apparently not with top gun maverick propaganda, when the movie came out, more people wanted to join because of it. in general people cant get in because thier education is so dumb down they cant even pass the asvab(enlistment only), and apparently they also cant pass the weight limit/physical portion too. i suspect alot of the enlistment comes from red areas, destitute white people with little prospect of a future, joinj the military as away to escape poverty/ or to stroke thier racist egos.

and yes economic downturn will drive more people to joining too, like the 08 crisis, and drumpfs manufactered distractions from the EPSTEIN FILES.