Active-duty serviceman blames “woke” policies for Army’s worst recruiting year in nearly five decades

08/18/2022 / By Belle Carter

The U.S. Army recruiting target is expected to be nearly 40,000 servicemen short in the next two years. In 2022, enlistment is forecasted to miss the mark by 10,000 troops, while it could reach up to 28,000 next year.

Those figures mean that this year is on track to be the Army’s worst recruiting year in almost 50 years.

An active-duty Army serviceman with over 15 years of service, who requested anonymity, said he is gravely alarmed about the Army falling short in recruitment numbers.

“With a military no longer upholding the values, the oaths, or the creeds it once did, what kind of new recruits should we expect [to join the Army]?” he lamented. “By oath, the military swears to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

But the military has said nothing about the previous election. “I am not saying there is a final answer, but as defenders of the Constitution, they owed open and transparent conversation to the force and to the American people,” he said.

Moreover, “they happily encourage mandated vaccines, back the transgender issue, and speak out in opposition to the Supreme Court of the United States in regard to Roe v. Wade – all of which are very political,” he pointed out.

The serviceman also said much of America is missing the fact that the Army is intentionally kicking people out in a precarious way that it knows is unnecessary. He is under the impression that the military is intentionally being weakened.

Meanwhile, the Army plans to dodge the difficulty by offering incentives of up to $1 billion in the recruiting program and placing more emphasis on the use of its reserve units.

Major Charles Spears of the Combined Arms Center told the Epoch Times several reasons for the Army’s recruiting challenges in the years ahead.

“Only 23 percent of American youth is qualified to serve without a waiver, [with] obesity, addiction, medical, and behavioral health are the top disqualifiers for service,” Spears said.

The land service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces is also competing with corporate America, and social media’s virtual public square shapes the values and perceptions of American youth, which is increasingly unfamiliar with the benefits of Army service, he stated.

The American population is “increasingly disconnected” from serving in the Army and military service, Spears said, adding that “oftentimes, influencers do not recommend military service and the share of youth who have seriously considered military service is at a historic low of nine percent.”

Moreover, Spears emphasized that “the [Wuhan coronavirus] COVID-19 pandemic severely limited the ability of recruiters to interact with prospects in person, [and] also exacerbated academic and physical fitness challenges, limiting the pool of qualified applicants.”

As a result of the pandemic, there has been a nine percent decrease in Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) scores as well as increased applicant obesity.

Recruitment is failing but they are firing servicemen who refused COVID-19 vaccines

The fiscal year 2021 ends in September and the largest military branch has only reached 50 percent of the recruitment goal of 60,000 soldiers, spokesperson for Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said in a statement.

“The Army is facing our most challenging recruiting environment since the inception of the all-volunteer force and we are facing a very fundamental question, do we lower standards to meet end strength or do we lower end strength to maintain a quality, professional force?” she said.

According to Wormuth, the Army will prioritize quality over quantity. In fact, back in January, they began offering maximum enlistment bonuses of $50,000 to highly skilled recruits who agree to join the force for six years. (Related: Americans are refusing to join the military despite generous enlistment incentives.)

But this Armed Forces branch may also face losing another 40,000 national guards and 22,000 reserve soldiers, who have refused to get vaccinated for COVID-19. The spokesperson for Wormuth said that there’s been no decision made yet regarding this.

Also, when asked if the Army will make structural changes because of recruiting problems, Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Joseph Martin said they do not have to do that immediately, but if the numbers don’t stop declining, then that could be a possibility in the future.

Only six guard soldiers nationwide have permanent medical exemptions for the vaccine, out of 53 who requested one, according to Army data. No reserve soldiers have a medical exemption.

No guard or reserve soldiers have been approved for a religious exemption after nearly 3,000 requests. It is unclear what would qualify a soldier for a waiver on religious grounds.