Military Recruitment Hasn't Been This Bad Since End of Vietnam War - Biden's Dangerous Leadership
President Joe Biden has destroyed many businesses with his economic failures and radical policies. Now, he may be contributing to a major decline in recruitment for the United States Armed Forces.
On June 27, NBC News reported all five branches of the military were struggling to meet their recruitment goals for the 2022 fiscal year.
“This is the start of a long drought for military recruiting,” Ret. Lt. Gen. Thomas Spoehr said.
He said recruitment was as low as he had seen it since 1973, the year the draft ended. While he does not foresee a draft in the immediate future, he said, “2022 is the year we question the sustainability of the all-volunteer force.”
NBC specifically raised concern about the Army, which it said had only reached about 40 percent of its recruiting goal with just three months left in the fiscal year.
In an opinion article for Fox News on Wednesday, Texas Public Policy Foundation Vice President Chuck Devore said the numbers should not come as a surprise.
Devore said the Biden administration “has given voice to the left’s view that the American military is filled with right-wing extremists and White supremacists.” He said the decreasing number of young Americans interested in joining the military is a result of this fact.
As an example, Devore cited comments made by Democratic Tennessee Rep. Steven Cohen before President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
“The Guard is 90-some-odd percent, I believe, male,” Cohen said. “Only about 20 percent of white males voted for Biden. You gotta figure that in the Guard, which is predominantly more conservative, and I see that on my social media and we know it, there are probably not more than 25 percent of the people that are there protecting us who voted for Biden.
“The other 75 percent are in the class that would be the large class of folks who might want to do something. And there were military people and police who took oaths to defend the Constitution and to protect and defend who didn’t do it who were in the insurrection. So, it does concern me.”
.@RepCohen: “You have to figure that the Guard, which is predominantly more conservative…there are probably not more than 25% of the people that are there protecting us who voted for Biden.
The other 75% are in the…large class of folks who might want to do something.” pic.twitter.com/thd3lFbYQw
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) January 18, 2021
Cohen was saying he believed the majority of National Guard members were far-right extremists who would consider harming Biden. This was a lie, but it could certainly have contributed to a negative perception of the military.
A recent survey of young Americans conducted by the defense department found 57 percent of respondents thought they would incur emotional or psychological problems if they joined the military, NBC News reported.
“They think they’re going to be physically or emotionally broken after serving,” a senior U.S. military official said.
While there are certainly risks associated with joining the military, the official said a general lack of knowledge about serving in the armed forces was contributing to undue fear. Misinformation from Democrats above service members certainly doesn’t help, either.
Another concern is Americans’ lack of confidence in the military and its leadership.
On Dec. 1, 2021, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation released the findings of its latest Reagan National Defense Survey. It found just 45 percent of Americans said they had a great deal of trust in confidence in the military, compared to 70 percent in 2018.
Among those who said they did not have great confidence in the military, the top reason given was distrust in political leadership. It’s hard to ignore the fact that falling numbers in both military recruitment and public confidence in the military coincide with Biden’s presidency.
In addition, evidence suggested the military has been forcing leftist ideology on its enrollees. Last month, The Daily Signal shared a video reportedly used in training for the Navy.
“Using the right pronouns is a really simple way to affirm someone’s identity,” host Jony Rozon said in the video. “It is a signal of acceptance and respect.”
The video is incredibly patronizing, and it also attempts to force viewers to accept the same views as the speakers in the name of “acceptance.”
If this is what the military has come to, Devore said it is no wonder people are not joining.
“Under today’s leadership, I wouldn’t enlist,” the 24-year Army veteran wrote. “Why volunteer for leftist struggle sessions at reeducation camp?”
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