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Every branch of the U.S. military is struggling to meet its 2022 recruiting goals (1 Viewer)

Max Power

Footballguy
This is a very good but long read. There are some very concerning time ahead of us on the military recruitment and retention front. 

TLDR version: Times are changing and we have to get creative to fill ranks.  The best and brightest are avoiding the military for dozens of obvious reasons. 

Every branch of the U.S. military is struggling to meet its 2022 recruiting goals, officials say

Courtney Kube and Molly Boigon

Mon, June 27, 2022, 4:30 AM·8 min read

Every branch of the U.S. military is struggling to meet its fiscal year 2022 recruiting goals, say multiple U.S. military and defense officials, and numbers obtained by NBC News show both a record low percentage of young Americans eligible to serve and an even tinier fraction willing to consider it.

The officials said the Pentagon’s top leaders are now scrambling for ways to find new recruits to fill out the ranks of the all-volunteer force. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks consider the shortfall a serious issue, said the officials, and have been meeting on it frequently with other leaders.

“This is the start of a long drought for military recruiting,” said Ret. Lt. Gen. Thomas Spoehr of the Heritage Foundation, a think tank. He said the military has not had such a hard time signing recruits since 1973, the year the U.S. left Vietnam and the draft officially ended. Spoehr said he does not believe a revival of the draft is imminent, but “2022 is the year we question the sustainability of the all-volunteer force.”

The pool of those eligible to join the military continues to shrink, with more young men and women than ever disqualified for obesity, drug use or criminal records. Last month, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville testified before Congress that only 23% of Americans ages 17-24 are qualified to serve without a waiver to join, down from 29% in recent years.

An internal Defense Department survey obtained by NBC News found that only 9% of those young Americans eligible to serve in the military had any inclination to do so, the lowest number since 2007.

The survey sheds light on how both Americans’ view of the military and the growing civilian-military divide may also be factors in slumping recruitment, and how public attitudes could cause recruiting struggles for years to come.

More than half of the young Americans who answered the survey — about 57% — think they would have emotional or psychological problems after serving in the military. Nearly half think they would have physical problems.

“They think they’re going to be physically or emotionally broken after serving,” said one senior U.S. military official familiar with the recruiting issues, who believes a lack of familiarity with military service contributes to that perception.

Among Americans surveyed by the Pentagon who were in the target age range for recruiting, only 13% had parents who had served in the military, down from approximately 40% in 1995. The military considers parents one of the biggest influencers for service.

An expert on military personnel policy says that middle class parents, including those who are newly middle class, often encourage their kids to go to college before selecting a career, which hurts recruiting for enlisted personnel. “Changing the mind of parents is the really tough part, particularly if these are parents who worked really hard for their children to go to college,” said Kate Kuzminski from the Center for a New American Security. She noted that recruiting ads increasingly target the parents of potential recruits. “That’s where they’re trying to win the hearts and minds.”

Overall confidence in U.S. government institutions is also decreasing, and that has hit the U.S. military as well. In 2021 the annual Reagan National Defense Survey, conducted by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, found that just 45% of Americans had a great deal of trust and confidence in the military, down 25 points since 2018.

The trend will most likely continue as the overall military shrinks and familiarity with service keeps dropping, say the officials. In 2021, an Army study found that 75% of Americans ages 16-28 knew little to nothing about the Army.

“This recruiting crisis is like a slow-moving wave coming at us,” said one senior defense official involved in recruiting and personnel issues. “As the military has gotten smaller and the public have gotten less and less familiar with those in uniform, it has grown. And Covid accelerated it.”

A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment.

This year’s numbers so far

The Army has met about 40% of its enlisted recruiting mission for FY22, with just over three months left in the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. The final quarter — the summer — is typically when the services recruit the most candidates following high school graduation.

Space Force will also likely make its goal, according to U.S. military officials, but as the newest branch of the military it only looks to recruit about 500 Guardians this fiscal year.

The U.S. Air Force, on the other hand, has to recruit roughly 100 times as many airmen, about 50,000, but is currently more than 4,000 below where it should be at this point in the fiscal year. While the Air National Guard and Reserve are unlikely to meet their goals, the active duty are taking it week to week, according to a senior U.S. military official. “We are hopeful that the active duty will meet their goal. Hopeful, but not certain,” the official said.

The last time the Air Force missed its goal was fiscal 1999, and the last time before that was 1979.

Navy officials, who have been using the summer movie “Top Gun: Maverick” to try to attract recruits, say they hope to ultimately meet their active-duty and overall strength goals.

