An All-Volunteer Army? Recruitment and its Problems

Abstract

The current condition of Army manpower, like the situation in Iraq, is grave and deteriorating. The January 2007 decision by the George W. Bush administration to send additional ground combat and support troops to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has thrown the Army's manpower shortages into stark relief. This latest escalation, however, not only runs the risk of breaking the all-volunteer Army but also undermines our national security. Several questions must therefore be addressed: Is an all-volunteer Army desirable? What are the current difficulties facing Army recruitment and retention? What consequences have the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had on the service? Before engaging a more substantive discussion which includes the present demographics of the force and the recruitment process, one point should be made clear. We believe the all-volunteer model is the right one and should be maintained if at all possible.

Conscription, Inequality, and Partisan Support for War

“…Stretched to the limit by dueling wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army was forced to issue stop-loss orders to force those in theater who had completed their service obligations to remain in uniform for the entire period of their unit's deployment. Military recruiting standards were lowered to expand the pool of potential targets, and significant financial inducements were used, including quick-ship bonuses for those willing to expedite their entry into basic training as well as significant reenlistment bonuses (Korb and Duggan 2007). Manpower costs rose meteorically, echoing the fears of many early opponents of the AVF.…”

Lifetime Prevalence of DSM-Iv Mental Disorders Among New Soldiers in the U.S. Army: Results From the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army Starrs)

“…Evaluating the relative importance of these two possibilities is important given recent discussions about optimal recruitment, retention, and health care delivery strategies for an all-volunteer Army during times of war. [10,11] …”

“…Evaluating the relative importance of these two possibilities is important given recent discussions about optimal recruitment, retention, and health care delivery strategies for an all-volunteer Army during times of war. [10,11] The AAS provided some limited information on this issue by asking respondents retrospectively to report the age-of-onset (AOO) of their 30-day mental disorders. Three-quarters (76.6%) of respondents reported onsets prior to enlistment.…”

Thirty-Day Prevalence ofDSM-IVMental Disorders Among Nondeployed Soldiers in the US Army

“…This question is important given recent discussions of optimal recruitment-retention strategies for an all-volunteer Army during times of war. 10,11 We know from general population epidemiological studies that most lifetime mental disorders have childhood-adolescence onsets 12–14 that are initially too mild to cause rejection from military service, even if they predict more severe subsequent episodes. 15 We are unaware of previous research that has examined the question of pre-enlistment history of mental disorders.…”