Solution: The military must be presented as the greatest force to solving climate change.

As hard as it has been to classify and analyze the entirety of Gen Z, there is one unifying issue that nearly all Zers agree on. Primarily due to the existential threat it poses to their future, this issue is literally a matter of survival. Climate change and the environment's health are consistently ranked as some of the Zoomers' top concerns. Z has grown up in a time where the majority consensus in America now strongly recognizes the need to save the planet. While there may be an ongoing debate about the immediacy of the issue and the proper ways to address it, the overwhelming view in Z is to help heal the earth. The mobilization efforts, protests, and even career choices that many Zers are making to deal with this should be seen as a predictive signal about the future.

            The military has been equally adamant about climate concerns since the beginning of the 21stcentury. A recent DoD report cites how a poorer environmental forecast could challenge the various humanitarian operations we provide worldwide. The issues aren't just foreign, they affect the homeland as well. Many older Zers witnessed American troops deploy domestically to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The effect of climate change will see the closing down of training exercises due to fire hazards, flooding hurting naval port readiness, and a hotter world with food/water scarcity leading to higher chances of conflict.[1] Climate problems need to be dealt with by everyone, and Z is watching closely how various organizations respond. Whoever is seen as spearheading the effort to combat climate change will win the recruiting race among generation Z. Luckily, if there is one organization best equipped to organize and fight massive problems, it is the United States military. The environment is making us weaker, harming our ability to fight, and will end up killing us if something isn't done. We need to signal that the military cares deeply about our generation's most important issue…

[1] Department of Defense, Office of the Undersecretary for Policy (Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities). 2021. Department of Defense Climate Risk Analysis. Report Submitted to the National Security Council.

Matthew Weiss is currently an Intelligence Officer in the United States Marine Corps. His book, “We Don’t Want You, Uncle Sam: Examining the Military Recruiting Crisis with Generation Z” is available on amazon in paperback, e-book, and audiobook format.

Solution: Collectively society must emphasize the process to see the difference, understand the difference, and accept the difference.

The military is no stranger to acronyms. We likely have more than any other organization in the world. They serve an excellent purpose when used tactically to abbreviate long-worded actions over the radio. Our fellow citizens in the civilian sector understandably aren't as good at making acronyms with actionable meanings. They sometimes clump together drastically different nouns in the hope that they coalesce around one central message, often accidentally obfuscating the individual words. During my summer internship at Goldman Sachs, the senior partners had some of us junior Zers work on defining ESG since it was the raging new topic for Wall Street investing. When putting together our final presentation decks, we discovered that while people do care about environmental, social, and governance issues when they put money into companies, the three words as a whole have very little to do with each other.

More than this, there is a new buzz acronym that is generating controversy and discussion amongst employers: DEI, standing for diversity, equity, and inclusion. While similar and certainly related, it’s important to break down what each of these words mean. Especially for organizations and leaders unfamiliar with these concepts, it will be important to understand that each word is a separate Gen Z demand for their workplace and larger society. The concepts are related, and their relationships to each other matter. So I will explore each word in isolation and in connection. Overall, they call for a process of seeing the difference, understanding the difference, and accepting the difference among fellow Americans…

Matthew Weiss is currently an Intelligence Officer in the United States Marine Corps. His book, “We Don’t Want You, Uncle Sam: Examining the Military Recruiting Crisis with Generation Z” is available on amazon in paperback, e-book, and audiobook format.

Solution: Establish the HER Initiative by honoring gender differences, eradicating sexual assault, and relaxing female-specific social constraints.

Before I delve into this critical discussion about women in the military, I want to recognize that conversations on identity and beliefs are often sensitive. As a straight white male, I bring my own biases and blind spots to this analysis. However, most of the military consists of straight white males, and we should all be encouraged to share our thoughts and ideas openly and democratically. These thoughts shouldn't be tempered at all for the risk of offending someone or hurting feelings. They should have the utmost respect for fundamental human rights and fellow-human emotions. Still, we shouldn't be so afraid in modern times to have painful, "politically incorrect" discussions, that we fail to reach the best outcomes for all. In order for our society and our institution to function, we must be able to talk about groups that we aren’t a part of without being shouted down. Gen Z is much more realistic than the idealistic millennials, and our collective pessimism makes us want to engage in challenging conversations, even if they sting a little.

