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Australia’s military is shrinking fast, and the same is true across the Five Eyes alliance. Beneath the surface lie deeper issues: fractured identities, fading pride, and a generation unsure of what’s worth fighting for.

Are young white men so demoralised that they lack the will to fight for freedom? Is there a remedy?

Military recruitment is plummeting across the West. The Five Eyes nations – Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Canada and the US – are all struggling to attract new recruits.

At home in Australia, the government is trying anything and everything to fix the crisis. But little is working, as reported by The Australian:

The Australian on Tuesday revealed that Adecco, a recruitment company hired to fix the ADF’s staffing crisis, was running almost 30 per cent behind target and had its performance period extended by six months.

Even foreign citizens are being enlisted. Yet our already small military remains critically understaffed.

Why?

According to a recent SBS article, “Why young people are turning away from military service in record numbers?”:

The Australian Defence Force is facing an acute recruitment crisis. Only 80 per cent of the 69,000 personnel needed to meet future challenges have signed up.

The article cites more appealing private-sector jobs and a generational disinterest in defending national identity. But what lies beneath this apathy?

Leahy’s Lament

Peter Leahy, former Chief of the Australian Army and current Professor at the University of Canberra, sounded the alarm in his article “Who Will Fight for Australia?”:

Surveys such as the Scanlon 2023 Social Cohesion Report identified a declining sense of pride and belonging in Australia. … Military service is about purpose, values and loyalty. It is about service and sacrifice and contributing to something bigger than yourself. It is also about fighting and the application of lethal force on the battlefield. … Perhaps the biggest issue about who will fight for Australia is a decline in national pride and a dilution of an Australian identity and culture. … There are too many identities and too many flags. … Too many people and groups want special treatment and consideration. It doesn’t leave much space for Australia. … Identity is often defined by victimhood and … there are so many victims out there that we are in danger of running out of offenders.

An editorial comment followed:

Peter Leahy’s article is a wake-up call that should not be ignored. … We must restore pride in the uniform and rekindle a culture where serving one’s nation is a privilege, not a burden. This means rejecting divisive identity politics and reaffirming a strong, unified national identity.

The DEI Dilemma

Australia and its allies proudly champion Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies. But do these policies actually strengthen the military?

There are growing concerns that women are being fast-tracked in the ADF over men. While no one should be denied a role they deserve, one must ask: do we need the armed forces to mirror society? Is diversity truly our greatest strength—or is unity and purpose more critical?

In early 2025, President Trump issued an executive order to abolish DEI offices in the military:

“Restoring America’s Fighting Force” aims to “abolish every [diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI] office within the Department of Defence and the Department of Homeland Security,” applying to all uniformed services.

From 2021 to late 2024, the US military experienced a recruitment slump. But a recent article, “US Army Recruitment Surges to 15-Year High”, attributes the sudden surge to new leadership and a restored patriotic ethos. Pete Hegseth, now Secretary of Defence, credited the turnaround to Trump:

“America’s youth are now eager to serve under a bold and strong, America-first leadership.”

Hegseth, a vocal critic of “woke” military leadership, wrote in The War on Warriors: “Turns out, all the ‘diversity’ recruiting messages made certain kids—white kids—feel like they’re not wanted.”

Media, Messaging, and Morale

Peter Leahy also criticised current ADF recruitment ads, noting their heavy emphasis on women. Ten months later, recruitment numbers remain stagnant.

A viral video compared Biden-era US recruitment ads with those from the Trump administration. The contrast is stark. Which message inspires courage, and which one fosters confusion? You decide.

Cause and Effect

I have a friend who recently left the ADF after over a decade of service. He described a toxic culture, low morale, and career pathways that no longer favour merit. Anecdotal? Perhaps. But when many share the same story, patterns emerge.

Critics claim the US recruitment surge had little to do with Trump and more to do with other factors. Yet the timeline suggests otherwise.

DEI and decolonisation programs across the Five Eyes nations have led to:

1. Criticism of national identity and flags.
2. Demoralisation and feminisation of fighting-age males.
3. Hiring and promotions based on identity, not merit.

The result? Recruitment collapsed. The Trump-era reversal? Recruitment surged.

Australia must decide whether it values war-fighting capability or ideological experiments. As long as recruitment strategies prioritise ideology over readiness, the numbers are unlikely to improve.

More Spending or Better Focus?

Australia currently spends 2% of GDP on defence. But much of it is tied up in long-term AUKUS submarine projects, with no immediate capability boost.

Meanwhile, ships, aircraft, and troop carriers have been cut—despite the increasing regional threat. The US expects more: 3.5% of GDP.

At the Singapore Shangri-La Dialogue on May 30, Defence Minister Richard Marles appeared open to the request: “The need to increase defence spending is something that [Hegseth] definitely raised, and we are very much up for that conversation.”

Yet upon returning home, Marles reversed course. Prime Minister Albanese rejected the proposal. The US is now reconsidering the AUKUS deal, questioning whether Australia is a reliable defence partner.

Sky News host Andrew Bolt put it bluntly: Australia must “pay the price” for betraying Trump on defence.

More Than Money

Defence spending isn’t the only issue straining Australia-US relations. Albanese’s stances on free speech, Israel-Palestine, DEI and other progressive policies may have earned him a spot on Trump’s naughty list.

He might want to take notes from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose recent visit to the White House didn’t go quite as planned.

Trump isn’t in the mood for diplomatic theatre.

Stalin’s DEI Legacy

DEI may seem like a modern invention, but as Dr James Lindsay argues in his podcast “Korenizatsiya: Stalin’s Soviet DEI Program”, it has a dark history:

The Soviet Union ran a DEI program exactly like the Woke Marxist one of today… It was designed by Stalin and Lenin in the 1920s… Russians, then later Han Chinese, then straight, white, Christian males in the West, were all told to subjugate themselves for ‘equity’.

These ideological schemes fracture societies. Diversity without unity leads not to strength, but to division.

Who Will Fight for Us?

Whether or not Australia rebuilds its relationship with its strongest ally, or restores national pride and purpose, one truth remains:

“The LORD will fight for you” (Exodus 14:14)…

… provided that we obey Him.

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Image via the Australian Army/Facebook.