Notes to the New Administration Week
By Karl Flynn
The most urgent problem facing the Department of the Navy is the critical shortfall in retention and recruitment. Ships, planes, and amphibious vehicles cannot function without Sailors and Marines to maintain and operate them. In order to mitigate this, make it clear to America’s youth why their service is needed, allow those in uniform to focus on their jobs, and reverse lowered standards.
Over the last several years, the military’s shortfall in personnel has constantly been in the headlines. The Navy had (and rescinded) six-day work weeks for recruiters, incurred 22,000 gaps in E-1 to E-4 at-sea billets, signed recruits who did not complete high school, lowered the minimum score for the AFQT, missed all recruiting goals in FY 23, and the Marine Corps was forced to drain the delayed entry program to 22 percent to meet recruiting goals. These examples clearly demonstrate the military’s personnel crisis.
There are several measures that could be taken to regain the strength of the all-volunteer force. First, make it clear to Americans why their country is worth dying for. Recruiters will often discuss GI bill benefits, healthcare, and other financial incentives for joining, but these incentives do not explain the fundamental purposes of the armed services. Rather, explain to Americans why our country and other democratic societies are worth defending. Furthermore, make the realpolitik situation clear to all Americans that if Taiwan is attacked and TSMC halts operations, the average American’s way of life and the security of the United States itself will be under threat.
The second measure is aimed at the operating forces – let Sailors and Marines do their jobs without distraction. Weighing them down with well-intended but cumbersome administrative requirements or time-consuming training that is irrelevant to their job is a constant point of contention. Sailors and Marines collectively spend millions of man-hours every year on mandatory training of dubious warfighting value. Cut these or distill them down to their bare essentials.
Additionally, fully man supporting establishments with civilian contractors and put an end to unit taxes. As an example, I was slated to lose an infantry unit leader Staff Sergeant to work at the base tax center. Had he gone, my company would have been short a platoon sergeant and he would have been doing a job with zero relevance to his specialty, thus losing proficiency as an infantryman.
Finally, reverse all lowered standards for entry into the military. If the military is expected to go to war, would prospective volunteers prefer to serve alongside other men and women who are held to higher or lower standards? While standards appear to be flexible tools to influence recruiting and retention, in reality they have significant implications for unit cohesion and the confidence of warfighters.
Not only would these measures support retention and recruitment in and of themselves, but implementing them would also make veterans more likely to encourage their friends or siblings to join. In short, make America’s youth want to serve by clearly stating our national security imperatives, minimize distractions from core warfighting functions, and eliminate all lowered standards.
Captain Karl Flynn, USMC, is a rifle company commander in 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official positions or opinions of the U.S. Marine Corps, the Department of Defense, or any part of the U.S. government.
Featured Image: Marines with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, assigned to Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Crisis Response – Central Command (SPMAGTF-CR-CC) 19.2, take cover after throwing non-lethal grenades during a non-lethal weapons training exercise, Jan. 18, 2020. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Branden J. Bourque)