The active-duty Marine Corps is likely to make its recruiting goals this year. The Marine in charge of manpower, however, recently told Congress that 2022 is “arguably the most challenging recruiting year since the inception of the all-volunteer force.”

The Coast Guard is lagging behind its active-duty numbers for the year. It has met 80% and 93% of its goals for reserves and officers respectively, but has filled only about 55% of its target of 4,200 active-duty enlistments.

How to fix it

To tackle the growing crisis, the Pentagon is reviewing some of the more than 250 disqualifiers for service, including some medical conditions that have historically required recruits to obtain a waiver for service or kept individuals out of uniform completely, according to multiple defense and U.S. military officials.

For example, in the past ailments like asthma and ADHD could disqualify someone from serving if the recruit had symptoms after their 13th or 14th birthdays. But now the Pentagon is reviewing whether individuals who have been asymptomatic for a shorter period of time could join without a waiver.

The military is also discussing allowing service members to use platforms like TikTok to attract recruits. In 2020, President Donald Trump ordered a ban on the use of the social media platform because the Chinese company that owns it collects biometric information on users.

“We have to be where the recruits are, and TikTok is one of the biggest social media platforms in the world,” one defense official involved in personnel issues said.

The Pentagon is also looking to increase recruitment by targeting more influencers like parents, teachers and coaches, by creating recruiting stations with multiple services in them rather than service specific locations, and even moving recruiting offices to better neighborhoods, according to multiple U.S. military and defense officials.

The Pentagon may also put more effort into recruiting eligible DACA recipients, said officials.

Long-term challenges like declining eligibility and trust in the military are only part of the issue, according to defense and U.S. military officials. More recent challenges like a national labor shortage, inflation and the effects of Covid have also affected recruitment. Two years of Covid has led to canceled air shows, a drastic decrease in in-person recruitment efforts, and more people now wanting to work from home.

Kuzminski agrees that Covid hurt recruiting, but adds that another challenge has been political pressure in some school districts not to let recruiters on campuses. Face-to-face meetings can be a powerful incentive to enlist.

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth recently created a recruiting “tiger” team, which meets every two weeks to discuss ways to tackle recruitment.

“The Army, like other services, is facing the most challenging recruiting market in the last 20 years,” Wormuth told NBC News. “I expect these recruiting market headwinds to persist, so the Army must improve how we recruit in this new market environment. In March 2022, the Army began a comprehensive review and analysis of our accessions enterprise, recruiting policy, organizational structure and marketing practices. Recommendations for this review, coupled with other immediate steps we are taking, will help the Army address recruiting challenges and position the Army recruiting for success in the future.”

The Army is offering flexible 2-year to 6-year contracts, duty stations of choice, a program where enlistees can be stationed with their friends, and a $10,000 quick-ship bonus.

Some of the service branches are offering unprecedented bonuses for signing up or re-enlisting, up to $50,000 for certain specialties in the Army, Air Force and the Navy.

But one U.S. military official said bonuses can only help so much. “We can throw money at the problem all we want, but until we change how young people see us in uniform, we are going to struggle to get them to raise their right hands.”

 
This is a very good but long read. There are some very concerning time ahead of us on the military recruitment and retention front. 

TLDR version: Times are changing and we have to get creative to fill ranks.  The best and brightest are avoiding the military for dozens of obvious reasons. 


It doesn't help that The American Left is feminizing our young men, redefining what "woman" means and berating both every chance they get all in the name of The MessageTM.

 
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My son joined the Air Force in 2015 but unfortunately suffered a stress fracture in his shin during basic and was discharged with a 2C classification. He tried all 4 branches to re-enlist and none would take him. He tried one last time just last year after a Marines recruiter contacted him telling him they could get him in. He tracked that down for months until finally the recruiter stopped returning calls/messages.

 
This is a very good but long read. There are some very concerning time ahead of us on the military recruitment and retention front. 

TLDR version: Times are changing and we have to get creative to fill ranks.  The best and brightest are avoiding the military for dozens of obvious reasons. 
Haven’t had a chance to read the article (though I will) but I can tell you first hand the business world is having a very difficult time with this too.  Gen Z has a very different approach/willingness  to work and responsibilities (not making a judgmental statement on that just pointing out a reality).  

 
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It doesn't help that The American Left is feminizing our young men and berating them every chance they get.
There is definitely something to driving the patriotism out of the youths. Making statements about how this country was never great are harmful to the recruiting effort. National pride is pretty bad right now.  Obesity is killing us even more. 

