The ongoing military recruiting crisis has dominated headlines, with the Army, Air Force, and Navy all falling short of their goals last year. Concerns over readiness and talent attraction are widespread, even being a core focus of this year’s Heritage Foundation index of military strength. However, attributing the recruiting crisis to “woke culture” or inadequate benefits misses a more intuitive root cause: Without a just war to ignite our patriotism, Americans are not in a rush to enlist. But recruiting soldiers isn’t the real issue; it’s the readiness of our military infrastructure that should alarm us.
Gen. Patton once said, “Americans love to fight. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle.” The statement captures a timeless truth about the American spirit; people do not join the military because they want to file paperwork, clean offices, and do routine vehicle maintenance. When you see a recruiting commercial on television, you watch scenes of bravery unfold, and the warrior spirit persists. These scenes resonate deeply with those who feel the call to serve, the people who will raise their right hand to defend our freedom.
In 2024, America faces increasing and worrying threats from revisionist foreign entities like China, Iran, and North Korea, yet as a nation, the United States is technically at peace. Peace is something of a problem for a professional force that has recruiting quotas and readiness metrics to meet, but it doesn’t spell absolute disaster.
The surge of enlistments after Pearl Harbor and the massive volunteer response following 9/11
