Understanding Sept. 11 and its cultural impact is crucial to understanding almost every foreign policy and military decision that has happened since. To those who lead millennials, you can learn as much from them as you can teach them.” Matt Schuyler, Chief HR Office, Hilton. That spells failure. Sept. 11 is critical not only to understanding policy, but also to understanding an entire generation: the millennials, or those born in 1982 through 2004. If we don’t learn to lead them effectively, they will vote with their feet. This paper makes takes a critical look at the Millennial generation entering the military today and concludes that their transition to the military won’t be as dramatic as popular media might lead you to believe. Our Air Force is full of millennials. Longitudinal studies of Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomers are more similar than different with regard to work attitudes. At first glance, the idea may seem absurd. However, it’s Gen Z that now makes up much of the military recruiting pool (and forms 15% of Active Duty Enlisted in the Marine Corps). The military understands this, and they’ve been able to create an attractive environment for younger generations at both the organization and personal level. According to Hines, Millennials are “ready to lead now and are confident in their ability to make things happen and change the world… "While military millennials are still leading the way in financial readiness, we're seeing general population millennials begin to catch on and take steps to improve their own financial situation. That applies for millennials and those who manage them. The military pyramid force structure means that there will always be considerably more young people than old, and the millennia generation roughly defined as those born from 1980 to 2000 has filled our ranks, especially the most numerous ranks of staff sergeant and captain. Millennials are collaborative, driven to succeed and want to experience all that life has to offer. Understanding the financial capability of millennials in the military is an important step toward understanding the financial capability of the military in general. New recruitment efforts should complement current programs for military veterans and draw from their best practices. As retired military, I am now a defense contractor and I see many of these same millennials acting like spoiled brats in the commercial/DoD world, by demanding promotions after less than a year on station and demonstrating complete disrespect for experience and seniority. Millennials are sometimes considered to be naïve and not prepared for the world of work (Pinzaru et al. 2016). Generation Z values authentic environments and an organization’s mission. Millennials make up a large part of the military and iGen is quickly entering our ranks. At the same time, they are overly self-confident. Give freedom While millennials make up about 30 percent of the general population in the U.S., they constitute nearly three quarters of the service men and women in the military. This requires the U.S. Army to adapt to meet the military's future challenges. 3. In fact, the problem is much larger than just the Navy or Coast Guard. Many millennials could have retired with 20 years in service last year.. T here is a shifting demographic within the military towards the newest generation of the armed forces. They joined the military after 9/11 and see the world through a lens that includes terrorism. Facilitate open communication. Here are 10 characteristics of military millennials that leaders need to understand as they engage and lead them: They are mostly in the rank window of E5-E6 and O2-O3. WHAT THE MILITARY HAS LEARNED ABOUT MILLENNIALS and GEN Z: (Note: the military refers to GenZ as NetGens) As of 2015, 72% of active duty personnel were millennials. 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