The Army is facing a major recruitment shortfall, projecting it will sign up just 50,000 new soldiers in 2023 — 15,000 fewer than its target of 65,000, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail.
The Navy and Air Force are confronting similar grim outlooks, expecting to miss their enrollment goals by 10,000 and 10 percent, respectively.
This crisis highlights the military’s profound failure to attract Generation Z. Last year, a mere 9 percent of Americans ages 16 to 21 said they would even contemplate serving — a concerning drop of 13 percentage points from pre-pandemic levels, the Daily Mail reported.
A recent Department of Defense report on the recruitment shortfalls cited several factors, including the fact that “Generation Z, the generation born from 1997 to 2012, generally has a low trust in institutions” and “has decreasingly followed traditional life and career paths.”
A flood of TikTok videos by Gen Z service members might give us further insight into why the numbers have dropped so drastically.
The videos trash life in the military and whine about the lack of sleep and the quality of the food. The Daily Mail described them as a “TikTok mutiny.”
A clip posted in 2020 by Anthony Laster, who has over 950,000 followers, said the Army had “No Privacy, The Pay Sucks, S***ty Food, Disrespectful Leadership, NO SLEEP!”
WARNING: Some of the following videos contain vulgar language that viewers may find offensive.
@midwest_ant 😑 #military #usa #army #marines #airforce #navy #rnb #dontdoit #deployment #fypシ #uniform #sad #world #lost #soldier #free #life #enlist ♬ Ya already know – YourDad👔
Many others have posted similar grievances about low wages, a lack of autonomy, unappealing food, overbearing commanding officers, menial tasks and more.
@shemarwill 5 reasons to not join the military #fyp #fy #money #military #viral #virginia #navy #gonavy #parents #ticktock ♬ original sound – Shemar Williams
@danaeestrella1 found this funny #poland #army #fyp #military #miltokcommunity #miltok #forthood #xyvbca #overseas #danaestrella1 #tx #deployment ♬ Brooklyn Bloop Pop . How Do You Spell – ⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚EXH0˚ ⋆ ˚｡⋆
@_j.will if you broke … that should be against the law 😭 #armyhumor #blackmiltok #fyp ♬ Law (feat. E-40) – Yo Gotti
@toogoofy.n but “free” school and healthcare right ? #miltok ♬ original sound – brent is bae😘
But this collapse of morale spotlights a deeper cultural rot.
In an Op-Ed in the New York Post published in July, conservative writer Rich Lowry blamed DEI initiatives for making the military “dangerously unprepared.”
Lowry quoted Bishop Garrison, who said last year, while he was serving as the defense secretary’s senior adviser for human capital and diversity, equity, and inclusion, that DEI needs to be part of every decision the military makes.
Garrison called it a “force multiplier” that would make the military more lethal.
In 2023, the military requested $115 million in DEI funding, going up $30 million from the previous year.
Lowry pointed out that America’s leaders used to worry about having enough stopping power to defend against Soviet tanks or surviving a potential nuclear strike, but “now they worry service members might not be learning enough about microaggressions.”
“Will our fighter pilots be better at aerial warfare if they think America is defined by systemic racism?” he asked.
Will the military’s recruitment crisis grow worse?
“Are our submariners lacking so long as they don’t know that it’s supposedly offensive to ask someone with an accent where he or she is from?”
It’s no wonder that our military is unsatisfied when the rigors and hard work that come with the territory contradict what they were told in recruitment sessions and watched on recruitment videos.
If this is how they feel while still on the base, how would these military members deal in combat zones?
Figuring out that despite all the protections constituted by the military against “micro-aggressions,” they may eventually have to deal with real aggression on the battlefield without a DEI counselor to talk through their feelings might be a bit of a shock.
Meanwhile, real fighters could find that the military does not have a place for them if they cannot learn to address people by their proper pronouns.
US Army Major “Rachel” Jones on diversity in the military 🤡 🌎
God help us. pic.twitter.com/kexqtzggwg
— Jordan Schachtel @ dossier.today (@JordanSchachtel) July 1, 2023
The military used to be a place for warriors. It wasn’t pretty, the language may not have been soft, the commanders didn’t always use please and thank you, and it didn’t pay much compared with other professions. But those who joined its ranks were tough, they knew what they were fighting for, and that kept the country safe in our beds at night.
This new politically correct military, with its long list of demands, might be the best in the world at “feeling circles,” but in the event of a war, we could be in a lot of trouble.
