At one point in our history, almost every male over 18 had served in the military for at least a few years. The draft was utilized for the Civil War, under President Woodrow Wilson in 1917 for World War I, and again for World War II. In a survey of 18-year-olds shared in LIFE magazine in 1942, 90% of the 10,000,000 US high school students surveyed felt America should keep fighting, and 68.9% felt that military training should be compulsory after the war. Today’s world is a massive shift from the 1940s. In 2021, total military personnel, including active duty, retired reserve, and ready reserve, are 2,586,825 people per Military One Source. In 2021, there were 331.9 million people in America. This means that 0.01% of the American population serve in the military, worlds away from the 68.9% of high schoolers in 1942 who felt that mandatory military training was necessary. Is it any wonder that recruitment is at an all-time low?

The military is now an all-volunteer force. This means that the numbers in each military branch depend heavily on the recruitment to each branch.  

One reason recruitment is low is the lower number of Americans who are eligible to be recruited. Weight and behavioral health conditions are automatic removals from eligibility, depending on the military service branch. The Army is working to address this with a pilot program called the Future Soldier Preparatory Course at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. This program began in August 2022 to address academic and physical fitness barriers for those individuals to enter military service. At the end of 2022, over 3,000 students attended the program, graduated, and moved to basic combat training. During the course, the recruits have up to 90 days to meet the Army’s standards.

Another barrier to recruitment is that single parents must give up guardianship of their children for initial enlistment. With 11 million single-parent households who may not have anyone to provide guardianship for their children, this is a massive barrier to entering military service. Who would be an appropriate caretaker for your children during the initial enlistment? However, there is a large number of single parents serving in the U.S. military –119,186 of them, according to Military One Source. The recommendation to address the barrier for other single parents to join the military, there is a suggestion to allow recruits to regain custody of their children at 12-18 months of active duty. The reality of this happening is yet to be seen. Childcare centers are often full with very long wait lists. While active duty do get priority, this may mean that other families would not receive childcare to make room for the single-parent active duty member. If this program is enacted, more childcare centers and after-school programs should be made to provide affordable care for all.

Per a Newsweek article, Dr. Beth Asch, a senior economist at RAND who studied military recruitment, stated, “..when the civilian economy is strong, military recruiting becomes a lot more difficult to enlist the type of people the military prefers. It’s not just that the unemployment rate is very low. It’s that we know that fewer younger men are participating in the labor force. They’re not working, and they’re not even looking for work. They’ve left the labor force.”

Marijuana is still federally illegal, while there are several states where its use is legal. While a part of the federal government, marijuana is still illegal in the military. Given its sizeable legal area, many would-be recruits had used marijuana and tested positive on initial testing, meaning they cannot continue in the recruitment process. The Army now allows recruits to retest even after a positive test during the first assessment.

There are several barriers to recruitment for the military service. The lack of desire and ability to serve due to weight, health, or academic concerns. And simply due to being a single parent not wanting to give up their guardianship. While some of these barriers are being addressed with specific programs and potentially changing guardianship rules, the reality is that the federal government needs to move quickly. These changes will be discussed, evaluated, and enacted, so it could take several years unless something changes. Will there be a change quick enough to address the lack of recruitment? Time will tell.

Are we living in a science fiction novel? It looks like those Star Wars-like medical care where a robot repairs and replacing a hand may not be far off as the Department of Defense works on technology that may help determine if service members will get sick.

The Defense Innovation Unit, or DIU, partnered with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) to create a wearable device that was successful in identifying hospital-acquired COVID-19 infections. The project is called the Rapid Assessment of Threat Exposure, or RATE, program. The device utilized an artificial intelligence algorithm trained in data from hospitals in regard to the COVID-19 illness. Per the Scientific Report published in Nature, the device was first utilized among active duty military members in June of 2020, and the protocols were reviewed by the Clinical Investigation Department Naval Medical Center San Diego, Air Force Research Laboratory Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Ohio, and Stanford University Investigational Review Board.

The RATE research utilized a Garmin watch, Oura Ring and Empatica E4 wristband to monitor the subject’s heart rate, inter-beat interval, respiration rate, pulse oximetry, skin temperature, and accelerometer date. The Oura rings were fitted based on the subject’s preference. The devices were worn every day, and no tracking information was transmitted per the DOD’s guidelines.

