Friday is Veterans Day, a time to recognize all veterans who have honorably served our country. The federal holiday continues to be November 11 in remembrance of the ending of the Great War at 11 o’clock in the morning of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. We have our veterans to thank that everyone living in this country has the opportunity to show patriotism and to protest.
My generation remembers the friends and members of our families who fought in World War II. We stand with our hands over our hearts for the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and when Old Glory passes by during a parade just like we were taught when we were students who began each school day with the “Pledge of Allegiance.”
Residents take for granted that our country will continue to be kept safe by our military, but, according to officials, young people’s familiarity with the services keeps dropping. In 2021, an Army study found 75% of Americans ages 16-28 knew little to nothing about the Army.
Every branch of the volunteer U.S. armed services is struggling to meet its recruiting quotas for fiscal year 2022. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told NBC News, “The Army, like other services, is facing the most challenging recruiting market in the last 20 years.”
A record low percentage of young adults are eligible to serve and an even tinier fraction are willing to consider it. Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville testified before Congress that only 23% of the Americans ages 17-24 are qualified. The pool continues to shrink with more young men and women disqualified for obesity, drug use or criminal records. An internal Defense Department survey found only 9% of those young people eligible to serve in the military had any inclination to do so.
Some of those who have served wear a tee shirt or a cap proudly proclaiming they are veterans. Sometimes the only recognition these men and women receive is a thank you from an appreciative citizen. Have you voiced your gratitude to a veteran for his or her contribution to your freedom?