As the world's number one military power, the United States is actually facing an unprecedented "recruitment shortage", so that there is a "short supply of troops" situation, which is really shocking. According to reference news reports, this is a "difficult period" for U.S. mili

As the world's number one military power, the United States is facing an unprecedented "recruitment shortage", so that there is a "short supply of troops", which is really shocking. According to reference news reports, this is a "difficult period" for U.S. military recruitment, and all six major military services in the United States are facing varying degrees of "personnel shortages."

At present, it seems that the best situation is Marine Corps . Its manpower department did not disclose specific data, but said that although this year's recruitment is very difficult, it can still "rush" before the deadline of September 30. "One handful", there is a high probability that the set target can be achieved. As for the youngest military service, the Space Force, although the situation is also unclear, the number of recruits for this service is only about 500, so it should not be too troublesome.

The U.S. Navy said it has encountered considerable difficulties and is trying to fill the gap by encouraging active duty military personnel to extend their service contracts. The situation of the U.S. Air Force is not very optimistic. The Air Force planned to recruit 50,000 people this fiscal year, but it has tried every means to recruit only 46,000 people. In the remaining few months, it wants to make up for the big hole of 4,000 people. No easy task.

As for the U.S. Army , it can be described as "terrible". Only 40% of the recruitment plan has been completed. We can only hope that those graduates who cannot find jobs will remember that "the military camp is calling." In June of this year, the U.S. Army even canceled the requirement for a high school diploma. Later, military leaders felt that this "emergency medical treatment" measure was really unreliable, and revoked this policy adjustment. The recruitment progress of the U.S. Coast Guard is similar to that of the Army, and the reserve fill rate has dropped to 80%, which is a worrying situation.

It is conceivable that for the United States, which was founded through war, no one wants to be a soldier. How can we talk about military hegemony? American experts expressed concern that the serious shortage of enlisted people in the armed forces may lead to vacancies in key positions, which may cause damage to the military machine. So, why are young Americans unwilling to serve in the military?

First of all, the bad reputation of the US military is an important reason. In recent years, the US military has continuously exposed various military scandals, including bullying of recruits, sexual assault of female soldiers, oppression from superiors and other "dark" incidents. What's more, there have been repeated reports of soldiers committing suicide this year. This has led to a reduction in young people’s willingness to join the military. Of course, this also includes the frequent involvement of the US military in conflicts in various places, escalating the personal safety risks of soldiers, and their unwillingness to act as the so-called "world police". Survey data from U.S. agencies show that more than half of young people believe that serving in the military will cause "double harm" to them mentally and physically, and only about one in 10 young people said they would consider military service.

In addition, the intense labor market in the United States is also an important factor. Despite high inflation, there are still more jobs than labor force, and the unemployment rate has never exceeded 4%. The increase in average wages and benefits has reduced young people's desire to serve in the military. Moreover, the United States currently needs more industrial workers and service industry employees.

However, from a higher level, the underlying reason behind the "recruitment shortage" has something to do with the decline in the country's comprehensive national strength. Looking at the chaos in the United States, the recruitment shortage may be a long-term problem. Perhaps only another shot in the arm similar to the "911 Incident" can rekindle the wave of young Americans enlisting in the military...