How the US and Allies Can Convince More Citizens to Serve
Militaries don’t just need more weapons to deter Russia and China — they need soldiers to man them.
Enlisting more women should be a priority.
Photographer: Scott Olson/Getty Images
After witnessing the carnage in Ukraine, the US and its partners are racing to rearm — beefing up defense budgets, securing supply chains and expanding arms production. To deter the likes of Russia or China, though, they will have to devote the same energy to another task: finding troops to man those weapons.
For years now, many advanced militaries have struggled to meet recruiting targets. The UK and Japan have failed to hit quotas for a decade; the latter barely reached half its target last year. Germany’s military needs to add more than 20,000 soldiers by 2031. The US Army has stumbled since 2022, missing its goals by 25% and 17% over the past two years; this year the target has been lowered. The US Navy — which would play a central role in any conflict in the Pacific — expects to fall short by more than 4,000 recruits.