The U.S. Army hit its recruiting goal for fiscal year 2025 several months ahead of schedule and just in time for its upcoming birthday, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll announced in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal.
The Army reached its goal of 61,000 new recruits in fiscal year 2025 four months early and just before the branch is set to celebrate its 250th founding anniversary on June 14, Driscoll wrote in the WSJ. The Army struggled to recruit new soldiers throughout former President Joe Biden’s one term in office, falling short of recruitment targets in multiple categories between fiscal years 2021 and 2024.
Sagging recruitment was a problem across all branches of the armed forces under Biden as his administration’s left-wing policies helped dissuade potential recruits from joining the military. In 2022, for example, the Army fell short of its annual recruiting benchmark by about 25%,
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has repeatedly states that his focus at the Pentagon is on making regular warfighters and lethality the Department of Defense’s top priorities. To that end, Hegseth has in recent weeks extended pay raises to Army paratroopers, moved to expand homeschooling options for military families and sought to decrease the amount of moving from place to place that military families have to do, among other initiatives.
Moreover, Hegseth regularly participates in physical training alongside rank-and-file troops. Notably, the Army recently changed its fitness guidelines in April to create equal standards for men and women in combat roles in order to increase combat readiness; the changes took effect on June 1, and they are projected to be fully implemented in 2026.
In his WSJ piece, Driscoll applauded Congress for passing junior enlisted pay raises, housing improvements, healthcare initiatives and child-care and spousal assistance in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2025.
Washington, D.C., will host a massive June 14 military parade in its streets to celebrate the Army’s founding, and the procession is expected to include 6,600 soldiers, 150 military vehicles, tanks and 50 helicopters, according to WTOP, a local news outlet. The parade will also feature a jet flyover and the “Golden Knights” paratroopers.
“These men and women could have chosen any path in a country full of opportunity. Instead, they chose to serve their country. I can think of no nobler calling,” Driscoll wrote.
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