We have all seen the headlines: The Army Times reports … Short-handed Army to miss recruiting goal for second year in a row …
The Navy is no better off with the headline: Struggling to meet its recruiting goals, the Navy is now accepting enlistees as old as 41 and VCNO: Navy Set to Miss FY 2023 Recruiting Goals for Enlisted Sailors by Nearly 16% …
The Military Times has the scoop on the Air Force: Air Force Will Likely Miss Recruiting Goals, Service Secretary Says …
… and in FY ’23 only the Marines and Space Force will hit their recruiting targets ---
… just barely. So, what is the problem?
There have been a number of causes for this precipitous drop in recruiting personnel across the entire Department of Defense. One of the biggest gorillas in the room is the “Woke” policy and all of its programs and attitudes that seem to have captured most of the senior “Brass’s” attention. Drag Queen Navy personnel making recruiting commercials, a transgender Army Major and others holding “Pride Flags” …
… and Air Force Bases holding Drag Queen Story Hours on the military installations. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that none of the Pride activities of the past month, and any that might still be on-going, are a really big incentive to join the all-volunteer force.
Now the recruiters have identified another “boogeyman” in the attempt to recruit young men and women to military service. It’s called MHS Genesis – the MHS stands for Military Health System and Genesis is the software that drives it. The publication Task and Purpose says that … This year, the Pentagon officially launched Military Health System (MHS) Genesis, a new electronic health record system for the military that is the result of years of pilot programs, testing, and congressional mandates. Col. Megan Stallings, commander of U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command (USMEPCOM), called it a “leap in medical modernization” that is “revolutionizing our medical processing.” It was introduced not only at Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPS), but across the military health system to streamline care for service members, dependents, and veterans.
The recruiters do not necessarily agree with the Colonel. They described their observations to Task and Purpose … an unpredictable process for recruits that last weeks — sometimes months — longer than it did before Genesis came online. The system has resulted in furious parents who are often the ones setting up doctor’s appointments for additional tests and paperwork, they said, and it has discouraged recruits who change their minds in the time it takes the Army to work through their records. So, perhaps it is the DoD’s medical policies that are driving the downturn in recruitment. But DoD leadership responds that if it is in part responsible for a downturn, then it is because MHS Genesis is a new methodology for obtaining a lot of medical data on potential enlistees … as the system matures, we can anticipate that the time it takes to gather the data will come down and not be an impediment to recruiting requirements.
When looking for root causes to this national security dilemma, we cannot ignore an important piece of key information. In the spring and summer of 2022, a survey was conducted by the Army and as reported by Spectrum News 1 in Texas, the survey … showed some of the Army’s bigger hurdles are that young people don’t want to die or get injured, deal with the stress of the Army or put their lives on hold. I think we all understand the reluctance of Gen Z to do anything except watch TikTok videos and attend classes on gender studies.
That can certainly explain the responses about dealing with the stress of Army life and putting their lives on hold. I think it is also safe to conclude that no one who agrees to serve the country does not do so with the intent of dying for the country. In fact, General George Patton of World War II fame charged his troops with just the opposite --- get the enemy to die for his country … it results in a much better outcome for the soldier and the country.
What of the issue regarding injury of the soldier? The US military works hard to develop equipment and support systems designed to keep its warriors alive on the battlefield. In the post Afghanistan / Iraq War era, we find that we flipped the scenario on the number of soldiers killed and wounded. The Vietnam Memorial reflects the names of some 53,000 warriors of all branches of the service who were Killed in Action or died of their battlefield wounds. Our more recent experience with Afghanistan and Iraq resulted in approximately 7,000 Killed in Action and almost 60,000 Wounded in Action. The introduction of advanced medical capabilities, body armor and “The Golden Hour” --- i.e., swift medical evacuation of the wounded --- have contributed to a phenomenon never experienced in our post war histories to the magnitude it is today. The warrior who survives his or her wounds --- who might not have survived in earlier wars --- is a much more likely occurrence today. By all accounts, this is a good thing. But it has created a situation in our country which can be having a negative effect on our volunteer military.
Our evenings are filled with TV commercials asking us to contribute to the many charitable organizations that have emerged to provide help and support to these wounded veterans beyond what the US Government provides. We have all been conditioned to recognize their names … Wounded Warrior, Disabled American Veteran, Tunnel to Towers, and the list goes on.
And in each instance, the case is made to acquire the viewers support by showing the catastrophic wounds that these veterans have suffered. The technology that brought them home alive has its limitations and those become apparent as the request for money is made.
Wounded veterans have been a part of every war that America has been called on to fight. But we have never, as a nation, been exposed to the lingering effects of the battlefield damage that can be inflicted on a soldier. The motivation and work that is accomplished on behalf of these veterans is vital; but the images shown … night after night for years … have an effect on younger generations and their parents. Remember what the Army survey said: people don’t want to die or get injured … this sentiment is magnified by the steady stream of TV ads showing just how injured a person can get on the battlefield.
So, now the question must be asked … Is this constant exposure of our wounded warriors having a negative impact on the recruiting efforts of the military? The need for the funding of these organizations is critical to the on-going care needed by our wounded warriors; but, is it possible that in helping achieve that goal we are, as a nation, coming up short on national security?