The U.S. military is struggling to meet recruitment requirements across every branch in 2022. Recently, I saw a Twitter post asking veterans if they are encouraging their children to join the military. In the responses, many people talked about how they shared the opportunity but let their children decide. Others recommended a branch different than their own, suggesting a look at the Air Force or Space Force. Though the post was generally positive, there was also one recruiter who complained about how veterans are “not helping.”
Retired Army Lt. Gen Thomas Spoehr, director of the Heritage’s Center for National Defense, said the military has not had such a hard time signing recruits since 1973, the year the U.S. left Vietnam. Incidentally, the U.S. ended its longest war in Afghanistan in 2021 and now finds itself struggling to recruit the next generation of warfighters.
Yes, there are other factors, such as medical disqualifications, leading to a smaller group of qualified people to serve, but I feel the military is skipping over an obvious challenge: 20 years of war, followed by a messy pullout of Afghanistan that within days put the Taliban back in charge.
As a veteran who served in Afghanistan, it left me feeling conflicted about the sacrifice so many made over many years and how many lives were sacrificed because of it.
But is it right to blame veterans for the lack of recruits? And if those who have served are not encouraging their children or others to join, is that a bad reflection on veterans or the military itself?
The military has had a long line of generational service. Those who served encouraged or inspired their children to serve. But 20 years of war coupled with the vocal challenges of military life have made it harder for this legacy of service to continue. Many military members and families are tired; tired of the sacrifice the military requires not only from its members but also the families.
Another contributing factor could also be changes made to the Post-9/11 GI Bill. It was meant to retain those currently serving so they could pass their education benefit to their children. Now those same children are not incentivized, nor are their parents because the children gained the benefit without having to serve.
Instead of expecting veterans to continue giving to the military long after the military stopped caring about them, let’s look at the real problem of not acknowledging how decades of war in Afghanistan and Iraq has influenced the public view of military service.
Blaming veterans for recruiting challenges is a cop-out. Instead, the military needs to focus on how it’s recruiting and realize the days of finding a prospect with little-to-no knowledge or military affiliation are gone.
With the internet and the ability to connect online, it is easier for young people to find someone to mentor and tell them the truth about military life. A conversation isn’t even required because these topics are throughout videos on YouTube or TikTok.
And even so, I still think there are many benefits to military service but recruiting tactics need to change, starting with the realization that younger generations are different from previous eras. If the military does not change and adapt, it will continue to have a hard time meeting its recruitment goals.
