The United States will enter 2024 with its smallest military in more than eight decades and faces one of its “biggest challenges” as it tries to boost recruitment of Generation Z members, Pentagon officials said.
Under the $886 billion annual defense bill passed by Congress this week, the total number of active-duty troops will fall to 1,284,500 next year.
That's the lowest number since the U.S. entered World War II in 1941 and officials said there should be a “national conscription.”
Recent recruiting goals were missed in the Army, Navy and Air Force, although the Marine Corps and the newly formed Space Force met their goals.
This week, Ashish Vazirani, the Pentagon's acting undersecretary for personnel and readiness, told the House Armed Services Committee that individual militaries missed their 2023 recruiting goals by a total of 41,000 personnel.
The world's largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford
The army and navy face recruiting challenges
Marines in the South Portico of the White House in Washington, DC, on December 6, 2023
He said: “This figure underestimates the challenge ahead as services have reduced their end strength targets in recent years, partly due to the difficult recruiting environment.”
Vazirani said the “all-volunteer force is facing one of its biggest challenges since its founding” in the 1970s, when conscription was ended.
Military recruiters say that Generation Z – those born between 1997 and 2012 – generally have “low trust in institutions” and have “followed increasingly traditional life and career paths.”
They have fewer relatives who have served in the military, which leads to lower willingness to serve.
Two decades ago, 25 percent of young people had never considered joining the military; today that figure is more than 50 percent.
“This has created a rift between the military and a large part of society,” Vazirani said.
“Today’s youth aren’t saying no to what the military has to offer, they just don’t know much about military service.”
The number of active-duty U.S. military personnel has not been this low since the start of World War II
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels aerobatic team performs during an air show as part of annual Fleet Week in San Francisco, U.S., Oct. 6, 2023
Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Ray Mabus (left)
“While the picture of the current recruiting environment is extremely challenging, the Department of Defense and the military services are working together to resolve issues, improve processes and raise awareness of the many opportunities that military service offers.”
“We need to reach today’s youth where they are, with a message that resonates with them and motivates them to take action.”
He said there should be a “national call to service” from leaders and politicians.
“Over the past 50 years, the all-volunteer force has proven to be the best way to maintain a force capable of defending our nation,” he said.
“And with our collective efforts, I am confident we will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.”
All branches except the Space Force experienced declines in active-duty strength since 2020.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin watches the game during the second half of the Army-Navy game at Gillette Stadium
The number of active employees has fallen under Joe Biden
Congress passed an $886 billion annual defense spending bill
Defense says the Army will have 445,000 soldiers on active duty, a decline of more than 40,000 – 8.4 percent – over the past three years.
Meanwhile, the Navy will have 10,000 fewer sailors, a decline of 3 percent, and the Air Force will have 13,475 fewer airmen, a decline of 4 percent.
The Marine Corps will have 8,900 fewer active-duty military members than it did in 2021, a decline of nearly 5 percent in three years.
Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Military Times: “We need a larger force, in all areas. “But the reality of recruiting drives the numbers, not what we actually need.”