U.S. Army In A Rush To Train Recruiters

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Richard A. Montcalm gives the Oath of Enlistment, April 18, 2023, at the Douthit Gunnery Complex on Fort Riley, Kansas. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jared Simmons)  

Military.com: The Army Suddenly, and Chaotically, Told Hundreds of Soldiers They Have to Be Recruiters Immediately 

 Without warning, hundreds of noncommissioned officers were ordered via email to report to the recruiting school at Fort Knox, Kentucky, in less than a week, with hundreds more set to start at the school in December -- a sudden unexpected move by the Army as the service scrambles to boost its recruiting force by 800 by the end of the year. 

The orders came after a breakdown in how the Army tracks how many recruiters it has coming through the pipeline along with retention of existing ones, according to Lt. Gen. Douglas Stitt, the Army's top personnel officer. 

The sudden depletion of recruiters caught Army planners flat-footed, with officials unable to provide a clear explanation as to what went wrong. Now, NCOs will likely have to move during the holiday season and in the middle of the school year, sowing chaos for families.  

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WNU Editor: Why the rush to have recruiters? Why the rush for new soldiers? If this does not work-out, is a U.S. draft next? You tell me.

U.S. Military Recruitment Problems Are Becoming A 'Critical Challenge To National Security'

Washington Post: Military recruitment lapses lead to ‘challenges to national security’ 

 “R and R” doesn’t just mean rest and relaxation in the military, not when the Pentagon “is facing its most challenging recruitment environment in 50 years.” 

That’s the assessment of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the main federal watchdog, in a report that frames another military R and R — recruitment and retention — as one of the critical “challenges to national security.

That’s the assessment of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the main federal watchdog, in a report that frames another military R and R — recruitment and retention — as one of the critical “challenges to national security.” 

Or as Gil Cisneros, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, put it: “We are facing some headwinds.” 

GAO’s “national security snapshot” is just two pages, far shorter than most audits, but it summarizes other work by the watchdog that revealed three critical shortcomings in the Defense Department’s struggles to maintain a fully staffed military. GAO found the Pentagon:  

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WNU Editor: I agree that with this analysis that many of today's young have different priorities .... The Army Is Recruiting—Gen Z Just Isn’t Biting (The Nation). 

The GAO report on the US military recruitment efforts (and problems) is here .... DOD ACTIVE-DUTY RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION CHALLENGES (GAO).

The Pentagon Says 77% Of Americans Aged 17-24 Aren't Fit For Military Service

Zero Hedge: More Than 75% Of Americans Aged 17-24 Aren't Fit For Military Service: DOD 

As the US military struggles to fill the ranks with new recruits, a new report from the Department of Defense reveals that the vast majority of Americans aged 17-24 are unfit for military service. 

Citing a Feb. 16 congressional hearing, a DoD report reveals that 77% of Americans in the above age group could not physically qualify to enter the armed forces - a 6% increase from 2017.  

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WNU editor: The DoD report is here .... 77 Percent of American Youth Can’t Qualify for Military Service.

The U.S. Armed Services Are Competing Over The Same Recruiting Pool Of 412,000 Eligible Americans Between The Ages Of 17 To 24

Marine Corps recruits with Bravo Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, squat with a log during log drills at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, Nov. 28, 2022. US Marine Corps Photo  

USNI News: Military Services Competing Over the Same Recruiting Pool of Less Than 500,000 

SAN DIEGO – The Marine Corps and other service branches are competing to attract the same 412,000 eligible Americans between the ages of 17 to 24, a Marine recruiting commander said Tuesday. 

There are approximately 32.8 million Americans, part of Gen Z, but when looking at those who qualify for and want military service, that number quickly dwindles to 412,000, said Brig. Gen. Jason Morris, commander of Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, speaking at the West 2023 conference hosted by the U.S. Naval Institute and AFCEA. 

There are a number of disqualifiers that account for bringing the number to 412,000, Morris said, including obesity, drug use and mental illness. 

 “We encourage people to get help, but once they get help, it’s in their records and we have to sort through that,” he said. 

The number of Gen-Zers, or those who were born between 1997 and 2012, is approximately 7 million – less than that of millennials. This means the services, which have to compete against industry in addition to the other branches, have a smaller pool of people to attract, Morris said. 

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WNU Editor: The US Army is not blaming "wokeness" for their recruitment shortfalls .... Army sees safety, not ‘wokeness,’ as top recruiting obstacle (AP).

