May 28, 2019
Find Out More About What Our Panelists Discussed During Our Two Military Service Hearings
In May, the Commission held two hearings on military service at the Partnership for Public Service in Washington, D.C. It was no accident that these hearings were held during Military Appreciation Month, leading into Armed Forces Day (May 18), in which Americans thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country. The single day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under the Department of Defense in 1949.
As shared in our Interim Report, we learned that many young Americans are not eligible to join the military — under current standards, approximately 71 percent of Americans ages 17 through 24 do not meet the qualifications for military service. That could be for a number of reasons, including medical issues, weight, body art, history of drug use, or criminal record. We also learned that Americans who are ineligible for military service are rarely informed about opportunities to serve our country in either national or public service.
We know that the military has generally met its recruiting goals over the life of the All-Volunteer Force. However, incentives such as signing bonuses are frequently leveraged to promote accessions in challenging recruiting environments, when the nation is experiencing a strong economy with low unemployment or in the midst of combat operations. Yet, as future conflicts will likely require critical skillsets and the possibility of increased end strength, the sustainability of the All-Volunteer Force remains a concern.
Sustainability relies not only upon generating a sufficient number of new accessions every year, but also upon recruiting and developing critical skillsets within the military. New pipelines to military service aim to encourage greater numbers of young Americans or those with critical skillsets to consider military service, particularly among historically underrepresented populations.
We held these hearings to talk more in depth about these problems. The panelists addressed the civil-military divide among other policy issues and recommendations throughout the two hearings.
The first hearing addressed the challenges to recruiting and retaining critical skills and talent under the military’s current personnel management system and discussed options to create new pathways to military service.
Panelists included:
- Nicole Camarillo, Executive Director, Talent Acquisition and Management Strategy, U.S. Army Cyber Command
- Dr. David Chu, President, Institute for Defense Analyses
- Dr. Sharon Hamilton, Director of Liaison and Military Operations, Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies, University of North Georgia (UNG)
- Katherine Kidder, Political Scientist, RAND Corporation
- Raj Shah, Co-Founder, Arceo.ai
The second hearing explored how the nation can create more awareness of military service, particularly among young Americans, and how to lessen the divide between the military community and society.
Panelists included:
- CJ Chivers, Author and writer, The New York Times, former Marine
- Dr. Lindsay Cohn, Professor, U.S. Naval War College
- Ernie Gonzales, former Director Youth Outreach Programs and Senior Policy and Program Analyst for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Department of Defense
- Dr. Kathleen Hicks, Senior Vice President, Henry A. Kissinger Chair, and Director of the International Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Anthony Kurta, Performing the Duties of The Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness
The Commission is committed to keeping the conversation about our mission open and transparent. Time in each hearing was held for public comments from those in attendance. If you couldn’t make it to our hearings, we encourage you to watch them on YouTube, read the transcripts and leave a comment on our website.
So, what do you think? How can we get more young Americans inspired and eager to serve in the military? How can we lessen the civil-military divide?
Share your thoughts on the questions above on our website. And reminder, the Commission is still accepting feedback on the staff memorandum released in conjunction with the hearings — Staff Memorandum: Military Service.
