US Armed Forces misses recruitment by 41,000 troops

As the United States military missed its recruiting goals for 2023 by a combined 41,000 personnel, and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) reduced its force size to 1,284,500 personnel, military strength is set to hit its lowest levels since 1941, before World War II. 

Despite the NDAA lowering the authorized force numbers, some officials are concerned they will still have difficulty meeting recruitment goals in 2024. 

The Pentagon's acting undersecretary for personnel and readiness, Ashish Vazirani, told the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that the number that the services missed their goal by "understates the challenge before us as the services lowered end-strength goals in recent years, in part because of the difficult recruiting environment."

He said the "'all-volunteer force faces one of it greatest challenges since (its) inception' in the 1970s when the draft ceased." Vazirani noted that Generation Z has "low trust in institutions" and has "decreasingly followed traditional life and career paths."

"Youth of today are not saying no to what the military has to offer, they simply don't know much about military service," he claimed. "We must reach today's youth where they are, with a message that resonates with them and motivates them to act," adding that there should be a "national call to service." 

According to the Daily Mail, the Space Force is the only branch that has not seen reductions in its active-duty strength.

Ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), told the Military Times, "We need a larger force, in every branch." He added, "But the reality of recruiting is driving the numbers, not what we actually need.”

Director of the Heritage Foundation's Center for National Defense, Robert Greenway, told the outlet it is a mistake to add a drop in force levels in the NDAA as a compromise. "Instead of addressing the problem, the answer has been to move the goalposts and reduce the positions in the services,” he said. 

“So they are institutionalizing the problem, and that’s not a good approach," Greenway said, noting that having too small of a military sends the wrong message to potential adversaries like China and Russia. 

The military has tried to reach young Americans in several ways. In June, it was reported that the Army was doing away with its high school diploma requirement and relaxing other physical fitness standards. They have also attempted to utilize platforms such as TikTok to reach a wider audience.