PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Eric Darling, an Army National Guard veteran from Scranton, is concerned after the Department of Defense and Pennsylvania National Guard reported their lowest recruitment numbers in decades.
It is a completely different landscape from Darling's time as a recruiter in the mid-90s.
"I've talked with several different recruiters recently within the last six months. A lot of them are frustrated; they're having no service made mission, what that means is no service last year recruited the number of people they were supposed to recruit," said Eric Darling, Valhalla Veterans Services.
According to the Department of Defense, the Army, Navy, and Air Force failed to meet recruiting numbers.
In Pennsylvania, the Army National Guard missed its 2023 recruiting goal by about 25% and the Pennsylvania Air National Guard by more than 45%.
Statistics Darling says can be attributed to a shrinking population of eligible candidates, more medical and physical hurdles, and a different job market.
"The workforce is far more competitive and things like the G.I. Bill that used to be a no brainer, you know basically go to college for free, may not be as appealing as it used to be if you are trying to weigh out your options," said Darling.
To combat this issue, Darling says adapting recruitment efforts may have to be done in the same way we've adapted warfare, "A lot of warfare in the future is going to be digital, and I'm not downplaying the unmanned aerial vehicle pilots. They are true professionals and are real pilots, but does that person who sits with a joystick need to be able to run two miles and do a whole bunch of sit-ups? Probably not."
Amidst the tough recruiting environment, the Department of Defense reports the Marine Corps and the Space Force reached their goals for 2023.
Military recruiting chiefs say they are optimistic about recruitment efforts as we move into 2024.