 
Haven’t had a chance to read the article (though I will) but I can tell you first have the business world is having a very difficult time with this too.  Gen Z has a very different approach/willingness  to work and responsibilities (not making a judgmental statement on that just pointing out a reality).  
Oh absolutely. This younger generation only wants to be on their phones all day.  We struggle with retention where I work for that exact reason.  I agree that they are just wired differently and its in no way conducive to the military lifestyle. 

The pentagon coming out with their "Tik Tok" recruiting initiative is going to interesting.  Sure its a way to reach kids, but are kids who need to be recruited through tik tok the ones we want?

 
Oh absolutely. This younger generation only wants to be on their phones all day.  We struggle with retention where I work for that exact reason.  I agree that they are just wired differently and its in no way conducive to the military lifestyle. 

The pentagon coming out with their "Tik Tok" recruiting initiative is going to interesting.  Sure its a way to reach kids, but are kids who need to be recruited through tik tok the ones we want?
For sure. I could type multiple GG length posts on my feelings about it but in doings so fear it just comes off as a classic old man (47!) “back in my day” rant.  But it’s also undeniable that on whole this generation isn’t willing to put the work in or make the sacrifices (something that is a core tenet of service) past generations have been willing to make.  It’s going to shift the landscape of everything we do.  For good or bad who knows (though I certainly have my opinion on which), but change is coming. 

 
There is definitely something to driving the patriotism out of the youths. Making statements about how this country was never great are harmful to the recruiting effort. National pride is pretty bad right now.  Obesity is killing us even more. 
I assume by yours and BRs posts you believe most of this is coming from the left? 

 
For sure. I could type multiple GG length posts on my feelings about it but in doings so fear it just comes off as a classic old man (47!) “back in my day” rant.  But it’s also undeniable that on whole this generation isn’t willing to put the work in or make the sacrifices (something that is a core tenet of service) past generations have been willing to make.  It’s going to shift the landscape of everything we do.  For good or bad who knows (though I certainly have my opinion on which), but change is coming. 
I would think as tech increases and deaths decrease it would be easier in general to recruit, but like you and others are saying - that bumps up against work ethic, being told what to do, views of the country, and dozens of other things we could list that are possibly keeping people out of the military.  

 
I would think as tech increases and deaths decrease it would be easier in general to recruit, but like you and others are saying - that bumps up against work ethic, being told what to do, views of the country, and dozens of other things we could list that are possibly keeping people out of the military.  
Yeah it’s a deep dark rabbit hole honestly and the bane of many hours of my working existence  so I’ll just leave this here.  But as I said above it’s a very real issue and not just in my industry but across many.  

 
I believe conservatives are more likely to be proud to be American. Pretty sure polling shows the same.
From where I sit I see as much talk from that side about how crap the country is, how Dems are running states and cities to the ground, etc..   Hell the popular slogan for that side says in it the country is not currently great.  :shrug:    It's odd to have all that going on and be proud of your country, but I believe you that's what the polls would show, but IMO that is more branding and less actual words and actions.    Neither side seems to be overly happy about the country if you listen to their rhetoric.  

 
Yeah it’s a deep dark rabbit hole honestly and the bane of many hours of my working existence  so I’ll just leave this here.  But as I said above it’s a very real issue and not just in my industry but across many.  
I think in general more and more grow up with a different attitude and bare minimum would not tolerate the structure and discipline involved to be in the miliary.   I can relate - I knew it wasn't for me, and I would've probably ended up getting my ### kicked at that age.    Me now would be for it, but not at 18.  

 
Seems no one can hire people...don't see why the military would be different. All for aggressively incentivizing enrollment into the military.

I also hope they can focus on more of the IT and Cyber related areas.

 
I think in general more and more grow up with a different attitude and bare minimum would not tolerate the structure and discipline involved to be in the miliary.   I can relate - I knew it wasn't for me, and I would've probably ended up getting my ### kicked at that age.    Me now would be for it, but not at 18.  


The military is EXACTLY where we need to send our young men at the very least.  You not only would NOT have got you ### kicked, but also would have learned how to kick ### yourself, become confident in who you are and learn about leadership and became a man.  You also would have made some fantastic friendships - friendships I have even 30 years later because you all went thru it together.  Civilians can't understand that (for the most part).

So, yes, in the age of 40 year old adolescents and wussification of the male, we need our military more than ever.   I think every red-blooded American male should be required to serve right out of the gate at 18 for a period of at least two years.  No exceptions.  ZERO.  Unless you have a physical condition which prevents you.  And I don't mean made up ones either.  I'm talking leprosy or something like that.  

