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

The Afghan pull fubar probably made kids think twice...

This has nothing to do with being Gen Z. They said the same thing about millennials like myself. Most of my Gen Z and millennial age soldiers are fully willing to commit to a mission without a problem.

Bigger issue (to me at least) is this: I can go to a trade school and make 30-40 bucks an hour, along with (relatively speaking) making my own hours (including working odd hours for extra pay). Why would I join an organization that will dictate what I do and where I will go? Nor do I get paid extra when asked to do extra. What about the high schooler or college graduate with coding experience? Nah, they can make way more on the civilian side. What about if the military also streamlined how it prosecutes sexual assault? Why would parents want to send their sons and daughters to organizations that allowed Vanessa Guillen to get sexually harassed and murdered by fellow soldiers, along with obscuring the evidence around it?

I agree that some of the medical DQs are BS. ADHD is one of them, and certain surgeries are another. The amount of the paperwork that the DOD chooses to do to see if a medical waiver will be accepted is ludicrous. I waited 6 months for a shoulder surgery 5 years prior was being considered for waiver, to include having to see a contracted orthopedic surgeon. That's long enough to turn a lot of recruits away. Sports teams and school systems can do these way faster; there is no reason the military could as well. For example, what if we could take reservist PAs and docs who aren't doing anything at annual training or drill to do clearances and consults? Or use AI to screen waiver packets and do risk assessments?

Unfortunately with the way information moves, there is no single answer. However, raising age limits and increasing waivers for service connected disability for GWOT veterans could be part of the solution.

The reason for my answer has to do with the understanding of the sacrifices that GWOT veterans have already made and many are still willing to serve, regardless of the rating and are still trained to some extent.

Let Retiree's fill admin roles at battalion levels and higher. That would free up officer's and senior NCO's to do more training and lead at the company levels.

Simple bring back the draft. No deferments. Have mini sessions for those overwight etc. If they do not qualify you train them to get GEDs lose weight. Mini boot camps. Look at what Israel had been doing for many many years. You can always have these kids do other things beside the military. Get them right out of high school. No college etc deferments. Mandatory two years foa all. It has worked for other countries. Some kids just not cut out for the military but a lot of options to look at. Training, training to become tax paying citizens. I have grankids and great grand kids. I would like to see them all get a little respect and discipline plus learn some skills. Whether it be at a nursing home, National forest firefighting, or helping out in schools, hospitals, VA clinics, hospitals and homes. Or just working for the local parks and recs. Just getting off the couch and learning. Two year delay before college for some. To exceptions. We need to look at what other countries have been doing for years

Present the military as an alternative to college. Present ABVAV Scores(if that’s what they are still called) as recruiters present ACT/SAT scores. Hey man/woman, with you score, I can make sure you get into this MOS/Rate. Don’t lie to them; just to meet your quota. They talk to their friends.

I was a Navy Recruiter just after the All Volunteer Force became reality. What helped me most to make my numbers was the sales training the school provided. They actually had professional trainers teach us how to sell, I was taught the basics of sales, how to initiate a conversation, how to identify the prospective recruits hot points, how to satisfy what was important to the prospective recruit, and how to close him. I know that sounds bad to some people but recruiting (sales) is a profession. Get back to that! Speaking in public; We were drilled on how to make a speech. In the field I routinely went to service organization meetings (all the military ones and civilian ones like the Lions, Rotary, Elks, Moose, etc) as the guest speaker at lunch, dinner, etc. Just the ability to ask these members to help us meet new prospects worked. Many were veterans as I would believe they are now. Advertising; Get the best advertising firm in the USA to put together a plan that hits the target age group's interest. The best slogan that worked back in my day was - It's not just a Job, it's an Adventure. I'm sure that came from a professional advertising person and not some guy in the Pentagon. The advertising needs to be saturated on all mediums. I personally had a TV commercial running on the local TV station that they produced and ran it often. The Navy provided the photographer, script writer, and film crew. I worked with the TV station crew to provide the voiceover. We delivered a 30 second spot that featured me as a family man that chose to serve his country as his career. One comment on here mentioned access to schools and colleges. YES! That access is essential. Many enlisted recruits came from my ability to go on high school campus routinely. Officer aviation candidates came from the local University. Another mention was to participate in no recruiting activities. I personally coached youth football in town and did the other service branch recruiters that had played in their youth. We participated in the younger generation activities. The Marine Corps Recruiter and I would run long distance with the high school track team. We needed to stay in shape and it gave us great exposure on campus. We didn't pitch our respective branch, We just ran with them. Our clothes stated Navy and Marine Corps but that was it. One thing I initiated in our town was the Thursday night cruise night participation. I'm a hotrodder, been so since 16. I'd take my hot rod and the Navy logo'd van to a parking lot on the strip. As I cruised with the other cruisers my partners in the office manned the van with soft drinks, snacks, etc. It was a way to "hang out" with the young recruit age guys and gals in town. These are just some of the examples of what all 4 branches did routinely at our recruiting station. I wasn't alone here. All the recruiters did these things. There is absolutely no reason why these techniques, modernized to today's youth wouldn't work. Qualification for physical, mental, and legal deficiencies are an issue today but they were back then too. The 1970s had their education deficiencies, drug use issues, crime issues, and troubled kids just like today. As in sales, its a numbers game. Prospects to qualified candidates to closed recruits percentages would probably be about the same in my opinion.

