The U.S. military’s recruitment shortcomings have received significant coverage of late, and some of it is even informed. But much of that coverage has left unclear exactly why the military is facing this crisis at this time. The recurring suggestion that white recruits are opting out of service merely because of wokeness concerns struck me as insufficient, to put it mildly — so I reached out to two retiring Navy recruiters, Frank and Isaac, whose opinions I trust and with whom I have worked in the past. (Note: Because both recruiters have various claims processing with the Department of Veterans Affairs, pseudonyms have been used to prevent repercussions.)
Their accounts were revealing. Indeed, the military’s recruitment woes go much deeper than culture-war politics.
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