{"id":30511,"date":"2023-04-10T08:23:15","date_gmt":"2023-04-10T08:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/04\/10\/the-genesis-of-todays-recruiting-crisis\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:28:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:28:22","slug":"the-genesis-of-todays-recruiting-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/it-networks\/health-it\/2023\/04\/10\/the-genesis-of-todays-recruiting-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u2018Genesis\u2019 of today\u2019s recruiting crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The annals of U.S. military valor feature scores of heroes who concealed part of their medical history to serve their country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider President John F. Kennedy<\/a>. As a young man, he suffered a host of painful, disqualifying physical ailments, such as back pain and ulcers, but leaned on his father\u2019s connections to get around the required Navy medical exams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lt. Kennedy went on to command a patrol torpedo boat that a Japanese warship sheared in half during World War II, and he later received a Purple Heart and Navy and Marine Corps Medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent decades, the lies told to enlist haven\u2019t approached those extremes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless, fudging medical histories has been a key step on many troops\u2019 path from applicant to recruit, according to a group of active-duty military recruiters who spoke with Military Times for this story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat it takes to get in the Army is, quite frankly, a lot of fraud and perjury,\u201d one recruiter said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The military comic strip \u201cTerminal Lance\u201d in 2021 poked fun at lying to enlist. (Adapted, with permission, from Terminal Lance creator Maximilian Uriarte.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But this tacit tradition \u2014 technically a crime \u2014 largely stopped in 2022, the same year the military\u2019s recruiting numbers fell precipitously and today\u2019s recruiting crisis came to the fore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That year, the Defense Department brought a new medical records platform, known as Military Health System Genesis, online at Military Entrance Processing Stations, where applicants are medically examined before they can sign up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, a year after Genesis was first used by MEPS, some military leaders acknowledge the new system has hindered recruiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\t