Crewing is becoming a force-structure bottleneck for the US Navy. Public attitudes toward government and the retirement of older cohorts may reduce the available pool. Recruitment from the American Midwest appears comparatively dependable, including people who serve for several years before returning to farming communities. Automation, retention, and regional recruiting patterns belong in force-structure analysis alongside hull numbers.
Notable Point · 1:19:31-1:20:36
The US Navy's tightening crewing constraint
A discussion of reduced-crewing warships broadens into the recruitment problem that makes sailors an increasingly important design constraint.