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.
President Donald Trump on July 4 signed into law $150 billion in defense funds as part of the tax-and-spending package known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” after congressional Republicans approved the legislation in narrow, drawn-out votes earlier this week.
