America's military recruitment crisis is coming as U.S. adversaries are growing bolder by the day, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is warning.
"It's a combination ripe for catastrophe," he said in a column posted by the Washington Examiner.
"The U.S. armed forces missed their annual recruitment goals by 41,000 people last year," Rubio noted. "The impact is already being felt as Navy vessels go unmanned and Army officials reduce their troop configurations.
"What can we do to correct course? On one level, the answer is simple. We need to restore Americans' confidence in the value of a military career. As Adm. Mike Mullen reports recruitment is falling because 'moms, dads, uncles, coaches, and pastors don't see [the armed forces] as a good choice anymore.
"But to restore people's confidence, we need to understand why they lost it. This requires facing three difficult truths about our country's recent history.
"The first truth is that mission creep in the Middle East did major damage to American morale."
Rubio noted more than 250,000 people had enlisted directly after the 9/11 attacks in the U.S.
"Our troops disrupted terrorist networks that threatened countless lives," Rubio said. "The value of those gains cannot be overstated. But our broader efforts were less successful. Afghanistan is again in the hands of the Taliban, while service members in Iraq are unappreciated and increasingly threatened by Iranian-backed attacks."
Rubio said the second truth is the U.S. government "has provided service members with an unsuitable quality of life." And the third truth is that young people are turning away from the military because of politics.
"For close to a decade, the far Left has proclaimed that the United States is an evil country, steeped in racism and financing oppression across the globe," he said. "The consequence is a generation of people who feel alienated from their own nation — and far less willing to serve."
Rubio maintained the U.S. must improve the quality of life for those in the military and for veterans.
"In addition, we must eliminate polarizing politics from the military. Through the 2024 annual defense bill, Congress froze hires and capped salaries for the Pentagon's diversity, equity, and inclusion program," he said. "We need more such measures to mitigate the impact of the left-right divide on our national defense.
"Finally, we must remind people of our military's value to the national interest. This doesn't mean whitewashing the legacy of Afghanistan and Iraq. Rather, it means more clearly communicating the stakes of the current moment."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.