Regarding the military’s recruiting woes, Cpl. Rolando Martin, a national guardsman who has served in the Army for more than 17 years, said that while many have focused on active-duty personnel, the National Guard is also suffering. He currently serves with the Florida National Guard and emphasized that his views don’t reflect the views of the Department of Defense (DOD) or the Department of the Army.
“Even though Governor DeSantis is in charge, [the Florida National Guard] is financed by the federal government, so they still have to follow everything the active duty does,” Martin told The Epoch Times.
And as a result, he said, he has no doubt that recruiting and retention shortfalls will continue to occur not only within active-duty service but in the Army Reserves and National Guard as well.
In June, Martin was informed that he would be discharged from the Army for having not taken the COVID-19 vaccine. Like thousands of others to date, his request for a religious exemption didn’t get approved.
“I volunteered for an assignment to help out at the southern border earlier this year,” he said.
Since Martin has experience in counter-drug operations, he thought he would be a good fit.
“However, as soon as I submitted my paperwork, my platoon sergeant said I wouldn’t be approved because I’m not vaccinated,” he said.
“I’m sitting on the sidelines for what? Not only have I missed out on opportunities like this and other opportunities for training, but I’ve also missed out on a promotion to sergeant because I’m unvaccinated. And now, the constant push to take the vaccine gives me anxiety.
“The Army National Guard plays a big role in the Army, because they augment the active-duty service members. We fill in the gaps, whether it be for riots, hurricanes, or combat missions.”
He’s aware of people not joining the military because they would have to get vaccinated for COVID-19, and it’s a risk they’re not willing to take.
“On top of that, they’re hearing how people are being treated for not taking the vaccine,” he said. “They’re being treated like second-class citizens.
“Top leadership is horrible, and people are starting to notice that the system is failing.
Mandate Impacting Recruitment
Like Martin, Fredis Kindelan also rejects the vaccine for reasons related to its efficacy and legality. Having served as a warrant officer for 15 years, Kindelan resigned from the Army in May.“I couldn’t in good faith follow the orders of leaders who would not stand up against an unlawful order,” he told The Epoch Times. “The shots that have been made available to the service member population are exclusively under the emergency use authorization (EUA).”
Between 2014 and 2017, Kindelan was a recruiter for the Army. At the time, serving in the Army was “honorable and prestigious,” but today’s Army is “not what it used to be.” And this is reflected in recruitment shortfalls and retention rates, he said.
Recent recruits are leaving the Army after a shorter-than-desirable timeline, according to Kindelan.
“After getting a firsthand view of the military’s quality of life, many are experiencing something no one had warned them about,” he said. “From a recruiting standpoint, a recent initial-entry training graduate is typically an effective asset to spread the message.
“The United States Recruiting Command would like recruiters to articulate highlights to the service’s target audience, [as] the impact an individual within the same age group as the prospective young adult the DOD looks for can be invaluable.”
With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and Austin’s subsequent August 2021 announcement of a military vaccine mandate, things started to change, Kindelan said.
“After exercising the right to refuse the EUA product, I and many others were discriminated against for expressing medical concerns with a product that hadn’t been clinically tested to FDA standards,” he said.
Now, this story is having a big impact on recruiting and retention because “it’s being broadcast loudly within the communities [of potential recruits] that the DOD relies on to sustain personnel management,” according to Kindelan.
“The military is struggling to meet training quotas, recruiting numbers, and retention numbers,” he said. “Today, commanders have become so competitive with their fellow commanders that they are more than often drafting fraudulent unit statistics, so they can report to their superiors that they’ve met training obligations.
“Commanders and their senior leaders in the latter part of their service with 10 or more years in are so committed to securing their next promotion and retirement pension that they’ve compromised overall readiness and the sustainment of the organization.
“This cultural behavior leaves little room to preserve a healthy future generation of quality freedom fighters.
“If the DOD’s goal of sustainment and readiness is to persevere, then more leaders need to stand up against the corrupt bureaucracy that has led our nation’s service member exodus.”
Officials from neither the Department of Defense nor the Department of the Army returned requests by The Epoch Times for comment by press time.