In addition to wearing the device, study subjects submitted a daily survey and COVID-19 testing through rapid testing at military and civilian facilities. This data was utilized to determine if the device could predict infection before it occurred. The predictive model was utilized with Python code over the 10-month study period.

As of April 2021, a total of 9, 381 people had enrolled. Of these, 7,458 were male, 1,922 were female, and one was unknown. Of the subjects, 491 reported a positive COVID-19 illness during the 10-month period. The programming had a 60% sensitivity of predicting the illness, further stating the RATE score utilized to determine illness increased (demonstrating possible illness) as early as 6 days prior to the COVID testing.

Could this be the future of healthcare in the military? The key focus of military service is workforce readiness. Every year, military members have physical and combat fitness testing in addition to pistol qualifications. This readiness ability could be affected by potential illness, especially with illnesses like COVID-19 that had mandates to stay home for up to 14 days during part of the pandemic.

The RATE device did prove to be useful in predicting COVID-19 illness. The translatability to other illnesses is yet to be determined. Additional funding has been allotted for further studies of wearable technology to predict not only COVID-19 but also other infections. The Food and Drug Administration has determined that this device is a general wellness device. We shall see what further studies show with this new technology. Will this be the Minority Report for illness? Time will tell.

When the Space Force, a division of the U.S. Air Force, was formed, there were a few jokes. Then the naming of the protectors to be Guardians led to some Guardians of the Galaxy jokes, but let’s be honest, with how awesome those movies and stories are, would it be so bad to have some Guardians in space?

The U.S. Space Force was established on December 20, 2019 to include Space in the national security measures. While the discussion began under President Ronald Regan to create a military service specifically for space, it did not stand up in decades later.

The Space Force has announced the development of a new dress service uniform. The service dress uniform was first unveiled as a prototype in September of 2021, and it was then brought to focus groups and roadshows. One hundred Guardians were part of the fit test in the development stage. The organization completed its final service dress uniform fit after the initial fitting at Peterson Space Force Base.

Space Force spokesperson Col. Catie Hague said the uniform has meaning behind its design. “The deep blue color was chosen from the Space Force seal. The dark color represents the vastness of outer space,” she said. “The buttons have the globe, delta, orbit and stars that are part of both the U.S. Space Force flag and the seal.”

The next step for the uniforms is now the wear test. The wear test includes Guardians wearing the uniform three times a week to provide their feedback on the wearability, flexibility and comfort of the design and uniform. It is in the plans for the uniform to hit the force on late 2025.

“We are excited by Guardians’ input into their future uniform,” Catherine Lovelady, the head of the service’s Office of Change Management Team. “We are passionate about ensuring our members continue to have a voice in shaping a unique Space Force uniform.”

While some people have remarked that the uniform looks like it belongs on the set of Battlestar Galactica, others have remarked that it looks like something Captain Kirk work on Star Trek. What do you think? The dress uniforms can be viewed here on the Air Force Times article here. The dress uniform is unisex, meant to be worn by both males and females.

Semper Supra! (Always above, the US Space Force motto).

Lawmakers approved changing the Defense Department’s service academies policies regarding cadets having children. The Defense Department’s service academies include the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. All cadets and midshipmen receive taxable pay at the rate of 35% of an O1, and receive free room and board, with the exception of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

The CADET Act was introduced in 2021 by Senators Ted Cruz and Kirsten Gillibrand. CADET stands for Candidates Afforded Dignity, Equality, and Training. The bill asked for the DOD to ensure that the cadets and midshipmen in the service academies who become pregnant during their time at the school are provided with options to take leave from the military service academy for up to one year, fully released from the military service academies and any related obligations or enlist in active-duty service. It further added that males who became parents would not be required to give up parental rights and must not acquire any benefits or leave considerations having to do with having a child.

While the CADET Act was not signed into a bill, the wording and idea behind the act were added to the National Defense Authorization Act. This includes not forcing students who quit after the start of their third year to become parents also to have to pay back the military service academy.

The new policy allows a cadet to grant temporary guardianship of her child to another person while they complete their studies at school.  The policy does not change that cadets and midshipmen cannot get married while at the academy. Furthermore, people with children are still not allowed to apply to the academies.

