MARKETING THE MILITARY TO A MODERN AMERICAN AUDIENCE AUTHOR Major Rocco P. Santurri III has served with the US Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command since 2010. He has deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Atlantic Resolve and is also employed as a defence strategist in the civilian sector.
“But he asks the impossible! I need more men!” – An Imperial officer to Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode VI, Return of the Jedi
A
S the British Army is discovering, enticing people into the business of bombs and bullets when the generally much safer and serene world of business is booming is a tough sell. A buoyant employment market across the UK represents stiff competition for the Service – particularly when it comes to filling technical roles such as those in the field of cyber security – and Capita, which manages recruitment for the Armed Forces, concedes convincing candidates to shun the ‘commercial coin’ in favour of the ‘King’s shilling’ is currently a challenge.1 Attracting the right people into the ranks and retaining their services is not, however, a problem exclusive to Britain’s barracks. Across the Atlantic, for example, the US Army – a one million-member organisation2 – is struggling to maintain mass for a multitude of reasons, including low levels of fitness, lack of
56
THE BRITISH ARMY REVIEW
education, and increased mental health issues and related opioid usage amongst the 18-35 demographic.3 It is a recruitment battle that the United States, which stands at a tense moment in its history, would rather not be fighting. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has thrust back into Europe the spectre of large scale conventional war. Spillover of the conflict into neighbouring countries of Ukraine is a credible threat to both the United States as well its NATO allies in Europe, particularly Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia,4 and could trigger US involvement, as an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all.5 This could consequently engulf the The Telegraph, telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/08/13/ army-struggling-hire-cyber-staff-attacks-britain-ramp-up
1
Duffin, E. (2021). US Military Forces by Service Branch and Reserve Component. statista.com/statistics/232330/ us-military-force-numbers-by-service-branch-and-reservecomponent
2
Longley, R. (2021). Up to 75 Percent of US Youth Ineligible for Military Service, thoughtco.com/us-youthineligible-for-military-service-3322428
3
4 Szumski, C. (2022). euractiv.com/section/politics/short_ news/ex-nato-general-risk-that-russia-invades-baltics-is-real
SPRING 2024
