Aden Gilbert grew up watching war movies, fighting enemy combatants in video games and listening to his dad's Marine Corps stories. He considered following in his father's footsteps but changed his mind as he saw the country and its leadership heading in a direction antithetical to his values.

"If we're prioritizing being woke, and we can't actually protect the majority of American people . . . what's the point of having a military?" Gilbert asked Fox News. "Is it really worth joining and putting our life on the line for ideologies that we don't agree with and that we don't want to necessarily protect?" 

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Military children have historically been more likely to serve their country than their peers. Ten years ago, more than a quarter of new recruits had a parent who had served, and around 80% reported having at least one family member who had done so, according to a Pentagon survey.

"It was something that a man of honor would do, to serve and protect his country and serve and protect those values that existed back then," Gilbert, 18, said. "But I think things are a little bit different now."

The military is struggling to fill its ranks as young people like Gilbert forgo service. The Marine Corps and Space Force are the only branches that anticipate meeting their enlistment goals this year. The Army, Navy and Air Force expect to fall a combined 26,000 enlistees short in fiscal year 2023. The Army also fell short in 2022 by about 15,000 soldiers (25% of its goal).

Military officials have pinned much of the blame for lackluster recruitment numbers on a competitive job market and a dwindling pool of qualified applicants. Only 9% of young Americans are interested in serving their country, according to the Department of Defense.

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Gilbert said the military is alienating the very men and women who are most likely to serve by emphasizing progressive ideologies over readiness. A recent Navy recruiting pitch featured a drag queen, and last year the branch released a video stressing the importance of pronouns.

"I would rather tiptoe around literal landmines than have to tiptoe around people's pronouns," Gilbert said.

Gilbert has always considered himself a patriot, but said the left has "successfully eroded patriotism" by pushing restrictive laws, "woke" ideology and "celebrating satanic themes in music and Hollywood."

"It just angers me seeing our president as the conductor of that symphony of sewage," he added.

Jason Gilbert, Aden's dad, said he never pushed his children in one direction or another when it came to enlisting. But he wasn't surprised when his son changed his mind about joining.

"I could see he was a little bit demoralized about the direction the country was going," said the elder Gilbert, who founded the Disabled Veterans PAC and helps former service members run for office.

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"When we hear the word ‘pride,’ we're now programed to instinctively think of the rainbow flag, whereas the generations before me, when they heard the word ‘pride,’ they thought of the American flag," the younger Gilbert said. "And now to the left, that's considered offensive."

He said he's "not moved to serve a commander in chief who seems to value the rainbow flag over the American flag" and "labels white supremacy and climate change as the top national security threats in our country, yet never once has denounced Marxism."

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth acknowledged last month that there was "no doubt" that the perception that the military has gone "woke" is exacerbating recruiting woes.

"We are a ready Army, not a ‘woke’ Army," Wormuth told reporters in June.

But the branch's top civilian leader blamed the problem on rhetoric rather than military policies.

Financial incentives to join the military hold less sway, too. Fewer students are pursuing higher education, making the GI Bill less appealing to him, and he started his own social media marketing business during his senior year of high school.

"Until the values sent forward by the president, that the military is tasked to defend, revert back to the core values that our founders and the past generations died for . . . I'm just going to stick with my decision to decline military service to instead run my business," Gilbert said.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, a Democrat, is facing criticism for "Nixonian tactics" after her administration admitted to creating a list of her most vocal critics and providing it to local authorities.

"The list was made in response to a request from the Boston Police Department after the Mayor had been harassed and physically intimidated by individuals for several months outside her home, at city functions such as the annual neighborhood parks coffee hours, and at other public events," Wu spokesman Ricardo Patron said in a statement to the Boston Herald.

The acknowledgment by the administration that it had compiled the document came after the list was uncovered in an email obtained through a public records request by Wu's opponents, the outlet noted.

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The tactics used by the administration raise concern over whether Wu and her administration are attempting to silence or intimidate her critics, many of whom have protested outside of her home.

"The request (from police) came after many of the individuals on the list repeatedly impeded the Dorchester Day Parade to harass Mayor Wu and her family and staff, yelling through megaphones at her and her children for nearly ninety minutes as they marched in the parade despite being asked by parade organizers to leave the parade route," Patron said, according to the Herald.

"Following the Dorchester Day Parade on June 5, 2022, Boston Police met with City staff on June 10 to make a safety plan for the upcoming Bunker Hill Day parade on June 12, and the then-Captain of the District overseeing Charlestown asked for a list of individuals who had been involved in public disruption and harassment of the Mayor at the Dorchester Day Parade and outside her house," Patron added. "The email was sent as a follow-up immediately after that meeting."

The Herald reported that Wu's actions drew comparisons from some critics to the late President Richard Nixon, who was famous for compiling lists of political opponents.

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Sent via email from Wu’s former Director of Constituent Services Dave Vittorini to Boston Police Capt. Robert Ciccolo, the list, as reported by the Herald, contains the names of "Wu's most vocal opponents, such as City Council candidate Christine Vitale, several anti-vaccine activists who have been protesting Wu’s house, and North End restaurant owners who have opposed Wu policies."

The list included no reason as to why the names were given and also listed the "Mendoza Brothers from the North End" and "A woman with the last name of Thuy who was arrested before," the outlet stated.

Wu aides Tiffany Chu and Brianna Millor were also cc'd on the email, which was sent after loud protests at the mayor's home in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston last year.

Last year, an ordinance was passed in the city prohibiting protests outside of Wu's home during certain hours.

Wu, the first woman and the first Asian-American to hold the top political office in Boston history, was sworn into office in November 2021.