Adel S. Hussain
A surge in enlistments earlier this year, has diminished concerns about the recruiting crisis that plagued the US military in recent years. From a raw numbers perspective, this is good news—but numbers are only one part of the military recruitment equation. The other part is a question of whether the talent recruited matches the needs of modern warfare. Future conflicts will be fought not only by warfighters on land, at sea, and in the air, but also in the information environment, cyberspace, and the electromagnetic spectrum. Quite rightly, the US Army has responded by expanding recruiting efforts for cyber, intelligence, and electronic warfare specialties. But the service, and others in the joint force, face challenges—stiff competition from the private sector, for example, as well as a public that is increasingly disconnected from, and consequently less inclined toward, military service. Overcoming those challenges will depend not just on doing a better job recruiting the young men and women who have family that have served—the demographic that provides a disproportionate number of service members—but drawing on an expanded population that includes the skills required by the modern battlefield.
One source of lessons can be found in Ukraine, where a military at war has taken a radically different approach to attracting digital professionals capable of filling specialized military career fields.
Ukraine’s Manpower Challenge
Three and a half years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s armed forces continue to struggle with manpower shortfalls along a front line stretching over six hundred miles. Mobilizing military-aged men has become increasingly unpopular, and has yielded diminishing returns. This challenge is epitomized by the ill-fated Anne of Kyiv Brigade, which experienced high desertion rates even after receiving specialized training from the French Army.
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