Many things can make it better. Will any of them actually be done, maybe not, but here we go.
The standards to join and become affiliated are too high. To meet the requirements without a waiver you almost have to be a kryptonian. When I say that I mean if you have a mole that doesn't quite look right you get sent home without a contract. If you have ever had a surgery most recruiters don't even try to get you in. Recruiters are looking for someone they can put in right now, not maybe 2 months later with a waiver if at all. This is a problem. When I went recruiting I couldn't find anyone that didn't have something, and I ended up getting taken off the bag and transferred to the shipyard. In the mean time while I waited I processed the waivers whether they were medical or legal in nature and accessions went up three-fold for my division. I was persistent and got many people affiliated that would have otherwise slipped through the cracks.
The other problem with leadership in recruiting is they are looking to cut as many recruiters as they can. Have you ever heard of an "NC Hug" (Navy Counselor)? It's a hug with one arm and a knife in the back with the other hand. If you have any issues whatsoever the recruiting leadership comes after your rank and your paycheck as if its a recession and they get to keep the difference. Recruiters are miserable, the leadership makes them miserable, and as a result, it is physically displayed by the people that are supposed to be convincing 17-39 year olds that thus is a good choice for them to he making. It's hard to sell someone on that when you yourself don't even believe it in the moment.
All I wanted to do was hop in my truck and drive away, obviously I didn't. One of my shipmates developed epilepsy due to the stress he received on recruiting duty from the Chain of Command. It was rough. Long story short leadership needs a face lift, big time.
People talk, it's easier to talk and share experiences than ever before. If you find out how unglamorous you are treated by your boss in recruiting would you actually pick it willingly? Never!
A lot of people are obese and don't even get a shot. I say give them a shot, lower the standard to join but keep the standard to graduate, and keep them in basic until they meet the current standards. It makes sense right? Sure it's pricey but so is offering $150k for affiliating as opposed to spending an extra month or 2 at camp cupcake for fat kids.
Advertising is an issue, stop showing what kind of people are in the military and show them what kind of things they can do, maybe some development into a sailor or soldier, the bonds and friendships they can forge along the way. None of the latest commercials have really been inspiring.
Politics suck. Leave the politics put of the military. Civilian politics only cause division and push people away. I'm not going to sugarcoat it but there have been a lot of decisions lately in the last few years that have been made that have caused recruiting, and retention to take many steps backward. It's not the not services fault. The controlling leaders decisions have simply pushed away anyone that is remotely interested, made many people want out, or forced many others out.
All of this is true and unadulterated facts that sadly have taken place. If anyone wants to truly make things better, public apologies will have to be made, lots of crow will have to be eaten. It will be a while before the government can ever begin to earn the trust of the children and parents that would be willing to offer themselves up to the services.

Its a new generation and the military as a whole has not shifted accordingly. My first thought would be find military influencers from each branch of the military, both enlisted and officers. Show the highlights of military training and how it will translate into civilian jobs at the end of their tour, adventures, show the ports and duty stations of the world, etc. When I joined in 1982, i saw the world as my playground. In actuality I saw parts or the world that otherwise I would probably have never made it to.

There was a time when the recruiter didn't have to convince you to join. You did that yourself and went to the recruiter to tell them you wanted to join. We were influenced by our father. He had been a photo technician for the atomic bomb group and we grew up with a huge photo album. When dad was discharged, he was given a card that stated he was a member of the atomic bomb group and would forever be welcome at any Air Force base. He used that card twice during a 1961 family vacation at Roswell (his last base) and Lowry (where he went to photo school). Little did my brother and I know that in 6 years we would be wearing those uniforms. When dad put on his uniform, his aunts and cousins were under German occupation.

All three of dad's grandsons also put on the uniform - two Army and one Navy. They still wear them as reservists. Nobody was recruited. All have done it on their own.

We need a climate where today's youth want to do it on their own. Last week, a 19 year old soldier that wanted to do it on his own and died in basic training was brought home to Pella, Iowa. The streets were lined with hundreds waiving flags as the procession went by. The soldier's funeral director strongly supports veterans and the military. The same funeral director was also the one that ordered my father's burial vault with an Air Force seal, unknown to us that he had done it

There is hope for the future.