* Previous yearly figures are updated the following February. FISCAL YEAR 2024 OVERVIEW * 94.5% of RA recruits and 97.4% of AR recruits had a high school diploma. The remainder were required to have a GED or state equivalency. * 11.4% of RA and 21.4% AR recruits had at least one semester of college prior to joining. Ohio (2.8%) Illinois (2.6%) Pennsylvania (2.4%) FISCAL YEAR 2021 OVERVIEW * 94.2% of RA recruits and 97.4% of AR recruits had a high school diploma. The remainder were required to have a GED or state equivalency. * 10.4% of RA and 19.3% AR recruits had at least one semester of college prior to joining. FISCAL YEAR 2023 OVERVIEW * 94.6% of RA recruits and 93.0% of AR recruits had a high school diploma. The remainder were required to have a GED or state equivalency. * 11.2% of RA and 19.8% AR recruits had at least one semester of college prior to joining. Arizona (2.4%) FISCAL YEAR 2020 OVERVIEW * 93.1% of RA recruits and 93.4% of AR recruits had a high school diploma. The remainder were required to have a GED or state equivalency. * 10.8% of RA and 15.5% AR recruits had at least one semester of college prior to joining.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took to social media to announce that the service achieved its “best recruiting numbers” last month — its highest since 2010. The numbers surpassed a 12-year record set in December 2024, when the service said it enlisted nearly 350 soldiers per day. Hegseth credited the surge to President Donald Trump, asserting that America’s youth are now eager to serve under a “bold and strong, America-first leadership.” BREAKING: In December 2024, the @USArmy had its best recruiting number in 12 years. In January 2025, the Army hit its best recruiting number in 15 YEARS. BOTTOM LINE: America’s youth want to serve under the bold & strong “America First” leadership of @realDonaldTrump. — Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) February 4, 2025 Meanwhile, US Army officials lauded recruiters for their perseverance, calling it one of the toughest jobs and urging the next generation to enlist and serve the nation. “Congratulations and keep up the great work!” they wrote on X. The recruitment surge follows two consecutive years of missing recruitment targets, marking a significant turnaround for the US Army. In 2022, the service was 15,000 soldiers short of its target, recruiting only 45,000 new soldiers instead of the intended 60,000. The following year, the army’s goal was 65,000 recruits, but it fell short again, enlisting only 55,000. The two-year shortfall was attributed to a tight labor market due to the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as “low trust” among Gen Z toward the military. As a result, the US military entered 2024 with its smallest active-duty force in over 80 years at 1.28 million. In response to the alarming recruitment shortfalls, the US Army announced a sweeping overhaul of its recruitment strategies in October 2023. This includes shifting focus toward recruiting young adults who have attended college rather than recent high school graduates. The army has also established a dedicated recruitment workforce to streamline the process and improve efficiency. Under President Trump’s administration, the army and other branches plan to reinstate service members discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine. US Army recruitment has surged to a level not seen or reported in the past 15 years, setting a new milestone for the organization.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday the Army has hit its best recruitment numbers in 15 years, but according to Daniel Driscoll, President Donald Trump 's nominee for army secretary, it's not enough. Newsweek has reached out to the Army via email for comment. For the past decade, the nation's military as a whole has faced an uphill battle in recruiting, squeezed by a shrinking unemployment rate and intensified competition from private sector employers offering higher salaries and comparable or superior benefits. However, the Army hit its recruitment target of 55,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, after bringing in fewer than 51,000 recruits each of the previous two years. In a Tuesday post on X (formerly Twitter), Hegseth touted the Army's recruitment numbers, noting that they have been rising. He wrote: "BREAKING: In December 2024, the @USArmy had its best recruiting number in 12 years. In January 2025, the Army hit its best recruiting number in 15 YEARS. BOTTOM LINE: America's youth want to serve under the bold & strong "America First" leadership of @realDonaldTrump." While it is unclear what recruitment number Hegseth is referring to, the Army says it hit its recruitment target of 55,000 in fiscal 2024. In addition, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told the Associated Press in January the Army is poised to hit its 2025 enlistment targets, with an expected 81,000 new people expected to sign up. But Driscoll said at his confirmation hearing last Thursday that the recruitment numbers are not sufficient. Platoon soldiers of the U.S. Army 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, participate in military exercises in Bavaria, Germany, on Monday. Sean Gallup/Getty Images During the hearing, Driscoll, who spent nearly four years in the Army as a cavalry scout platoon leader, said that more needs to be done. He suggested that the recruiting target was picked because it was an achievable goal and not the number needed to properly staff the service.

