For over half a century, this is what US Army recruits faced on day 1 of bootcamp:
But no more! Because this is what day 1 looks like now.
They are even clapping!
This is the infamous “Shark Attack”, where Drill Sergeants go out of their way to break
18-year old Army recruits who just left the comfort of their homes a few hours earlier.
Imagine, three Drill Sergeants screaming in your face, one ordering you to get down,
the other telling you to get up, while the third one asks you philosophical questions …
But just like many celebrities, the Shark Attack got canceled! It’s been almost two years since the
Army’s 2020 announcement, which changed the way infantry recruits were greeted at basic training.
Apparently the yelling is now too aggressive on trainees. But it doesn’t stop there.
US Army’s 2021 guidelines on appearance standards, authorizes additional colors
of lipstick and nail polish for females, and wearing clear nail polish by male soldiers.
They even removed and replaced words like "Mohawk,
dreadlock, and faddish", calling them “potentially offensive and weaponized”.
As you can imagine, many have voiced concerns over US Army’s recent decisions,
criticizing the Army for accommodating “snowflakes” and giving in to the woke culture.
Even though you may not believe it, this is a pivotal point in the history of the US Army,
who is fighting a war in the United States.
Because failure to win this war, which concerns “me me millennials” and “phone zombies of Gen Z”,
could mean the demise of the US Army, but it’s Not What You Think!
On Oct. 29th, 1940 a nationwide lottery was held across the United States. The winners would become
the first people in American history … to be drafted into military service during peace-time.
Drawing numbers from the same "fish bowl" used in WWI’s 1917 draft,
President Rossevelt announced the first number. Fast forward 33 years to June 30th, 1973,
marking the day the last person was drafted into the US Army.
Since then, military service has been voluntary in the United States.
But in 2020, the US Army Training and Doctrine Command called for all
training centers to discontinue the Shark Attacks
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Shark attack was a “non-documented period of instruction” developed during the draft army
years, when soldiers had to serve non-voluntarily. All the yelling and harsh behavior was meant
to “establish dominance and authority using intimidation and fear” to weed out the weak.
Those who stand behind this change argue that this practice not only did not instill the
spirit of the infantry in recruits, it in fact betrayed the trust between teammates
and with the leaders. So Shark Attacks were replaced with “The First 100 Yards”.
The First 100 Yards has 120 steps,
according to Google! But according to the US Army, it has 5 phases.
Phase 1 starts with a number of questions and answers to prepare the recruits,
and help them gain appreciation for the Army. Phase 2 is a resupply exercise, where each
platoon works as a member of a team to accomplish a mission. Phase 3 is made up of ACFT events, like
pushups and leg tucks, and platoons that don’t perform to the standard will be given corrective
training exercises. Then they are quizzed on the questions from phase 1. Phase 4 is made up
of company and platoon introductions and infantry demonstration squad. The demonstration squad is
meant to inspire the trainees to stay the course and complete the last 100 yards of training.
Finally phase 5 moves the platoons into their respective bays to start their red-cycle training.
Keep in mind, this is all happening on day 1, and it is simply replacing the Shark Attack,
which was also on day 1. Army Basic Training is about 10 weeks long. According to the US Army,
those 10 weeks have not changed, they are as tough as they have always been … but it
does seem like they are trying quite hard to make day 1 more appealing to recruits. And
their reason is 100% justified, because the US Army is in crisis, a recruiting crisis.
Fiscal year 2022 was US Army's most challenging recruiting year since the
start of the all-volunteer force in 1973. This year, the US Army was only able to achieve 75%
of their recruiting goal. But what’s even more concerning, are the reasons behind this failure.
First off, the overwhelming majority of young adults in America are not eligible
to join the Army. A study published by the Pentagon in 2022 shows that 77% of
youth between the ages of 16 and 24 are not fully qualified for military service.
That’s 3 out of every 4 young adults simply not making the cut! And it’s been getting worse,
because just 8 years ago, in 2014, 71% were ineligible, not 77%.
You can probably guess the #1 disqualifier, but there are actually quite a few that follow.
Being overweight is by far the biggest reason for disqualification of candidates.
The obesity epidemic among young adults in America has become a major problem over the past decades.
