XPost: alt.politics.liberalism, talk.politics.guns, alt.cities.portland   
   XPost: sac.politics   
   From: ramon@conexus.net   
      
   In article    
   governor.swill@gmail.com wrote:   
   >   
   > Liberals are mentally ill.   
      
   No argument here.   
      
   The military touts a "recruit’s market" that should attract   
   fresh blood into its ranks as each branch faces recruiting   
   shortfalls following the coronavirus pandemic.   
      
   "In real estate, you talk about buyer's and seller's markets,"   
   Maj. Gen. Edward W. Thomas Jr., commander of the Air Force   
   Recruiting Service, told Fox News Digital. "You know, this is a   
   recruiting market right now. There are good opportunities to   
   serve and good incentives to do so."   
      
   The military faced a drop-off in recruitment during the   
   pandemic: Each branch met active component goals, but reserve   
   numbers have fallen short each year. That shortage has now hit   
   the Active component goals for the Army and Navy, with other   
   branches just meeting their goals.   
      
   One significant factor that Thomas highlighted is the lack of   
   engagement the military could pursue while schools remained   
   remote in 2020 during nationwide lockdowns: A 2018 report by the   
   Institute for Defense Analyses heavily focused on recruitment at   
   the high school level, indicating the high value placed on that   
   pipeline.   
      
   "Really in the long term … it's declining eligibility, declining   
   propensity or interest in serving and declining trust in   
   government," Thomas said.   
      
   "Today, 77% of American youth aged 17 to 24 will not qualify to   
   serve the United States military without a waiver, 77%," he   
   continued. "That's based on a variety of different reasons, from   
   weight to medical issues to academic issues to behavioral   
   issues, mental health issues. It's a wide variety with 77% don't   
   qualify without a waiver."   
      
   And Thomas admitted that the perception around the military   
   withdrawal from Afghanistan may have impacted recruitment in the   
   last six months, but stressed that he would not consider it "one   
   of the primary drivers."   
      
   The drop-off forced the military to reduce their goals, which   
   they were able to do thanks to higher-than-usual retention.   
      
   "Back in 2020 and '21, we did reduce our recruiting goals   
   slightly because retention was high," Thomas said. "We have not   
   seen that in wanting to."   
      
   "What we saw when COVID hit, we had record high retention in the   
   Air Force and I believe across the body," Thomas explained. "You   
   know, frankly, it just wasn't a great time to transition out   
   into the civil sector to be looking for a job. With all the   
   uncertainty both in the market and people's personal lives with   
   COVID, retention was high."   
      
   Thomas argued that the job market continues to play a major   
   factor in the recruitment equation. With the nation facing its   
   highest level of employment in 50 years, the military faces   
   "fierce" competition with the general job market. The rate of   
   unemployment spiked early in the pandemic but has since then   
   returned to around 3.5%   
      
   "It's good for the nation in general," he said. "It makes the   
   battle for talent all that much more ferocious."   
      
   To try and compete with that healthy market, the military has   
   offered larger-than-usual bonuses, including up to $50,000 for   
   certain fields, such as special warfare. Other fields for "hard   
   to fill jobs" have incentives ranging from $3000 to $6000. The   
   main goal is to keep trying to attract the best of the best,   
   including varsity athletes, candidates with multiple language   
   proficiency or candidates with expertise in niche fields   
   including crypto.   
      
   Part of the problem may be due to the lack of understanding when   
   it comes to the kinds of roles available in the military. In   
   just the Air Force alone, Thomas noted that there are "about 130   
   enlisted career fields."   
      
   "Almost anything you can do in a major city, maybe other than   
   being a stockbroker, you know, or a few select jobs you can   
   pretty much do in the Air Force," he explained. "So all of the   
   peripherals that we recruit for, we're recruiting for medical,   
   for radiology technicians, for dental technicians … you name it."   
      
   https://www.foxnews.com/us/military-recruitment-lags-record-   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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