Romney Joins Colleagues in Urging the Administration to Better Highlight Military Career Options

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today joined a bipartisan group of colleagues, led by Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), in urging Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Ashish Vazirani to encourage collaboration between the Department of Defense and the Departments of Education and Labor to better recognize military service and enlistment as rewarding and successful career options. In December, Acting Under Secretary Vazirani testified before the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee that during fiscal year 2023, the military services collectively fell short of recruiting goals by about 41,000 recruits.

“We feel that our schools must have insight into post-high school outcomes for all students, including those who enter the military,” the senators wrote. “An educator’s ability to accurately communicate the benefits of all available career paths, including military enlistment, is essential when preparing students for college and other future careers. As Senators committed to supporting our military and educations systems, we emphasize the importance of their request and encourage the DoD to prioritize engaging with our states on this matter.”

Senators Romney and Moran were joined by Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), and Thom Tillis (R-NC).

Full text of the letter can be found below. 

Dear Mr. Vazirani,

We write today to encourage the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to commit to working with state education and data officials to develop a secure, effective protocol for sharing military service data with states. We urge DoD to respond promptly to state education officials’ requests to access this data and the complete information and perspective they need to maximize students’ prospects for career success – including through military service.

We feel that our schools must have insight into post-high school outcomes for all students, including those who enter the military. An educator’s ability to accurately communicate the benefits of all available career paths, including military enlistment, is essential when preparing students for college and other future careers. To help support states in this endeavor, Federal agencies, including DoD and the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor, should collaborate with states to share necessary information about successful post-high school outcomes, such as military enlistment. 

State education officials have emphasized that they are hamstrung in their ability to support graduates without access to data on career outcomes for those serving in the military. The absence of military service data leaves state data systems incomplete and schools blind to whether or not they are successfully preparing students to decide to serve. It’s clear that improved data-sharing will benefit schools, high school graduates, and the military by ensuring that enlistment is more clearly recognized as a viable and rewarding career option. Students must hear this not only from military recruiters but also from their educators.

On November 13, 2023, 31 U.S. state and territory chief education officers wrote to DoD, sharing the concerns discussed above and requesting the Department’s collaboration in developing a data-sharing protocol to deliver accurate, timely, and secure data on military service. As Senators committed to supporting our military and education systems, we emphasize the importance of their request and encourage DoD to prioritize engaging with our states on this matter.

To that end, we request an update on the status of DoD’s response to this letter. Specifically, we request a written update on establishing a cross-agency working group to create a standard, secure process for states to access military enlistment data and any other data that the working group deems appropriate by April 5, 2024.

We appreciate your attention to this issue and await your prompt reply. We look forward to working with you as DoD develops a path forward for better sharing of military service information between the federal government and states.

Background:

In FY 2023, the Army, Navy, and Air Force failed to meet recruiting goals—U.S. military services collectively missed recruiting goals by about 41,000 recruits. Senator Romney, along with Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Tom Cotton (R-AR), introduced the Military Service Promotion Act of 2023, legislation aimed at addressing the current military recruitment crisis by enhancing military recruiter access to high schools and colleges, in June 2023. A version of this bill became law in December 2023 with the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (NDAA).