Is the Army Misplacing the Blame for Its Recruiting Crisis? – By Elizabeth Howe (Defense One) / Dec 1, 2022
At least two of its oft-cited reasons are “red herrings,” experts say.
As experts and Army leaders work to boost the service’s sagging recruitment, they’re discovering that two oft-cited factors aren’t all that important: young people’s ineligibility rates and propensity to serve.
It’s true that only 23 percent of Americans are eligible for military service, and an even smaller portion of that percentage are interested in serving, as Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville often says when asked about his service’s recruiting woes. But these factors don’t explain the current crisis, RAND Corporation Senior Economist Beth Asche said at a Heritage Foundation event on Tuesday.
“Propensity is low, but propensity has always been low,” Asche said. “Another one is eligibility. That’s a problem, and it’s definitely worthy of concern and attention. But again, eligibility has also been a perennial problem for many years.”
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