The good news: Our American fighting forces now have President Donald J. Trump as their commander-in-chief and Pete Hegseth as their Secretary of Defense. The better news: because of this, military recruitment has hit its highest record since 2010.
The U.S. Army recently announced it shattered previous recruiting records, with December 2024 being the most productive December in 15 years.
The branch reported it enlisted nearly 350 soldiers every day that month, Army officials announced Tuesday on social media.
"Our Recruiters have one of the toughest jobs – inspiring the next generation of #Soldiers to serve. Congratulations and keep up the great work! #BAYCB," Army recruiting officials wrote in a post on X.
SecDef Pete Hegseth also took to X to promote this huge development.
BREAKING: In December 2024, the @USArmy had its best recruiting number in 12 years.
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) February 4, 2025
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.
Over the four years of the Biden administration, many RedState writers discussed and wrote about the state of military readiness, and it was pretty grim. Two years ago, the Pentagon numbers were particularly bad, as my colleague Streiff wrote:
A Death Spiral
Defense Data for FY2023 show most military services are sucking swamp water.
Army: 69 percent of its goal
Navy: 60 percent of its goal.
Air Force: 87 percent of its goal.
Marine Corps: 100 percent of its goal.
Space Force: 100 percent of its goal.This does not mean that, for instance, the Army is at 69 percent of its FY2023 goal. If that were the case with the fiscal year half finished, they’d be, in the words of my First Sergeant, “sh***ing in tall cotton.” The number means that they are at 69 percent of the number they need as of the date of the report to reach 100 percent on their mission by September 30. What you’re seeing is the leading edge of a bloodbath.
In 2022, our editor Bob Hoge wrote that we had not seen numbers this low since the Vietnam War.
Politico writes that it’s “widely considered the worst recruiting environment since the end of the Vietnam War.” Here are the numbers:
The Army has reached 66 percent of its goal for the fiscal year ending in September, and the Navy is at 89 percent, according to data compiled from October 2021 to May 2022. Even with rates of 100 percent for the Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force, that leaves the department [of Defense] with a total rate of just 85 percent.
Hoge also noted that the year 2024 would see the smallest American military since World War II. So, the fact that Trump and Hegseth refocused the aims of the military back to actual readiness for war and away from diversity, equity and inclusion was heard and responded to by young men and women who want to serve their country and do exactly that.
“It’s real basic. Its real straightforward
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) February 4, 2025
We are war fighters.
We train to be lethal.
We train to prepare for and fight the wars that our nation requires of us.
Full Stop. End of Sentence.” Congratulations to @NCOLCoE, Class 75!
Your dedication to service and excellence is… pic.twitter.com/tl1mgSB8vt
Your dedication to service and excellence is an inspiration. Wishing you continued success as you take on new challenges in defense of our nation.
I cited a Pentagon study that showed that more than half of today's youth would not be suited for military service anyway because of past drug use, being overweight, and mental illness.
US Military Faces Biggest Recruiting Hurdles in 50 Years.
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) July 2, 2023
During the last fiscal year, the Army missed its recruiting goal by 15,000 active-duty soldiers. That makes 25% of its target. This shortfall forced the Army to cut its planned active-duty end strength from 476,000 to… pic.twitter.com/bvH8SqIQY5
This shortfall forced the Army to cut its planned active-duty end strength from 476,000 to 466,000. Army officials project that active end strength could shrink by as much as 20,000 soldiers by September, down to 445,000. The Army says that WOKENESS should NOT be blamed.
The prior administration codified mental illness and infested the military with it. So, here was the caliber of who and what was being recruited.
Maybe not our best and brightest? https://t.co/GvgzefX8S0
— Jennifer OO (@joliveroconnell) February 5, 2025
Then there is this one, who doesn't quite understand part of the goal is that you're uniform—including the hair.
Yikes. Hope Pete Hegseth sees this.pic.twitter.com/wJP7yKGE2o
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 4, 2025
Not sure how long these young ones will last, but it is a blessing that other young ones are now inspired and motivated to serve their country for all the right reasons. Now we can look forward to more of this form of readiness: a U.S. Army feature video under the Trump 45 administration. Thank God, America's military is so back!
Day 1 of the #USArmyReserve's Best Warrior Competition is coming to a close!
— U.S. Army Reserve (@USArmyReserve) September 6, 2020
Today, they competed in the #ACFT & the GAFPB. Check out the video below to see how they did!#BestWarrior2020 pic.twitter.com/MPu8fR4q6N
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