{"id":1606681,"date":"2022-08-15T12:32:21","date_gmt":"2022-08-15T16:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1606681"},"modified":"2022-08-15T12:32:58","modified_gmt":"2022-08-15T16:32:58","slug":"woke-military-policies-to-blame-for-recruitment-crisis-servicemembers-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/woke-military-policies-to-blame-for-recruitment-crisis-servicemembers-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Woke Military Policies to Blame for Recruitment Crisis, Servicemembers Say"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwoke-military-policies-to-blame-for-recruitment-crisis-servicemembers-say%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1606681&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The U.S. Army is expected to fall nearly 40,000 troops short of its recruiting goals over the next two years. Fiscal year 2022 is expected to miss the mark by 10,000 troops, while the number in fiscal year 2023 could reach 28,000. These figures mean that this year is on track to be the Army\u2019s worst recruiting year in almost 50 years.<\/p>\n<p>The Army plans to circumvent the problem by offering $1 billion for its recruiting program and placing more emphasis on the use of its reserve units.<\/p>\n<p>The Epoch Times reached out to the U.S. Army Recruiting Command for comment, and Maj. Charles Spears of the Combined Arms Center replied to various inquiries about the state of recruiting. Spears offered several reasons for the Army\u2019s recruiting challenges in the years ahead.<\/p>\n<p>First, he said, \u201conly 23 percent of American youth are qualified to serve without a waiver, [noting that] obesity, addiction, medical, and behavioral health are the top disqualifiers for service.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Army is also competing with corporate America, he said, adding that \u201csocial media\u2019s virtual public square shapes the values and perceptions of American youth, which is increasingly unfamiliar with the benefits of Army service.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to Spears, the American population is \u201cincreasingly disconnected\u201d from serving in the Army and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-military\">military<\/a> service, Spears said. \u201cOftentimes, influencers [like parents, teachers, and coaches] do not recommend military service.\u201d He also added that \u201cthe share of youth who have seriously considered military service is at a historic low of nine percent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Finally, Spears said, \u201cthe 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.\u201d As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, there has been a nine percent decrease in Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) scores as well as increased applicate obesity.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to these factors, servicemembers have expressed other concerns that they say have contributed to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-recruitment\">recruitment<\/a> crisis.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4609371\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-4609371\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/07\/20\/US-army-2-1200x801.jpeg\" alt=\"US army\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/noscript> Soldiers with the 82nd Airborne division walk across the tarmac at Green Ramp to deploy to Poland at Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Feb. 14, 2022. (Melissa Sue Gerrits\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Army Boots on the Ground<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The Epoch Times spoke to an active-duty Army soldier with over 15 years of service on the condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals. He is gravely alarmed about the Army falling short on recruitment numbers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the past,\u201d he said, \u201cthe Army targeted a specific demographic of people based on their values, [and these recruits] were patriots and loved America.\u201d In today\u2019s general population, he doesn\u2019t see the same interest in patriotism. \u201cMuch of the country doesn\u2019t love America like it use to,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd 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]?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom a macro perspective, we had a significant breach of trust in the last election.\u201d By oath, he said, the military swears to \u201csupport and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.\u201d But the U.S. military has said nothing about the previous election, according to the soldier. \u201cI\u2019m 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, he said, \u201cthey 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\u2014all of which are very political.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In his opinion, \u201cwe now have a Department of Defense [DoD] that has taken various political positions that are very much opposed to the heart of America.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All the while, he said, the size of battalions is shrinking. \u201cSome are less than two-thirds of where they need to be,\u201d he said. And many of those who remain are not \u201cusable deployables.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said, \u201cMuch of America is missing the fact that the Army is intentionally kicking people out in a precarious way that it knows is unnecessary, because the data shows that it\u2019s unnecessary.\u201d He is under the impression that \u201cour military is intentionally being weakened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rather than watching the military \u201cdecay,\u201d he said, \u201cmilitary leadership needs to take action for the good of the America people.\u201d But he\u2019s not convinced this will happen, because \u201cfor the most part, the higher-ups are cowards and they lack the personal courage to take the actions needed to put an end to this sad state of affairs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As recruiting woes mount and solutions appear scant for the U.S. Army, service members of the nation\u2019s other military branches are equally concerned.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4580114\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-large wp-image-4580114\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1232572644-1200x800-1-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-4580114\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1232572644-1200x800-1-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/noscript> A member of the U.S. military receives the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at Camp Foster in Ginowan, Japan, on April 28, 2021. (Carl Court\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Mishap for the Marines<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Maj. Paul Lewis (a pseudonym), a recognized subject matter expert on personnel retention matters within the Marine Corps who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/military-leadership-is-failing-us-unvaccinated-marine-officer-who-was-denied-religious-exemption-speaks-out_4214038.html\">previously sounded the alarm<\/a> on personnel end-strength issues within the DoD, spoke to The Epoch Times once again.