There's also International Legionnaires. You can be in your 50s to join. The pay isn't that good for being in the rear with the gear. Not sure how you would live without being on base. However, if you want to be on the frontlines they pay about $5k a month.
I always bristle when I hear "manpower shortage". But, Brian did a very good job with this.
Sure, Ukraine could give every new soldier a helmet and a gun, but what about a vehicle to get around the front. I don't mean a fighting vehicle. I mean a supply vehicle. Most of those are still crowd sourced. What about drones? Many are still crowd sourced. Night vision, body armor, EW? Crowd sourced, crowd sourced, crowd sourced.
The fact the Ukraine has the ability to send a soldier to the Zero Line and put a gun in his hand isn't really equipping Ukraine to win. That soldier and his mates, depending on duty, needs a Striker, Marder or Bradley. He needs sufficient cover provided by air assets, he needs the ability to direct fire on his enemies. If the Ukraine can't provide this because the west hasn't done its job, I find it hard to encourage young men to enlist.
Sure, the fight is existential, but human nature is human nature. Short of looking like Russia by acting like Russia and grabbing men off the street in vans by hooded men... you will have to make an enticing case to join. Ukraine and the west have NOT done this. In fact, by relying on the old Soviet enlistment/mobilization/commissariat model they have invited corruption and abuse. I'd look here before I look elsewhere as to why young men aren't lining up to fight.
I think the whole Mike Johnson funding disaster created a negative path-dependency difficult to solve going forward. Young men saw their soldiers being left without weapons being slaughtered on the Eastern front. Trust in the US evaporated... who wants to go to a war with allies not to be trusted?
Damn! We have to let them fight with every possible legal weapon! It’s us who are holding the Ukrainians back.
Very interesting thank you
There's also International Legionnaires. You can be in your 50s to join. The pay isn't that good for being in the rear with the gear. Not sure how you would live without being on base. However, if you want to be on the frontlines they pay about $5k a month.
I always bristle when I hear "manpower shortage". But, Brian did a very good job with this.
Sure, Ukraine could give every new soldier a helmet and a gun, but what about a vehicle to get around the front. I don't mean a fighting vehicle. I mean a supply vehicle. Most of those are still crowd sourced. What about drones? Many are still crowd sourced. Night vision, body armor, EW? Crowd sourced, crowd sourced, crowd sourced.
The fact the Ukraine has the ability to send a soldier to the Zero Line and put a gun in his hand isn't really equipping Ukraine to win. That soldier and his mates, depending on duty, needs a Striker, Marder or Bradley. He needs sufficient cover provided by air assets, he needs the ability to direct fire on his enemies. If the Ukraine can't provide this because the west hasn't done its job, I find it hard to encourage young men to enlist.
Sure, the fight is existential, but human nature is human nature. Short of looking like Russia by acting like Russia and grabbing men off the street in vans by hooded men... you will have to make an enticing case to join. Ukraine and the west have NOT done this. In fact, by relying on the old Soviet enlistment/mobilization/commissariat model they have invited corruption and abuse. I'd look here before I look elsewhere as to why young men aren't lining up to fight.
I think the whole Mike Johnson funding disaster created a negative path-dependency difficult to solve going forward. Young men saw their soldiers being left without weapons being slaughtered on the Eastern front. Trust in the US evaporated... who wants to go to a war with allies not to be trusted?