Some of Florida’s top Navy bases are seeing a decline in recruiting numbers.
The U.S. Navy just announced that it is weighing some decisions to address the recruitment shortage that has continued over the last several years.
One of those is to remove 17 Navy support ships. The U.S. Naval Institute News reports that the ships may be forced to the side because there weren’t enough soldiers to “properly crew and operate ships across the fleet.”
Florida’s top naval facilities are in Pensacola, Panama City, Key West, Homestead, Mayport, and Jacksonville, as well as some smaller stations.
Department of Defense numbers reveal that in 2024, the U.S. military was at its smallest force since 1940. The only military branches to meet their recruiting goals in 2023 were the U.S. Marines and the United States Space Force. The Army, Air Force, and Navy combined have a shortfall of 41,000 recruits.
North Florida Congressman and former Green Beret Commander Rep. Mike Waltz says recruiting numbers have gotten worse under the Biden-Harris administration.
He points to some of the reasons, including forced COVID-19 vaccine shots on military members and harsh COVID-19 rules. Waltz also says morale among U.S. troops is low.
“When Trump was president, he took care of the troops and strengthened the military with the largest pay raise for U.S. troops in over a decade,” said Waltz.
The U.S. Navy’s recommendations are currently in ‘draft form’ and waiting to be approved by naval officials.
Economic analysts say if recruiting continues to drop, that means fewer workers at Florida military bases, which can have a somewhat negative effect on a local town’s economy.
The Pentagon just reported that U.S. Navy shipbuilding has had its worst production in 25 years, putting the U.S. behind rival China in production pace. It also admitted that the Chinese Navy has the capacity to produce ships at 200 times the rate of the United States.
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