U.S. Army Struggles To Find Recruits

Future soldiers recite the oath of enlistment during a mass enlistment ceremony in Glendale, Ariz. (Alun Thomas/Army)  

CNBC: The U.S. Army is struggling to find the recruits its needs to win the fight over the future 

* The U.S. Army. fell short of its 2022 recruitment goal by 25%, and recently cut its projection for its total force for this year by 10,000. 

* U.S. Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said at the CNBC Work Summit on Wednesday that it’s become harder for the military to compete for recruits. 

* Like all large employees, a tight labor market is a factor, but the health issues of young Americans including obesity, and misperceptions about serving after 20 years of war, are big issues to overcome. 

The U.S. Army is spending more than ever before on technology to replace an aging military infrastructure, from artificial intelligence to new fighting machines moving 1980s tanks off the field of battle. 

But the Secretary of the U.S. Army says the nation risks falling behind in the race against China if it can’t recruit enough Americans into the service to be trained on how national defense is being remade for future conflicts. 

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WNU Editor: The odds to find suitable recruits is dwindling .... The US Army is struggling to recruit as most of Gen Z is ineligible to serve due to factors like obesity, drug use, and tattoos (Business Insider).

US Army Recruitment Misses Goal By 25%

USA Today/AP: US Army misses recruiting goal by 15,000 soldiers in one of its 'most challenging' years yet 

WASHINGTON — The Army fell about 15,000 soldiers — or 25% — short of its recruitment goal this year, officials confirmed Friday, despite a frantic effort to make up the widely expected gap in a year when all the military services struggled in a tight jobs market to find young people willing and fit to enlist. 

While the Army was the only service that didn't meet its target, all of the others had to dig deep into their pools of delayed entry applicants, which will put them behind as they begin the next recruiting year on Saturday. 

The worsening problem stirs debate about whether America's fighting force should be restructured or reduced in size if the services can't recruit enough, and could also put added pressure on the National Guard and Reserve to help meet mission requirements.  

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WNU Editor: Pushing this type of ideology and culture certainly did not help .... US Army Recruitment Falters – Misses Goal By 25% As Woke Ideology Takes Over (Zero Hedge)

Pentagon Admits It Is Not Reaching Its Recruitment Goals

Pentagon bedeviled by recruitment failures as solutions prove elusive © Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post  

Washington Post: Pentagon bedeviled by recruitment failures as solutions prove elusive

Military officials and lawmakers on Wednesday painted a grim picture of recruiting efforts within the Defense Department, as a recent study suggests worrisome shortfalls could grow worse if more women decline to serve over restrictive abortion laws in many Republican-led states where U.S. personnel are based. 

The Pentagon has characterized the head winds in stark terms, saying its recruiting environment is the worst it has been since the end of the Vietnam War. 

Some of the military services will just barely meet their goals as the fiscal year ends later this month, officials said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. 

The Army, the armed forces’ largest branch, will miss its target by 30,000 soldiers, said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).  

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WNU Editor: This is one of many news articles in the past few months that is covering the Pentagon's recruitment problems. I could be wrong, but my gut is telling me that the groundwork is being prepared for some level of conscription.

Former U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper Says Military Recruitment Is Dying Because Of Obesity, Drug Use, Health Problems, And Americans Who Do Not Want To Serve

Esper issued a warning about the U.S. military's dismal recruitment numbers, writing that only a small fraction of the U.S. is fit to serve anymore since many are either overweight, on drugs or have a criminal past  

Daily Mail: Trump's defense secretary Mark Esper says military recruitment is DYING because of obesity, drug use, health problems and the dwindling pool of Americans who want to serve their country 

* 'The U.S. military's all-volunteer force (AVF) is slowly dying,' Esper wrote in an op-ed for Fox News 

* 'The armed services are struggling to meet their recruiting goals like rarely before,' Esper added 

* Esper, former secretary of the Army, noted that branch will be most affected - falling short by up to 15,000 soldiers this year 

* 'Worse, of the 3.5 million young Americans remaining, only 9% (~320,000) have a proclivity to serve' 

Former Defense Sec. Mark Esper issued a warning about the U.S. military's dismal recruitment numbers, writing that only a small fraction of the U.S. is fit to serve anymore since many are either overweight, on drugs or have a criminal past. 

'The U.S. military's all-volunteer force (AVF) is slowly dying,' Esper wrote in an op-ed for Fox News. 

