The current status of military recruiting in the United States is terrifyingly grim. Recruitment levels are at their lowest since the Vietnam era. At a hearing on the issue in September of 2022, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) remarked, “There is no sunlight on the horizon. It’s becoming clear the all-volunteer force that has served our country well over the last 50 years is at an inflection point.” In the same hearing, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), pointed out, “By the end of 2022, the active U.S. military will be at its smallest size since the creation of the all-volunteer force”. 

While it’s rare to see both political parties in such vehement agreement, the problem even caught the eye of former presidential candidate and billionaire tycoon Michael Bloomberg. In an article titled: “Military Recruitment Woes Endanger National Security” Bloomberg explained that, “To meet its overall goal of an active-duty force of 1.3 million, the military needs to bring in roughly 150,000 new recruits across its six service branches…By June, the Army had signed 22,000 troops, 60% below its annual target”. When the 2022 fiscal year closed, the Army missed its year-end goal by roughly 15,000 soldiers.

In summary, the numbers paint a bad picture, and 2023 is shaping up to be even worse. Even more concerning is the fact that the military recruits to its self-defined goals. Like any organization, these goals are just predictions of the manning needed to operate given constrained resources. The projections often don't consider how many people we'd need in service to stave off some major existential war. In a modernized world with increasingly powerful and nuclear-capable threats, it’s impossible to say how large the recruited force needs to be. Particularly when our strongest competitor, China, is the most populous nation the world has ever seen. Even if we manage to barely hit our goal this year, the larger trendlines spell doom. 

A better indicator than total recruit numbers is instead the desire generation Z has to serve. Regarding Z’s propensity to enlist/commission, research by the RAND Corporation, reports that “propensity is generally low by historical standards, recently hovering around 13 percent for the general youth population aged 16-21”. 

           Perhaps most interesting in these discussions on military recruiting has been the reasons offered up as to why we’re struggling to attract Gen Z. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Stephanie Miller states, “almost 44% of youth (ages 16 to 24) are ineligible for service,” and "the department is examining our standards and entry programs, but alone, there is very little we can do to positively impact this issue." 

The usual issues of drug abuse, educational level, obesity, and criminal records are often given as reasons why the qualification numbers sag. However, the “Zoomer” generation, which Pew Research classifies as anyone born between 1997 and 2012, has various unique reasons why they don't see the military as something they want to be a part of. From the fear of mental health disorders to a lack of interest, this new generation is turning sharply away from the armed services. Unfortunately, this comes at a time of rising international tension. 

The overwhelming majority of new servicemembers fall between 17 and 30. Gen Z, whose average age is 17, is quickly becoming the only viable cohort of potential warfighters. A recent poll by the Ronald Reagan Institute showed less than one fifth of respondents aged 18-39 "extremely willing or very willing" to serve in the military while 26% were “not willing to serve at all”. If something doesn't happen to appeal to this age group, the country will soon jeopardize its national security. 

I wrote this book to analyze the difficulties of recruiting Zoomers and then propose a variety of interventions aimed at getting my generation to serve in uniform. I realized that no D.C. politician or big brass General seems to have the correct solutions to this problem. So, I reasoned that perhaps one young and lost Gen-Z Lieutenant, describing his own modern life thoughts may shed light on what we’re searching for. 

This book has three main audiences it speaks to. The largest audience member is anyone concerned with the state of our military and its vital role in national defense. The more directed audience members are those with the power to enact change on the issue of recruiting. This includes Congress, Generals/Admirals, the press, engaged public voters, and DoD civilians. The majority of American society is well aware of the growing recruitment issues that endanger our military. Many reports, congressional hearings, and newspaper articles have been written in an attempt to figure this out. A cornerstone argument I make here is that only older decision-makers who are far too detached from the root problems are tasked with solving it. While I don’t have anywhere near the experience and wisdom of these leaders, I am a member of the very generation that they are trying to recruit. This problem is one that requires deep knowledge that is distributed only at the “tactical” level. Kat Cole, an amazing business executive who spoke to me in college, explained that in organizations, most problems are solved by those closest to them. Admirals in the Pentagon and Representatives in Congress aren’t going to understand the generational feelings of Americans in their late teens and early twenties. Only us young Americans who make up generation Z can truly conquer this. 

