The Military and Recruiting

The Biden Administration has so damaged the idea of military service, that the Army is now having to lower its standards to meet recruiting goals. My friend, fellow cigar & bourbon aficionado, and host of the David Webb Show** sent me this little gem yesterday morning:

The United States Army has dropped its requirement that recruits must have a high school diploma or a G.E.D. degree in an apparent attempt to increase the number of troops.

On Thursday, the Army announced the changes. Recruits must be 18 years old and eligible for a job in other areas of active duty and they also must score at least a 50 on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) to test their academic ability, according to Military.com.

Read: U.S. Army Drops High School Diploma Requirement As It Struggles To Find New Recruits

As part of their attempt to infiltrate and destroy the American institutions that underpin our society, the leftists have managed to alienate the demographic that we absolutely rely on to win our wars; young, American males. Young men and women join the military to make a difference, “to be the hero.” They don’t join to leave American civilians in the lurch as the Biden administration did in Afghanistan. They certainly don’t join to be harangued at every turn for not being part of a favored demographic. We are now seeing the results of this in that the United States Army cannot meet recruiting goals. We have been to this particular rodeo before.

I raised my right-hand July 7^th, 1976, on the parade ground of The United States Military Academy at West Point, swearing to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” At that time, service in the U.S. Armed Forces was not as respected as it is today, or at least as it was just a short few years ago. Back in 1976, Vietnam still formed a pall over American view of our military. Side note: If the military had been as respected as recently, greater competition would have likely precluded my acceptance by the Academy.

The lack of interest in military service was reflected in how the recruiting arms of the various services went about convincing young men to join up. With the exception of the Marine Corps (more on that further down) Army, Navy and Air Force recruiting materials and TV commercials tended to focus on the opportunity to acquire marketable skills and experience. This actually got some traction in minority communities as a path out of the squalor of Democrat-run cities. One interesting side effect of this was that service in the military demonstrated that success was indeed based on effort…a true meritocracy. In an effort to undermine that image, the Democrats invented the term called, “economic draft.” That’s another conversation.

The Marines chose not to meander down that particular path…and still don’t. Their consistent message, obviously targeted towards young men said, “If you think you are man enough, we’’ll let you try and qualify for membership in the baddest team there is.” And that still works for them.

In the early eighties, the U.S. Army finally got the memo. They were joined by the Navy and the Air Force in altering their recruitment message to align more with the Marines. Although recruiting brochures still contained a decent amount of emphasis on education, training and other ancillary benefits, the focus moved more towards recruiting warriors…warriors who understood that it was about America and Americans, not just themselves.

Two of my favorites from that era still stick with me as they show what it is so many young men are looking for when they raise their right hands. The first, “We Were There,” is a musical history of the U.S Army.

When We Were Needed, We Were There

My all-time favorite is, “My Hometown.” It shows Soldiers doing cool, Soldier stuff: driving tanks, jumping out of (perfectly good) airplanes, and yes, often shivering in the rain. Just before it was released for public viewing, Army Recruiting Command showed it to their Recruiters, hard bitten Sergeants, all of whom had been around the block a time or two. A Recruiter friend of mine told me that (his words) “After they showed it, we had to get the mops out.” Pretty effective messaging I’d say. Here it is for your enjoyment.

My Hometown; Freedom Isn’t Free

By now you are likely asking, “OK Ford, you goin’ somewhere with this?” Patience. Fast forward to today and military recruiting efforts. As much as I absolutely hate to admit this, but the U.S. Navy has produced one of the best recruiting videos I’ve seen in a long time. It visually shows in the simplest way possible, what it is we do as a military. Have a look, then we can proceed further.

To get To You, They’d Have To Get past us.

“To get to you, they’d have to get past us.” That’s right. That’s what we warriors do—we defend our citizens. Note the visual. An American family inside the protective circle of Sailors of all ranks, specialties, and demographics. Also note, the families are inside the protective ring of Sailors looking out at the “threat.” Now let’s have a look at Afghanistan and the situation in Kabul. What’s wrong with that picture?

At the Kabul Airport, we had our military and its protective circle, but our citizens were on the outside of the circle, told to make their own way there or, ”shelter in place.” Even our NATO military allies questioned our military’s commitment to our stranded citizens. Read: Retired British Colonel Held Nothing Back in his Brutal Assessment of Biden’s Monumental Failure. Colonel Kemp’s attitude is reflected by the leaders of NATO, all of whom were distressed by the chaos of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. That is now reflected by Germany and France calling the shots in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict because they have so little respect for U.S. civil-military leadership.

But what of the troops? What of my beloved Infantrymen, the Paratroopers of the 82^nd Airborne Division who along with other units, are formed the protective circle around the military side of Kabul Airport? What were they thinking while they watched their British counterparts launching raid after raid into downtown Kabul to locate their citizens and bring them inside the protective circle?

What were these fine soldiers going to be able to tell their grandkids? “Well, son, I stood inside the wire while Americans who I’m sworn to protect, were beaten and killed trying to escape the rabid dogs of the Taliban.” The actor George C. Scott covered that question during part of General George Patton’s famous speech. I’ve embedded the video here. WARNING: Contains Infantry Language, not suited for children.

Patton Speech.

Finally, let’s return to where we started. Consider the issue of replacing old farts like me, with competent, motivated young men to fight our nation’s wars. The Soldier (Marine, Sailor, Airman) we are looking for, wants to be the hero. He does not want to be stuck inside the wire, forbidden to rescue his fellow citizens from certain abandonment and death. He doesn’t want to have to rely on team members who are so mentally disordered that they cannot figure out what sex they are. These young men do not want to be continually harangued for being MEN. They don’t want to be continually browbeaten by lesser men for demonstrating the attributes that are necessary to win wars…the manly attributes necessary to protect our citizens. If the Army thinks it has recruiting problems now, just wait.

**David Webb can be found on Sirius XM Satellite Radio, Channel 125, M-F, 0900-Noon EST

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