Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. (August 3, 2024): When asked whether they would recommend military service to a friend or family member, only a slim majority of American (51%) said they would encourage them to join according to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. Which begs the question: “Where will our next generation of warfighters come from?” In this photo by Airman 1st Class Benjamin Riddle, 12-year-old McCoy Cannon gets to play “Pilot for a Day” while riding in an aircraft rescue and firefighting truck. This program is one of many that the armed forces are using to acquaint young people with careers available in the U.S. military.
According to the Pew Research Center, most Americans continue to express positive views of the military: 60% say it has a positive effect, while 36% say its effect is negative. Unfortunately for recruiting, adults under thirty were the only age group in which a larger share says the military has a negative (53%) than positive (43%) impact.
These attitudes are showing up in the numbers. Last year, the U.S. military fell more than 41,000 people short of its enlisted recruiting with the Army short by about 10,000, the Air Force recruited only 24,100 of the 26,877 it wanted, and the Navy shortfall was well short of its goal of 37,000.
What accounts for these dismal recruiting numbers?
According to a December 2023 Rand Corporation study, the top two reasons cited by young people for not wanting to join the military are the possibility of physical harm or violent death, and the risk of PTSD. Other factors range from the current low unemployment rate to the prevalence of youth obesity. According to the Defense Department, only 23% of Americans aged 17 to 24 would qualify for military service and the rest would be rejected for being overweight, abusing drugs, or having mental and physical health problems.
Another variable is that fewer young Americans have a parent who served in the military, which greatly decreases their propensity to serve. In 1995, 40% of young people had a parent who served in the military but by 2022, just 12% had a parent who had served.
Given these realities, it appears America will continue to struggle to recruit the next generation of warfighters to defend our nation.