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

Use common sense in recruiting and give military members real technical training skills like they would get at a two year college so they can walk into a job making 45,000 a year. Also fix the pay. No one serving in the military should ever be eligible for food stamps. Improve housing for members and their families and have social workers assigned to both barracks and housing areas kind of like the idea of block wardens who are responsible for a city block. Then if something is found to be wrong, quietly get them help. Do not pull people’s security clearances unless absolutely necessary so they can continue in their job and get help quietly. Also superiors need to not be so vindictive about giving their subordinates the times off they request so they can get the help they need or attend their children’s events.

The Army has become “Zero Defect”, but people aren’t. The Army understood this in the 90’s. Now, there is no infringement too small to ruin a career (enlisted or officer). We expect 18 year olds to act like 40 year olds. Now, the Army has lost the trust of parents, including military parents like myself. All 4 of my boys are capable of service, but no way would I consider sending them to be lead by self serving, “Yes” Men/Women. As the military can “lose faith” in a Commanding Officer, so has the public “lost faith” in the organization, refusing to send out kids is the ultimate demonstration of that.

Stop being WOKE. There are still plenty of good men and women that would join the military if there is a challenge for them. Stop rewarding the special interest groups.

Reinstate the draft -- for women as well as men. Unfortunately, history isn't taught in schools any more, and today's young people are all for socialism. It needs to change before the United States we knew is gone.

Woke is a problem, next is news articles like I saw yesterday where a marine was killed during the withdrawal in Afghanistan the gov was going to charge her family 60K for transport to Arlington after a stop for a funeral in California,,, really bad optics there, the GI bill is not worth much as 4 year degrees don’t mean as much. I did read about a pilot program for setting up business the same amount as the go bill offered, help more become plumbers and electricians needed jobs on the outside. So my advice would be less woke, more real help at separation for needed blue collar jobs that pay well.

Radical idea, and not necessarily my personal opinion: go to a male only force. Maybe keep women in segregated units that do not come into contact with BCTs, in select MOSs (my mother was a paper-pusher in the 80s/90s, and had a very poor experience with fellow Soldiers, something I witnessed repeatedly over my decade of service).

The Army tries to be a big, friendly organization for everybody. It's task is war, period. Remove the headaches of a gender-integrated force and see how many young men line up for what was once considered a right of passage, an obligation to your country, an honor. Not a jobs and benefits program.

Just take a look at the mental health/ dating/ education attainment numbers for young men. Anyone have any ideas what is going on? Crickets (at least in most controlled forums).

Focus on war fighting: fighting and winning our nations war by means of firepower and maneuver. All the social engineering has killed our military. When the draft ended people were afraid about readiness but the change to an all volunteer Army was great…. If you want to join the military for any reason other than fighting and winning our nations wars you are not needed. I have worked in various capacities and still work for the military (44 years in November). Many positive societal changes have come from the military but that is a second order effort. Primary focus must be war fighting…. The military has lost ifs focus…. Return to one Army, one purpose!

Change in leadership at the highest levels

First off, I'd emplace REAL leaders in top positions in both the Pentagon and DoD civilian side. Obama pretty much saw all the true Warfighter Generals and Admirals leave. Next, I'd get rid of EVERY bit of "woke" "DEI" nonsense. I would RAISE rather than lower recruiting standards, e.g.; no felony convictions, no drug possession/use convictions, limited waivers for 1 or 2 times drug usage. (Regardless of what States and "society" are doing, they're still ILLEGAL at the Federal level), at least a High School Graduate, score in top 1/3d of ASVAB, absolutely NO men pretending to be women or women pretending to be men. The Military is no place for such people. And YES, I know the same was said of Blacks, Indians and women, but at least those groups didn't have mental disorders, at least not on a wide-scale.

As with so many companies that have gone WOKE, so has the Military. AB and Bud Light should serve as the poster child for this agenda, and now the Jason Aldean song, "Try that in a small town", you better believe it, I am from a small Texas town. Now the Movie, "Call of Freedom" by and independent producer just topped 100 million at the box office. The WOKE need to wake up!
Basically the FJB administration has dismanteled the mission, focus, and purpose, of the WAR Machine and pussified the Military at large. Sensitiviy and tolerancce training, gender pretenders wanting surgeries, gender neutral uniforms, sodomites and queers. What TRUE American Man or Woman who takes the pledge of aliegence, and is willing to raise their right hand and put thier life on that line, and go kill the enemy, would want to be a part of that?! When did the Military become an EEOC employer?!
God help us if we have another Pearl Harbor, or 911, we are not prepared to defend anything, much less take the fight to them!