God I sound like my Dad .    :lol:

 
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From where I sit I see as much talk from that side about how crap the country is, how Dems are running states and cities to the ground, etc..   Hell the popular slogan for that side says in it the country is not currently great.  :shrug:    It's odd to have all that going on and be proud of your country, but I believe you that's what the polls would show, but IMO that is more branding and less actual words and actions.    Neither side seems to be overly happy about the country if you listen to their rhetoric.  
Technically it was make America great again, then it was keep america great, then back to maga.

I'm more concerned with all the talk about how we are a country founded by racists and everything we are built on is bad. That isnt helping people join. 

 
Technically it was make America great again, then it was keep america great, then back to maga.

I'm more concerned with all the talk about how we are a country founded by racists and everything we are built on is bad. That isnt helping people join. 


The Hate America First CrowdTM really did a number on this country (I blame the 60's).  IMO, Liberals I know are always focused on the negative, NEVER the positive.  EVER. 

 
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Seems no one can hire people...don't see why the military would be different. All for aggressively incentivizing enrollment into the military.

I also hope they can focus on more of the IT and Cyber related areas.
They are trying. Space Force is doing a good job at it. The other branches are struggling. But like you said, we arent getting the best of the best. Unlike China who makes the best of the best work for the gov/mil

 
We had a similar crisis in the mid/late 70's after Vietnam. Reagan fixed that, however.

When the original Top Gun came out in '86, the military was near its peak of popularity in my lifetime (Desert Shield/Storm).

Don't see a fix this time around given the shift in cultural values.

Plus Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer somehow don't portray the same level of studliness they used to.

 
We had a similar crisis in the mid/late 70's after Vietnam. Reagan fixed that, however.

When the original Top Gun came out in '86, the military was near its peak of popularity in my lifetime (Desert Shield/Storm).

Don't see a fix this time around given the shift in cultural values.

Plus Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer somehow don't portray the same level of studliness they used to.
Maybe we need to start recruiting 50 year old fighter pilots. We'd have a line out the door.

Not to mention a huge incentive will be gone if student loan forgiveness becomes a reality.

Why spend four years serving when you can go to college for free?
Yeah, the military is going in the other direction. The Army is waving its diploma or GED requirement. Can't be asking too much of these kids.

 
Maybe we need to start recruiting 50 year old fighter pilots. We'd have a line out the door.

Yeah, the military is going in the other direction. The Army is waving its diploma or GED requirement. Can't be asking too much of these kids.
As I said upthread, my son was begging to get back in. No branch would take him with a 2C separation code, even though he's perfectly healthy. He's a fireman now, but wasn't acceptable for the military.

 
As I said upthread, my son was begging to get back in. No branch would take him with a 2C separation code, even though he's perfectly healthy. He's a fireman now, but wasn't acceptable for the military.
I can't justify the silly stuff the military does. They consistently operate in a "what's our biggest problem today" lens. They take forever to institute policy and by the time they do, its outdated. 

Hell the military is still planning to seperate service members for not getting covid shots during a manning shortage knowing fully well the hit from kicking those people out is worse for force readiness than being unvaccinated. 

 
I don't think I'd be in favor of either of these. It doesn't really address getting the best in either case if there isn't a reason for people to stay.
We'd get 4 years out of them and hopefully some would choose to make it a career. DoD will need to increase reenlistment bonuses to keep in demand jobs. 

However one of the issues they are pointing to currently is that this generation isnt as motivated by money as previous generations. No clue how to deal with that aspect when we cant just throw money at it.

 
We'd get 4 years out of them and hopefully some would choose to make it a career. DoD will need to increase reenlistment bonuses to keep in demand jobs. 

However one of the issues they are pointing to currently is that this generation isnt as motivated by money as previous generations. No clue how to deal with that aspect when we cant just throw money at it.
Easy for me to say do a draft and mandatory service...they aren't coming for me.

In theory the idea of people having to serve their country for a period sounds good (4 years is excessive IMO). I'd rather this be a last choice as in we can't have a functioning military without it.

 
We may have to touch the third rail and reconsider our policies on national defense.
There's always a huge inconsistency with this viewpoint from the left IMO.

Seems like liberals always wanting a huge military budget reduction...until something like Ukraine happens. Then the blue team is all military, all the time.

Now Biden openly committing to Taiwan. It's gonna cost major, major bucks supporting an expanded NATO on one front and China on the other.

 
Easy for me to say do a draft and mandatory service...they aren't coming for me.

