AMERICAN PEOPLE DO NOT WANT TO FIGHT FOR THEIR COUNTRY ANYMORE, SURVEY FINDS

Sat 11 October 2023:

In the event of a major war, an increasing percentage of Americans are unwilling to serve in the defense forces, reflecting decreasing public trust in the country’s military forces.

According to a recent study performed by the research institute Echelon Insights, a significant majority of American people, roughly 72%, would not be willing to enlist for military service in the event of a catastrophic war.

The polling that included 1,029 likely voters during the period corresponding between October 23-26, revealed that only 21 per cent American youngsters were willing to serve in the Army while the remaining were uncertain.

The trend coincides with a decline in public confidence in the armed forces, with all branches facing challenges in meeting recruitment targets in recent years.

In 2023, both the Army and Air Force fell short by about 10,000 recruits each, and the Navy lagged behind by 6,000. The collective active-duty personnel has seen a 39 per cent reduction since 1987, according to the Newsweek. This growing reluctance to pursue military careers reflects a broader societal shift and poses recruitment challenges for the various branches of the US armed forces.

Experts say that such shortfalls are worrisome in an increasingly volatile global picture with American leadership unsure when it will next have to bring its full military force to bear.

“We have strike groups, aircraft carriers with a Marine Expeditionary Unit outside Israel now,” Justin Henderson, a former transport operator for the U.S. Marines turned military recruiter, told Newsweek. “We’re funding two wars, but we’re actually boots on the ground, drones above Gaza. So we’re already involved in there—and we’re not sure what’s happening in Taiwan. So this is a very tumultuous time for us, because we don’t know what’s going to happen.”

The survey was conducted in the aftermath of an unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7 that killed about 1200 Israelis. The survey, thereby, added a geopolitical context to the findings.

This also adds to the findings of a Gallup poll in June that found confidence in the military declining for a sixth consecutive year, to 60 per cent.

The findings can also be seen in larger context of the accusations of US defence forces going ‘woke’.

In May, the US Navy came under fire for inviting Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley, a drag queen by the name Harpy Daniels, to become a digital ambassador to “reach a wide range of potential candidates.”

Then, in July, the Army received backlash for publishing a profile of Major Rachel Jones, a transgender servicewoman.

But experts cited in the US media say that such culture war debates are unlikely to deter the military’s target generation.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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