Skip to main content

REPORT: US FACING MILITARY RECRUITMENT CRISIS

 

 TEHRAN (FNA)- The US Army, Navy and Air Force are facing shortfalls in recruitment targets this year, as the Pentagon struggles to compete with civilian employment, while up to 77% of young people have been deemed ineligible to enlist, the New York Times said on Tuesday.


By the end of its recruitment year on September 30, the US Army fell short of its target of adding 65,000 people to its ranks, the NYT says, instead ending up with about 50,000 new personnel. It is the third successive year that the army has not met its goal, prompting military bosses to cut unfilled positions and shrink its active duty membership to 452,000 from 485,000 in 2021.

The recruitment logjam has created “an existential issue for us”, Army Secretary Christine E. Wormuth told reporters this month, even as some branches of the military relax recruitment standards and even offer financial compensation of up to $75,000 to join.


Primary factors in the stalled recruitment effort include many Americans seeking employment in the private civilian sector, as well as large sections of US youth being deemed ineligible to even apply. A recent report by the US Department of Defense concluded that up to 77% of young people in the United States cannot enlist for a variety of reasons, including being overweight, drug abuse, or having physical or mental impairments.

The US Navy also fell short by about 7,500 hires this year, despite recruitment initiatives, including financial incentives. Even the Air Force, traditionally considered an attractive destination for new recruits, added about 10% less than expected.


“It’s been getting harder to recruit, and the military expects it to continue to get harder,” David R. Segal, a University of Maryland professor who studies historical enlistment trends, said according to the NYT.

However, one US military branch not experiencing such issues is its Marine Corps. By the September 30 deadline, the Marines had already exceeded its goal of 28,900 enlistments – and did so with little-to-no extra perks or financial incentives.

“Your bonus is that you get to call yourself a Marine,” a Marine Corps commandant said earlier this year, adding, “That’s your bonus.”

 

 This article was published in Fars News Agency and is re published here under a creative commons license.

 

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Increase in Demand for Bangladeshi Flags in Pakistan Following Sheikh Hasina’s Regime Change

After the fall of the pro India regime in Bangladesh, there has been a significant increase in the demand for Bangladeshi flags in Pakistan. This surge in interest can be attributed to a variety of factors that have emerged in the political landscape of the region. The changing dynamics have led to a noticeable shift in how people in Pakistan are expressing their sentiments and affiliations. As a result, the Bangladeshi flag has become a symbol of solidarity and support inside Pakistan.
1 comment
Read more

US ‘Biggest Nuclear Threat’: China

  TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The United States poses the greatest danger to the world when it comes to the risks of a potential nuclear conflict, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang told journalists on Friday. Beijing has accused Washington of making “irresponsible decisions” in attempts to maintain its hegemony, including through intimidating the international community with its nuclear arsenal, RT reported. The damning statement came in response to the Pentagon’s decision to upgrade US Forces Japan into a joint force headquarters under the command of a three-star officer reporting to the commander of the Indo-Pacific Command. The announcement was made by the US Defense Department in late July following the meeting of the American and Japanese defense and foreign policy chiefs. US Defense Secretary Llyod Austin hailed the development as “one of the strongest improvements in our military ties with Japan in 70 years” at that time. He also said that the two sides “held a separ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hezbollah Unveils Underground Missile Facility

  TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement released a new video showcasing a sophisticated underground facility and an extensive tunnel network packed with missile launch pads. The video titled "Our Mountains, Our Strongholds" features the Imad 4 facility, which highlights the missile capabilities of Hezbollah, Al Mayadeen reported. The footage shows Hezbollah fighters inside a sophisticated underground complex, with visible signs marking the facility as Imad 4, and displaying the Quranic verse: "Prepare against them whatever you can of (military) power." The video also shows missile trucks moving from within the facility toward a blast door, preparing them for launch. https://www.highratecpm.com/y8481e0z?key=0ee2be2f5e34a58eed18b0b3d54c7ea7 0 seconds of 4 minutes, 35 seconds Volume 90%   Al Mayadeen's sources revealed that Imad 4 features a state-of-the-art technical system and a secure communication network that links it to the outside wo...
Post a Comment
Read more