While war and rumors of war are escalating under the Biden-Harris administration, America’s active-duty recruitment rates are the lowest we have seen in decades. Recovering from this shortage will be a challenge, but the next administration has a clear opportunity to rebuild America’s military dominance by focusing on not only recruitment but also retaining military families. 

Recruitment is down due to a multitude of factors, such as declining confidence in the military, the overwhelming obesity and medical problems in our youth making them ineligible for enlistment, and the fear of service-related emotional and physical injuries such as PTSD and suicide.