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Blake, Wm. Jephthah Met by His Daughter. 1780.

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In response to a recruitment crisis, the UK is launching a campaign to encourage more women to join the military.

UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps: “Something which I'm extremely passionate about is actually having a military which should represent our country as it is today. It can't be right that our military still only has 11 or 12% women, for example, when you make up half the population.”

Women currently make up about 11.3% of Britain's military. The Royal Air Force (RAF) leads with 16% female personnel, while the Army has just 10.3%.

The recruitment crisis has become so dire that military defense chiefs have ordered hundreds of soldiers to move from front-line roles and man recruitment offices to help entice more young Brits to enlist.

Last week, reports emerged that the UK’s Royal Navy was forced to advertise for a top job on social media, which military sources called “utterly shameful.” The position would be responsible for “elite operations” and the nation’s nuclear deterrent.

Intake for the Navy and Royal Marines dropped 22.1% compared with the previous year, while the RAF dropped by almost 17% and the Army by nearly 15%. A similar trend is occurring in the U.S., where the Army and Air Force fell short of their respective goals by around 10,000 recruits in 2023, while the Navy was under by 6,000.