A recent survey by the Pew Research Center revealed that more than half of people under the age of 30 hold a negative opinion of the US military, posing challenges for an already struggling recruitment process, Newsweek reported.

In the previous fiscal year, the various branches of the military collectively fell short of their recruitment targets by approximately 41,000 recruits, as reported by Ashish Vazirani, an official at the US Department of Defense (DOD).

Vazirani, who serves as the deputy under-secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, described the issues contributing to recruitment difficulties as "complex and multifaceted" in a December 2023 article on the DOD's website.

According to the Pew Research Center poll, 53% of individuals aged 18 to 29 believe that the military has a negative impact on how things are going in the country. In contrast, 43% view the military positively. Among Americans aged 50 and older, seven out of 10 said the military affects the country positively. In the age group of 30 to 49, 57% also hold a favorable attitude toward the military.

The survey, which covered a broad spectrum of American trends, was conducted from January 16 to 21, with a margin of error for the full sample of 5,140 US adult respondents at plus or minus 1.7 percentage points.

Dive deeper

The DOD article identified several factors contributing to the challenges in military recruitment, with a focus on the younger population. It noted that Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) generally exhibits low trust in institutions.

Another factor is that Gen Z tends to deviate from traditional life and career paths, and the robust US economy provides young individuals with more alternative options. Furthermore, the younger generation has fewer family members with military service experience, reducing the inclination to enlist.

Over the past two decades, the percentage of young individuals who had never considered military service has doubled. Approximately 20 years ago, slightly over 25 percent of youths fell into this category. However, in recent years, as reported by Vazirani, the figure has surged to over 50 percent of young individuals.

"While the picture of the current recruiting environment is acutely difficult, the Defense Department and the military services are working together to resolve issues, improve processes, and expand awareness of the many opportunities military service offers," Vazirani said in the report.

US Army: shrinking and weak

According to a Newsweek report on October 23 last year, the United States Army size is apparently the smallest in size it has been since World War II, as the service struggles to attract new recruits.

As early as February 2023, the Pentagon admitted to difficulties in recruiting new people to the US Army. 

The army declared on October 3 2023 that it had recruited about 55,000 soldiers in the fiscal year 2023, which ended on September 30, 2023, falling 10,000 recruits short of the publicly declared objective of 65,000. 

On January 11 of this year, internal data from the Defense Department revealed a notable decline in the recruitment of white individuals to the US Army in recent years, according to a report by Military.com.

In 2018, the Army identified over 44,000 new recruits as white, but this figure had consistently decreased annually, dropping to around 25,000 white recruits in 2023, as detailed in the report.

The proportion of white individuals among Army recruits has seen a decline from 56.4% in 2018 to 44% in 2023, reflecting a significant shift over the years.

In addition, according to the Heritage Foundation's 10th annual Index of Military Strength, which came out on January 24, the "weak" US military is "at significant risk of being unable to meet the demands of a single major regional conflict while also attending to various presence and engagement activities."

The report graded each branch of service on its strength in capacity, competence, and preparedness, grading the branch power as either very weak, weak, marginal, strong, or very strong.

It detailed how nearly all branches of the US military cannot face a serious major war, with the Air Force rated as "very weak" in 2023, the lowest possible rating.

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