Finally, this was written for the current Gen Z’ers in service and those about to be. Hopefully I can do my small part to better our Military that each of you have given so much to. It is our job to get our ideas out there and impact where we work, even if we don’t exactly know how best to say what we’re trying to articulate. I behoove you all to take some moments to reaffirm your principles and determine what types of leaders you want to be and why you joined the Armed Forces. This is one of the few jobs where doing so may literally and directly save lives. We have a duty to improve the institution we’re a part of, and the one we’ll lead one day.

           The book is broken down into four distinct parts for ease of reading: 

I.  Recruiting Fundamentals = Analyzing the basics of Gen Z recruitment

II. Workforce Parity = Bringing military working conditions in line with Gen Z expectations of the modern civilian workplace

III. Sociocultural Influences = Viewing aspects of larger society that impact Gen Z military recruitment

IV. Scope of Service = Promoting ways in which the military can give back to society

Within each part exist detailed chapters explaining a particular problem and proposing a possible solution. My goal is to shed light on various American practices that may be hurting modern day military recruitment from the perspective of a new servicemember. Ideally I can arm these decision-makers with a deeper understanding of what is going on, while also suggesting some solutions they can implement. While I don’t expect readers to agree with each issue and suggestion, I believe that each one prompts deep thought and debate. My hope is that the developed compendium will explain how we must rebuild the value proposition of military service by demonstrating the benefits of the world’s greatest physical social network.

The chapters include a mix of statistics, literature analysis, and sometimes small vignettes that demonstrates a key life lesson I’ve had. These small moments make up my personal story, and in the spirit of my grandfather who explained that “stories are what makes the world go around”, I will do my best to share them in a way that benefits my readers. My life journey that saw myself, an unlikely candidate to put on the Uniform, as a Marine Intelligence Officer, is interwoven throughout. I am fully aware of the many biases and blind spots that come with my unique life experience. If you ask one thousand people why they joined the military you may very well get one thousand different responses. I use the stories to tie a common thread and personal touch to a very meaty macro-level issue. At times we may forget that every young American who signs up to take that Oath of Office is their own unique individual with their own thinking. The writing has allowed me to nostalgically recall various events over my Gen-Z existence and helped frame my beliefs on where I think the military should be going. To begin I want to give a very basic overview of myself and why I felt qualified to opine on this topic.

I was born a day after tax day in New York City as the first child to my very supportive parents. At age two we moved to the suburban town of Tenafly, New Jersey where I attended the Tenafly Public School system from Kindergarten through 12th grade. I am the older brother to three younger siblings who I try to be a role model for everyday. I had four very loving grandparents and was blessed to be able to travel the world with my family on exotic vacations. I attended The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia for both my undergraduate degree in Finance and Management and my Masters in Business Administration with a concentration in Information Systems. While in college I was the co-chair of the Admissions Dean’s Advisory Board where I got an excellent viewpoint of how one of the world’s most selective University attracts talent. I worked various summer internships in financial companies and got my first full-time job doing mergers and acquisitions at a Defense Technology Startup that is now a silicon-valley multi-billion dollar unicorn. That incredible success story has succeeded in attracting world class talent from generation Z and faces the opposite problem of military recruitment: they have too many applicants. I am currently a Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. As a Military Intelligence Officer, I specialize in Signals Intelligence/Electronic Warfare.

           I fundamentally believe that my upbringing, education at Wharton, and experiences in the entry-level of the tech/finance world have provided me unique mental frameworks from which to help answer this question. The world’s oldest business school taught me to use financial thinking to make decisions, one of the country’s fastest growing companies showed me recruiting gone right, and the USMC intelligence mindset has taught me to properly prioritize analysis. Throughout the course of the book I will incorporate thoughts from each of these institutions. Above all I am a Patriot, looking to do my part in uniting our great country. On a personal level, when I didn’t think I’d make it through boot camp (OCS) and actually commission, my meanest and toughest drill instructor challenged me to leave the organization better than when I found it. I promised I would…this is my attempt to fulfill that promise.