While the NDAA was signed in 2021, the Defense Department was given one year from signing to enact the act.

The slogans of the US Army have changed throughout the history of the service branch. In World War I, the “I Want YOU for the US Army” poster with Uncle Sam was plastered all over towns and recruiting stations. In the 1980s and 1990s, the phrase “Be All You Can Be” was synonymous with the U.S. Army. The early 2000s saw the “Army of One” slogan and “Army Strong.” Most recently, it was “Warriors Wanted.”  As in the circle of fashion with the return of bell bottoms in the 2000s, the return of the Army slogan “Be All You Can Be” is here.

Maj. General Alex Fink told a major news outlet that “We are reinventing ‘Be All You Can Be’ for Generation Z.” Per the Army release, she said further, “Serving our nation is a calling, and one that is fundamentally hopeful. We want a new generation of Americans to see the Army as a pathway to the lives and careers they want to achieve.”

The move to revamp the old slogan came after multiyear research was conducted. The Army star remains, but with the box removed to “reflect the limitless possibilities in the Army.” The change in logo and slogan is a full change in their recruiting brand. They have changed the font and color palate along with motion graphics and a change in photography.

Maj. Gen. Alex Fink, Chief of Army Enterprise Marketing, said within the release that “We know youth seek purpose, passion, community, and connection, but we also know many don’t recognize the Army’s ability to deliver on those needs. We need a brand that effectively communicates the possibilities of Army service.”

To appeal to Generation Z, two films made for recruitment are narrated by Emmy and Critics’ Choice Award-nominated actor Jonathan Majors, star of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” The films focus on the history of the Army and the options for serving in the Army. The films will be shown during the 2023 NCAA March Madness tournament and be paired with print ads, streaming video, and ads on social media.

Is this the right way to go?

On the one hand, the adults of this age grew up with Mister Rogers’s Neighborhood and loved when Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood was both a reminiscence of this and added a new element. Will that be the same for the reinvention of the Army slogan? These adults cannot join the Army as the oldest you can be to enlist in active duty in the Army is 35, but perhaps they will be understanding and sympathetic to their children joining. Will it be appealing to Generation Z? That remains to be seen. The goal of the Army is that the slogan will lead the recruits to look within themselves to determine what their personal goals are and if the Army can bring them there.

Mid-March of 2023, the Department of Defense (DOD) released the Annual Report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies, Academic Program Year 2021-2022. The report is available online at the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response website.

The DOD found that while in 2012-2014, there were efforts made to reduce sexual assault, there was actually an increase in prevalence between 2014 and 2018. Congress mandates that the DOD collect and submit an annual report for each of the Academies. The report includes sexual harassment and sexual violence involving academy personnel at the United States Military Academy, United States Naval Academy, and United States Air Force Academy.

The 44-page report is in addition to a memorandum on actions to address and present sexual assault in the military service academies and self-assessment reports by the academies themselves.  The report demonstrates a continued increase in prevalence rates of unwanted sexual contact, sexual harassment, and “other readiness-detracting behaviors.” The total number of sexual assault reports among the academies was 206, with 114 restricted reports and 92 unrestricted reports. As compared to the 2019- 2020 school year of 129 total reports.   

Sexual harassment complaints also increased, with 15 formal complaints, 20 informal complaints, and 5 anonymous complaints. In total, the United States Naval Academy received 9, the United States Military Academy received 20, and the United States Air Force Academy received 11.

The survey also demonstrated that the students perceived that academy leadership did try to prevent sexual assault or harassment.

Due to these findings and more, the DOD listed that they would conduct on-site installation evaluations, provide outcome evaluation assistance to determine which prevention programs to continue, and work on climate assessments at each of the Academies.

The report outlined further actions for the military departments and academies to incorporate up-to-date sexual assault prevention and response policies, develop a prevention implementation workforce, ensure military justice reform, and implement a return to health policy assisting cadets in balancing their academic goals and needs after a sexual assault. In addition, the Military Service Academies were advised to address the physical separation of survivors and alleged perpetrators. It is noted the Deputy Secretary of Defense will assess the progress made on the programs.

The Secretary of Defense closed out his guidance for addressing the memorandum by stating, “I expect you to reverse the harmful trends at our MSAs. Now is the time to employ the resources with which we have been entrusted and advance our common way forward. Our future leads are counting on you. We must lead the change we require.”