Another thing to clarify is the difficult job of toeing the line that recruitment organizations will have to do as we push the military forward. Just because, on average, Zoomers lean more in one direction or have newer ideas about societal constructs than older generations, it doesn't mean that the entire Generation Z is a monolith. If too much change is pushed too quickly, there is a risk of alienating many of the groups of thinkers who were past mainstays of the recruiting pool. Striking a balance and doing everything in moderation are the best way. These changes and discussions must happen often, in public, and be positively tempered to reach optimality for total force numbers, abilities, and ultimately lethality…

Matthew Weiss is currently an Intelligence Officer in the United States Marine Corps. His book, “We Don’t Want You, Uncle Sam: Examining the Military Recruiting Crisis with Generation Z” is available on amazon in paperback, e-book, and audiobook format.

Solution: Through co-working and co-living, the military can better integrate with the various communities it supports.

An area of the economy that has grown exponentially during Gen Z's rise has been the sharing economy. Also described as "gig-work" such as ride services like Uber and apartment rentals like Airbnb, Zoomers are accustomed to interacting freely with strangers. Over 30% of U.S. adults aged 18-29 report having done some gig work.[1] Furthermore, a majority report spending less than 10 hours in a typical week performing these tasks. This increase in fluid interactions has promoted a much more interconnected community. While the tenet that "every person's home is their castle" still rings true in the American psyche, a more modern, Z-adapted view of communal life would be that "a castle can't exist without a group."

Z is the first actual "co" generation where popular trends like coworking and co-living are becoming the norm. The local communities where they're from, where they choose to live, and where they work are meaningful to them because, now more than ever, young people rely on the larger community to achieve their daily goals and tasks. It follows that serving these communities is something that Z values intensely, and many Zers expect their jobs to have some level of community service. It has become a social mark of approval to be a Zer who "gives a s###” and does community service. Gen-Z wants to feel good by being seen as virtuous and serving others. First by increasing contact between the military and civilian sectors, and then by having the military serve the civilian communities that they interact with; the military can show how they give back to their local communities to attract more recruits…

[1] Atske, Sara. “The State of Gig Work in 2021.” Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. Pew Research Center, December 8, 2021. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/12/08/the-state-of-gig-work-in-2021/.

Matthew Weiss is currently an Intelligence Officer in the United States Marine Corps. His book, “We Don’t Want You, Uncle Sam: Examining the Military Recruiting Crisis with Generation Z” is available on amazon in paperback, e-book, and audiobook format.

Solution: The younger population needs more of mental health rather than physical health support.

While the physical health of Gen Z tracks with previous age-groups, their overall mental health is suffering immensely. Gen Z is likely the most anxious and depressed American generation, as the constant influx of a digital life takes its toll. In past human history, we've suffered from issues of scarcity, like not having enough food and being bored. Now we suffer from issues of abundance like having too many high-fructose foods and stimulation overloads. We've been given everything, so our lack of wanting inevitably leads to a lack of meaning. Viktor Frankl, a concentration camp survivor wrote the most remarkable book on this topic titledMan’s Search for Meaning. He says, “What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task.”[1] As Z searches for meaning in an overindulged society, their mental health is deteriorating at an increasingly alarming rate. The military must recognize that the younger population needs more mental rather than physical health support…

[1] Frankl, Viktor E. Man's Search for Meaning. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2014.

Matthew Weiss is currently an Intelligence Officer in the United States Marine Corps. His book, “We Don’t Want You, Uncle Sam: Examining the Military Recruiting Crisis with Generation Z” is available on amazon in paperback, e-book, and audiobook format.

Marijuana usage is more popular among Gen Z as it begins replacing alcohol. The two substances should be treated the same so less people are disqualified for drug use.

Solution: Lawmakers should lower the drinking age to 18 for those in the military and stop testing or asking for Marijuana use.

Zoomers spend more time indoors in their places of living than prior generations. Images of young Americans with eyes glued to video game consoles and computers come to mind. The entire world took shelter inside during the pandemic, and social events dropped to nearly zero. Along with this comes a new view on what recreational activities are acceptable. Alcohol, the primary social lubricant of the 20th century, is primarily viewed as declining in popularity compared to its past peaks. Alcohol is generally consumed in social settings at bars and gatherings, which decreased due to the lockdown. It also leaves an intense hangover that many medical studies are beginning to prove have increasingly adverse long-term effects. On the other hand, marijuana usage among Z has skyrocketed…

Matthew Weiss is currently an Intelligence Officer in the United States Marine Corps. His book, “We Don’t Want You, Uncle Sam: Examining the Military Recruiting Crisis with Generation Z” is available on amazon in paperback, e-book, and audiobook format.