"Wokeness is responsible for the Military Recruitment Crisis"

 I have a lot of "drama" going on "Meatspace", I will explain later when I have time to 'splain.  Also I am very happy with the election and I will post in a day or two on that.

I saw this on "American Spectator", and I totally agree with it.  Until recently Military service was a family affair, but now a lot of veterans are telling their kids and others, "don't bother", for several reasons.  Back when I joined, we knew that we were giving uncle Sam a blank check that he can cash up to the full amount which is our life, and we trusted our leadership not to squander "us" in bullcrap.  I trusted my Presidents, Reagan and Bush to be judicious and they were, although I blame ""Foggy Bottom for "Beirut Bombing" and the restrictive rules of engagement, and that won't be the first time that happened, it happened again in Somalia in 93 and during Obungler's time in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If our nation’s top military and civilian leaders want to understand why military recruiting in the all-volunteer force is at an all-time low, they need only look in the mirror. Few young people want to be like them. The sight of former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley waddling out into the political arena this election season is unlikely to convince many teenagers to join up.

In an insightful piece in the Wall Street Journal, Owen West and Kevin Wallsten explain how incompetent top-level leadership and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts are chasing away potential recruits, as well as the military’s historically best recruiters — veterans who have encouraged their kids and grandkids to follow in their footsteps. The decline of this kind of encouragement from senior veterans almost exactly parallels the decline in recruitment rates. Historically, 80 percent of recruits had a relative who had served. Today, 80 percent of veterans say they would not recommend military service under the present circumstances. This is not a coincidence.

The Biden administration and its senior civilian and military leaders are in denial. They blame poor education, increasing juvenile drug abuse, and the sedentary lifestyle of the smartphone generation for reducing the pool of eligible recruits. The reality is that there are still plenty of high school athletes, young hunters, and farm kids out there who would otherwise join. Their parents and grandparents — I’m one of them — are either actively discouraging or just not encouraging them to enlist. Worse, the young people themselves see two decades of military failure culminating in the disgraceful rout in Kabul. They wonder if they want to be led by senior officers who spent 20 years fighting a war and not adapting their strategy to bring it to a successful conclusion. 

Joe Biden holds that diversity is essential to success on the battlefield. That is not supported by military history. The army of the Persian Empire under Darius and Xerxes was the most incredibly diverse in history, but was trounced on the battlefield by homogenous Greek armies in two decisive battles. The Persian army was made up of drafted contingents from every nation in the empire — many of whom hated each other more than they hated the Greeks. Over a century later, Alexander the Great conquered the empire with an equally homogenous professional army. Likewise, the very diverse Austro-Hungarian army was a drag on its allies throughout World War I.

In addition, DEI initiatives have made military promotions a joke. Who wants to join a military where you are likely to be passed over because a man wearing a dress, or someone less qualified but of a different ethnicity, will get promoted over you because they come from an underserved minority? In 2022, the Air Force mandated quotas based on race for officer promotions.

But the administration’s policies have also eroded military service culture. Even the Marine Corps, once considered one of the world’s elite assault forces, has adopted a passive defensive mentality that is technology dependent. The Marines are making their recruiting quotas, barely, because their recruitment goals have gotten a lot smaller under the leadership of the Biden administration and two incompetent commandants. Both have actively encouraged the downsizing. (READ MORE: The Marine Corps Has Gone Off the Rails)

The Biden administration has been laser focused on DEI at the expense of military readiness. If Kamala Harris becomes president, we can expect her administration to double down on DEI; she is, after all, the ultimate poster child for the movement. Unlike Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, she has never earned her national security chops. Potential recruits will likely not be unaware of the fact that the Biden administration has overseen an unbroken series of military and foreign policy disasters.

I desperately want to support the armed services, but I cannot, in good conscience, encourage any young man or woman to serve under the likes of Kamala Harris and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. 

Gary Anderson is a retired Marine Corps Colonel who served as a Special Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of Defense and as a civilian advisor in Iran and Afghanistan

"Why Generation Z Will not join the Military"

 I saw this last week and was going to post it but got overcome by events(Going out of town), I also have my own theories, after 2 generations of being told that the West is the source of all evil especially the United States, it is hard to get its younger citizens to step up to the ramparts to defend her, especially when there is a large segment of the population of "Zers" that would support our enemy because they want to see us get lessened for "Past sins".  The "Communist March" through our institutions were exceedingly successful.  I joined during the 1980's during what I called "Reagan's America", we believed in our country and were willing to give Uncle Sam a blank check.  Times have changed.

Photo credit: Lighthouse Films (Getty Images)

The youth of today seems to have zero interest in joining the military and the military can’t seem to figure out why that is. They’ve done studies, conducted polls and the Army even knows that Gen Z has some serious misconceptions about the military. Despite a $4 billion investment in marketing to Gen Z, the combined branches of the military will miss their recruiting goals by nearly 19,000 in 2023. 

Many people in the military and in government believe the recruiting crisis is a serious national security risk, but the military itself just keeps falling short of reaching (or appealing to) Americans born after 1997 – so-called Generation Z. But one Marine officer, a lieutenant and a member of that generation, has written a book detailing what he believes are problems and solutions, and presents research to back it up. 

Lt. Matthew Weiss took it upon himself to research and write “We Don't Want You, Uncle Sam: Examining the Military Recruiting Crisis with Generation Z." As a member of Gen Z with a background working for the defense technology firm Anduril Industries, he saw how companies jockey to attract and retain young talent coming from anywhere in the country. He also earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School before joining the Corps. 

Most importantly, the military was able to attract him, a talented, educated 25-year-old man who could have done anything. Knowing why he, a member of the military’s key target demographic, decided to join the Marine Corps is probably the most unique insight of all. 

Weiss breaks down what he believes are 21 key issues across four distinct areas that are the core problems keeping Gen Z and the military apart. He then backs up his reasoning with painstaking research with "the intention of diagnosing and solving a real and serious issue facing our nation," he writes. 

We Don't Want YOU, Uncle Sam: Examining the Military Recruiting Crisis with Generation Z book cover.

There are a few issues he addresses that other generations would expect about Gen Z, such as the power of social media influencers. The U.S. military, he says, can counter that with influencers of their own. Another sticking point is the military pay structure: everyone gets paid the same regardless of performance. This is a generation that watches peers gain followers and influence (and thus more money) through performance. The military, he says, could introduce performance bonus pay. 

On the other hand, there are problems and solutions that may not be as obvious, according to the book. These kinds of problems and solutions could be the key because the military is uniquely suited to address them. First off, Generation Z needs a calling, one they strive for and work toward. It needs to be larger than life, bigger than themselves. 

What better place to answer that calling than the U.S. military? 

Moreover, this is a generation that is constantly receiving updates, pings and dings from their phone. It’s beginning to have a negative effect on them, and they crave time away from the screens and sounds of their daily life to go out and do something “unplugged” and reset. The military can offer this time spent doing real-world responsibility-bearing activities like no other institution, so all is not lost.

For a full rundown on what the United States military can do to appeal to its youngest generation of military-age Americans, check out “We Don't Want You, Uncle Sam: Examining the Military Recruiting Crisis with Generation Z” – on sale now in both paperback and on Amazon Kindle e-readers.