Majority of Americans would not advise family members to join military, poll finds

The majority of Americans would not advise their family members to join the military, according to a Defense Priorities/YouGov poll released on Thursday.

Only 37% of respondents would encourage their family to serve in the military, while 63% would not, according to the poll. Several branches of the military have been plagued with recruiting and retention problems in recent years as the Pentagon continues to look for solutions.

Of those who would not encourage their family members to join the military, 57% said they felt that way because it is “too dangerous,” according to the poll. Approximately 45% cited the “failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan” as the reason not to join.

NEW POLL—Defense Priorities commissioned a survey to assess the general public’s feelings on pressing foreign policy issues.

The data reveals a disconnect between Washington’s policies and the preferences of the American people.

View the results here: https://t.co/rGVpOXtQCg

— Defense Priorities (@defpriorities) August 8, 2024

A separate 2018 poll from the Pew Research Center indicated most Americans felt that the U.S. failed in the Iraq war; another poll from Gallup in 2022 showed that 50% of Americans thought the Afghanistan war was a mistake. Approximately 28% of respondents said “too many deployments” was a reason not to serve, according to the Defense Priorities/YouGov poll.

The culture of the military and the Pentagon were also among the reasons Americans would not encourage their family members to join the military. Roughly 22% of respondents said that the military is suffering from “political correctness,” while 41% said that they distrusted the military.

The military has been plagued with a recruiting and retention problem service-wide for years. Only the Marine Corps and Space Force met their recruiting goals in fiscal year 2023, with the Army, Air Force, and Navy falling short of thousands of expected enlistments, according to Military.com.

The Marine Corps is expected to meet its recruiting goals again for fiscal year 2024, and the Air Force and Army have indicated their tracking to meet their targets as well, according to Military Times. The Navy is expected to see another shortfall this year.

The Defense Priorities/YouGov poll was conducted from July 18 to July 24 with 1,000 American adult respondents.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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