Parades, family gatherings, and small-town ceremonies. For many Americans, Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer and a day to honor the more than 1 million men and women who have lost their lives in service to the country. Now amid an unprecedented military recruitment crisis, leaders need more than a few good men and women willing to face looming global threats like China.
Over 75 percent of young Americans are ineligible for military service, and even fewer have a desire to join. In a recent survey, as many as 6 in 10 respondents listed the possibility of physical injury or death as their top reason not to join the military. Fear of PTSD and other psychological trauma followed closely behind. Leaders look to the next generation to fill the ranks. But why would they?
Fallout from Forever Wars
As a society, we can’t entirely blame this new generation of young people for their disinterest and hesitancy to serve. Gen Zers, born between 1997 and 2012, grew up in the long shadow of the 9/11 terrorist attacks but hold no memory of that fateful day. Their exposure to war has been as spectators of numerous policy failures in Iraq and, most recently, Afghanistan now engulfed in chaos. These would-be warriors watched firsthand as veterans wrestled with fear, anger, and betrayal after the United States’ disastrous final withdrawal from the Middle East.
The fallout from America’s forever wars consequently left Gen Z with no clear purpose for the United States’ role in
