The United States has shelled out over $6 billion since 2022 to recruit and retain military service members.
The investments came during a period when the U.S. struggled to meet enlistment goals, according to the Associated Press. The Army recruited 50,181, or 76.6%, of its target goal in fiscal 2023 and 44,901, or 74.8%, of the target goal in fiscal 2022. In fiscal 2023, the U.S. Air Force fell about 10% short of its enlistment goal. Other branches have similarly suffered, particularly in the wake of the pandemic, which threw recruiting efforts for a loop.
However, in recent months, enlistment numbers have soared across multiple branches as the Army, Air Force, and Marines see record numbers of applications. The White House has claimed credit for the surge, with President Donald Trump saying Saturday, “I rebuilt that army and I rebuilt the military.”
“We rebuilt it like nobody has ever rebuilt it before,” the president said during a commencement address at West Point. “Our country is doing well. We’ve turned it around very quickly.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has argued that the Biden administration’s emphasis on incorporating “woke” policies such as diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives into the military contributed to the Pentagon’s struggle to attract talent in previous years. The Defense Department’s push to focus solely on “warfighting” has led to the enlistment surge since Trump took charge, Hegseth says.
“The warrior ethos is simple: readiness, accountability, lethality, warfighting. None of this woke DEI, CRT [critical race theory], gender pronoun, green new scam stuff. That’s all out,” the secretary said during a Fox News interview Thursday.
“If they want some woke garbage, they can go to college. If they want to train to be a warrior and be part of something bigger than themselves … join the U.S. military,” he continued.
ARMY ANNOUNCES DECEMBER MARKED HIGHEST RECRUITING PERIOD IN 15 YEARS
Hegseth outlined the overhaul he’s leading at the Pentagon on Saturday.
“We’re sitting on four years — this is to put it kindly … four years of deferred maintenance. To put it honestly, four years of weakness that’s created chaos and opportunities for our enemies to enrich themselves,” he said. “And to our adversaries and peer adversaries: We have the capabilities. America will out-innovate you, outgrow you, and outmuscle you with what we have in the future.”
