The Department of War (DOW) is receiving well-earned praise for reversing the military’s recruitment crisis. In FY2025, all the branches of the military met or exceeded their recruitment goals.
(The problem) is America’s retention crisis. Given the immensely complex tasks we demand of experienced enlisted service members and officers, the time and money it takes to replace the expertise required to perform these tasks, and how central this expertise is to modern warfighting, we cannot afford to keep hemorrhaging essential talent.
Despite spending nearly six billion dollars on recruiting and retention in recent years, including giving over 70,000 people retention bonuses, people are leaving the military at some of the highest rates of the last decade. For instance, 7% of Air Force officers and 11% of Airmen now leave the service each year, 350% and 550% above the national average, respectively.
Unsurprisingly, the more specialized and in-demand an officer’s skill-set is, the more likely the military is to lose them to the private sector. Four thousand troops left cyber jobs in 2024, despite DOW facing a 16% cyber position vacancy rate. While DOW does not publicly track how many AI experts it employs and loses each year, Georgetown University reports an intense shortage of uniformed personnel who understand both the mission and the emerging technology.
Idk, now that we’re planning invasions on our home soil maybe some people look at it differently now.
Plus, it’s department of defense.
This is true having talked to a few enlisted they are wary of re-enlisting when their contract is up. Anecdotal I guess but at least some people really don’t like where things are going.
Apparently it’s unpopular to call it the DoW, and while I realize that Congress has yet to officially change it, I think it’s a much more appropriate, and accurate, name.
When was the last time the DoD was engaged in a defensive war?
So unless they plan on further changing it to the Department of War Crimes, I think DoW is as good as we can hope for a name that aligns with their actual purpose.
It’s actually department of war. It was changed to stop pretending.
The U.S. Department of Defense is now also referred to as the Department of War, following an executive order signed by President Trump in September 2025. However, the official statutory name remains the Department of Defense until Congress makes a formal change.
That’s given, of course, that the laws mean anything anymore
dont be a bootlicker.
I understand the point you’re making but refuse to give them the satisfaction.
Also let’s be real, there’s a distinct possibility it was changed because these dumbfucks can’t spell ‘defense’