Foresight · Scenario Planning · Public Sector
U.S. Army
The U.S. Army was in a recruiting crisis. The solution wasn't more advertising. It was a radically different way of seeing the future of who a soldier could be.
Type: Foresight & Scenario Planning
Duration: 6 weeks
Partner: SciFutures / 2024
The Challenge
The U.S. Army was in a recruiting crisis. A post-pandemic environment, shifting perceptions of military service, and a declining propensity to serve among young people had left the Army searching for new ways to understand and connect with the next generation of potential recruits.
The Work
Over six weeks, in partnership with SciFutures — a foresight and innovation agency specializing in science-fiction-based strategic futures — I helped develop a comprehensive "Future-Pull" framework for senior Army leadership examining how evolving attitudes toward purpose, identity, technology, and service are reshaping the recruiting landscape.
The engagement opened with deep environmental scanning across six behavioral and cultural forces mapped alongside emerging technology shifts and the evolving nature of warfare itself. This gave leadership a panoramic view of the forces shaping the next generation of potential recruits.
The centerpiece of the engagement was ten original science-fiction narratives set in the near future, each exploring a different recruiting, development, or retention scenario through the lens of emerging cultural and technological shifts. The stories gave leaders an immersive, emotionally resonant way to inhabit possible futures and feel the challenge before solving it.
Each narrative was paired with concrete strategic opportunity areas giving leadership a direct bridge from speculative future to actionable present.
The Outcome
The work helped senior leadership move from reactive problem-framing to proactive strategic direction, working backward from vivid future scenarios to identify the concrete changes in messaging, process, and culture that would matter most.
The results speak to a broader strategic shift that followed. In fiscal year 2025, the U.S. Army met its active duty recruiting goals four months ahead of schedule — signing contracts with more than 61,000 future Soldiers. The Army also achieved 108% of its retention goal one month ahead of schedule. While many factors contributed to this turnaround, the strategic reframing of how leadership understood and approached the recruiting challenge was a meaningful part of the foundation.
61,000+
Active duty contracts signed in FY2025
108%
Of retention goal, achieved one month early
4 months
Ahead of schedule on annual recruiting goals
6 weeks
From brief to delivery of full strategic framework and scenario narratives