'The armed services are struggling to meet their recruiting goals like rarely before.' Esper, former secretary of the Army, noted that branch will be most affected - falling short by up to 15,000 soldiers this year.  

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Update: Former Pentagon Chief Warns US Military 'Struggling' to Find New Recruits (Epoch Times)  

WNU Editor: Many having a criminal record does not help. Mark Esper's opinion piece is here .... Long, slow decline of the US military's all-volunteer force puts America in danger (Mark Esper, FOX News).

Senior U.S. General Says Americans Are Too Fat Or Have Criminal Records To Join The Armed Forces

Daily Mail: Too fat to fight! Four star general says Americans are too obese or criminal to join the armed forces and defend the country: Enlistment is at its lowest since after the Vietnam War 

* An Army general warns that young Americans are either too fat or criminal to join the armed services, as recruitment numbers run to historic lows 

* Lt. Gen Xavier Brunson said young people are unqualified to enlist due to obesity or pre-existing medical conditions 

* Only 23 percent of people of age to serve are physically eligible to enroll 

* The Army won't meet its 2022 recruitment goal of 485,000 - falling short by a staggering 20,000 recruits 

* Smaller recruitment numbers come after the Army announced all soldiers must receive the COVID-19 vaccine 

Recruitment numbers for the Army are at historic lows as Americans are either too fat or criminal to join the defend the country, an Army general warned. 

 Lt. Gen Xavier Brunson, the commander of Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, theorized as to why recruitment is so low following a July statement from the Army that announced it wouldn't meet its 485,000 recruitment goal for 2022, falling short by a staggering 20,000 recruits. 

Officers across the country are failing to meet recruitment numbers as fewer youth are qualified to serve, which some blame on the COVID-19 pandemic.  

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Update #1: Army general declares Americans too fat or criminal to fight in rebuke of service leaders (Task & Purpose)  

Update #2: ‘This is an American problem’: Army officer hopes program will help with lagging recruitment (The Spokesman Review)  

WNU Editor: This is an astounding statistic .... only 23 percent of Americans of age to serve are physically eligible to enroll.

Can The U.S. Military Fix Its Recruiting Problem?

Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commanding general and chief of engineers, enlists future soldiers in a public enlistment ceremony as their families and friends watched as part of the city of Torrance Armed Forces Day celebration. (Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/Flickr)  

Brad Howard, CNBC: Why the U.S. military faces a growing recruiting crisis 

The U.S. military faces a growing recruiting shortfall — one so large that legislators are getting concerned.

“The Army has to recognize that there’s been an evolution in that young population,” said U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif, chair of the Subcommittee on Military Personnel. “And if you’re going to target that young population for service, you’ve got to make it appealing to them.” 

Of all the military branches, the U.S. Army is running into the most difficulty this fiscal year in bringing in recruits. The other services should manage to hit their goals, according to Stars and Stripes, but underlying issues continue to make recruiting a difficult endeavor.  

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Can The U.S. Military Fix Its Recruiting Problem? 

Every branch of the military is struggling to make its 2022 recruiting goals, officials say -- NBC News  

Lawmakers press Pentagon for answers as military recruiting crisis deepens -- Politico  

The Recruitment Problem the Military Doesn’t Want to Talk About -- The American Conservative  

Too Few, Not Proud Enough -- National Review editorial  

The US Military is Missing its Enlistment Goals: Could Foreigners be the Solution? -- SOFREP

U.S. Military Facing A Recruitment Crisis

DNYUZ/New York Times: With Few Able and Fewer Willing, U.S. Military Can’t Find Recruits 

FOUNTAIN, Colo. — The local Army recruiting station was empty. The normally reliable recruiting grounds at the nearby Walmart were a bust. With the Army still thousands of soldiers short of its recruiting goal, the station commander, Sgt. First Class James Pulliam, dressed head to toe in camouflage, scanned a strip-mall parking lot for targets. 

He spotted a young woman getting out of a car, and put on his best salesman smile. 

“Hey, how’d you know I was going to be here today!” the sergeant said with an affable Carolina drawl, as if greeting an old friend. “I’m going to help put you in the Army!” 

These are tough times for military recruiting. Almost across the board, the armed forces are experiencing large shortfalls in enlistments this year — a deficit of thousands of entry-level troops that is on pace to be worse than any since just after the Vietnam War. It threatens to throw a wrench into the military’s machinery, leaving critical jobs unfilled and some platoons with too few people to function.  

