I always hung out with people who had parties that included men and women, and sometimes people would introduce people who they thought might be compatible. It didn't usually work out, but sometimes those people with introduce others and so on. Just hanging out without any kind of interest in dating is great because more people get to know you and you get experience being around women and not making it about dating.
I once was introduced to someone who didn't really match, but she then introduced me to one of her friends and that worked out pretty well. My wife was introduced to me by a friend who dated her for a week in high school and they were still friends.
Knowing someone who knows someone is a great shortcut to opportunities for meeting new people.
It is a self reinforcing system, and the same reason that English has become so widespread worldwide.
Increased communication across wider areas promote common languages to be more accessible to more people, so in the case of the US this means each time people communicate it is more likely to be in English. Sure, some stupid laws have helped out too but this is a trend that was going to happen in the US for the same reasons English is increasingly used worldwide, but we don't have a national language that English is being added to to promote being bilingual. Quebec has been fighting the trend though legislation since it was happening there as well.
Even regional dialects of English are being homogenized within the US. It is less likely for people traveling across many states to be unable to understand a regional dialect as was fairly common before cheap long distance communication.
Just pay them minimum wage, especially if they are getting paid for sleeping, and it becomes perfectly legal. Paying with room and board, as opposed to it being a perk on top of pay, is company store shenanigans and a no go at least in the US.
Getting people to take less than minimum wage is just an avenue for lawsuits when it is illegal.
6000 * $7.25 = $43,500 in all the states that use the national minimum wage and no overtime laws. You would absolutely get people if the room and board was provided on top of that pay.
While a huge portion of the population chooses not to become fluent in a language, because nearly everything within hundreds of miles of where they live uses the same language by default, we still provide opportunities to learn languages and in some areas people are commonly bilingual.
It can be hard to maintain a language without frequent exposure. I had some classes in Spanish and French, but without a large population that speaks either language in my area I just forgot it over time. Moved tons place where we do have a lot of people who speak Spanish and English, but since I'm not part of their community my exposure is limited to the occasional festival or signage as nobody needs me to impose my attempt to learn their language on them.
It isn't all about refusal, it is mostly lack of exposure.
If they are required to wear uniforms and be present, and they aren't in the military or in prison. then they are working those 6000 hours. If they are paid for that time then it wouldn't be an issue.
It could also be psychological warfare, pretending that your soldiers are ready to die in battle makes enemies less likely to fight back.