It’s time to rally around America
One of Dr Scott’s grandfathers who served in the US Navy.
12 February 2024- Most of the American youth don’t have a favorable view of our country or our military. For Dr Scott, growing up in the Reagan era, this is a hard pill to swallow.
“Young Americans across this country are no longer proud to be American,” said Vivek Ramaswamy. Truth? Unfortunately, yes. Patriotism has been declining since at least the early 2000s.
What happened? When I grew up in the 1980s, young boys wanted to join GIJOE. We wanted to fly with Maverick and Goose. We read Tom Clancy novels. I heard the stories of my grandparents fighting Germany, Japan and Italy in WWII, and later North Korea, China and the Soviet Union in the Korean War. Then we won the Cold War, the Wall fell.
Today this lack of patriotism is not only causing certain generations obvious stress, but it is hurting national security. Our military is experiencing one of the worst recruiting shortfalls in 50 years. Collectively, in 2023, the U.S. military branches combined missed their recruiting goals by around 41,000 recruits.
This topic really hit home after recently visiting the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Speaking to staff and cadets, I uncovered a shortfall at the Academy, with many cadets choosing the Academy not because a deep love of country, but to play Division 1 sports. The Academy’s class of 2027 includes 23% intercollegiate athletes, 29% women, and 26% appointees of color. However, some cadets did decide to attend the Academy because of their parents military service.
Thirty years ago, 40 percent of youth had a parent that served in the military. Today, that number is under 13 percent.
I found the military’s longer-term commitment also causes apprehension. Pilot training, my field, is the longest service commitment of all at the Academy. It requires four years to get commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant then time to complete flight training, followed by another 10 years. Add these numbers up and it must sound like an eternity for most American youth whose attention span, thanks to social media and cell phones, keeps getting shorter, while their anxiety and depression continues to rise.
Upon returning home to Austin, I asked my four very “different” teenage children about their thoughts on ever joining the military. I expected one out of four to be “somewhat interested.” I was wrong.
“I want a better job closer to home, maybe in tech because it pays more money and there’s limited risk of dying in war,” responded my one daughter. I brought up the fear of death topic to one of my sons. He responded: “Yes there is that, but we are better at not dying due to tactics and technology. However, I’m just not super patriotic. I also don’t really trust what our politicians use our military for.”
After I changed my clothes to proudly put my American flag t-shirt on, I found my children’s responses are in fact in line with many polls. The possibly of physical injury or death is the number one reason for the American youth not to join the military. The current positive job market is another reason. Some youth, even if they wanted to join, can’t because they won’t be accepted. In fact, a 2022 Pentagon study showed 77% of young Americans won’t qualify and many will require a waiver to joing due to being overweight, using drugs or having mental and physical health problems.
Searching for some positive news, I found Congressman Jim Banks’ opening statement at a December 2023 hearing on the military recruiting calamity. He asked if you as a parent or teacher would recommend military service when the overwhelming perception is “rats in the barracks, suicide rates are climbing, opioids are everywhere, the food options are terrible or inaccessible, and there’s a risk your child could be raped or murdered.”
Others are taking notice. Time to change the narrative.
Countries like Russia and Iran are taking notice of this negative perception. “Poll Finds Most Americans Would Advise Youth Against US Military Service” was posted on the Iranian FARS News Agency based out of Tehran in December. At the same time, Sputnik, the Russian state-owned news agency and radio broadcast service had a headline mentioning “Despite changing their slogans, relaxing their requirements and offering big bonuses, the Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Air Force failed to meet their recruiting goals in 2023.”
This year is a big year for America, and the world is watching.
America needs to remember who we are. We helped rebuild Europe after WWII. Our money, safety and freedom led to the first nuclear reactor. We put man on the moon.
We need to stop fighting amongst ourselves while our children are depressed and anxious.
The American youth need to feel part of something more important than themselves. It’s time to change the narrative. It’s time to rally, and what better cause to rally around than the United States of America and the men and women who protect us. Peace by strength!
Scott Firsing PhD wants to be your representative in the Texas House. He is a former International Relations Professor, having taught at institutions like the Citadel and UNC. He also recently served on the Board of the University Aviation Association (UAA) and is currently on the Board of the National Flight Training Alliance (NFTA).