Army Says ‘Wokeness’ Not a Primary Driver of Recruitment Woes
The U.S. Army says “wokeness” is not a primary driver of its current recruitment struggles, after new surveys showed that young people are far more concerned about their safety and about putting their lives on hold if they were to join the force.
Last year, the Army fell about 25 percent short of its goal to recruit 60,000 new soldiers. To find out what is causing the recruitment slump, the Army conducted a series of surveys over four months last spring and summer, according to a new report by the Associated Press.
Officials said the surveys, which were conducted among 600 respondents aged 16 to 28 per month, found that only about five percent of respondents said “wokeness” was a deterrent to enlisting. Thirteen percent of survey respondents said they believe that women and minorities will face discrimination in the Army and not get the same opportunities.
The bigger issue, the surveys showed, is that young people “simply do not see the Army as a safe place or good career path,” the AP reported.
The top three reasons young people do not want to join the Army are fear of death, concerns about post-traumatic stress disorder, and leaving friends and family, respectively, said Major General Alex Fink, the head of Army marketing. This is standard across all of the services.
The surveys were conducted to gain a better understanding of other reasons beyond the top three, Fink said. The surveys found “I will be putting my life on hold” was the top concern outside of the big three, having been cited by more than one in five people surveyed. Ten percent of respondents said they do not trust military leadership because of the way recent events or missions had been handled.
They “just don’t see the Army as something that’s relevant,” Fink said. “They see us as revered, but not relevant, in their lives.”
The Army did not share detailed methodology with the AP, saying licensing agreements with a private research contractor limited the public release of some data collection details.
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told the AP the findings are a tool to “assuage the concerns that some may have, whether influencers or members of Congress, about wokeness or the vaccine mandate — which is now rescinded — and show they are not, by any means, primary drivers of the recruiting challenges we’re experiencing.”
Representative Jim Banks (R., Ind.), chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on military personnel, has said a top priority for him this year will be “exposing and dismantling the Biden administration’s woke agenda that is driving down military recruitment and retention.”
In 2021, General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, denied accusations that the military has gone “woke.” He defended the U.S. military academy’s teaching of critical race theory, saying that it is important to have some “situational understanding” of the country’s history. Milley said at the time that “on the issue of critical race theory” he believes it is “important actually for those of us in uniform to be open-minded and widely read.”
In July, Representative Mike Johnson (R., La.) told National Review that he believed the Covid-19 vaccine mandate was a “primary cause of recruitment issues” that is a “symptom of a bigger issue: the politicization of our military.”
“Potential recruits look at the Pentagon’s focus on social issues — while glaring errors are being made, such as the failed withdrawal in Afghanistan — and they are understandably left to wonder whether the priorities of the top brass are misplaced,” he said at the time.
Representative Mike Gallagher (R., Wis.) agreed that Covid-vaccine hesitancy and the politicization of the Pentagon were partially to blame for recruitment problems, but added that “skyrocketing rates of obesity and mental-health issues” and “an extremely tight labor market” were also impacting recruitment.
Just 23 percent of Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 presently qualify to join the Army, according to Army chief of staff General James McConville.
The survey was conducted as the Army fell about 15,000 soldiers short of its 60,000-soldier recruitment goal last year. The Army has set a “stretch goal” of recruiting 65,000 troops this year, Wormuth said.
The Army is hoping new incentives will boost recruitment, including a pilot program that allows young enlisted soldiers in the three lower ranks to receive a promotion if they refer someone who enlists and attends basic training. The program allows for just one promotion per soldier.
