Last week, Military.com reported that the Air Force will miss its recruiting goals for the first time in more than two decades. Military Times had similar information in April, saying the Air Force, the Army, and the Navy predicted recruiting shortfalls this year.
Reasons include everything from pay to people not being fit for service.
Retired Major General Robert Dees, who now serves as president of the National Center for Healthy Veterans, told American Family Radio this week that while he does not think Congress and the current administration have the will to bring back the draft, he thinks they should.
"We have a widening gap between civilian and military in the United States, and that does not bode well for a number of reasons," he explained. "I think people in America need to understand what it takes, the responsibility of public service."
He pointed out that Israel, which requires everyone to serve for two years, certainly does that successfully, and he thinks "we need the same in our country." Not everyone would have to serve in combat roles.
Dees went on to call America's poor recruitment numbers "a national security issue" that continues to get worse.
"Less than one-third of America's 18-24 youth were qualified to go into the military, either physically, mentally, or behaviorally," he cited. "Frankly, it's a commentary that the youth of our age today are less resilient than in many generations."
So while he recognizes that some great Americans are serving in the military, he laments that "overall … not only is recruitment down, but the willingness and readiness of our nation's youth to serve is way down as well."