<\/p>\n<p>According to Lewis, military readiness has been impacted in the past few years by \u201ca toxic combination of poor leadership and the politicization of the military.\u201d He said there has been \u201ca steady reduction in readiness due primarily to reckless policies that have eroded the trust of the rank and file service-members.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt really came to light in the wake of COVID when service members began to see that senior leaders chose to put politics ahead of military readiness,\u201d he said. \u201cSenior officers and senior civilian executives have run the military into the ground in the name of career stability and progression instead of keeping faith with Marines and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Potential recruits are not signing up to serve in the Marine Corps as they have in previous years, and Lewis attributes this to \u201ca rejection of the bureaucratic leadership.\u201d For American citizens to choose to serve in the \u201call-volunteer force,\u201d he states, \u201cthey want to be able to trust that their leadership has their best interest at heart, and that doesn\u2019t appear to be the case anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to Lewis, this erosion of trust can be \u201cmanifested in the military loss in Afghanistan as well as how COVID vaccine mandates have been enforced in a draconian and illegal manner,\u201d and this according to him has led to \u201ca complete loss of trust and confidence in the leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the years ahead, he said, these issues will have an impact on the national security of the United States. \u201cWithin the national security apparatus,\u201d Lewis said, \u201cwe need a certain number of troops to man the line, this is known as statutory end-strength and is set by Congress, [because] we have defense obligations all over the world with partners and allies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA small gap in readiness, losing 100 or 200 recruits or unplanned departures from the service might be acceptable,\u201d Lewis admitted. \u201cBut when you get into the numbers of 40,000 or more in a single year, it\u2019s no longer just a minor blip on how we deploy our military, but it is an unmitigated disaster,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will affect every decision made on how we are going to meet our obligations and ultimately we will be increasingly relying on less troops to do the same job.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In light of losses associated with the mandated vaccine, Lewis said it has become apparent to him that \u201cour leadership is willing to sacrifice military service members, forcing them out the door in the name of financial reprioritization.\u201d He said, \u201cAmerican people need to be aware that the military is using these personnel cost savings to commit additional resources to yet another round of equipment modernization that is lining the defense industries pocket.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut all the while, they\u2019re losing the individuals qualified to operate these systems,\u201d he said. \u201cFor example, you cannot fly an F-35 with a student pilot; you need an experienced pilot with years of operational flight time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen the cards are down and we need to face our adversaries, we need experienced warfighters using this equipment,\u201d said Lewis. \u201cUnfortunately, the defense lobby has just about every congressional office enthralled with the idea of higher defense spending with their companies rather than investing in its people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to Lewis, \u201cthe American soldier is the country\u2019s most valuable resource, [but] our leadership and our decisionmakers have devalued their people\u201d who serve in the military. \u201cThis is sadly exemplified in the dead Marines on the deck in Afghanistan because of poor politically driven leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If members of the nation\u2019s military were valued, he said, \u201cthese same people should be raising legitimate concerns about vaccine efficacy, but they are failing the American people once again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lewis contends that \u201cgenerational damage\u201d is being done and the core of rank-and-file service members whose families have traditionally served will no longer choose to do so in the future because of the utter betrayal they are facing from their own leaders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s reckless, like a child playing with fire,\u201d said Lewis. \u201cDo the math: it is impossible to have an all-volunteer force if you don\u2019t have volunteers.\u201d Moving forward, he questions whether the U.S. military will be able to continue to \u201cmeet the expectations of the American people and keep the homeland safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4497505\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-large wp-image-4497505\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Chinook-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-4497505\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Chinook-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/noscript> U.S. Air Force CH-47 Chinook helicopters are seen landing at the airport in Jasionka near Rzeszow, Poland, on Feb. 16, 2022. (Wojtek Radwanski\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Air Force Mission Ignored<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>A master sergeant currently serving in the Air Force has been a recruiter for nearly a decade. As the military vaccine mandate began to be enforced, he was \u201calienated from the service\u201d for refusing to take the shot. \u201cMany in the Air Force have stood up for freedoms our entire career, but when our freedom is on the line, who\u2019s going to stand up for us?\u201d he asked. He has witnessed junior airmen break down in tears over being coerced and threatened into taking the vaccine.<\/p>\n<p>Air Force Recruiting Service is facing its lowest recruiting numbers since 1999 according to senior leadership\u2019s public statements, he said. \u201cWhile we lose decades of experience to mandates and poor leadership decisions,\u201d he said, \u201cwe will be forced to ease standards just to continue the mission.