Army Secretary Francis Harvey is fighting off the talk of a recruiting crisis in his service. Writing in the Washington Post on Oct. 21, Harvey said that the “alarmist rhetoric” surrounding the Army’s 6,000-recruit shortfall is much ado about nothing. He says the Army has exceeded re-enlistment rates—helping to make up for a recruiting shortfall—and the service is currently undergoing its most extensive reorganization since World War II, with more civilians holding jobs that soldiers used to, thus freeing more soldiers for the pool of deployable combat units. Critics recognize this, we believe, but they point out that the situation could foreshadow a “graying” of the land force.
Unit commanders are being told to separate service members who can’t shave their cheeks and chin for medical reasons for more than a year, according to new guidance from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
