The U.S. Military’s Recruiting Crisis Is the Real Deal

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Key Points and Summary: The U.S. military faces ongoing recruiting challenges despite a notable improvement in 2024 enlistment numbers. With declining eligibility among young adults, low interest in military service, and a competitive labor market, the Department of Defense is seeking innovative solutions to attract recruits.

-Experts suggest emphasizing fun, adventure, and benefits such as bonuses and education opportunities like the GI Bill. Patriotism and service to one’s country also remain key motivators.

-Addressing these challenges is critical for national security as the military strives to meet higher recruitment goals and adapt to a shifting geopolitical landscape.

Recruiting In the U.S. Military Is at a Crossroads

The U.S. military is going through recruiting challenges and is having trouble finding able-bodied people to enlist, although recruiting levels did improve in 2024. 

I sought fun and adventure when I joined the U.S. Army in 1999.

I was much older than other recruits at 28 years old. I wasn’t overweight, but I was certainly out of shape. I remember going to the gym before Basic Combat Training and struggling to do a few sit-ups and pushups. 

Plus, I tried a short run before wheezing so much that I had to stop.

Can You Hack It?

The drill sergeants quickly made me pay the price. It was “get in shape or die trying.” I finally survived Army physical training (PT) in those early days, but it took three years of effort before I earned a 300 top score on my physical fitness test.

Lose Weight and Feel Great

Now it is even more challenging to find people qualified physically and mentally to enter the military. Some physical and mental standards have been waived. When I served in Basic Training, there was something called the “fat boy” program. 

Overweight soldiers were held back from regular training with the main body of troops until they reached the appropriate weight and the minimum standard level of physical strength and stamina. 

They went through dieting and a remedial PT program. It’s the same for Army ROTC. I went through officer training in 2001 and 2002, and we had a remedial PT program to help cadets meet the standards that then consisted of a 2-mile run plus two minutes of pushups and sit-ups.

Is the Problem Left-wing Politics?

Today, much has been made about a “woke” military that is obsessed with diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at the expense of higher levels of lethality for the armed forces. 

I never experienced this. Race and ethnicity were just not a factor in the late 1990s. What I also liked about the military was that it is a meritocracy and not dependent on your family’s wealth, your past upbringing, or political connections or views. 

I never experienced any soldier or officer espousing politics. It seemed that most personnel were vaguely conservative, but that was probably the result of rules and standards concerning behavior and grooming.

Plus, I have trouble believing that some people would not enlist for DEI and leftwing wokeness issues. It is more a problem of retainment rather than recruitment.

Some soldiers just don’t like DEI and wokeness and leave the military for those reasons, but that was not the case in my day, and I don’t think it currently affects enlistment levels to the extent that some critics believe.

It Sometimes Comes Down to Money and Benefits

One of the significant incentives for people to join the military is for monetary bonuses and the post-9/11 GI Bill. 

When I enlisted, my recruiter gave me a mini flashlight for joining. This was pretty cool until I got to Basic Training and found out my fellow soldiers received bonuses in the thousands of dollars. 

I used the GI Bill for my graduate schooling and got my PhD with the program. I am ever grateful for that benefit.

Another aspect of military service is the fun and adventure I mentioned above. At Fort Knox, Kentucky, where I went to Basic Training, it was then the home of the armor branch. It was awe-inspiring to see Abrams tanks and Apache attack helicopters flying overhead. 

I loved to shoot, move, and communicate – the basics of infantry action. Later, I served in many different types of units. I was a military journalist, so I was attached to infantry, armor, field artillery battalions, and Army Special Forces.

 I later became a full-time infantry officer after Army ROTC.

Living a Life of Danger

Young people may not be joining for fun and adventure. That is a shame. The benefits are great, but if you do not enjoy the high-adrenaline excitement aspect of military service, you may not want to enlist in the first place.

Recruiting ebbs and flows because of the threat environment, the economy, and geopolitical events. 1999, when I first served, the new knowledge-based economy was in full effect during the dot-com boom. Besides the crisis in the Balkans, there were a few significant enemy threats that encouraged people to join after the Cold War and the Gulf War ended.

No, There Is Not a Draft 

They were shocked when I told people I was enlisting in the Army. 

I was asked if the United States was at war. I was also asked if I had been drafted. The reactions were priceless. When I said I always wanted to serve my country, I was greeted with blank stares.

This all changed after 9/11 when there was an upsurge of people wanting to join the military to fight terrorism.

Now, recruiting has improved, but there are still headwinds. The Department of Defense stated in 2024 that “at the end of September, the services enlisted just shy of 225,000 recruits in fiscal year 2024. That’s over 25,000 more than fiscal year 2023. Furthermore, the services had a 35 percent increase in contracts written compared to this time last year,” DOD spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder said.

However, the military is not getting over-confident. Director of Military Accession Policy Katie Helland said, “[W]e need to remain cautiously optimistic about the future recruiting operations as we continue to recruit in a market that has low youth propensity to serve, limited familiarity with military opportunities, a competitive labor market and a declining eligibility among young adults.”

My best advice to the DOD on recruiting is to emphasize fun and adventure. Try to promote the benefits like bonuses and education opportunities. 

Plus, ensuring patriotism and serving one’s country are the best reasons to join the military. Those three items of emphasis will ensure that people want to serve rather than using the military as a last resort or ignoring enlistment altogether as an employment option.

 It can be a full-time career with training that prepares you for the 21st-century economy and creates a lifelong set of unforgettable memories. To quote an old-school Navy recruiting buzz phrase, “It’s not just a job it’s an adventure.”

About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood 

Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.