Enlistment numbers have steadily dropped for the past 40 years. More than 148,318 people enlisted in the US armed forces in 2020, a 59% decline from 1980. Military enlistment has declined in recent decades. The Department of Defense (DoD) said it faces “unprecedented recruiting challenges,” as 77% of young adults in the US are unqualified to serve. At the end of the 2023 fiscal year (September 2023), three branches reported falling short of their recruitment goals: the Navy was at 80% of its target number, the Army was at 77%, and the Air Force was at 89%. The Marine Corps and Space Force were the only branches to meet their recruitment goals. The total number of active-duty service members in the US armed forces declined roughly 6% from 2012 to 2022, from 1.4 million to 1.3 million. How much has military enlistment dropped? Slightly more than 148,000 people enlisted in the US armed forces in 2020, a 58% decline from 1980, when 360,745 new people enlisted in the military. The number of applications to the military has dropped 73% over that same time, from 768,532 to 205,105. while the military’s acceptance rate increased from 46.9% to 72.3%. The Department of Defense said the COVID-19 pandemic introduced significant challenges to recruiting in 2020, and the US Army Recruiting Command notes that the current labor market is the “most challenging … since the inception of the all-volunteer force,” in part because the majority of young adults are disqualified for service because of “obesity, drugs, physical and mental health problems, misconduct, and aptitude.” Which military branches are growing? Which are shrinking? Every military branch has fewer active-duty personnel than it did in the latter half of the 20th century. Total enlistment in the armed forces peaked in the late 1960s during the Vietnam War.

The U.S. Army has recorded its best recruitment numbers in over a decade, marking a historic turnaround under President Donald Trump’s administration. According to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the Army’s December 2024 enlistment figures were the highest in 12 years, while January 2025 saw the best numbers in 15 years. “In December 2024, the US Army had its best recruiting number in 12 years. In January 2025, the Army hit its best recruiting number in 15 YEARS. BOTTOM LINE: America’s youth want to serve under the bold & strong ‘America First’ leadership of Donald Trump.” BREAKING: In December 2024, the @USArmy had its best recruiting number in 12 years. In January 2025, the Army hit its best recruiting number in 15 YEARS. BOTTOM LINE: America’s youth want to serve under the bold & strong “America First” leadership of @realDonaldTrump. — Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) February 4, 2025 The U.S. Army confirmed this surge in recruitment, reporting that 346 new soldiers enlisted daily in December —the highest rate in 15 years. “Our recruiters have one of the toughest jobs—inspiring the next generation of Soldiers to serve. Congratulations and keep up the great work!” @USAREC had their most productive December in 15 years by enlisting 346 Soldiers daily into the World's greatest #USArmy! Our Recruiters have one of the toughest jobs – inspiring the next generation of #Soldiers to serve. Congratulations and keep up the great work! #BAYCB pic.twitter.com/nEpuP9akZM — U.S. Army (@USArmy) February 4, 2025

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army announced today that it has exceeded fiscal year 2024 recruiting goals for the Active component. The Army will achieve at least 55,300 total accessions for FY24 and will place approximately 11,000 Soldiers in the Delayed Entry Program for FY25. By comparison, the Army achieved 50,181 accessions in FY23 and added 4,661 in the Delayed Entry Program. “The U.S. Army’s recruiting force achieved our 55,000 accessions goal more than a month ahead of schedule, and we are on track to have more than 11,000 in our delayed entry program by the end of the month. This is more than double the goal we set for our delayed entry program and will allow our recruiting efforts for next year to start strong right out of the gate,” said Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth. In October 2023, Wormuth and General Randy George, Chief of Staff of the Army, unveiled a series of sweeping changes to the Army’s recruiting enterprise, including an expanded focus on a larger share of the labor market and the creation of a specialized talent acquisition workforce. “We are committed to continue to transform Army recruiting to enable our great recruiters to excel,” said George. “The Army is a great place to serve, we need to make it easier for potential recruits to join.” The Army took tangible steps during FY24 to implement the recruiting enterprise transformation. U.S. Army Recruiting Command graduated its initial class of Talent Acquisition Technician warrant officers earlier this year and in August 2024 announced that 25 noncommissioned officers from the first cohort of Talent Acquisition Specialists will embark on a four-month Training with Industry program to learn specialized techniques from industry partners. Even as this new model is implemented, the Army overhauled the curriculum for its current recruiters and provided them with better training and outreach tools. The Army also surged medical providers to Military Entrance Processing Stations across the country to help make the enlistment process more efficient.

