The U.S. Army: baffled about white flight

There has been a dramatic decrease in white soldiers in the US Army in the last five years, and “Army leadership” and “Capitol Hill” are “increasingly concerned,” even “baffled.” This is particularly ironic in that white males have historically made up the bulk of the force, while also taking most casualties, as this 2005 LA Times report notes:

The majority of soldiers and Marines killed or wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan were young, white, enlisted personnel from active-duty units, according to a study released Friday by the federal Government Accountability Office.

The demographic study involved 1,841 service personnel who were killed and 12,658 who were wounded, as of May 28.

Whites, who constitute 67% of the active-duty and reserve forces, accounted for 71% of the fatalities. African Americans are 17% of the overall force and were 9% of the fatalities. Hispanics are 9% of the force and were 10% of the fatalities.

Graphic: Wikimedia Commons.org, Public Domain

Since 2005, there is little indication these numbers have meaningfully changed. Military.com carries on:

The Army‘s recruiting of white soldiers has dropped significantly in the last half decade, according to internal data reviewed by Military.com, a decline that accounts for much of the service’s historic recruitment slump that has become the subject of increasing concern for Army leadership and Capitol Hill.

The shift in demographics for incoming recruits would be irrelevant to war planners, except it coincides with an overall shortfall of about 10,000 recruits for the Army in 2023 as the service missed its target of 65,000 new soldiers. 

Irrelevant? Historically, most of the Army’s recruits, enlisted and officer, have come from the Midwest and South, many from military families. Lose them, and the military ends up where it is now: dangerously short of qualified personnel.

A total of 44,042 new Army recruits were categorized by the service as white in 2018, but that number has fallen consistently each year to a low of 25,070 in 2023, with a 6% dip from 2022 to 2023 being the most significant drop. No other demographic group has seen such a precipitous decline, though there have been ups and downs from year to year.

But none of this can possibly be caused by a military far more interested in Diversity, Inclusion and Equity (DEI) and pushing the LGBTQWERTY+- agenda than war fighting.

Internally, some Army planners are alarmed over the data trends, but see it as a minefield to navigate given increasing partisan attacks against the military for its efforts to recruit and support a diverse force, according to interviews with several service officials.

Our military “leaders” see rational people exposing their dismantling of military culture and effectiveness as the problem, not their dismantling. In other words: “Republicans pounce.”

The Army declined Military.com’s request to share its regional recruiting data, which could show what specific parts of the country are struggling. Military.com had seen internal Army numbers that suggested that the shift in demographics was even more dramatic, but when presented with those figures, Army public affairs officials insisted that they were wrong and provided updated statistics included in this article, while blaming a system coding error.

Golly, I wonder why the military is refusing to share that information?

“What we’re seeing is a reflection of society; what we know less of is what is driving all of these things,” one Army official told Military.com. “There is no widely accepted cause.”

Typical Democrat/socialist/communist (D/s/c) weasel language. There are obvious causes, but not a single “Army official” will accept any of them.

Another Army official pointed to partisan attacks from conservative lawmakers and media, which has an overwhelmingly white audience. Those groups have used the military as a partisan cudgel against the Biden administration, lambasting the services for being “woke,” or so preoccupied with liberal values that they have abandoned their warfighting priorities. In most cases, those attacks have zeroed in on the services being more inclusive for women, service members from racial minority groups and LGBTQ+ troops.

“No, the young applicants don’t care about this stuff. But the older people in their life do who have a lot of influence … parents, coaches, pastors,” one Army official told Military.com. “There’s a level of prestige in parts of conservative America with service that has degraded. Now, you can say you don’t want to join, for whatever reason, or bad-mouth the service without any cultural guilt associated for the first time in those areas.”

Surprisingly, it’s not “the older people in their life” who comprise the enlistment pool, but the “young applicants.” Obviously, the young are more than smart enough to realize our current military has one enemy above all others: straight, white men. They’re not putting themselves on a battlefield where they’re taking fire from two enemies: our geopolitical foes, and their own “leaders.” 

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.