Like every other branch of the US Military, the Army has been suffering a massive problem with both recruitment and retention. Continuously lowering the bar for entry, they are taking damn near everyone with a pulse and have been increasingly shocked when soldiers who have already done their time leave. While incentives to join or re-enlist are some of their strongest since the 2005-2007 years of surge for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, they aren’t enough to move the needle.
Rather than listen to the very people who are leaving or those who are eligible to serve but refuse to fix the situation, top brass decided that eliminating 24,000 unfilled rolls from the official troop manning levels would be the best possible solution. Announced by the Army unceremoniously in a document to end February, they claim they don’t have enough troops to fill numerous units.
With 494,000 current slots, the current defense policy bill has that number dropping to 445,000 by the year’s end. This newest reduction essentially knocks that number down to 470,000. Given their failure to achieve the 65,000 new troops goal for 2023, they only got 55,000 to sign on the dotted line. Yet Biden’s leaders proclaimed this was still a successful position to be in.
“By bringing force structure and end strength into closer alignment, the Army will ensure its formations are filled at the appropriate level to maintain a high state of readiness. At the same time, the Army will continue to transform its recruiting efforts so that it can build back its end strength, which is needed to provide strategic flexibility, reduce strain on frequently deploying soldiers, and add new capabilities to the force.”
