By Angelina Tang
New concerns have been rising as of late that the National Guard is growing smaller than required for our country’s safety. For this fiscal year–which ended October 1st–the Army Guard is short 6,000 soldiers and the Air Guard is short 3,000. The active Army is also short 15,000. In addition, another 14,000 total troops may be lost due to a refusal to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, as mandated by the army.
Several factors have added up in the past few years to result in this concerning situation. First and foremost, the pandemic has reduced recruitment rates. In the past (and present, as the pandemic slowly releases us from its throes), military leaders would go to schools and college fairs to recruit teenagers into joining the army after they graduate. This was impossible during the pandemic, so that outreach was subsequently lost. In addition, since the U.S. is no longer fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the call to service for such nationalistic causes has died out.
Also, despite the fact that the National Guard has been no less busy throughout the pandemic, their domestic tasks generally included medical care for natural disaster relief, Covid testing, and vaccination. Pretty unglamorous work. It’s pretty clear why interest in joining for the last two years has been low.
Finally, a lack of benefits and mental health assistance within the Guard has resulted in a high attrition rate and suicide rate. Standing Guard troops do not have access to the counseling that troops on federal orders receive, so as such, there is a drastically high rate of suicides in the Army Guard in particular. A lack of health insurance and pay raise benefits for the Guard has also resulted in a lower rate of enlistment and increased risk of mental illness.
Of course, this all begs the question–should we be worried? Is our civilian security in jeopardy? Probably not, says Army National Guard Director Lieutenant Jon Jensen. “I am very confident that through the work and leadership of our adjutants general that we’re going to be able to turn this around very quickly. I’m a strong believer that recruiting is about connections.” As such, now that the pandemic is mostly behind us and the military can start making those connections at education centers again, recruitment is expected to garner more success.