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WNU Editor: Even with this recruitment crisis, tens of thousands of US soldiers could be discharged due to non-compliance with vaccine mandates .... Hundreds of thousands of US troops may face dismissal (RT). Or maybe not .... US judge blocks Air Force from kicking out, punishing thousands of unvaccinated troops (American Military News).

Why Is The Pentagon Facing Crashing Recruitment Rates?

Kurt Schlichter, Townhall: The Establishment Is Running Out of Cannon Fodder for Its Woke Military 

Jump out of a perfectly good airplane, charge a machine gun nest, be stationed at Ft. Irwin – these are just three of the myriad miseries American patriots are willing to endure to defend our country. But today's military is asking too much of our young people, as evidenced by the crashing recruitment rates that threaten to deplete a military already running short of soldiers. Have our young people suddenly turned from heroes to zeros, ne'er-do-well heirs of the brave warriors who confronted the forces of tyrannical gun control at Lexington and Concord? 

No. The kids are alright. The problems lie echelons above.  

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Update: Every branch of the military is struggling to make its 2022 recruiting goals, officials say (NBC)  

WNU Editor: As I always enjoy saying. Today's US military is not the military that your grandfather was in.

The U.S. Army Wants To Expand Its Recruiting Drive Online

Army-Technology: US Army to opt for virtual recruitment to meet end-strength goal

The US Army is planning to leverage virtual technologies for recruitment in a bid to meet end-strength goal of 485,000 soldiers by 30 September.

Army News Service Thomas Brading reported that the military branch aims to sign 10,000 enlistment contracts during a three-day virtual hiring programme scheduled to start from 30 June.

Army Training and Doctrine Command commander General Paul Funk said: “We’re looking for those young men and women that want to be infantry people; multiple launch rocket systems crew members; air and missile defence crew members; unmanned aircraft systems operators.

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Update: Army recruiters pushing more into digital world (US Army)

WNU Editor: The 18 to 30 generation are always online. It makes sense that this is one avenue that can be used to find new recruits.

Covid-19 Coronavirus Survivors Banned From Joining The U.S. Military

U.S. Army photo by D. Myles Cullen

Military Times: Coronavirus survivors banned from joining the military

As the Defense Department negotiates its way through the coronavirus pandemic and its fallout, military entrance processing stations are working with new guidance when it comes to bringing COVID-19 survivors into the services.

A past COVID-19 diagnosis is a no-go for processing, according to a recently released MEPCOM memo circulating on Twitter.

“During the medical history interview or examination, a history of COVID-19, confirmed by either a laboratory test or a clinician diagnosis, is permanently disqualifying ...” the memo reads.

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WNU Editor: Permanently disqualifying?!?!? I am sure this is going to be changed.

U.S. Army's New Recruitment Ad Focuses Less On Combat Roles

ABC News: Army's new recruiting ads focus less on combat roles

The Army's glitzy new recruiting campaign that kicked off on Veterans Day focuses less attention on combat roles and highlights lesser-known jobs like cyber warriors and scientists.

The ads are intended to "surprise" the 17-to-24-year-olds of "Generation Z" and raise awareness of less-popularized roles in the Army at a time when a strong economy is making it difficult to find new recruits.

The "What's Your Warrior" campaign will still highlight combat roles, but it also plays up some of the service's 150 career fields. It's a main reason why the new pitch showcases cyber protection and scientists researching the Zika virus.

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Update: Here’s the Army’s Next Big Advertising Campaign (Military.com)

WNU Editor: This is not your grandpa's US Army.

Will YouTube Influencers Help Drive U.S. Navy Recruitment?

YouTube creator William Osman, center, poses for a photo aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Osman competed in an egg-drop contest with sailors aboard the ship. (U.S. Navy)

The Virginia-Pilot: The Navy’s newest recruiting strategy: YouTube influencers

William Osman appears thrilled that he’s about to perform an egg-drop experiment.

The challenge is the same one that generations of students have done before: Engineer a way to stop an egg that’s dropped from a high elevation from obliterating on impact.

But Osman is no student. And the location of this egg drop is anything but typical.

Osman is an engineer and professional YouTube influencer who was invited aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt to compete in an egg-drop competition against a pair of sailors while cameras — lots of cameras — captured every moment on the aircraft carrier.

