In 1973 America ended a draft that had been in effect since before it entered the second World War, and for the last fifty years the US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines have been an all-volunteer military.

But, recently, of the four major branches which make up the US armed services, only the Marines have achieved their target for new recruits. And the biggest force, the Army, has been struggling most of all. In the past two years its missed its recruiting target by several thousand.

In this edition of the Inquiry, Sandra Kanthal looks at the myriad reasons the American Army is failing to enlist enough new soldiers, and why this may affect what impact it can have on global security.

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Image Credit: Bo Zaunders\Getty