Even Veterans Are Steering Their Families Away From America’s New Woke Military
Veterans are pushing their family members — who represent an overwhelming majority of new recruits — away from military service, deepening U.S. armed forces’ recruitment crisis, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Nearly 80% of new recruits have at least one family member with a service record, but these family members are increasingly questioning whether the potential costs of military service — which include rising rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide and a reliance on welfare programs — are worth it when compared to a career in the private sector, particularly following the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, the WSJ reported. The military has faced significant criticism from GOP lawmakers over its focus on “woke” initiatives, which they say prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and deepen the recruiting crisis by alienating potential recruits.
“We’re left with the gut-wrenching feeling of, ‘What was it all for?’” asks Navy veteran Catalina Gasper, who was injured in a Taliban attack in July 2019 that has left her with lingering brain damage. “I just don’t see how it’s sustainable if the machine keeps chewing up and spitting out” the nation’s youth, she said.
Gasper said that she and her husband, an Army veteran with over two decades of service, used to talk to their children, now aged 7 and 10, about joining the military, but now she intends to ensure her kids never join, according to the outlet.
Just 9% of Americans aged 16-21 expressed a willingness to consider a military career in 2022, down from the pre-pandemic norm of 13%, the WSJ reported, citing Pentagon data.
Recruiters are facing the twin challenges of both historically low fitness eligibility and interest among young Americans, and the deepening crisis has led the Navy this week to begin having recruiters work six-day weeks in an “all-hands effort” to boost recruitment. The Navy utilized an active-duty drag queen — Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley, stage name Harpy Daniels — as a “digital ambassador” from October 2022 to March 2023 in a bid to “explore the digital environment to reach a wide range of potential candidates,” a Navy spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The lowest-ranking service members make less than $2,000 per month, and while this may be offset by the military paying for food and housing, some 20,000 active-duty soldiers are currently on food stamps, the WSJ reported. Various service branches are issuing large bonuses both to new hires and experienced veterans in a bid to boost both recruitment and retention.
“To be honest with you it’s Wendy’s, it’s Carl’s Jr., it’s every single job that a young person can go up against because now they are offering the same incentives that we are offering, so that’s our competition right now,” Sgt. Maj. Marco Irenze of the Nevada Army National Guard, told the WSJ.
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JOHN HUGH DEMASTRI
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No surprise here – after 25 years on active duty fighting against Communism I have recommended to many not to enlist in or seek a commission in the current Obama 3/Beijing Joe Biden regime. Why?
– You will be told to support Marxism in the form of CRT and DEI (just another name for CRT);
– You might serve in a combat zone with terrible Rules of Engagement favoring the enemy;
– If you espouse conservative, Godly values, you will be labled an “extremist” and harrassed;
– You may have to serve with mentally ill trans-humans;
– You will be told climate change is our number 1 national security threat rather than Communist China and/or the invasion of our Southern Border by illegal aliens many of which are criminals or terrorists;
– Equipment you might need to effectively deter an enemy or fight a war will not be available because it has been given to corrupt Ukraine and will take 5-8 years to replace;
– You will be (mis) led by a totally WOKE DOD and uniformed flag officers;
– You will find many of your fellow military personnel are not physically fit f or on extended maternity leave leaving them exempt for deployment and you to do your and their jobs;
– You will face a huge low in overall combat readiness and morale; recruitment and retention shortfalls again putting more burdens on you; etc. etc.
So – take my advice, don’t join today’s military as long as the Obama 3/Beijing Joe Biden or any other Democrat is the Commander-in-Chief. To do so puts you at greater risk for harm and/or denigration than ever in the long, honorable history of our military.
I agree totally with Royal’s assertions. The article from Rich’s newsletter is absolutely correct. We CANNOT tolerate a military that politics controls…from either side. This must be stopped. Since Vietnam and probably before, politics has taken over the military and it is getting more and more dangerous to put our kids in to serve. From the battle to put females on the combat field to asking Navy military school students to run around in red pumps, to the mixing of the sexes in the general military environment, politicians have broken down military readiness to a horrendous low. I realize this is very likely a communist maneuver, from the inside, (McCarthy was absolutely right). We need more McCarthyism in the political realm and those found subscribing to this ridiculous way of thinking are working directly against the Constitution must be removed. If a candidate cannot pass a background check they should not be in a position where they can get access to sensitive material therefore they shouldn’t be allowed to run for office.
I personally would not encourage any of my children to enter the military until the political entitities are removed. On the other hand, allowing illegal aliens to enter the military to earn their American Citizen status is also a dangerous practice. These people are here without background checks, they are not inclined to be patriots and are much more likely to fire upon civilians if/when ordered. There is no question that libs would give such orders to their political enemies. Soldiers are not allowed to carry weapons on military installations. Let us not forget the attack that killed 35 soldiers in Texas years ago. The attacker was an armed middle eastern soldier serving on an American Base…the soldiers died because they were unarmed, by mandate. I believe the attacker was a psychologist or something, however this is one illustration of the dangers of non Americans serving in our military.
In my mind the smartest thing to do right now, is develop serious State Militia’s both government based and private citizen based. The number and type of illegals crossing our borders right now is alarming…..I am continually shocked and amazed that our government is willing to allow Americans to be in such danger and they don’t seem to care that the numbers of American victims continues to rise as a result of their actions…..take Politicians OUT of the military. They have NO business participating in military matters. The military is NOT a social experiment. As a matter of fact veterans should make up about 75% of political leaders and civil workforce….why? Because they are much less likely to vote for and author laws and regulations that are questionable or outright Unconstitutional.