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

You can't fix the recruiting problem without fixing the social problem first. United we stand, divided we fall. Too bad "united" doesn't make any advertisement money or get anyone clicks or likes because it doesn't "outrage" anyone. Furthermore, the influence by social media either wholly controlled by our international political and military adversaries or infiltrated by a large number of their bots, can no longer be ignored as a further de-stabilizing factor. Statistics seem to generally indicate some 70+% of folks in this country are pretty centric and reasonable. They just don't have representation in politics or the media. When everyone thinks they are hated by their neighbor for being (often merely slightly) politically opposite or for whatever other reason (whatever the daily pick by media, social media, or politics is), or that they can never say anything that is right, a front sufficiently united to make the sacrifice of health, well-being, and life palatable for "this we will defend" is impossible. Under the current political strife and the uncertainty of what the common, actual consensus among our people is, the average person is understandably reluctant to make such a commitment. Even the thread on this post bears some evidence of the disintegration of our unity, especially considering this is an environment of very like-minded folks. I believe most here would actually be standing side by side as comrades in arms, came push-to-shove. Here like anywhere else in our country, we should be focusing and celebrating what we have in common instead of hating each other or fighting over what, in most cases, are really insignificant differences in comparison. If the person you are standing with is loyal, honest, helpful, trustworthy, dependable, and dedicated to get the mission done, nothing else matters. They deserve respect for whoever they are, and also for their sacrifices made for the common good. Just my humble opinion.

In the past recruits have often been children or others who have had older family members who have served. In my family, four of our five sons have served in one capacity or another. One good incentive has been education opportunities. I have tried to be a good example to them, having served a combined 32 years of National Guard, active and Reserve service. While not every service dependent is a good prospect, many are and this is a great place to look for motivated and willing prospects for service--people already familiar with service life.
Also, at a time we have a border crisis and immigrants who want to be good American citizens, why not offer a military option for those who are willing and qualified to serve? In the past many draftees were migrant farm workers and many distinguished themselves in uniform. Anyone who wants to be an American should be offered this kind of opportunity.
Not every kid is a spoiled, overweight brat. Recruiters should visit campuses and look for the best candidates for service and make sure they are aware of the many benefits of serving and look for ways to motivate them. Academy prospects should begin preparation as early as junior high.
I was honored to begin my service as an enlisted member and I prized my first stripe as much as my silver leaf. Serving IS an honor--let's show it!

Stop lowering the standards to pass. Increase Bootcamp back to 13weeks. Out back the basics for each service, advance fire fighting damage control, infantry etc... When I joined I did not worry that I was not fit enough to make it , I assumed I would be whipped into shape... Same thing I told those joining or asking me my opinion... Stop giving them a easy out... Make them do the full 9weeks then you can boot them. Pride and respect and friendships are made when you struggle together... Stop acting as if all Americans need to agree on everything... The military and organizations are not made or based on 100% agreement... The agreement is we will follow orders... Political parties change along with the will of civilians... Rules of engagement and what serve does not ... The military prepares for war, we do not chose or decide when it takes place... We carry out the mission before us ... We make due with what we have... Not wait until the perfect recruit or weapon arrives ...

This is a great country and to keep it great everyone has to do their part. I would enact a Draft. Then you would have a choice enlist or get drafted for a minimum of two years active, two years Reserves. Our Democracy will fall from within, when it is taken for granted. The draft would be for ALL, male and female. Then restore the college entitlement and apprenticeship programs. No I am not a war monger, I just believe we all should do our part in keeping our country free. I served eight years. Some of the others I served with were engineers, who just enlisted but did not want to be officers. I learned a lot from these guys. I have no regrets having served. There are great educational opportunities in the military no matter which branch a person can get for just serving.. if you want it.

The military lost its moral compass. There is no fixing that reality until those who live in Darkness face that truth.

Start w8th going back to when it was worth joining, now days it's nothing but LGBTQ crap and men wanting to be females, females wanting to be men, Officer's as women when clearly they're males and vice versa and the same with Enlisted, I wouldn't have my Grandsons join at all

Recruiting challenges are honestly just going to get worse. Social media and the ease of access to news really hurts the military. Wars and possibilities of war also don't help; especially ones so heavily contested. There are so many of us gen x and millennials who lived through the gulf war and OEF/OIF, raised kids and grandkids who're at the right age but, have seen how fucked up we are. It's a much softer time now too. It's a time where people make videos talking about how hurt they are and their mental instabilities. People have no idea what gender they are and have a heart attack over someone's pronouns. Sayings like, "man the f**k up" or "why do you care" are looked down upon and considered hurtful. This just isn't a good time for recruitment. It'd almost be better to recall all us broken and disabled vets. We'd know our jobs and it'd be a lot different. Lemme not even put that idea in the aether. Forget that last sentence LOL

Shift to equipment which requires fewer service members to operate it

The M-777 155 mm howitzer has a crew of 7 plus the military has to buy a prime mover to drag it around.

The M-109 A 5–7 Paladin has a crew of 4 GVW and is 84,000 lb.

The GVWs for a HEMTT are:
69,000 lb
75,500 lb with a-kit
109,000 lb with b-kit

If you REALLY wanted a wheeled vehicle there are two available:

The French CAESAR 155 mm self-propelled howitzer crew of 5, can be crewed by 3 in an emergency
The Israeli ATMOS 155 mm has a crew of 2 – 6.

This is just one example. There are a LOT of places to trim personnel. We just need to get out of the mindset of “just get more privates to move/do XYZ”.

Something of a mythological issue. Great options mean fewer recruits. Combined with the huge percentage of youth who require waivers, even the willing interested sour on the first impression of bureaucracy.

I would start by returning it to a military outfit instead of a transgender medical depot and homosexual hide out. Short version, reinstate psych evals. Then I would start treating the vets we already have with a bit more respect(and by "a bit" I mean A LOT) so that recruits dont see discarded toys of the government and start seeing that there is benefit in being honorable even tho the honorable dont usually expect recognition. The US government has taken a dump on their soldiers for so long, there's no wonder there is a recruiting problem.