I’ve consistently seen it remarked that the military’s uncompetitive pay scale and unappealing work conditions discourage potential applicants in the context of a high-employment economy (esp. since the late 2010s).

IIRC in WW2 enlisted GIs were paid comparably to white-collar workers. We can’t afford that now, but I think before long something like the link is going to be the bipartisan consensus.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/...roops.html/amp