A war with China? The reason for the need for more recruits? Simply put, the last thing our military would want is a hot war with China! Similarly, the last thing Ukraine wanted was a war with Russia.

But if a hostile wants your territory and resources? Do you vacate the field and say, help yourselves. Allow the foreign aggressor to move in, confiscate buildings, land, infrastructure, change the law so as to make the average citizen a slave or a tenant in his own country, begging for crumbs from the new master's table.

NO! You beef up your military and defense preparedness. And your deterrents, which need to have the foreign generals say, the price is too high for what they may gain.

We don't want a war with anyone and the best way to ensure we don't have one, is to make the price of conquest way too high! And that my friends is, why we need more manpower!
Alan B.

Perhaps if we treated those we already have better, we would not need so many recruits.

Many of the best are leaving due to the way they are treated, & the lack of value placed on them.

In the US many join for the training. Warfare is a high tech business today. Dumb, uneducated folk are not needed or wanted. The training is very good in many professions, & give the recruit qualifications, & a pathway into a well paid specialty after their service. In Oz the training is the same, but do not result in qualifications recognised is civilian industry. Well trained people have to go through the civilian training, to get qualifications.

Then we often forget the servicemen do have lives of their own. The old navy "pier head jump" of transferring people at literally hours notice to a ship, or different part of the country, is not acceptable in a peace time defense force. While perhaps somewhat acceptable for youngsters, it will not be tolerated by folk with families to consider.

We don't want a war with anyone and the best way to ensure we don't have one,
Alan B,
The Voice, if not run by people with integrity, will be a path to a Civil war here !