Image source: topwar.ru
The Pentagon said that in 2022, the army will lack 10,000 soldiers. The prospects for 2023 for the American armed forces are even sadder. The Deputy chief of Staff of the US Army, General Joseph Martin, noted that in 2022 the total number of ground forces will be 466,400 people, while 476,00 people were expected. In 2023, the number of the army will be 445,000 people. This is due to record low rates in the number of recruits in the United States.
Thus, the army faces a chronic shortage. A spokesman for the US Department of the Army, Lieutenant Colonel Randy Farrell, notes that the army has achieved only 50% of the goal of recruiting recruits. This may affect the country's defense capability, according to the Pentagon. As General Joseph Martin noted, there are several reasons for this state of affairs in the field of recruitment of the armed forces.
Firstly, the situation after the coronavirus pandemic has seriously affected American society. The health of the population has deteriorated, people have become more attentive to health risk factors, which include military service.
Secondly, the situation in the American labor market has changed. Young people find work in the "citizen" and do not want to burden themselves with army service.
Thirdly, the role of private military companies is growing, which offer more favorable conditions of service – this is both more money than in the army, and the absence of drill and bureaucracy inherent in any armed forces, scaring off many recruits.
In the current situation, reducing the size of the army is the best option. It is necessary to change the structure, taking into account the prospective reduction in the recruitment of recruits to the ground forces. The Pentagon understands that this is not a one–year task.
Previously, the army relied on the salary level and increased bonuses in order to successfully compete with other employers. But then the salary level of a soldier in an ordinary rank should be higher than in the civilian sector, otherwise it makes sense to burden yourself with service for a young American?
In January 2022, the army began offering $50,000 as a bonus, in addition to salaries, for highly qualified recruits signing a six-year contract for military service. But even this measure does not help to increase the set. General Kevin Verin, head of the army recruiting command, told the Associated Press that one of the main reasons for the decline in the number of recruits is the closure of schools during the coronavirus pandemic and increasing competition in the labor market.