The United States Army announced this week in a post on X, that it saw record-setting recruitment in December 2024. The final month of last year was the most productive the service had seen in 15 years, as it enlisted nearly 350 recruits daily. “Our Recruiters have one of the toughest jobs – inspiring the next generation of #Soldiers to serve. Congratulations and keep up the great work! #BAYCB,” the service wrote in its post, referencing its “Be All You Can Be” branding campaign that was first introduced in 1980. It was a significant about-face for the Army, which had struggled to meet recruiting goals in recent years. However, for fiscal year 2024 (FY24), which ended on September 30, all of the branches of the U.S. military had announced the goals had been exceeded. In total, the service saw at least 55,300 total accessions. After meeting the FY24 goals, the Army announced it would build on that success by upping its recruiting goal by 11% to 61,000 soldiers for fiscal year 2025 (FY25). The Army has increasingly shown some flexibility to help fill its ranks. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has estimated that fewer than one in four young Americans now meets the necessary military service criteria, and to help ensure that those who are interested in service—yet fail to meet the physical or academic standards—are still given the chance. To address the issue, the Army expanded its Future Soldier Preparatory Course (FSPC), which was introduced to aid potential recruits to overcome academic and physical fitness barriers to service, while not sacrificing quality for quantity. More than 90% of participants completed the program and progressed to basic training. That is significant as almost one-quarter (24%) of recruits last year came out of the FSPC. As a result of its goals being met for FY24, the Army expanded its 90-day pre-boot camp with two additional companies at Fort Jackson, SC, and two more at Fort Moore, GA. That may already be paying off as it resulted in 11,000 recruits being prepared for FY25. With the wave of recruits, the Army is already expanding how many will be able to head to basic training this spring. “By April, the service expects to have 10 additional basic training units established across Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and Fort Sill, Oklahoma – some of which are already established. In total, that would allow the Army to train up to 9,600 new recruits per year,” Military.com reported, citing Lt. Col. Randy Ready, U.S. Army spokesperson.

“The @USArmy has achieved its highest recruiting numbers in 15 years, following a 12-year high in December. Under President Trump’s America First leadership, Americans are answering the call to serve “ The @USArmy has achieved its highest recruiting numbers in 15 years, following a 12-year high in December. The note amplified a similar post by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth a day earlier claiming that December had been the Army’s best month for recruiting in 12 years, and that the service “hit its best recruiting number” in 15 years in January. “BOTTOM LINE: America’s youth want to serve under the bold & strong “America First” leadership of @realDonaldTrump,” Hegseth wrote. BREAKING: In December 2024, the @USArmy had its best recruiting number in 12 years. In January 2025, the Army hit its best recruiting number in 15 YEARS. BOTTOM LINE: America’s youth want to serve under the bold & strong “America First” leadership of @realDonaldTrump. Neither the White House nor Hegseth specified how many new soldiers the Army signed up in those two months, though an Army Recruiting Command post on X said Tuesday that Army recruiters had “their most productive December in 15 years by enlisting 346 Soldiers daily” (the post did not specify the month’s total). But while recent Army numbers do point to a hot streak for enlistments, former Army officials and an expert on personnel issues noted that the Army’s recruiting numbers had started to rebound last year after the Army rolled out several major revamps of its recruiting enterprise, prior to Trump’s election. For the 2024 Fiscal Year, which ended in September, the Army met its goal of recruiting 55,000 active-duty soldiers — a major win for the service after missing recruiting targets the previous two years. For Fiscal Year 2024, around 13,200 recruits — or about 24% of all new soldiers that fiscal year – enlisted in the Army through the course, according to the Army. First launched in 2022 with major expansions in the following years, the Army’s Future Soldier Preparatory Course has played a major role in allowing the Army to reverse its recruiting shortfall in previous years by helping potential soldiers meet the service’s physical and academic standards, said Taren Sylvester, who researches military and veterans issues for the Center for a New American Security think tank in Washington, D.C. “We’ve seen over the last decade that more and more Americans were having a harder time meeting the standard that the military had set for enlistment,” Sylvester said. “That includes both in the physical aspect, meeting the physical requirements and height and weight requirements, and also in the educational aspects – not so far as degrees, but in test scores. And so, the Army’s specifically with prep course has been focused on both meeting physical requirements and meeting the testing requirements, which I think has done a lot to help people who want to serve be able to.” Army recruiting began to pick up last spring and the service brought in a high number of new recruits in August, a former Army official said. Among the other services: A Navy official said the service has yet to publicly release its Fiscal Year 2025 recruiting data, but the service has followed a similar narrative to the Army in the last two years: after badly missing its 2023 fiscal goal, the Navy stood up its own pre-basic recruit training, which it calls the Future Sailor Preparatory Course. The course graduated 4,516 recruits last fiscal year , the majority of whom would not have been eligible to enlist previously, helping the service meet an already elevated goal for fiscal year 2024. The Army has seen recruiting numbers climb since mid-2024, when the service made several major changes to its recruiting enterprise.

