From Above the Noise.
The U.S. military faced a historic recruitment crisis in 2022, failing to meet goals for enlisting new soldiers by a wide margin. Why are so many young people saying no to military service?
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**Is the U.S. military facing a recruitment crisis?
All branches of the U.S. military except for the Marine Corps failed to meet their recruiting goals for new soldiers in 2022, with the Army having the biggest shortfall (they missed their target by 15,000). This is reported to be the worst recruiting crisis since 1973, the height of the Vietnam War.
**Why is Gen Z rejecting the U.S. military?
More than 20% of people between the ages of 18 – 25 failed to meet eligibility requirements, and only 9% of people in this age group even report interest in joining the military. Most experts agree that the crisis is caused by competition from other jobs that offer good pay and benefits, and Gen Z’s lack of trust in the military as an institution. Much of that lack of trust is caused by greater access to information about sexual assault, racism, homophobia, and a growing lack of interest in the military lifestyle.
**How does the U.S. military recruit new enlists?
For most of U.S. history, the military has relied on mandatory conscription (aka, the “draft”) every time there has been a major war. But youth protests against the Draft reached a peak during the Vietnam War, leading to the end of the draft in 1973. Since then, the military has relied upon an all-voluntary force – forcing them to increase recruiting efforts. Since the 1970s, the military has increased its spending each year on ads and recruiters. Many of these recruiters visit high school and college campuses. More recently, the military has focused its marketing efforts on social media influencers and e-games to reach more young people.
**What is the JROTC?
The U.S. Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) calls itself a “character development and citizenship program for youth,” not a military recruiter. The National Defense Act of 1916 established organized JROTC programs at public and private educational institutions. In 1964, Congress expanded the program to all military services and changed from active duty to shared support from the services and schools. But the JROTC creates a direct pipeline for enlistment, and their programs are especially prevalent in low-income school districts that serve students of color – and recent reports show that students are often enlisted in JROTC without their express consent.
SELECTED SOURCES
Army misses recruiting goal by 15,000 soldiers (Army Times, Oct. 2022)
https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2022/10/02/army-misses-recruiting-goal-by-15000-soldiers/
Fall 2021 Propensity Update (U.S. Department of Defense)
https://jamrs.defense.gov/Portals/20/Documents/YP51Fall2021PUBLICRELEASEPropensityUpdate.pdf
Military Esports: How Gaming Is Changing Recruitment & Morale (U.S. Department of Defense, Dec. 2022)
https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/Article/3244620/military-esports-how-gaming-is-changing-recruitment-morale/
How 2020 is Impacting Gen Z’s Worldview (Morning Consult, June 2020)
https://morningconsult.com/form/gen-z-worldview-tracker/
Demographics of the U.S. Military (Council on Foreign Relations, Jul. 2020)
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/demographics-us-military
Thousands of Teens Are Being Pushed Into Military’s Junior R.O.T.C. (New York Times, Dec. 2022)
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/11/us/jrotc-schools-mandatory-automatic-enrollment.html
Military Recruitment Provisions Under the No Child Left Behind Act: A Legal Analysis (Congressional Research Service, Jan. 2009)
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc743656/m1/1/high_res_d/RS22362_2009Jan29.pdf
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (United Nations, May 2020)
https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/optional-protocol-convention-rights-child-involvement-children
CHAPTERS
00:00 – Intro
00:59 – History of military recruiting in the U.S.
01:58 – U.S. military recruiting tactics today
03:00 – Why Gen Z is rejecting the U.S. military
04:13 – Racism within U.S. military
05:00 – What is the JROTC?
06:24 – Benefits of joining the military
07:17 – Ethics of recruiting minors into the military
07:25 – No Child Left Behind Act and student data collection
07:35 – UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
09:18 – Alternatives to military service
10:10 – U.S. military recruitment goals 2023
#military #militarylife #recruiting
