> It should start by reversing the crisis in military recruitment—not by lowering standards, promising easy pay, or infusing the force with diversity, equity, and inclusion ideology but by unapologetically touting the virtues of an elite, colorblind, all-volunteer force and challenging young Americans to step up.
In an article full of lukewarm takes this one stands out above the rest. Why should anyone want to join up? The barracks are moldy, something like a quarter of armed service members are food insecure, staffing cuts mean 16+ hour shifts are not uncommon, the list goes on. 30-40 years of neoliberalism stripped away most of the social contract. Who wants to fight and die for a country that acts like it owes its citizens nothing? This isn’t some problem with wokeism or whatever bullshit, it’s a predictable and straightforward response of people to their material conditions.
