This is an excellent piece, I believe. It ignores the noise about dei issues in the military and strikes far deeper, if all too politely:Senior Army officials could immediately improve by critically examining the “unquestioned assumptions that form the basis of…American grand strategy,” reevaluating military officer professional development models, and understanding how misaligned military incentive structures work against achieving policy goals. Regardless of the approach, it should be laser-focused on delivering the ethical, effective and efficient service to the nation mentioned above.I am not sure the Army can solve its problem alone. It is a functional part of a profoundly corrupt system. We will know that an environment where moral reform is possible when the political system can deal with dissent objectively and its leaderships propose candidates, for the presidency for example, that are not morally, intellectually and physically either broken or repugnant, or both.----- Original Message -----From: Kelley Vlahos via SalonSent: Thursday, January 4, 2024 9:17 AMSubject: [Salon] Col. Overbaugh: the dirty truth behind Army's plunging recruitment #'s
Good morning! I have a great new essay from active duty Col. Justin Overbaugh — who has had his share of experience in Washington's recent wars — on why the American people are refusing to send their sons and daughters to the all-volunteer forces.--
In his book, “Why America Loses Wars,” Donald Stoker reminds us that winning in war means, “the achievement of the political purpose for which the war is being fought.” Judging by this standard, the Army has clearly failed at its raison d’être, to fight and win the nation’s wars, over the past two decades. This failure has come at catastrophic cost: the loss of over 900,000 lives, the death of over 7000 U.S. service members, and the depletion of eight trillion dollars. Additionally, on the international scene, the U.S. has bled influence, and levels of violence are on the rise.
Considering the wreckage listed above, it is little wonder that the American people have markedly lost confidence in the institution and its leaders in recent years and could explain the unwillingness to volunteer for service. Essentially, signing up for the military is starting to look like a really bad bet.
Please check out the full piece: https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-army-recruitment/
All the bestKelley
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