\u201d He further added, \u201cI see firsthand in recruiting that the sentiment towards joining the military has been negatively impacted over the last year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more, he said, \u201cthere is an imbalanced focus on diversity over performance when deciding the fate of an airman\u2019s career. We\u2019re focusing on the wrong things instead of the mission, which is protecting and serving the nation,\u201d he said. \u201cWokeism combined with bad policies are destroying the military and if we don\u2019t course correct soon, it could cause irreparable harm, in my opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Navy is Getting Weaker<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>A Navy lieutenant said, \u201cthe DoD has forgotten the first rule of holes\u2014and that\u2019s when you get into one, you stop digging.\u201d According to the recruiter, \u201cthe Navy has probably alienated the majority of its recruiting base that you could have always counted on historically.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mandatory vaccines are an issue, he said. But \u201csocial experimentation\u201d within the Department of Defense is also a problem. For example, in the digital signature of Rear Admiral Alexis T. Walker, he said, \u201che has his own little personal font with a rainbow hue for his pronouns.\u201d Walker is the commander of Navy Recruiting Command.<\/p>\n<p>The Clinton administration\u2019s \u201cDon\u2019t Ask, Don\u2019t Tell\u201d policy was once \u201ca hot button for the military,\u201d he said. \u201cBut fast forward nearly 30 years, and transgenders have been normalized.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To that end, he said, \u201cThe fact that you would set a double standard in terms of military readiness where you would claim an unvaccinated service member isn\u2019t ready, but somebody in the middle of a life-changing transition that\u2019s on hormones is ready and is not a threat to readiness, bothers me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By his estimation, senior leadership of the military has \u201cbought into a big lie that somehow the population at large wants a military which reflects the population diversity of the country.\u201d He disagreed, stating that \u201cthe public simply wants to know that they have a military that\u2019s capable and lethal, and could successfully defend this nation on a moment\u2019s notice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Apart from \u201ca few niche areas, like the special warfare communities, military readiness is questionable at best,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve gone too far into the weeds politically, which has resulted in a weaker, political military force.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4246604\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-large wp-image-4246604\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Coast-Guard-vessel-1236733224-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"A U.S. Coast Guard vessel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-4246604\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Coast-Guard-vessel-1236733224-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"A U.S. Coast Guard vessel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/noscript> A U.S. Coast Guard vessel docks during an offload of packages of marijuana and cocaine at Port Everglades, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Nov. 22, 2021. (Eva Marie Uzcategui\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Coast Guard Gone Woke, Too<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Continuing to actively serve in the Coast Guard, a \u201cCoastie\u201d with recent experience as a recruiter is very disturbed that he could be \u201cthrowing years of dedicated service down the drain\u201d for refusing to take the vaccine. It\u2019s clear that he\u2019s not the only one impacted, as he said, the Coast Guard will fall far short of making recruiting mission this year. While he said it is hard to pinpoint exactly why, the vaccine mandate is a large part of the issue. \u201cThere\u2019s definitely been some young folk who said they\u2019re not going to join because they don\u2019t want to get the COVID vaccine,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, he said, \u201cThe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-woke\">woke<\/a> culture has bugged some people.\u201d In one example of wokeness infiltrating the Coast Guard, he said, \u201cWhen writing awards or performance reviews, I can\u2019t even identify myself as a <em>he<\/em>, [adding that] I can only identify myself by my name, rank, or by <em>they<\/em>.\u201d He finds it strange that he cannot assume his own gender. Taking diversity and inclusion to this extreme, alongside the vaccine mandate, has hurt retention in his opinion.<\/p>\n<p>The Coast Guardsman strongly believes that \u201cmedical and fitness standards that were once non-negotiable are all on the table right now.\u201d When asked about the reason, he goes on to say, \u201cIt seems like the average teenager these days has a much higher likelihood of being prescribed antidepressants, asthma inhalers, or attention deficit medications, all of which used to be a hard stop for someone trying to join.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut if recruiters can\u2019t make mission and mission execution suffers, eventually something has to give,\u201d he said. \u201cThe question that bothers me is how much does race and gender now play into the likelihood of those medical waivers being granted?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Each anonymous interviewee emphasized that their views do not reflect the views of the Department of Defense (DoD), the Air Force, Army, Marines, Navy, or Coast Guard. The Epoch Times also reached out to the recruiting headquarters for the Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines, and Navy for comment.<\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-j-m-phelps\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/default-user.png\" alt=\"J.M. Phelps\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"names\">\n<p>Freelance reporter<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>J.M. Phelps is a writer and researcher of both Islamist and Chinese threats.\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. Army is expected to fall nearly 40,000 troops short of its recruiting goals over the next two years. Fiscal year 2022 is expected to miss the mark by<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1606681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1606681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1606681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1606681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1606681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1606681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1606681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}