A new report claims that the United States Army has lost about 25 % of the men the military unit has recruited since 2022 prior to the completion of their service contracts.
According to Military .com, internal Army data obtained by Military .com shows that almost 25 % of Army soldiers recruited since 2022 have not completed their initial contracts. The outlet noted that the statement comes after the Army surpassed its recruitment purpose and recruited 55, 300 fresh active-duty troops last year after constantly struggling to meet enrollment goals under the Biden-Harris management.
The reason behind the Army’s struggle to keep men during their first contract with the military unit has not yet been revealed, however, Military .com suggested that one aspect that could be contributing to the issue is a sharp decline in the quality of the Army’s selection share.
In an interview with Martial .com, Gil Barndollar, a senior research fellow with the Center for the Study of Statesmanship, said,” If this is the new standard, we’re taking in a full quarter of the Army that isn’t hitting the regular”.
” The bigger problem, though, is a human investment problem”, Barndollar added. ” If we have a crisis and we need a lot of people, what is the state of the nation? We’re looking at a land which by a lot of indicators — real skill, cognitive ability — all those figures are going in the wrong direction”.
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The service data obtained by Military .com shows that approximately 25 % of the soldiers who take the Army’s preparatory courses do not complete their first service contract and are washed out of the military branch within the first two years of their enlistment with the Army.
Military .com reported that approximately 25 % of all Army cadets were required to go through at least one of the Army’s Future Soldier preparatory Training last year as the Army attempted to increase recruitment by helping Army candidates meet body fat and academic enrollment requirements prior to basic training.
Military .com reported that 11.3 % of the soldiers who do not attend any preparatory courses wash out of the Army’s basic training, while 15.3 % of those who attend the academic track preparatory course, 16 % of those who attend the fitness track preparatory course, and 18.7 % of those who attend both preparatory courses wash out of basic training.
Addressing the issue of retaining Army volunteers, an anonymous top Army official told Defense .com,” I don’t know what an appropriate attrition rate is, but we have to meet people where they are. The quality of new men is an huge issue we’re paying for. But that’s just where the land is”.