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WNU Editor: This is probably a better idea than what the U.K. tried to do .... U.K. Army Combat Units Are 40% Below Strength (August 10, 2019)

US Army REcruit Gets His First Haircut In 15 Years In Order To Enlist In The Army

Daily Mail: Shear bravery: Army recruit, 23, gets his hair cut for the first time in 15 YEARS so he can enlist in the military

* Reynaldo Arroyo, 23, was shown getting his first haircut in 15 years Thursday
* Arroyo needed to get his hair lopped off so that he could enlist in the Army
* A video showed Arroyo laughing as he got several feet of hair cut off
* It was revealed that he would donate his hair to the Locks of Love charity

A 23-year-old Army recruit got his first haircut in 15 years so that he could enlist in the military.

The Salt Lake City Army Recruiting Battalion shared a video showing the moment that Reynaldo Arroyo, 23, of Riverside, California, got his haircut for the first time in 15 years.

Arroyo, wearing his hair in a long ponytail with multiple elastics holding the dark strands together, said Thursday that he had moved to Missoula, Montana, and was 'really excited to be enlisting in the Army.'

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Update #1: Man Gets First Haircut in 15 Years in Order to Enlist in Army (Military.com)
Update #2: This US Army recruit got his first haircut in 15 years before shipping out to basic training, and donated 150 inches of hair to charity (Business Insider)

WNU Editor: He has definitely turned a page in his life.

The U.S. Army Is Using Rap To Recruit More Gen Z-ers

Stars and Stripes: The Army needs to recruit more Gen Z-ers and it's turning to recruiters' rap to do it

WASHINGTON — The Army is revamping the way it recruits future soldiers after missing its recruiting goal in 2018 for the first time in more than a decade, and the service is – at least in part – turning to rap music to pique the interest of Generation Z.

In a three-minute, Army-produced music video released Friday, Army recruiters Sgt. 1st Class Arlondo Sutton and Sgt. 1st Class Jason Locke rap about their Army experiences as clips flash showing soldiers in action – preparing to jump for a plane, fast-roping out of an airborne helicopter, toting M4 and sniper rifles and handling military police dogs.

“Giving all I got. I ain’t never gonna stop. Army changed my life,” Sutton raps in the chorus of the song entitled, “Giving All I Got.”

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WNU Editor: I am not a fan of Rap.

The Next Generation Of Warfighters In A Divided America

Task & Purpose: The Recruiters: Searching For The Next Generation Of Warfighters In A Divided America

On a muggy Tuesday afternoon in August, Staff Sgt. Justin McDonald, a U.S. Army soldier with the Mid-Atlantic Recruiting Battalion, was piloting a government-issued Dodge minivan through northeast New Jersey, giving me a tour of his sector, when a man suddenly appeared in the road. He was tall and sinewy, wearing a bright red do-rag, and he had a pistol tucked into his waistband. Or at least that’s what I discerned through the fabric of his dirty white tank top. It could’ve been a water gun, or a banana. Whatever it was, he was clutching it with one hand while motioning for us to stop with the other.

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WNU Editor: The military cannot compete in an economy that has near zero unemployment, and better opportunities. On the bright note .... most of the soldiers that they do recruit are individuals who want to be a soldier .... not necessarily those who want a job and/or a way out of their neighborhood.

U.S. Army Lifts Ban On Recruits With Histories Of Mental Illness, Drug Abuse And Self-Mutilation

USA Today: Army lifts ban on waivers for recruits with history of some mental health issues

WASHINGTON – People with a history of “self-mutilation,” bipolar disorder, depression and drug and alcohol abuse can now seek waivers to join the Army under an unannounced policy enacted in August, according to documents obtained by USA TODAY.

The decision to open Army recruiting to those with mental health conditions comes as the service faces the challenging goal of recruiting 80,000 new soldiers through September 2018. To meet last year's goal of 69,000, the Army accepted more recruits who fared poorly on aptitude tests, increased the number of waivers granted for marijuana use and offered hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses.

Expanding the waivers for mental health is possible in part because the Army now has access to more medical information about each potential recruit, Lt. Col. Randy Taylor, an Army spokesman, said in a statement. The Army issued the ban on waivers in 2009 amid an epidemic of suicides among troops.

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Update #1: U.S. Army Now Taking Applicants With Histories Of Mental Illness, Drug Abuse And Self-Mutilation (Newsweek)
Update #2: Army lifts ban on recruits with history of self-mutilation, drug and alcohol abuse (Miami Herald)
Update #3: Army Lowers Recruiting Standards To Allow Soldiers With History Of Self-Mutilation, Bipolar Disorder (Zero Hedge)

WNU Editor: There has to be a better way to find and entice recruits to join the Army.