If there is one thing military life has taught us, it is to hurry up and wait. Prepare for orders, but wait for them. Call TRICARE and be on hold for goodness knows how long. Need to pick up medication for the sick kid, wait in the pharmacy waiting room for at least an hour. Military life seems to have a lot of waiting. Waiting at the ID office for a new ID may not be one of them much longer.

The Uniformed Service ID (USID) care system now has an online capability to renew ID cards. Cards will be printed by the Government Publishing Office and mailed to the card recipient.

Requirements:

• Sponsor much have a Common Access Card (CAC) and request the renewal of an active USID card (aka not expired)
• The Sponsor and the card recipient must have an email address listed in DEERS, and it is noted that the DOD has the authorization to contact them
• The Sponsor’s personnel status must extend at least 30 days from the renewal request date
• The card recipient has a photo in DEERS taken in the last 12 years
• The card recipient’s mailing address is in DEERS and is in within the United States, including Hawaii or Alaska

How To Renew:

• GO to the USID Card Office Online
• Select “Family ID Cards”
• Select “Renew Family Member ID Card”
• The card will be mailed, and an email will be sent to the sponsor and card recipient to acknowledge receipt of the card.
• Once the card is acknowledged, the new card will be active, and the prior card will be inactive
• The prior card should be returned but to a RAPIDS ID card site
• If the card renewal is not approved, the card recipient will receive an email

How smoothly will this process be? Who knows. But hopefully, it leads to a little less waiting in line.

Some military bases have rolled out ID renewal kiosks. The requirements are the same as online renewals. Is there an ID renewal kiosk near you?

After the DOD issued new guidance in regards to the COVID vaccination requirements, the military service branches are working to adjust their policies on separation and promotion for those who refused the COVID-19 vaccine. The Pentagon specifically notified the service branches to tell them by March 17^th how they would implement the changes.

The Army and Air Force, who also issues guidance for the Space Force, stated that they would remove or correct adverse actions in records related to vaccine refusal. This includes counseling sheets, recorded individual counseling, nonjudicial punishments (NJPs), and current discharge proceedings. The Department of the Air Force further delineated that “promotion records will be corrected to remove or redact all adverse actions related to vaccine refusal.”

While the policy change has occurred, the Secretary of the Army, Christine Wormuth, stated in the press release that they are encouraging vaccinations, stating “We will continue to promote and encourage COVID vaccination for all personnel to ensure readiness, facilitate mission accomplishment and protect the force.”

The Coast Guard stated they would remove adverse administrative remarks in regard to the COVID-19 vaccination by March 31.

The Navy has now lifted the requirement for COVID-19 vaccination for deployment. The policy does allow commanders to “implement Health Protection Measures at any time,” and this could include restriction of movement when in port. There are countries that military members travel to that have vaccination laws, particularly for COVID-19, so those service members not vaccinated may not be able to attend joint exercises within those countries.

The Marine Corps, a branch within the US Department of the Navy, no longer requires vaccination for deployment. Capt.Ryan Bruce, a Marine Corps spokesperson, told Military.com that “Marines will defer to Combatant Command policies regarding deployments.”

Nothing has been said about the service members who were separated during the period since the COVID-19 vaccine was mandated. The Navy separated 2,089 active-duty sailors over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, according to USNI.

Spring cleaning for a military family hits a little differently. It’s a time to clean, and as the cleaning occurs, purge. Purge because a PCS or PCA is in the very near future. And while military families worldwide may not actually know when the move is happening, or even where the end destination will be, the reality is that preparing earlier is better. This is for all the military families that may move this summer, and even if you don’t move, this is a great time to spring clean the PCS/PCA way.

Keep

– Sentimental items – while it may be difficult to move great-grandma’s champagne flutes or your uncle’s cigar box in terms of packing and moving around the world that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep them. Family momentos aren’t items you can purchase later, so worth keeping.

– Photos – this might be a no-brainer, but worth mentioning.

– Basics – don’t toss things you need to purchase later. This might be easier at the moment, but it adds to your personal cost burden. Don’t toss or donate your dishes and pots and pans just to buy new ones so you don’t have to pack or move them. Inflation is not your friend in this.

