An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir November 2019 www.dfmagazine.ie 20 | L ast year, the US Army missed its recruiting goal for the first time since 2005. The strong economy, the increasing divide between military and civilians, and the large proportion of young Americans who are ineligible to serve, are making military recruiting more difficult today. The army missed its target by 6,500 recruits, enlisting closer to 70,000 individuals; the Army National Guard missed its objec- tive by 22%; while the Army Reserves were 30% below their requirement. Although the army is set to hit its 68,000 recruitment target for 2019, some senior military and government leaders are worried about trends in force preparedness. Former commander of the army's Initial Military Training Com- mand, Major General Malcolm Frost, explained at an event before his retirement, "I would argue that the next existential threat we have…is the inability to man our military." Writing in Politico, Major John Spencer said about the United States' elimination of the draft in 1973 and move to an all-volunteer force: "The major assumption undergirding that move was a belief that Americans would volunteer for military service when national security is at risk. But the past 14 years of war have proven that that assumption is wrong." President Trump wants to grow each branch of the military over the coming years, a goal shared by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley. Last summer, when General Milley was the army chief of staff, he made a case for increasing the army to 540,000 soldiers over the next four years, up from 470,000. He explained, "We have done the analysis. We need to be bigger, and we need to be stronger and more capable." One of the largest factors preventing the army and other branches of the military from reaching their objectives is the num- ber of young Americans that are ineligible to serve; over 71% of 17 to 24-year-olds are disqualified due to issues like health problems, drug use, criminal records, and inadequate education levels. Retired Air Force brigadier general and current member of Congress, Don Bacon, said at a mission-readiness event in DC in 2017 that, "the single most important ingredient to readiness is the constant flow of willing volunteers", and he described the current recruiting situation as "a red flag for our country". Health problems that prevent recruits from serving include obe- sity. It particularly affects recruiting from southern states, whose citizens historically had a higher propensity to serve in the military. Youth from these states are more likely to be overweight and physi- cally unfit for service. Lieutenant General John Bednarek (retd) said, when speaking about the number of high school students that are ineligible to serve, "It's a problem that is a getting worse. They're not eligible to join the military if they wanted to. For 80% there is no requirement for physical fitness for graduation [from high school]." Although marijuana is fully legal in 11 states, members of the military are not allowed to use the drug, and the army gave more than 500 waivers to recruits who admitted to using the drug prior BY SHANE MCCARTHY PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE US MILITARY Drill instructors with Bravo Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, demonstrate a log curl to recruits at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.

• Cover