VICTOR JOECKS: Woke military faces recruiting crisis

The military went woke, and now it’s facing a significant recruiting shortfall. Yes, those two things are connected.

Last year, the Army missed its recruiting goal by 25 percent. This year, it’s on track for a similar performance. The Navy probably will miss its goal by more than 25 percent. The Air Force by 10 percent. The Marines are doing the best. The Corps met its recruiting goal last year and expects to do so again this year.

Numbers this bad would always present a problem. But the looming possibility of war with China in the South Pacific makes fixing this an urgent priority.

Numerous factors influence recruiting. The economy matters. It’s harder to get people to join the armed services when other jobs are readily available. Young adults are withdrawing from normal activities. The labor force participation rate for men age 25 to 34 fell by 5 percentage points from 2001 to 2021.

But those aren’t the most alarming trends. This is.

“Influencers are not telling them to go into the military,” Adm. Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told The Wall Street Journal. “Moms and dads, uncles, coaches and pastors don’t see it as a good choice.”

That’s a huge problem because nearly 4 in 5 Army recruits had a relative who served.

In many ways, this doesn’t make sense. Two decades of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are over, which means recruits are less likely to deploy and risk danger. The Army is offering bonuses of up to $50,000.

But something else changed. The military embraced woke dogma. A quick definition. “Woke” began as a term of the left. It described people who had woken up to the supposed reality of systemic racism or sexism. For instance, critical race theory contends that group membership determines outcomes. Someone who believes or acts on that is woke.

On the right, the term means roughly the same thing, but it’s used to lampoon a false ideology.

For instance, the military has embraced transgender propaganda. You can pick your career field and your gender. The Department of Defense recently promoted an article about a military officer “living authentically” by deciding he was a woman. Transgender soldiers can be also receive exemptions from fitness standards. The military has embraced “diversity, equity and inclusion,” too. One Army general called diversity “a key American strategic asset.”

Leave aside your thoughts on the merits of these policies. But they and many like them reflect left-wing ideology. Military recruits are disproportionately from red states, such as Florida, South Carolina and Alabama. Veterans tend to be more Republican, too. Go figure they’re talking down military service.

These woke messages are counterproductive recruiting tools. For most 18-year-old guys, authentic living is rotting their brains on video games and pornography. One appeal of military service is the chance to be part of something greater than yourself by sacrificing your individual desires. Emphasizing this helps the Marines fare best in recruiting.

The diversity push is also nonsense. The military discriminates routinely. If you’re too overweight, old, dumb or disabled, you aren’t joining. That’s why 77 percent of young adults aren’t qualified for service.

Prizing diversity over competence is dangerous. When an enemy soldier is trying to kill you, racial diversity doesn’t make his bullets and bombs less deadly. Ironically, having objective standards in pursuit of a higher purpose is a great way to foster racial and cultural unity. When your life depends on your fellow soldiers, their skin color and background becomes trivial.

By going woke, the U.S. military is losing recruits and diminishing readiness.

Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.