In theory the idea of people having to serve their country for a period sounds good (4 years is excessive IMO). I'd rather this be a last choice as in we can't have a functioning military without it.
I dont love the idea of mandatory service either. People who dont want to be there arent going to be good for the services.

A last resort, but it's one may be clearly trending towards. The Army only currently hitting 40% of its fiscal year quota is very concerning.

 
There's always a huge inconsistency with this viewpoint from the left IMO.

Seems like liberals always wanting a huge military budget reduction...until something like Ukraine happens. Then the blue team is all military, all the time.

Now Biden openly committing to Taiwan. It's gonna cost major, major bucks supporting an expanded NATO on one front and China on the other.


Neither party is even close to shrinking the national deficit, and now we've got all that money we saved by canceling our Afghanistan subscription burning a hole in our pocket!

 
There is definitely something to driving the patriotism out of the youths. Making statements about how this country was never great are harmful to the recruiting effort. National pride is pretty bad right now.  Obesity is killing us even more. 


"Make America Great Again" clearly implies that America is not great already.  I wonder how much 6 years of half the population endlessly chanting and repeating essentially, "America Is Not Currently Great" has affected that.

 
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Maybe there could be a way to incentivize kids coming out of HS to do 1 year of service, no strings attached, no commitment. Not even specifically for military training but "see the world" learn some skills. etc. They could do some basic things and maybe some would consider signing on for longer.

 
Lots of factors going into this shortage.  As the article said; too many kids don’t meet the physical requirements. I know a few recruiters and they have echoed this. They basically have watered down to physical exams down to 2 pull-ups and recruites can’t even do that. 
 

there is also a huge anti American mindset hanging over a good percentage of the population. I’ll say it, the large majority of that is from liberal and “I’m actively looking for something to be offended by” community. We have created generations of whiners 

but the Republicans and Bush family needs to be part of this discussion. After 9/11 they created the military industrial complex we were all warned about and, along with the overall privatizing of the military with Blackstone, generations of Americans have lived with never ending wars with manufactured enemies and at what reason? The lies have begun to unravel and most of it was to make politicians rich. We see soldiers come home missing limbs or riddled with ptsd and no one says “hey it’s my turn to do that”

lastly, as the thread i started a while ago, about taking the masculinity out of today’s boys, rolling around in the mud, getting told what to do by a drill Sargent and training to be a warrior is just not appealing to today’s youth. And now we see the detriment to our national security.
 

its 2022 and we are talking about this.  Eligible recruits were born well after 9/11 now.  I hate to say this, but it’s been proven that patriotism raises after a national tragedy..... I would be very afraid of something dire being a solution.  

 
the Republicans and Bush family needs to be part of this discussion. After 9/11 they created the military industrial complex we were all warned about and, along with the overall privatizing of the military with Blackstone, generations of Americans have lived with never ending wars with manufactured enemies and at what reason? The lies have begun to unravel and most of it was to make politicians rich. We see soldiers come home missing limbs or riddled with ptsd and no one says “hey it’s my turn to do that”
I agree with everything you posted, but this part is hitting harder than people think.

When we pulled out of Afghanistan less than a year ago there were way too many politicians and media voices saying our almost 20 years there was for nothing and a waste. That was hard to stomach for a lot of us. As the saying goes... all gave some, some gave all. Why would anyone want to get involved in that type of situation now?

From what I've seen even the military families are less likely to encourage their kids to join these days. This is another bad sign for our military future.

 
I agree with everything you posted, but this part is hitting harder than people think.

When we pulled out of Afghanistan less than a year ago there were way too many politicians and media voices saying our almost 20 years there was for nothing and a waste. That was hard to stomach for a lot of us. As the saying goes... all gave some, some gave all. Why would anyone want to get involved in that type of situation now?

From what I've seen even the military families are less likely to encourage their kids to join these days. This is another bad sign for our military future.
I can appreciate how those families felt.  I grew up a Navy brat in the 70s. Not the most pleasant experience.

 
1. Military recruitment is always low in times of low unemployment . A lot of kids join the military when there aren’t many other options

2. Don’t want to paint with too broad a brush but the majority of young 20s we hire at work want to be treated like a 20 year vet without putting any of the time or work in. 
3. Military doesn’t seem to be the badge of honor it used to be. Main objective is seen as protecting America’s corporate interests…….and there’s some truth to that.

4. With all the side gigs and hustles these days, the military is a flat out tough way to make not a lot of money. It’s a labor of love and kids don’t love it like they did in my day. 

 

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