Biden admin's military recruiting and retention crisis a self-inflicted wound. Here's how to reverse course

In the face of escalating global tensions, threats from nations such as Russia and China, and persistent conflicts in the Middle East, the United States finds itself in a precarious position made more dire by "the worst recruiting environment since the end of the Vietnam War," as well as the loss of quality service members over the last three years. 

This alarming trend is a self-inflicted wound from authoritarian pandemic policies, irresponsible and woke military leadership, and increasingly anti-American sentiments in society, all of which have drastically weakened national security.

Even as our own government leadership is largely to blame for the troop readiness crisis, their attempted solutions are almost laughable. 

Woke partisan leadership forced out well-trained, healthy, and productive service members at all levels and in all branches through authoritarian directives regarding experimental medical treatments based on political ideology instead of science and health care. But now that the reigning narrative has changed and the troop readiness situation has become dire, they are scrambling to entice those discharged service members back. 

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A recent letter from the Department of the Army to a "former service member" has circulated on social media and shows their impressive backpedaling, including directly contacting service members forced out over the vaccine and encouraging them to contact local recruiting offices about returning to service.

My own son Hayden Robichaux was among those forced out. With more than 80 years of military service spanning four generations of Robichauxs, he felt called to serve. But that legacy ended in 2022. 

What started as a choice to get the vaccine quickly became a mandate with the threat of court-martial or discharge from the military. A healthy, well-trained and dedicated young Marine, Hayden wanted to continue to honorably serve his country as his brother, grandfather and I did.

He exercised his right to submit a religious exemption that warranted an independent review and reply, but which was quickly and automatically denied. In fact, all such exemptions received a blanket reply and disapproval, violating the rights of thousands of service members. 

Hayden’s multiple appeals up the chain of command, all the way up to the secretary of the Navy, were rejected and Hayden was relegated to being separated from the Marines with an other than honorable discharge, ending our family’s legacy of service to our beloved nation.

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Hayden’s is a familiar anecdote in the military community. Many service members, especially in the special operations communities, come from legacy military families. But that trend is quickly ending as fathers and grandfathers increasingly dissuade their children from signing on to serve under current leadership. 

Those who are willing to lay down their life in service of others must be confident that their leaders have their best interest at heart. But that confidence is severely lacking these days, as priorities are obviously confused, and leadership exhibits a terrifying disinterest in the best interest of service members.

As seasoned troops have been forced out or chosen not to continue their service, there have been few recruits lined up to take their place, with recruiting numbers reaching their lowest point since the Vietnam War. This long-term decline in voluntary service compounds our thinning military's potential inability to respond to emerging threats. 

In an era where geopolitical tensions are on the rise, maintaining a robust and capable fighting force is not a luxury but a necessity for safeguarding national interests. But that doesn’t seem to be the priority of our government leadership.

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Instead, they increasingly prioritize woke social agendas and narratives over actual combat readiness, tactical capabilities or even troop health and wellness. 

Rather than improving the physical readiness of our troops, standards are changed to be "gender-neutral." Instead of announcing initiatives for skills training, improved living standards, or health services for troops, leadership announced initiatives for "diversity, equity and inclusion." 

Far from implementing commonsense and scientific procedures to mitigate the spread of illness, they take the most socially and politically extreme positions, ultimately endangering both the health and careers of healthy young service members, and damaging troop readiness along the way.

The reversal of the military’s COVID vaccine mandate and their hope that service members will return to service, as well as the widespread disinterest in joining the military at all, reflects the reality of the unintended consequences of mismanaged priorities. 

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The decision to dismiss skilled and committed service members solely due to their refusal to comply with a partisan and largely untested medical directive, as well as the military’s bizarre fixation on woke social policies, has been, in hindsight, a shortsighted approach that has compromised the nation's defense readiness.

The consequences of low military retention and recruitment extend beyond immediate personnel shortages. A weaker military sends a signal of vulnerability to potential adversaries, emboldening them to test the limits of international norms and agreements. 

In truth, we’ve already seen this happening with Afghanistan, Russia, China and Iran. President Reagan was right to seek "peace through strength."

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Our leadership must refocus their priorities and abandon hyperpartisan woke social agendas that threaten our military strength and preparedness. Failing to address the root causes of low military recruitment and retention jeopardizes national security and undermines our ability to respond effectively to emerging threats. 

The time for corrective action is now, as the consequences of inaction may be felt for generations to come.

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