As graduation season approaches, high school seniors may be weighing their future education and career plans, a pair of congressmen want to ensure the military is included.
Reps. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., and Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., have introduced bipartisan legislation, the Engaging Next-General Leaders in Information about Service and Training Act. The acronym is ENLIST.
The lawmakers argue that military recruitment materials are “often left behind,” unlike college brochures and career fair materials that litter high school hallways. The pair want to ensure that military recruitment materials receive “equal space,” allowing students to weigh all their future options, including the opportunity to serve in the military.
Kiggans, a Navy veteran, Navy spouse, and mother, knows firsthand the opportunities serving in the military can provide and hopes high schoolers can explore the benefits of serving.
“When America’s high school students are weighing their post-graduation options and deciding their future, they deserve to understand every potential path,” said Kiggans. “My ENLIST Act ensures that students see military service as a viable and honorable path after graduation –right alongside college and the workforce. This bipartisan legislation is about fairness, visibility, and giving our next generation the full picture of how they can lead, grow, and serve their country.”
The legislation would “require secondary schools to display and make accessible information regarding military recruiting during school hours,” reinforcing current law guaranteeing military recruiters equal access to schools as colleges and potential employers.
The lawmakers say “federal law mandates access for military recruiters in schools receiving federal funds,” although they say “many schools fall short” of promoting military recruitment materials.
A release from Kiggan’s office says that around 70,000 people enlist in the Armed Forces each year, adding that about half are recent high school graduates.
Despite concerns from lawmakers that the military may be overlooked, recruitment numbers indicate otherwise.
The two largest branches of the military, the Army and Navy, reported they had exceeded recruitment goals for the Fiscal Year 2024, with 55,150 recruited for the Army and the Navy signing 40,978 recruits, marking the Navy’s “most significant recruiting achievement in 20 years,” according to the Department of the Navy.
