A growing number of veterans are opting to not recommend others join the military, according to a new poll obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The results reveal that only 62% of veterans surveyed in 2024 would recommend the service to young people, down from 80% as of 2019, according to the poll commissioned by the Center of Military Excellence (CME). When asked why they would withhold their endorsement of joining the military, the overwhelming majority of veterans who identified as conservative surveyed said that diversity, equity and inclusion policies were one of the biggest reasons.
Other reasons veterans on both sides of the aisle wouldn’t recommend service included mistrust in politicians, the possibility of injuries or death and the risk of suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to the CME poll.
The veterans’ concerns seem centered around political leadership, rather than service members. Asked how they’d rate performance in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, veterans surveyed gave servicemembers an “A-” grade ranking compared to a “C-” for commanders-in-chief.
The 2024 CME poll was conducted by YouGov with more than 2,100 respondents.
Some of the veterans’ sentiment that they would no longer recommend enlisting is reflected in other polls released this year. Only 37% of Americans polled in a July Defense Priorities/YouGov survey said they would recommend their family members join the military.
Among some of the problems military families, veterans and service members identified were a cultural shift and increasingly politically-charged nature in the military, according to a Military Family Advisory Network study from June. The Biden administration has focused heavily on implementing left-wing policies in the military, such as a host of DEI initiatives, the promotion of LGBTQ ideology and partial reimbursement for service members who travel out-of-state for abortions.
Low pay is another commonly cited concern in the military, given rising inflation rates and cost of living prices. That concern is especially common among junior enlisted troops, who are typically paid far less than their higher-rank colleagues.
Recruitment and retention rates have slipped under the Biden administration. Several branches have missed their recruiting goals in recent years, prompting military leadership to lower some physical and academic standards in a bid to encourage higher enlistment rates.
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