I take there are other branches, but this must be a big drop from last year.
That article paints a pretty bleak picture for out-years. The delayed-entry recruitment pool is already drawn down, even for the USAF, which is the easiest of the branches for recruitment (low physical risk for non-fighter-jet guys, low physical ardor, high post-service employability).
America is going to have to make some hard choices in the next 3-5 years. Maybe sooner. We're burning the candle low. Might have to reconsider some discretionary items - like 700+ bases/installations worldwide and unnecessary wars. Draft is unpopular with the core constituency.
Woke made its bed.
Regarding Durbin, who's been beating this "immigrant army" drum lately, from wiki:
Religion[edit]
Durbin is Roman Catholic. In 2004, the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois barred him from receiving communion because he voted against the
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. The current bishop of the diocese said Durbin stays away from his Springfield parish because "he doesn't want to make a scene".
[140] Durbin responded to the communion ban in 2004 that he is accountable to his constituents, even if it means defying Church teachings.
[141] In 2018, Bishop
Thomas John Paprocki affirmed the decision to deny Durbin communion in the Springfield Diocese after Durbin's vote against the
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.
An interesting turn of events, given (again from wiki):
Family[edit]
Durbin and his wife Loretta have had three children, Christine, Jennifer and Paul. After several weeks in the hospital with complications due to a
congenital heart condition, Christine died on November 1, 2008, at age 40.
Imagine voting for partial birth abortion after having a congenital heart disease ("congenital disease" is often justification for abortion) daughter that lived to ... 40 (well beyond half the life expectancy at Durbin's birth).
Senator, the draft may work with our new interlopers as recruits. Good luck with that.