Volunteers used to have to be 39 or younger to sign up for the Air Force and Space Force – but now those two branches are raising that age to 42. They claim they aren't lowering any of the standards – but Pentagon analyst Lt. Col. (USA-Ret.) Robert Maginnis says it's the latest accommodation from the military, which is having a tough time meeting recruiting goals in every branch except the Marines.
"This is of some consequence. We haven't, since 1973 when we began the all-volunteer force, faced too many times like today when we just couldn't get the size of force that we need," Maginnis shares with AFN.
Part of the blame, he says, goes to the Biden administration, which hasn't made recruiting a priority. "National service has not been something that the Biden administration has pushed," he notes. "And as a result, I think that we've seen diminishing returns."
But Maginnis argues the pool of candidates is weak as well. He suggests that a lot of young men and women are out of shape, have a drug offense or criminal record, or just have no stomach for the "wokeness" being foisted upon the military.
"Whether it's on abortion or on transgender issues, or its anti-religious focus – those have tended, I think, to discourage those who are from conservative, religious backgrounds [to volunteer]," he states.
But Maginnis warns with the global threats mounting, the U.S. can ill-afford a diminished and past-its-prime military. "At one point or another," he states, "we're potentially going to come to that decision point: Will Congress face the possibility of having to draft people?"
Just a few weeks ago, a retired Army major general told American Family Radio that while he doesn't think Congress and the current administration have the will to reinstate the draft, he thinks they should.
