Three of the armed services (the Army, Navy, and Air Force) are projected to fall well short of their enlistment goals this year, and none will retain the numbers required to support their missions. The experienced sailors and soldiers who know how to motivate, train, and lead are trading their seabags and rifles for civilian life. Ships go to sea dangerously undermanned. Units deploy into battle without enough personnel. Aircraft do not fly because of air-traffic-controller shortages.
The media have offered numerous explanations for these shortfalls: a booming economy; increases in college enrollment; higher-paying civilian jobs; long family separations and overseas assignments; and a too-disciplined lifestyle. The new term for today's generation is the "Net Generation" (NetGen). NetGeners are being heralded as more computer savvy and more likely to spend countless hours online instead of in front of the boob tube—like us Generation-Xers. NetGeners are more inclined to go to college or trade school or get 36-hour-a-week part-time jobs, than join the armed services. They tend to be more independent and less likely to adhere to a disciplined lifestyle. Where some Generation-Xers lacked a respect for authority, the NetGeners carry a misconception that they are the authority.
The military leadership asks the question: How do we turn this around? The military has come up with several different ways of attracting the NetGen. One direction has been to increase the number of recruiters and offer possible recruits more money for college (up to $50,000). Presently, after four to six years of service they can depart the military—after we pay $100,000 to get them trained. Meanwhile, the rest of us struggle to hold the few remaining threads of our military together.
Another approach has been to hire a Hollywood director to create TV recruiting commercials. NetGeners spend countless hours online; why hire Spike Lee to make television commercials? Instead, we should hire software engineers to develop attractive, interactive entertainment that highlights the thrill of our work.
Ads can be placed on CD-ROMs and sold for $.99 at any software retailer, with proceeds offsetting the cost of tuition assistance programs. Ads can be purchased on large web sites, providing hotlinks to trailers and other Navy sites. Top Gun worked in the 1980s; let the World Wide Web work for surface warfare in 2000.
A more dramatic approach could involve charging new recruits to join the military. Colleges charge outrageous sums and make unguaranteed promises. The students are the ones doing all the work, losing sleep, and feeling the pressures of spending thousands of dollars for some institution to determine their future. When someone has a vested interest, however, it creates the perception that certain goals must be achieved, and the quality of education is improved. In boot camp, I can remember my company commander saying, "You came to us; we didn't come to you." That is not true today. A job in the military with steady income, 30 days vacation a year, a marketable skill, and travel does not attract the NetGeners' attention—because it is free.
Something for nothing fails because there is no ownership. Charging to join the military fits perfectly with the true capitalistic spirit of America: ownership and competition. If it's college they want, sell it. Make the GI Bill available for use while on active duty. Begin a new ROTC for recruits. After three years of active duty completed honorably, allow two years shore duty to attend a local college (similar to the recently debunked Navy Enlisted Education Advancement Program), and give one more year of active duty after graduation. Then waive the Selective Reenlistment Bonus. The military will retain a well-trained and educated sailor or soldier for less money, and an education goal will be completed. Feelings of ownership and commitment will keep these sailors and soldiers on active duty.
The military is not free, so stop trying to give it away. Sell the programs like tuition assistance, TriCare health, life insurance, and the GI Bill. Don't sugar coat our pay gaps, long hours, and ever-present dangers. These oddities make our job unique! We do this job because of what the United States has done for us. The difference we make throughout the world is felt in every country I have visited. I don't want to give that away.
Tell the NetGeners: If you are up to the task, if you enjoy your freedom, and if you are willing to pay the price, maybe we will let you join. Uncle Sam no longer is saying, "I want you." His nephew now is asking, "Why should I take you?"
Senior Chief Dearie serves on board the USS Mobile Bay (CG-53).