– Clothes for different seasons – if you have clothes in sizes that you or your family members will wear in the coming years for the winter season and you are living in Hawaii, you may not want to keep them. However, replacing those items could add up in cost if you move to New York next year. The needs and desires of the military always supersede family members’ desires.

–  Sports equipment – if there are items you are still using seasonally – keep them.

Donations

Always have a donation bag or bin ready to go.  Clothes the kids have outgrown, dishes no longer used – these can be used by others. Consider these other items to donate:

– DVDs – if you are streaming it all anyway, you probably don’t need to cart those movies worldwide. Libraries gratefully take these donations.

– CDs – same goes for DVDs; if you are streaming music on an audio service, you may not need to keep all the CDs. Keep a few that are meaningful but it might be time to donate the rest to the library.

– Books – This category also weighs a ton, depending on the books. Consider donating books you may not reference or read frequently to the local library. You can always borrow a book if you have access to a library. Keep those books that you will use, re-read, or reference or are sentimental. If the library won’t take the books, look for a book recycler.

– Food You Won’t Eat or Use – If you have any food you won’t use before a move, don’t wait until the day you are leaving to toss it; donate it now to a local food pantry.

– Clothing – this is an easy one for children who have outgrown clothes. It is difficult to do when you don’t know what clothing type you will need for the next duty station. Whatever you do find, donate to the local base thrift shop or local Veterans organization.

– Stuffed Toys – If you have reached a time in your life that it is time to let go of some stuffed animals, donate them to your local animal shelter.

– Old towels – another donation item that animal shelters need are towels, and they will happily take old towels.

– Linens – Animal shelters often take linens as well to line crates.

– Kitchenware – gently used kitchen appliances like toaster ovens, blenders, and dish sets are welcome at local thrift shops and Goodwill. Check with the local military base thrift shop as well; many new families look to purchase kitchen items at the on-base thrift shops, especially if they don’t have a vehicle.

– Gifts – this one is tricky as it can be a gift from a family member, but if your grandma made a sweater you will never wear, it might be time to donate it.

– Infant care items – if you are out of the baby-raising stage of life, it is time to let go of those infant items.

Discard

While it is difficult to throw away things, especially when they have memories attached to them, it is pertinent before a PCS to discard broken, holey, falling apart items. Toss any expired pantry goods. If your couch is falling apart, or the mattress is only being held together by its fitted sheet, it’s probably time to bulk trash those items too.

Don’t forget outdated electronics. Depending on where you live, you may have to pay for e-recycling, but it is better than moving it to another state and having to dump it then.

Any loose papers you no longer need – shred any items with personal information, but recycle the rest.

A Note about Yard Sales

Yard sales used to be common practice, but sitting out and selling your items takes time. People haggle so you may sell the Osh Koshs your child first walked in for 25 cents. Is that worth it? While the tax write-off may not reach the amount required to write off donating may be the better way.  It will save you time and energy and help others in the community.

The key to moving preparations is the earlier, the better. While you may get last-minute orders, it is important to prep in the spring whether you are moving or not.  Doing an annual prep means less stress and less work on PCS years.

The Defense Department issued the Warning Regarding Poppy Seed Consumption and Military Drug Testing memorandum on February 21, 2023.

Drug testing is a common test performed among military units. They are performed at random, and not every member of a unit is tested at the same time. This is completed to ensure the safety and readiness of the military service members.

Poppy seeds have been a concern for drug testing in the past. The poppy seeds come from the poppy plant, which is utilized in the food and drug industry. Poppy seeds are utilized to make morphine and codeine, and poppy seeds can lead to a positive drug test for codeine.

Per the memorandum, recent data demonstrated that poppy seeds have a higher content of codeine than previously reported, so ingestion of poppy seeds can lead to a false positive test due to the poppy seeds. However, there is no test to determine the origination of the positive codeine test. Eating poppy seeds could lead to a positive urinalysis and its consequences within the military service.

Because of these concerns, the memorandum advises service members to avoid the consumption of poppy seeds in all food products, including baked goods that contain poppy seeds. Baked goods include bread, rolls, cookies, cakes, pastries like Hamantaschen and a kolache.

Service members are advised to work with their local legal office for urinalysis results concerns.