The US Army faced recruiting challenges before President Trump’s reelection. In 2022, they fell 15,000 soldiers short of their 60,000 recruitment target. The following year, the Army missed its 65,000 enlistment target by another 15,000 recruits. What happened after President Trump’s election victory? TRENDING: Find out how savers benefit from high yield savings accounts >> Post-Trump’s victory, Army recruitment surged, breaking a 15-year high. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth linked the surge to young Americans wanting to serve under Trump. Roughly 10,700 individuals enlisted in December 2024 alone. Here are the US Army Recruiting Command’s released figures for recruitment: The increased recruitment numbers sparked discussion and analysis. TRENDING: Find out how savers benefit from high yield savings accounts >> During his presidency and the 2024 election, Trump criticized diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. He pledged to end DEI and reinstate service members discharged under COVID-19 vaccination mandates. Some viewed this as crucial to recruitment reached a year high. The Democratic Accent discussed a possible link between recruitment and conservative values. Pete Hegseth connected the surge to Trump’s “America First” platform. This draws a link between the political climate and military service’s appeal. Trump’s focus on issues like the Southern border may also have played a role. Some credit President Trump for increased recruitment. However, it’s important to consider other perspectives and look deeper at recruitment targets. TRENDING: Find out how savers benefit from high yield savings accounts >>

Armed services recruitment rose from 200,000 in fiscal year 2023 to 225,000 in fiscal year 2024, a 12.5% increase, under the Biden administration. The U.S. Army made changes to boost recruitment during the Biden administration, including rolling out a prep course to help lower-performing recruits meet standards. Military experts said it’s too early to say how President Donald Trump has or hasn’t influenced military recruitment six weeks into his term. The administration did not provide data to back the claim about what has happened under Trump. President Donald Trump said military recruitment is soaring early in his second presidency, and it’s because of his efforts to rid the government of "wokeness." "Our service members won't be activists and ideologues," Trump said in his March 4 speech to Congress. "They will be fighters and warriors," he said, praising Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as not being "big into the woke movement." "I'm pleased to report that in January, the U.S. Army had its single best recruiting month in 15 years, and that all armed services are having among the best recruiting results ever in the history of our services," Trump said. "What a difference. And you know, it was just a few months ago where the results were exactly the opposite. We couldn't recruit anywhere. "We couldn't recruit. The U.S. armed forces has six branches: Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy and Space Force. The Defense Department said in October that recruitment rose from 200,000 in fiscal year 2022-23, to 225,000 in fiscal year 2023-24 — a 12.5% increase while President Joe Biden was still in office. Federal fiscal years begin Oct. 1 and end Sept. 30; fiscal year 2025 began under Biden, on Oct. 1, 2024. The Defense Department released fiscal 2025 recruitment data, for October through December, months in which Trump was not commander in chief. It shows that the military is on track to meet or exceed its recruitment goals. Subhed: A closer look at the Army’s efforts in recent years When we asked the White House for evidence to support Trump’s claim, a spokesperson sent us a Feb. 4 X post by the U.S. Army that said the branch had its "most productive December in 15 years by enlisting 346 Soldiers daily." Hegseth posted a similar statement that day: "In December 2024, the @USArmy had its best recruiting number in 12 years. In January 2025, the Army hit its best recruiting number in 15 YEARS." We could not confirm Hegseth’s statement about January data, nor could we confirm either month was a 12- or 15-year record. The most recent monthly cumulative data on the Defense Department’s website is from December, and the data goes back to 2016. December data showed that the Army reached about 109% of its goal. We asked the Army press office to send us evidence showing January data, but the office sent us a link to Army recruiting data through fiscal year 2024, which ended Sept. 30, 2024.