ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

Recruiting challenges are creating unit manning shortages, but Army leaders are optimistic that initiatives to boost enlistments will soon pay off.

With a goal to recruit 55,000 new soldiers and enlist 5,000 more into the delayed entry pool by the end of fiscal year 2024, Army leaders aim to begin relieving the strain on operational units.

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth acknowledged that many soldiers she’s spoken with “have very full plates and are doing the work of one-and-a-half to two soldiers.”

Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer will speak Feb. 21 as part of the Association of the U.S. Army’s Coffee Series.

The event will take place at AUSA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. The event opens at 7 a.m. with registration, coffee and networking. The program is scheduled to begin at 7:45 a.m., which is half an hour later than typical Coffee Series events.

It is free for military members, government employees and the media.

Most Americans have a positive view of veterans, even as the services struggle with recruiting and overall public confidence in the military continues to decline, according to a new Rand Corp. report.

“Veterans have long been understood in symbolic terms: as model citizens, selfless heroes, or scarred survivors of war,” the report says. “These symbolic understandings, once institutionalized, can become mental scripts or stereotypes that shape perceptions, interactions, and even government policy.”

The Army’s recruiting crisis, the most substantial since the creation of the all-volunteer force 50 years ago, is a threat to U.S. national security and will require a “whole-of-nation effort” to be reversed, according to the authors of a new paper published by the Association of the U.S. Army.

Just over half of Americans said they would encourage a friend or family member to join the military, according to a recent survey by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute. 

In the 2023 survey, released in December, 51% of respondents said they would encourage a friend or family member to join the military, while one-third of respondents said they would discourage service.

“Inspiring a culture of service will be critical to overcoming the U.S. military’s recent recruitment challenges,” the survey says.  

Despite missing its recruiting goal in fiscal 2023, the Army is making progress in tackling what service leaders have called an “existential challenge,” Army Undersecretary Gabe Camarillo said.

“Recruiting is an existential challenge for our warfighters and for our Army,” he said. If the Army can’t recruit the talent it needs, the service will face “significant issues and problems,” particularly as it transforms for the future and contends with growing threats around the world, he said.