After years of falling short of the target and growing concern over the future, military recruiters are finally seeing a surge, not just in interest, but in enlistments.
“We have seen momentum unlike we have probably seen in a decade,” Gen. James Mingus, Army Vice Chief of Staff, told Congress in the Spring.
This year, the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force are all meeting recruiting goals months ahead of time. The Marines and Coast Guard remain on track to meet their own targets as well.
“Enthusiasm to serve is at an all-time high. Since November 5, 2024, the U.S. military has seen the highest recruiting percentage of mission achieved in 30 years,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said during a recent press briefing.
Parnell leads a recruitment task force with the mission of continuing to remove recruiting obstacles and to build on current momentum.
“How do we set the conditions here culturally in this country to have more kids want to serve the country and see it as a viable career path,” Parnell questioned.
Various factors appear to be responsible for this welcome growth.
They range from modernization efforts, to consecutive increases in military pay, plus new programs aimed at helping prepare prospective enlistees for service.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also attributes the turn-around to a change in leadership.
“Under the previous administration, they lowered the recruiting goals so they could look like they were filling the ranks, but they actually couldn’t even meet the lowered recruiting goals. This administration, with higher recruiting goals, we’re beating them four to five months ahead of time, because the American people want to serve,” Hegseth said recently at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit.
The Defense Secretary argues past recruiting struggles resulted from a “weak” and “woke” agenda under the Biden administration. He’s pledging a reset, one that puts the warfighter first, and returns the military’s focus to strength, discipline, and mission readiness.
