U.S. Military Can't Find Recruits

[applegrove]

U.S. Military Can’t Find Recruits

July 17, 2022 at 3:13 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

https://politicalwire.com/2022/07/17/u-s-military-cant-find-recruits/

"SNIP.......


New York Times: “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.”

......SNIP"

[comradebillyboy]

1. The proper free market solution is better pay and better working/living

conditions. Otherwise bring back the draft for both men and women.

[Freddie]

2. Not for women unless we get the ERA

And control of our bodies.
I imagine they’re not getting a lot of women recruits. Who wants to fight for the country that just made them second class citizens?

[2naSalit]

14. +1

As if the sexual harassment problem in the military isn't bad enough already.

[former9thward]

18. A draft means you have no control of your body.

Men or women. The body belongs to the military. So no draft for men or women, ERA or no ERA.

[RKP5637]

19. K&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t

[MustLoveBeagles]

28. +1

[applegrove]

10. Oh God no.

[DFW]

43. A new draft might be successfully fought under the 13th amendment these days.

This is an unexpected side-effect under the current employment situation. The volunteer military was always filled with young people who couldn't find jobs and were looking for some training they couldn't pay for on their own. Nowadays, it's less difficult for them to find that in the private sector without going through boot camp and basic training. It's inflationary, but you are correct: pay them better, treat them better, and they'll come back.

Caveat: they still must screen applicants and refuse psychotic right wing cultists. We do not need to be putting firearms in the hands of sociopaths and psychopaths.

[uponit7771]

3. K&R, Corps in US don't want to admit US is heading towards negative unemployment with so many ...

... working aged Americans either dead from covid (including the overages) or retired.

The roaring twenties was roaring for a reason !!

[former9thward]

27. Covid largely killed elderly and disabled.

Not candidates for the military or the general workforce. The labor participation rate for working age males is down dramatically. It was about 88% in 1950 and now is down to about 62%.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300001

[Mariana]

38. Male life expectancy was 66.5 years in 1950. Today it is 79.3 years.

Naturally, there's a much larger proportion of the male population that is retired now. That graph is for males 16 years old and older, yes? So it includes all of those retirees.

[former9thward]

42. No and no.

Male life expectancy in 1950 was about the same as now. In 1950 white males could expect to live to about 79 or so.

https://www.seniorliving.org/history/1900-2000-changes-life-expectancy-united-states/

You are thinking of life expectancy at Birth. But life expectancy once you made it to adulthood/workforce age has not changed much in hundreds of years. Life expectancy at birth has increased over the years because of the reduction in childhood killer diseases and other issues. Once you made it to an adult you could expect a reasonably long life.

Labor participation rates do not include retirees. The are rates of the groups typically in the workforce.

[ProfessorGAC]

44. These Data Suggest Otherwise

https://ourworldindata.org/its-not-just-about-child-mortality-life-expectancy-improved-at-all-ages
Apparently it's not as cut & dry as you think.
Every line in this gra0h trends upward, even for those already 50, 60, or 70.
It's data from England & Wales but it's likely that it has broader applicability.

[former9thward]

48. The poster I was replying to was confusing life exp at birth with life exp in the workforce.

That was the entire point of the reply. Do you think it is the same?

[ProfessorGAC]

51. You're Dodging

The data i linked differs from your contention that expectancy in adulthood hasn't changed in "hundreds of years".
When confronted with contradictory data, you changed the subject. That's weak.
Color me unsurprised.

[former9thward]

54. You are playing games.

Color me unsurpassed. I said hasn't changed "much". Why did you leave that word out? I know why and so does anyone who reads the posts....

[Mariana]

53. The percentage of the population over 65 is 2x higher now than it was then. nt.

[former9thward]

55. And???

That fact has no meaning to the labor participation rate. They don't measure over 65.

[BlackSkimmer]

41. The people who died from Covid were not the healthiest Americans anyway, and unlikely to have been

eligible for the military.

Sadly, that disease took the elderly, the morbidly obese, those with other underlying conditions,

[walkingman]

4. Maybe, just maybe, it will stop our historically crazy foreign policies. Who

would want to put their life on the line to fight a politicians meaningless war.

[2naSalit]

15. +1

[Sky Jewels]

23. What, you don't think it's noble to

die for corporate shareholder profits?! How un-American!

[dchill]

5. They're just going to join Trump's Army.

WAY less training, same firepower.

[MyMission]

30. And many have already joined private militias

Which are part of cult 45's army.

Although we didn't want those folks in the US military anyway.
And many couldn't make the cut...too much training.

[tazkcmo]

46. Not even close in fire power.

All those militias and Meal Team 6 commandos have is small arms fire. No artillery, guided munitions or bombs of any kind. No medical, culinary or logistical support. No command and control, communications or night capability.

A Trump army isn't an army. It's a potluck.

[Aristus]

6. Red states are passing election laws that allow them to overturn any results they don't like.

Black people and other minorities are being murdered with impunity by white cops. "Law-abiding gun-owners" are turning mass murder into the national pastime. And women no longer have legally-protected medical privacy.

