‘Uninspiring’ Political Leadership Driving Recruits Away from Military: Rep. Garcia

Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.) in Washington on May 19, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON—Uninspiring leadership and lousy pay are driving young Americans away from military service, according to one congressman.

The Biden administration’s failure to present a positive vision of military service and lack of accountability for the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan are failing to inspire Americans to join the military, said Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.).

“We all know that the Afghanistan debacle, which was touted by this administration as an outstanding success, was an absolutely devastating factor in people wanting to get out [of the military],” Garcia said at an April 28 talk held by the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank.

“Leadership matters. And when you have a president of the United States—like we do right now—who is uninspiring and frankly reckless on the international stage… and when you see a Secretary of Defense within the administration behave… like he’s a non-playable character, it’s not inspiring for people.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has come under increasing fire in recent weeks, after saying he had no regrets about the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan that resulted in 13 dead American service members and Afghanistan’s political situation reverting to the status quo ante bellum.

Garcia added that the Pentagon’s continued focus on politically divisive, non-warfighting issues like diversity, equity, and inclusion and environmental initiatives was evidence that Department of Defense (Dod) leadership did not have an adequate grasp of the real threats facing the nation.

“The whole point of the military is to deter a war. And, if not, to win a war. That’s it,” Garcia.

“One of the problems we have right now is we haven’t fired anybody in the Pentagon.”

Garcia added that congressional and executive leadership had also failed for years to offer an adequate value proposition to recruit new talent.

The entry pay for a recruit in the military, he noted, is only about $21,000 per year. On a 40-hour work week, that’s about $11 per hour. The average pay of a McDonald’s employee in California where Garcia’s district is, he said, is double that amount.

The shortage of new recruits for the military has been a growing problem for some years now.

In fiscal year 2022, for example, the Army failed to meet its recruitment goal by more than 20,000.

The Army Reserve, meanwhile, has not been up to its strength goals since 2016.

The dire situation has led some experts to believe that the all-volunteer force, a staple of U.S. military policy since the end of the Vietnam War, is now incapable of meeting the nation’s strategic objectives. This means that conscription, colloquially known in the States as the draft, is becoming more likely.

Jonathan Askonas, an assistant professor of Politics at Catholic University of America, spoke on the issue during an April 11 discussion with the Hudson Institute.

“This is a five-alarm fire,” Askonas said. “We’re facing global threats and we have a force structure which we know will not work against those threats.

“We basically can’t fight a war larger than Iraq with the all-volunteer force.”

The Epoch Times has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.