revealed an interesting downward trend in a specific U.S. Army demographic. Numbers don't lie… Young white Americans are no longer as interested in joining the military as they once were.
The question is…why?
In numbers
Military.com reviewed US Army recruiting data, and what they found was shocking. In the past half-decade, recruitment of white soldiers has declined dramatically.
Not only did they find that numbers had declined, but the downward trend of white recruits was directly responsible for much of the overall stagnation in recruiting felt by the Army. In 2018, the number of new white recruits into the military was 44,042.
In 2023, just 25,070 of the Army's new recruits were white, and data shows a 6% decline in white soldier recruitment from 2022 to 2023. Overall, the Army missed its 2023 recruiting target of 65,000 by a whopping 10,000.
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The article points out that:
“Internally, some Army planners are concerned about the data trends, but see them as a minefield to navigate given the increasing partisan attacks against the Army over its efforts to recruit and support a diverse force.”
imagine that? Overcoming a significant deficit in white recruits may invite some negative press for the Army given all the claims that the Department of Defense is “woke.”
That's because he woke up
Military branch chiefs and leaders at the Pentagon have long argued that the military is not very “woke” and that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are not the reason behind the declining recruiting rate.
However, an unnamed Army official told Military.com:
“No, young applicants don't care about these things. But it's the elderly people in their lives who have a great influence…”
The unnamed official continues:
“There is a level of prestige in parts of conservative America as the service deteriorates. Now, you can say that you don't want to join, for whatever reason, or abuse the service without any of the cultural guilt first associated with those areas.”
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Let's explore this theory: Why is it socially and culturally acceptable in traditional conservative families to talk poorly about the U.S. military and try to discourage family members from enlisting? Let me count the reasons:
- The lack of clear military victories since World War II
- Endless wars without a goal – see Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and others.
- The withdrawal from Afghanistan was shamefully carried out
- Needless deaths of thirteen service members during withdrawal from Afghanistan
- Failure to hold the military leadership accountable for repeated failures
- Poor, unsanitary and unsafe living conditions
- The prevalence of sexual assaults
- Exercises in white privilege and white guilt
- Advertisements targeted towards left-wing extremist recruits
- Prevalence of food insecure service members
I could go on, but I have a word limit, so I won't.
Terrible timing
A separate Army official told Military.com regarding the decline in white soldier recruitment:
“What we see is a reflection of society, and what we know less is what drives all these things.”
The writing is crystal clear as to the reasons behind the lack of interest in military service across the board, especially among white Americans. An army is supposed to be a cohesive team or unit.
It's hard to want to be part of a team that tells you that you are inherently bad or worse than your fellow soldiers based solely on the color of your skin. It's funny that racism tends to be a turn-off for most people – and we knew that in this country.
At a fundamental and foundational level, the Department of Defense is broken, and needs a comprehensive overhaul yesterday This is thanks to rising tensions around the world that are largely due to our government's murky foreign policy. The number of active duty members across all services has declined by 64,000 in the past three years to 1,284,500, making our military the smallest force since World War II.
As a former senior military commander, I can tell you that it is not a great strategic position to engage in any number of brewing conflicts. But what do I know…I'm just a white soldier hoping her children won't join a broken army.
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