But even for those who pass the weight test, there are more barriers ahead.
Medical history can be a roadblock, even if you don’t have a medical condition anymore.
Bad credit scores can also prevent you from joining the military, because if you already
have too much debt or are under financial stress, that can take your focus away from your mission.
Drug use and criminal records make you unfit for obvious reasons,
and even tattoos, if they are on the neck or face, could be a problem.
Other certain permanent body modifications fall under the same category.
Now, the Army does issue waivers to some candidates who are mostly qualified,
but say are a bit overweight, or have had minor criminal records,
allowing them to be recruited. If there is a will, there is a waiver!
But accepting recruits with poor qualifications can be tricky, as highlighted by a case from
2006 in which an Iraqi girl was raped and her family killed by American soldiers, one of whom
required waivers for minor criminal activity and poor educational background to join the Army.
But just because 1 out of 4 American youth is eligible to join the military,
it doesn’t necessarily mean they will. The inclination among the population to join the
military and serve the country, a.k.a. “propensity to serve”, is at an all time low. This year,
for the first time, 52% of the youth say they have never even considered the military as an option.
Only 9% of the young men and women say that they’re interested in joining the military.
As you can see, the pool from which the Army can actually recruit from, is drastically smaller than
the population of American youth. But the challenge of recruiting is far from over.
The Army now has to compete in a tight labor market, not only against private companies,
some of which offer more alluring benefits, but also against other government agencies that are
targeting that same demographic. For example, law enforcement, fire departments and the FBI.
The US Army is not in a war to fight against “me me millennials” and “phone zombies of Gen Z”.
They are fighting for them. This is a war for talent.
Despite reducing its recruiting goals, the US Army fell short of more than
15,000 soldiers this year, and is projecting a gap of at least 21,000 active-duty troops in 2023.
Even though the recruiting crisis has hit the US Army the hardest, the Navy, Air Force and Marines
Corps are also struggling to fill their quota. But the shortage of qualified individuals to join
the military is not limited to the United States. Take the British army for example. They had been
so short on candidates for a few years, that they resorted to some interesting posters and TV ads.
As part of their recruiting campaign, known as “This is Belonging”, the British Army launched a
series of outdoor posters targeting “snowflakes”, “gamers” and “selfie addicts”, calling for people
with the “compassion” of snowflakes, “stamina” of gamers and “confidence” of selfie addicts to join
the Army. The controversy around these posters got the attention of the press and the people,
who ultimately helped the TV ads and the campaign to achieve their ultimate
objective – driving up recruitment numbers, and at a lower cost than in previous years.
But just having nice TV ads is not going to solve the problem in the long run.
There are 2 primary areas that should be focused on.
First, increasing the size of the pool of candidates, of course without lowering the
hiring standards. An increasing percentage of those who serve in uniform have a close
relative who has also served. In other words, people who are more familiar with the military
are more likely to enlist. But just hiring more aggressively from military families,
which are an ever-decreasing percentage of the population, would not work in the long run.
Simply increasing the advertising budget to amplify existing narratives is also
unlikely to yield results. You can’t always rely on yesterday’s solutions
to solve tomorrow’s problems. The armed forces need new narratives and new ways
of communicating those narratives to young adults and their families.
The Army replacing Shark Attack with The First 100 Yards is a good example of this.
But not all the focus should be on new recruits, which bring us to the second point: Retention.
The military has to do a better job with retaining existing service members who are
already living the military lifestyle. Persuading service members and their families to remain in
service can ease the pressure of having to hire new recruits. Improvements in family
housing and childcare facilities, and offering bonuses can help with retaining service members.
But it’s not all about money. Just like any other work force,
those in the military are also looking for career growth. Many leave service due to a perceived lack
of career opportunities in their field. But they might be overlooking the variety of opportunities
that exist across the other branches. There needs to be more joint efforts among all branches of the
military to encourage service members to remain in uniform, regardless of the color of that uniform.
The bottom line is that doubling down on existing approaches in hopes of achieving
a different outcome is doomed to fail. This is why the military must re-evaluate and adjust its ways.
Their message must resonate with current and future young Americans and their families.
As demographics and their attitude evolve,
the military has no choice but to …. I’ll let Brad Pitt say the last words …