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

Recruitment into our modern military has a single problem. We are asking our young people to do something that they do not want to do, or something that they feel there is no future for them in the long run. Although not a current emphasis by recruitment ads, the ultimate goal as seen by many of our young people is to go to war. Greater emphasis should be shifted from war, to the prevention of war with a strong military. A deterrent to war as it has been in the past.
With that being said, given the fact that our young people are faced with so many technical opportunities in civilian life, the military must place an emphasis on training and the development of tools for war fighting more like the tools used in peace time. Using technology and related processes to connect people on common data bases to ensure faster and better decisions to ensure that mission success is achieved should be a recruitment principle.
Training opportunities must be developed to insure that whether it is intelligence, strategic, logistics or tactical that all processes are in a common technical data base that can be utilized throughout the entire military complex to accomplish the strategics, regardless if it comes from Sun Tzu, Du Picq or even the Weinberger-Powell Doctrine
Military training to the recruit needs to be seen as an alternative to higher education provided by our colleges and universities. Obviously advanced technology and advanced technological training is going to cost money, but in order to recruit into the MOSs that is necessary it will take additional funding.

Reading Social Media, an various News articles. There is a Extreme Shortage of ppl coming into the various Trades in our Society. One of the biggest issues is A Living Wage . Ive been screamed at called a Boomer , a Gate Keeper. That I'm outta touch with the Real World . Over & Over I've seen the complaints they can't get hired cause they have no experience, an how are they supposed to get experience if they can't get hired. I've tried to explain it was No Different for Our Generation. They dont want to hear that , the reply is so your just doing the same an have changed Nothing. An it really ticks them off when I tell them as a Manager with yrs & yrs under by belt I can just about tell if they are going to be a good fit or not just by the way they appear We have Big Signs - do not block bay doors an I be damn if they don't park their car right in front of the sign . An then the ones that do make it to the interview stage well their wants are just over the top . Things like $20-$25 @ hour to start , No Overtime, No Weekends, No On Call . An yes many have a negative view of The Military it's too hard ? It's just not for them , they don't like being told what to do Ive asked them so how should I give directions ? Young Ppl are tethered to their phones , I've even seen here how they couldn't believe they had to give up their phones during Training hours . I've had to let a couple guys go cause they just won't stay off their phone . They dont even want to discuss taking vocational classes . I dont know I'm at a loss loss you can't help someone if they are unwilling to help themselves. Myself I joined to learn a trade as I couldn't afford additional education after High School. But the big thing I learned was Leadership. I spent right at 6 yrs Active Duty , Getting out was a personal choice that even today I still wonder what if I had stayed . But the Time I served was instrumental in the person I am now an that experience has guided me thru life .Every place I have ever worked It was easy to standout over my peers , in a supervisory position it allowed me coordinate my personal . Several times Upper Management during conversations or yearly reviews They have pointed out how I take care of my people , Which to me has been the greatest compliment I've received. My last job I was Shop Foreman for a Major Equipment Mfg the Regional Manager commented it's rare I hear from you , I explained you hired me to run this operation due to my qualifications, when the situation arises I'm not quite sure how to address I've contacted you either by phone if it was critical or by email if it wasn't a major issue . The whole time thru our discussion he kept getting interrupted by Shop Foreman's from various other Stores for things that I just took as day to day operations, I even commented to him I shouldn't have to ask you if I need to wipe by backside after using the head . To which he laughed saying if he had just 2 more ppl like me he would have a dream job . 3 months later he asked me if I would be interested in a Assistant Regional Manger position overseeing Shop Operations thru out 3 states .

I would like to add one more thing to my previous remarks, I also believe every single city, State, Federal Employee along with every service member, FBI, CIA , IRS etc should be Required to take a year long class TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER THE FIVE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN & WHY, THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION & THE BILL OF RIGHTS WERE WRITTEN . By reading and answering those five basic question I hope it would help the Young Officers and Enlisted personal understand why they took a oath to protect & Defend the United States Constitution & the Bill Of Rights , & why they did not take a Oath to protect any single political party or elected Official, but Swore to Protect & Defend the American Citizens Individual Constitution Rights & Freedoms from all Foreign & Domestic Threats.
I remember when I was on active duty, I was Shocked at how many young and old service members never even read the Declaration Of Independence, the United States Constitution or the Bill of Rights, I would give the service member a Pocket copy of the Declaration Of Independence, the United States Constitution & the Bill of Rights, while telling them, you did take a Oath to protect and defend these Documents , don't you think you should at least read them, for a few different reasons? such as to help you understand what is a Constitutional lawful order, and what is a Unconstitutional order. to get a basic understanding of Why and what you are defending .

Not that it would fill all the needs of our military I think with the 'overcrouding' of our prisons judges use to give a first time offender or blue color minor crime the choice of prison or the military. Why not do it again. It turned a lot of people around and made the good citizens.

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