Editorial from Bloomberg Opinion editorial board
The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan signals the end of a war that involved close to 800,000 American service members. Defending against new threats will require the U.S. to replenish its all-volunteer force with fresh recruits — a task made harder by the dwindling number of Americans willing and able to serve.
The U.S. currently has 1.3 million active-duty service members. Due to attrition and retirement, the military needs to find more than 150,000 new recruits every year to meet its overall “end strength” goal.
Recruiting isn’t easy. At least 70 percent of Americans between 17 and 24 are ineligible for military service due to obesity, mental-health issues, past drug use, criminal records or lack of a high school degree.
The Defense Department estimates that just 2 percent out of 20.6 million 17- to 21-year-olds have the desired combination of strong academic credentials, adequate physical fitness and an interest in serving.
Recruits tend to be drawn from a shrinking segment of the population — from a small number of mostly southern states and families of veterans — a group whose share of the population is lower than at any time since World War II. The armed forces continue to enjoy public support, but this skewing of the recruiting pool risks widening the divide between service members and the citizens they’re sworn to defend.
The U.S. needs to persuade a broader cross section of Americans to consider military service. More generous enlistment bonuses should be offered to candidates who are qualified for critical positions and willing to sign up for six-year contracts.
The services should expand outreach beyond recent high-school graduates to community-college and technical-college students, who are more likely to have specialized skills and score higher on aptitude tests.
Expanding the pool of qualified recruits, to be sure, isn’t a job for the military alone. Addressing childhood obesity, substance abuse and poor academic achievement requires greater investment in the country’s K-12 education and public-health systems.
The effort is critical — not just for the preservation of American power but also for the strength of America’s democracy.
