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

Can we do a felix culpa like Hollywood did with "Stripes"? They were making fun of the Army and ended up boosting recruiting.

They all say they're struggling with recruiting and retention; yet they take actions that completely contradict any solution other than a draft where the only requirement is one's age.

---MEPS can now access any shareable medical history of any prospect, and they're not lessening their scrutiny. This alone needs to go away. Either stop the scrutiny other than verifying one's birth date and citizenship, or take completely away their access to someone's medical history.

---Bodyfat measurements are going away from the neck/waist ratio to machines that are either significantly less favorable than the N/W, or to taping only the waist; so heaven help if you're trying to compete for something like the World's Strongest Human. They'll take you if you're undergoing trans stuff but heaven forbid you're overweight by, well let's face it, arbitrary numbers and standards that are outdated considering they go back to the early/mid-19th century.

---Tenure/RCP for each rank isn't being adjusted to allow whoever didn't get promoted to be able to reenlist and stick around a little while longer. In the case of the Marine Corps they need to get rid of the "two strikes and you're out" for those who are Sgts and above (basically you got passed for promotion twice) regardless if they were really good or really bad Marines.

---They really need to readjust the means of sticking around depending on one's MOS. The military is literally the only side of the music industry where one has to train to possibly become a conductor when in all civilian ensembles you can stay on your respective instrument until you decide to move on/retire. Musicians aren't the only ones who suffer that circumstance in the military (premier bands notwithstanding).

---Stop targeting small groups of people. Stop targeting the ethnic minorities, the trans, the homos, etc. A lot of prospects move away from us because they want to get away from those safe spaces they witness protected groups of people get.

---Redo all recruiting commercials (except maybe the Marine Corps'). The Army in particular figuratively shot itself in the femoral artery with its anime cartoon-style commercials from a few years ago. What they should do is interview folks whose lives literally got better because they joined, and feature them in the commercials.

---For every parent or relative who doesn't want their kid to get employed in a "risky" industry remind them that car accidents reign supreme as one of the top ways people die these days, and joining the military would not aggravate that risk. It might actually lessen assuming the kid doesn't have a car yet nor the financial prospect of buying one. Anyone not wanting to sign a contract needs to see the hiring process for literally any company on the civilian side; especially those that have probationary periods. I've never seen a paying job that didn't have a contract of some sort.

---Instead of trying to hush up the disgruntled veterans of their experience from 9/11 onward every recruiter should have an effective retort to every issue addressed; especially when addressing toxic leadership.


This isn't a single action that'll turn the issue around. There are multiple actions that need to happen to get recruiting/retention back on track, and the above are simply off the top of my head.

So reading through these comments I find it interesting the course the conversation has taken. I honestly believe we’ve forgotten who we are as a military, the country, values and norms we’re supposed to represent and the purpose for which we were created.
How do we solve the recruiting problem?
We have to remember what the military’s mission has been and always will be…To Fight and Win. We were built for no other purpose.

I’m pretty sure that back in the mid 70’s a bunch of military folks of all tanks were bitching and complaining about the new “breed” of Soldiers, an all volunteer force, and how we were soft, and weak as well.
We survived and got through that. We’ll get through this as well.
We all have our opinions as to the specifics of what the cause(s) are for the current struggles facing our military, and I for one don’t advocate for going back to the “old” ways necessarily. However there are some very important and relevant ideals and concepts that SHOULD be taken from the past and payed forward to our current sisters and brothers in arms.
Our military is most successful when we realize, understand and believe that it always has been and always will be…ONE Team, ONE Fight.

The military is a role model for our country and we need to step up and show the world that we are the best in the world! Reach out to them. Our leaders need to be mindful that they need incentives. God bless../Reach out to these young People, male and female. They will respond because they will know U care.

This is a philosophy problem. It is very difficult to imagine the cynicism of the modern world if you were raised in an even slightly more earnest environment. Science, information & news travel at unprecedented rates today, this has a numbing effect on the mind, an insensitivity to idealism is a natural consequence of being faced with many sides of a discussion. To the outside, this manifests as apathy, laziness, or an unwillingness to commit. The youth are simply not convinced by the rhetoric of the military; honor, self improvement, etc. Instead they, not wrongfully, believe simply they are being emotionallly manipulated into serving the coercive power of a capitalist machine. In order to change the problems with recruitment, you have to completely change the undercurrent of their perception. Transforming helicopters & futuristic technology only appeal to some enough to convince them to take the plunge. Instead tell them what they want to hear; that they can change the system from inside, that they can be themselves, that they will find genuine friendship & maybe even true love. You cannot fool their minds into believing anything anymore, you have to strike at the core of human loneliness.

Hire fat bodies with disqualifying tats and can't pass a drug test to do the behind the scenes work. Enlist the people to do the lethal work.

Problem solved

The DOD needs to stop focusing on social issues and get back to making Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors and Marines. That's why these young men and women sign up. Our daughter and my neighbors son both serve right now, they are fed up with the DOD pushing a woke agenda on them. That and the retirement has switched to a 401K it appears. My daughter and her fiancé will not re-up due to what I just said. Trust me, neither are slackers either and both had internal offers from SOCOM. Both turned it down because what Washington is doing. Do we want warriors or social justice warriors?

STOP blaming everything on so-called, right wing hi-jacked term "wokeness." It's a lazy, fear-mongering cop out talking point. The services need to find out why the military career is no longer relevant to our younger generation not politicians and pundits. I joined because of my family environment and proximity to two major bases. I also was surrounded by solid veteran and military role models who influenced and mentored me. If we are not out there in the schools and orgs promoting our career path to the next generation, then we only have ourselves to blame.

stop enlisting women and homosexuals to cohabit with combat troops.

100% PAY more. Back in the days people would join to serve their country with pride. But it's no longer looked at as a patriotic thing to do, yet a job that you can lose your life for. People with high risk careers in the civilian world get compensated for that (before dying) the army should do the same. They should pay soldiers outstanding Salary's to show this is career that could truly benefit your future. Show the military stands out and also has high standards. More people should be expressing that because in the real world most people would call someone stupid for joining the military 99% of the time because of how their compensated salary wise. 100% PAY MORE for enlisted solider's you'll solve this problem easily. It's a JOB so treat it as such.