How would you solve the military recruiting challenges currently facing DOD?

First and foremost, stop trying to recruit people who are overly interested in sexual orientation and identity, "social justice", and socialism. Instead get back to go after young men who want to prove themselves by doing something honorable, difficult and badass. Show footage of intense, hard as hell training, high tech equipment, fast paced environments and stuff being blown up.
I honestly don't know who the brass at Recruiting Command thinks their target audience is. They have clearly forgotten that it's 17-24 year Olds with raging testosterone and a gut level love for the red, white blue.
The next that needs to be realized is how much recruiting happens without recruiters being involved. What vets say about the military when they get out and the general perception of the military is huge. One way you can get people lining up is if they believe the military is a financially smart decision despite the common misconception that soldiers are poor. You can do this by giving real meaningful financial advice to new soldiers. Show them that because they aren't paying a cent for housing, food or utilities they can be setting themselves up for their future. That if they set aside a good amount of money each month they can put a very large down payment on a nice car in a year or buy an average used car in cash. And actually break down how much they need to save each month in order to reach that goal in the time alloted. Explain how interest rates and credit cards work and how to build their credit. Anyone that spends just 4 years in the army can easily have a paid off vehicle and 10-20% down payment ready for a house.
You start having a bunch of younger guys getting out of the military talking about how it set them up to live stress free financially, your gunna start seeing a lot more people showing up at recruiting offices. After all, those 17-24 year olds are more likely to hear about the stuff 22-29 year olds are saying about the military than they are to hear it from a retiring E8 or 0-5.
Essentially go back to the old ways and add in some help for the guys that do join.

There are 4 major reasons the recruiting is such a struggle today.
1. Patriots are and were vilified for standing up for Democracy on January 6, 2020. Secondly parents who stood up for our children were called Terrorist. If one is treated as a terrorist for standing up for our Constitution and Children then why would one think treatment would be any better while serving in our military.
2. The current administration shows no love/protection for our country. Leaving our borders wide open and giving more support to illegal aliens than we do our own veterans is a clear sign we have failed as a nation.
3. The experimental jabs that were mandated in the military wrecked families, careers, and introduced our own soldiers to a list of side effects and life threatening harm like never seen before in history. The democratic party shot down reenlistment for the servicemen that were forced out because of not taking the jab.
4. Lastly but the major factor in the struggle to recruit for the military because they too are "Woke". No one cares about inclusiveness of the extremes. It has no part or place in the military. To make accommodations for the extreme few that does not fit in a "gender" is foolish and backwards thinking as the military's goal is to make us unified as humanly possible. These special accommodations only further divide and cause friction.

Get rid of this woke and liberal garbage.
Get a cadre of leaders who can be respected. Stop looking at our military as a social experiment.
Get LGBTQ out of the military, completely out and do not allow them to appeal.....

Army and Navy recruiting numbers have fallen off the statistical cliff. We're not in a "hot" war, so what do young people want? Let's see, hmm...better pay, training, opportunities, and benefits? Oh wait, that's what it was 40 years ago. I don't think Congress and DoD should have to "deep-dive" too far beyond these areas.

If Congress wants to conduct an exploratory hearing, I'd recommend they start by reassessing our national security priorities, which drive the NDAA and budget requests for end strengths. It is important because DoD will look at how to support/achieve those strategic priorities and then conjure up their own endless litany of priorities. DoD then requests a budget for end-strength to meet all those priorities. We need to get end strength requirements right by ensuring we have our national security priorities in check and DoD requirements in check.

As For Myself, It's Difficult To Say, Because I Enlisted On My 17th Birthday.
I Wasn't Too Sure What To Expect; But It Gave Me A Job, A Place To Stay,
And A Few Bucks In My Pocket.
HOWEVER, When I Arrived In Basic & Inquired About Taking My GED,
As I Was An 8th Grade DROP OUT.....I Discovered 1,000,'s Of Educational Programs
I Could Take & Complete, To Get A REAL Education.... And That's Exactly What I Did.
For The Entire 4 Year Period.... FREE~~ Not A Dime.~And ALL Of Them I Wanted To Take
SO,Point Out Those Benefits PLUS The GI Bill, & Even The Possibility of Retirement After Just 20 Years, Regardless Of Your Age.....HELL, Had I Made The USAF My Career, I Could Have Retired at 37
In Addition, The Free Health Care Provided By The VA, For The Rest Of Your Life....Medical, Optical, Prescription Medication...A Full Aray Of Benefits....;
HEY GUYS ... What Else We Got For The New Recruits?
OH Ya, I ALMOST Forgot....... The Lady's Love To See Us In Our Uniform...
~~ That ALONE, Is Worth Enlisting ~~

Make it tougher. We are soft. This business is dealing with death. Honor, integrity and courage. I think JFK said it best; "effort and courage is not enough without purpose and direction". Leaving any of the four out of the equation means failure

I think we should bring back the draft, but with a twist. Everybody's got to give 2 years. {I'm tempted to say 30 months to 3 years, but let's keep it do-able.} Folks could choose to enter service before or after OJT training or college. The twist? They could choose which national service they want to serve with -- the military, AmeriCorps {including NCCC, VISTA, etc.}, the Peace Corps {hearts + minds do matter}, etc. In exchange, we can get rid of the whole national feud about free college {or other training} if all who serve receive ed benefits in exchange. ... I think it could help boost enlistments. But more than that, it will be bring back the idea that we are, in fact, like it or not, ALL in this together.

Let me put it this way. Without a new war that can be justified there is just going to be a shortage of new recruits. The military isn't for the younger generations. They join with the expectation to do a job, the most they qualified for. But we use them for anything. In my time as a soldier I have been teaching children math, mowing grass, being a gate guard, setting up a theater for an officer etc. So when kids don't meet their expectations they take to social media and post to their friends. But the same happens when the army "fails". SHARP cases are way much more frequent than we would like. We would like that to be 0. That s very destructive but the units are ineffective in removing this cancer. Add in genesis screening out everyone and you got a remedy for disaster.


So my solutions? Training. Take the fat guy. Make him fit. Take the mentally weak. Make him strong. Teach people their job. We have too many soldiers feeling inadequate or imposter syndrome because training is severely lacking in some units. A good NCO can turn a wimp into a confident hero.


But here s the kicker. Without getting deployed soldiers have nothing to feel pride. Soldiers that were never deployed feel like their service was in vain. Sometimes soldiers that were deployed feel that way. Especially if you lost friends for failed policies. So we need victories. We can't fix the middle east. It is beyond saving. We need to fight in wars that we can win but also that the younger generations believe in.


I will also add that politics have a big deal to do with lower numbers. Recruits have to adopt the army culture but it has grown so foreign to normal citizens that they may not want to be a part of it. So our military culture needs to return to American values that won't make recruits compromise their integrity for a pay check.

If that is too long my main ideas are a change to military culture, more training, clear expectations about army life and work with recruits instead of discarding every single problem.

As a former Marketing OIC for the WIARNG, I know recruits join for various reasons, technical training, college tuition, service to country, etc. The one thing all of these recruits had in common was the desire to be a part of something bigger than themselves. They want to be part of a respectable organization that represents the best of what our country has to offer. Woke recruiting that focuses on the individual will not work! They need to focus on the values, traditions, opportunities & challenges, and honor. I have always had the opinion that the Marines had the best recruiting message..The Few, The Proud, The Marines! This message has stayed constant and demonstrates that this organization is the best of the best. They do not change their message or reinvent themselves with new slogans.

Gut the career staffers, replace with warriors rather than politicians