Potential recruits are no doubt asking themselves: "What exactly is it we're supposed to be defending?"

[cbabe]

7. Economy upswinging. No more poverty draft.

[chowder66]

8. It would be great if no country could find recruits.

[roamer65]

9. Soon, they will have no choice but to reinstate the military draft.

Especially when the Russo-Ukrainian War spreads and the specter of WW3 looms larger.

[RKP5637]

22. Yeah, I think there's a good chance this is really going to spread and a draft will

be instituted. And, as you say, "... the specter of WW3 looms larger." And, it's difficult to say where domestic US is ending up with all the craziness in this country.

[roamer65]

31. Yes, the UN seems impotent right now.

Much like the failure of the League of Nations before WW2.

[Emile]

11. Low unemployment is the reason. Don't let a right winger

tell you any different.

[former9thward]

34. We had low unemployment before the Covid shutdowns.

But that is not the main issue. They have a small pool of people to recruit from. Most (71%) of youth are not qualified because of obesity, mental illness or other physical issues.

https://recruiting.army.mil/pao/facts_figures/

[applegrove]

12. Offer citizenship to young people around the world. I bet the real reason is

MAGA people already feel they have meaning and are in an army: their cult.

[roamer65]

16. That's how the Romans did it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_military_diploma

[former9thward]

35. The U.S. already does that.

You can become a citizen if you serve for one year.

https://www.uscis.gov/military/naturalization-through-military-service#:~:text=One%20Year%20of%20Military%20Service,not%20apply%20or%20are%20reduced.

[applegrove]

37. Great.

[Chainfire]

13. It would be had for me, if I were a young person, to get excited about serving my country.

I am not, but I do believe, that if I were a young woman, there is no way in hell that I would serve after the infamous court ruling, draft or no draft.

If they resorted to a draft to fill the ranks, it would be just as always, there are people who would be immune from serving due to the power and influence of their families. The only fair system would be mandatory and universal service. If you have fucking bone spurs, you could serve at a desk, but you would serve either in the service or in the jails.

[RKP5637]

29. Sadly, today, it really makes one wonder what kind of country they are risking their lives for.

To me, the US of today is far from a perfect country and is skidding off the rails severely, especially with the new SCOTUS and 2022/2024 elections coming up.

[NickB79]

17. Too many overweight kids

The obesity epidemic is reaching critical mass (no pun intended).

[former9thward]

36. Exactly.

71% of youth are not qualified for the military with obesity being the number one issue.

https://recruiting.army.mil/pao/facts_figures/

[highplainsdem]

40. Yes. And that isn't just a problem for the military. It's a problem for our health care system.

[roamer65]

20. Look at the conflict brewing in the world right now.

The kids know there is a larger war coming and they want no part of it, but eventually no one will be able to avoid it.

[al_liberal]

26. Get ready for the ads in 3....2....1

Biden hollowed out our military. If we needed to go to war we don’t have the troops. A former Navy Seal came up to me, big guy, with tears in his eyes, and asked me “Sir are you going to fix our military?”

[Iggo]

50. Expect an all out blitz from the NFL.

Pun totally intended.

[Dysfunctional]

32. If I was 18 again, I would enlist in the army for the same DoD job in M.I.

After 2 years, E-5, $2,786 a month plus $2,010 a month BAH. No combat zone, just a nice desk job.

[jmowreader]

49. If I was 18 again I'd go to college first and then to the Navy

I spent two weeks working with Navy CTs and sonarmen. THOSE guys are impressive! A Navy CT won't just tell you there's a Russian Udaloy-class destroyer nine miles away and on a 242 azimuth, they'll tell you which one it is and if any of his radars aren't working properly. Their sonarmen are just as bad; they can tell you if their guy has picked up any extra dents in his hull.

[patphil]

39. We could always reduce the size of the military.

Close a few bases, foreign and domestic, and stop trying to be the world's policemen.

[Xolodno]

45. After Iraq and Afghanistan...

...young people don't want to join the military? It's not like Ukraine, Yemen, Iran, North Korea, China/Taiwan, Venezuela, etc. could turn into a real hell hole.

Trump almost got us involved with World War 3 with Iran, but that turned out all right.

And when you have a bone spurs President, politicians like Bolton who are willing to send people to war, I'm sure their experience in the military tells them what they are doing. Oh wait.....

Jokes aside, I doubt they resort to a draft. It's too unpopular. A national service on the other hand, they might be able sell. Send young people to work in fire brigades in the national parks, forests, etc. would give you that feel good story, but, if your not connected, "sorry, those public service jobs are at capacity, but you can enlist instead for a term in the military".

[sakabatou]

47. Maybe, just maybe, we're sick and tired of going on endless wars

[Iggo]

52. The Military Industrial Complex.

Oil it with money. Feed it with your babies.

[keithbvadu2]

56. Set up recruiting booths at MAGA rallies.

Set up recruiting booths at MAGA rallies.

Seek out the patriotic children/grandchildren of the MAGA patriots.

.