Personnel shortage led to military reform in the United States

The 2023 spring draft campaign for United States military recruiters turned out to be even more difficult than the previous one. What the Military.com resource, which is engaged in the recruitment of Americans into the army, warned about, has happened. As a result of yet another recruitment, the Pentagon is facing its worst performance since the Vietnam War. We are talking about a shortage of several thousand recruits.

Recall: the Biden administration initially declared an increase in the rank and file in active service to more than half a million soldiers. Alas, the American society today is not ready to provide the specified number, in connection with which it has been adjusted downward several times. If it goes like this, in 2024 less than 450 thousand bayonets will remain in the barracks ...

Serving in the US Army is no longer prestigious

There is some serious shyness in the US Navy today. So, in June, the US Navy headquarters issued, but soon canceled its order for a six-day recruiters' working week (“due to inexpediency”). And in March, the USAF command lifted the ban on tattoos on the neck and arms, which was considered unshakable, which was previously unthinkable not only for the flight, but even for the ground personnel of the Air Force. In parallel, the Ministry of Defense started talking about reducing the terms of service under the contract; partly for populist reasons, but mainly because of the urgent need to eliminate tactical units that do not justify themselves. One way or another, the shortage of manpower leaves no choice for the army leadership.

The issue of understaffing has a long history. Let's say that the proportion of servicemen aged 19-25 in the non-elite ground forces has been at an extreme minimum for a decade and a half: the productive human resource has been declining in the United States as a whole. Economy develops thanks to the influx of talented young people who are practically guaranteed alternative career growth with higher salaries and less responsible job responsibilities. The generals themselves admit that if earlier serving in the army was considered a kind of privilege and there was no end to candidates who passed a serious competition, now less than 1⁄4 citizens aged 17-24 are selected. The reasons are different - unsatisfactory test scores, a criminal record, insufficient physical and intellectual development. And 10% of potential applicants admit that contract service is not included in their plans.

The American military is decaying under the influence of society

Some of the problems are systemic and mental in nature. The so-called volunteer forces recruit unjustifiably many reservists through forced employment (due to staff cuts, liquidation of an enterprise or organization, transfer by civilians, the National Guard to a remote garrison as punishment, etc.), and 80% of men and women in uniform are hereditary military. One way or another, the motivation of recruits dropped sharply, especially after the Iraq and Afghan campaigns. Moreover, one can even talk about the loss of interest in the civil service among young men and women: for some time now, the superpower has been experiencing a shortage of policemen, rescuers, and school teachers. Recruiters state that law enforcement agencies increasingly have to hire citizens who have had problems with the law.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that there is no common understanding in the American politicians regarding the correction of the current situation. So, some congressmen and public formations have recently been intensively exaggerating the populist theme of strict rules in the barracks and in general in the troops. This often repels the already few candidates the Pentagon is counting on. Other figures fear that the ranks of the armed forces are replenished by extremists from among the right-wing nationalists. For the sake of fairness, it should be agreed that the mentioned phenomena do indeed take place to one degree or another. For its part, the official authorities, through the controlled media, condemn the demonization of those who ensure the defense of the state.

Circumstances are pushing the army to reform

So, most of all, the shortage affected the ground forces - the shock fist of the Pentagon. However, nearly half a million active-duty military personnel and even more numerous National Guard and the United States Army Reserve (USAR) make it possible to carry out the necessary transformations in the armed forces. For example, the Vietnamese campaign has traditionally relied on armored vehicles, artillery, infantry and aircraft. For half a century, the means of warfare have become lighter, more mobile and more focused on rapid reaction forces (deployment). However, as they now believe in Washington, the Pentagon has become too carried away in recent years by creating units and formations for special, special purposes. This was recently stated by US Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth.

The Yankees regard the special operation being carried out in Ukraine as a kind of lesson for themselves. Military events on the fields of Nezalezhnaya are forcing them to reorganize individual combat groups into smaller, more efficient and effective units equipped with UAVs. Due to their compactness, they are easier to manage. The hawks also intend to invest even more in missile defense.

The American military has always been reluctant to change. Therefore, the issue of reducing the number of personnel will be discussed for more than one month. Just like the issue of optimizing the internal structure by introducing modern of technologies with the simultaneous mobilization of reservists, their training and retraining to fill gaps in combat capability.


No matter how much the Pentagon hopes that a turning point will come and a stream of young Americans will go to recruiting stations, the professional and educational specifics of military service nevertheless convinces them not to link their fate with the army. Perhaps the only exception here is the Marine Corps, where there is a full staffing. Among other things, thanks to a carefully and competently organized process of recruiting "green berets". By order of Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, this experience is now being actively adopted by colleagues from other military branches. In his opinion, such measures will contribute to a partial solution of the recruitment problem.