[RedState] Our military is in crisis, and little is being said or done to alter our course to disaster. Joe Biden’s culture war against our own armed forces is being conducted on several fronts: including pursuing the pet social engineering projects beloved to the Left at the expense of readiness and capability of our forces (for example, exercises in CRT, diversity, inclusion, and equity); dictating the rules of engagement (ROE) that hinder our troops’ ability to fight an enemy that often times doesn’t wear traditional military uniforms, hiding behind women’s burqas, and operating from schools and mosques; and slashing the necessary funding for force modernization and sustainability. As a result, our armed services are facing historic lows in recruiting and lack of American public confidence. In short, we are no longer the world’s preeminent military power, and we will lose wars going forward.
Who wants to serve in a military that prioritizes purely political agendas over patriotism, success, and selfless service? Who wants to serve senior leaders who don’t understand or embrace the traditional meritocracy of the world’s once greatest military force? Apparently, not many. The U.S. military has a serious recruiting problem, and it needs to be fixed ASAP. For the first time since the institution of the “all-volunteer force” in 1973, 2022 is shaping up as the most challenging recruiting year to date. The Army has announced that it will have to cut its size by 12,000 troops due to the inability to fill its ranks and, after five months into the year is at only 23 percent of its goal. The Air Force’s top recruiter has declared “warning lights are flashing” for meeting 2022 goals. The Marine Corps, which normally has little problem meeting and exceeding its goals this fiscal year, is likewise falling short of needed personnel. A recent Department of Defense poll asked young adults ages 16-21, “How likely is it you will serve in the military?” Approximately only 11 percent responded “definitely or probably.” And that is trending down, precipitously. Senator Thom Tillis (R – NC) summed it thusly: “To put it bluntly, I’m worried we are now in the early days of a long-term threat to the all-volunteer force, with a small and declining numbers of Americans who are eligible and interested in military service.” Adding, “Every single metric tracking metric tracking the military recruiting environment is going in the wrong direction.”
The debacle in withdrawing from Afghanistan, in addition to the in-your-face implementation of command directives that have nothing to do with fighting and winning wars, is largely to blame. Americans are rapidly losing confidence in our military, traditionally one of our most revered institutions. According to the Reagan Institute, confidence in our military has dropped to 45 percent, the sharpest decline and the lowest level since the surveys began. Sixty-two percent of those surveyed disapproved of the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Eisenhower’s adage was spot on, but our current leadership doesn’t get it. Morale is key to our military institutions and their success. And, clearly, people don’t want to serve and put their lives and families on the line for a government that doesn’t value them.
Only with new leadership, and leadership that can disassociate itself from the onslaught of woke policies and reinstate the patriotic call to serve, will the United States restore our ability to win militarily. The damage has been done but we can recover. Make it happen this November and November, 2024. Our future as a republic depends on it. |