Pentagon admits problems recruiting young Americans to US army: Report

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The Pentagon has admitted that it is facing difficulties in recruiting new people to the US army, Sputnik reported on Saturday.

The agency's report revealed that in 2022, the US army planned to recruit 70,000 people. However, by June 2022, the army dropped the number to 60,000, and by the end of the fiscal year in September, only 45,000 were enlisted. The Economist found that the year 2022 witnessed the lowest enlistment figures since 1973.

In this regard, US Congressman Adam Smith, former chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, claimed that "the biggest reason we have a recruitment problem is because of two years of pandemic."
 
"We can develop all of the most high-tech new weapons systems, like we are working on right now, but if we don’t have the kinds of talented motivated individuals to use those weapons systems, we won’t be able to do what we need to do," Secretary of the US Army, Christine Wormuth, pointed out at a convention hosted by CNBC in September.

Sputnik cited recent estimates as saying that 75% of Americans aged 16-28 are unaware of the work and history of the US army, adding that only 9% of young Americans are interested in joining the armed forces.

Jeremy Shepherd, a political scientist, told Sputnik that the fact that many young Americans are aware of how their relatives were treated when they served in the army is one factor that discourages them from joining the military.

"If you bring in a lot of coffins with flags on them, it looks very bad in the news," Shepherd said.

Another factor deterring young people from enlisting in the army is the mental health issues reported by active-duty service members in recent years. According to the Pentagon, suicide rates among active-duty service members increased by 40% from 2015 to 2020.

Read more: For the second year in a row: US Army misses recruiting target by 25%

Outdated recruitment strategies

In the same context, Michael Strobl, the assistant deputy commandant for manpower and reserve affairs for the Marine Corps, indicated during a Senate panel last September that recruiting efforts have to be upgraded to the reality.

"Current recruitment efforts rely too much on an outdated, ‘telephone book-era’ method to recruit youth through high school directories rather than focusing on social media," Strobl pointed out.

Due to the failure to reach its recruitment target, the #US military tried something different, enlisting students into their J.R.O.T.C. military program without their permission. pic.twitter.com/f4OgW4gpO7

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 17, 2022

The Sputnik report said the US government has not acknowledged that some influencers on social media are part of its propaganda strategy, although the Pentagon has faced controversy over its interference with platforms such as streaming network Twitch.

It cited a report by Vice Media that claimed to have seen a manual that outlines steps for US military streamers to capture the attention of young videogamers, many of whom are addicted to games that have been accused of military propaganda, such as Call of Duty.

An attractive career option

Secretary of the US Army, Christine Wormuth, acknowledged that the military faces a huge challenge in making itself an attractive career option.

"We're competing for talent just like all of the folks in industry are, and the job market is hot right now," Wormuth pointed out.

She indicated that "wages have gone up a lot, and that’s great for Americans, but it’s making it harder for us in the Army to compete."

Read more: US military dwindling in strength: WSJ