Army recruitment hits 15-year high

Recruitment numbers for the U.S. Army are on the rise, and new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the election of Donald Trump has played a major factor in the upswing.

“In December 2024, the U.S. Army had its best recruiting number in 12 years,” Hegseth posted on X.

“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.”

As reported by Newsweek, in 2022 and 2023 the Army missed its goals of 60,000 and 65,000 recruits by 15,000 each year. 

In 2024, however, it successfully made its lowered goal of 55,000 recruits. For 2025, Army officials are confident they will exceed their goal of 61,000, with an additional 20,000 recruits entering the Army through its Delayed Entry program. 

Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, agreed the Trump administration has been a confidence booster for the military. 

“Troops who put their lives on the line need to know that … the Secretary of Defense and the commander-in-chief have their best interests in mind … and the best interests of the country,” she said.  

But in his confirmation hearing as Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Army, Daniel Driscoll warned the Army will need to change its approach to recruitment moving forward. 

“For the last three to four years we’ve missed our goals,” said Driscoll. “Even the goals we hit from the outside, it seems as if the Army lowered their goals. The best analogy I heard is the Army threw the dart at the dartboard and then drew the bullseye around where the dart landed. 

“That’s not the best way to staff an army. We have the fewest number of active soldiers that we’ve had since World War II, even as conflict is erupting around the world.” 

Reflecting on his own military service, Driscoll added, “I actually don’t think the answer is throwing more money at the problem. I think it’s nice to get things like GI Bill benefits. But I didn’t join for that. I enlisted to serve the country.”