Biden’s support for the swap overrides opposition from the Department of Justice, which is generally against prisoner trades.” “Arduous market conditions are expected to persist into the future as the market is not likely to self-correct,” it added.īIDEN OFFERS TO TRADE BOUT:The Biden administration has offered to exchange convicted arms trafficker VIKTOR BOUT as part of a potential deal to secure the release of American basketball star BRITTNEY GRINER and former Marine PAUL WHELAN from Russia, report CNN’s KYLIE ATWOOD, EVAN PEREZ and JENNIFER HANSLER.Īccording to people briefed on the matter, “the plan to trade Bout for Whelan and Griner received the backing of President Joe Biden after being under discussion since earlier this year. The United States ended the draft in 1973. Recent briefing slides obtained by POLITICO show that senior Pentagon leaders are alarmed by low enlistment numbers and the military “currently faces the most challenging recruiting market since the advent of the All-Volunteer Force, with multiple Services and Components at risk for missing mission in FY 2022,” according to the slides. That unfamiliarity with the military is a major concern, as headlines of sexual assault, post-traumatic stress and accusations of “woke” military leaders have been a constant over the past few years.
“We’re going to have to provide enlistment incentives and bonuses, and I think we also have to educate people … about military service and what it looks like and what it means.” JASON CROW (D-Colo.), a former Army Ranger, told POLITICO that the Pentagon should promise more money on top of the growing enlistment bonuses that services are dangling in front of potential recruits. It’s not clear in the short term what Congress can do, as multiple military officials say that they’re contending with broader cultural and lifestyle trends that make military service less attractive for the overwhelming majority of eligible recruits. “I think we have to have a hearing to kind of explore that.” “I would say we have to do a deep dive into why the numbers are shrinking,” Speier told POLITICO. JACKIE SPEIER (D-Calif.), who chairs the Military Personnel Subcommittee, said the Pentagon has “not expanded” on a recent batch of numbers it sent to Congress, and she wants to hold a joint hearing with her panel and the Readiness subcommittee on recruiting issues. “Recruitment and personnel are core to our readiness.
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And deepening partnerships with traditionally underserved or overlooked communities to tap into the full talent pool of our country,” Brown said in a statement.
“That means better pay, training, opportunities, connections and benefits.
ANTHONY BROWN (D-Md.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, called on the Pentagon to “do more” to support service members and encourage young Americans to join the military. Even with rates of 100 percent for the Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force, that leaves the department with a total rate of just 85 percent. The Army has reached 66 percent of its goal for the fiscal year ending in September, and the Navy is at 89 percent, according to data compiled from October 2021 to May 2022. Multiple lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have expressed similar worries in recent days as the grim recruiting numbers continue to circulate throughout the DoD and Congress. “When Republicans take control of Congress in a few months,” he added, “averting the recruiting crisis will be a top priority of the Military Personnel Subcommittee.” Gallagher is the top Republican on the House Armed Services’ subpanel. MIKE GALLAGHER (R-Wis.) told POLITICO, citing Covid, obesity among would-be recruits, competition from the healthy civilian labor market, and an overall low interest in serving. “We are on the cusp of a military recruiting crisis,” Rep.
While leaders from the different military branches have all acknowledged the problem, they also have been unable to move the needle in a positive direction, as the desire of young Americans to join the military falls off the statistical cliff. Lawmakers from both parties are putting increasing pressure on the Pentagon to fix the recruitment crisis that threatens to leave the military well short of its goals to bring new troops aboard this year, in what is widely considered the worst recruiting environment since the end of the Vietnam War, our LARA SELIGMAN, PAUL MCLEARY and LEE HUDSON report.