Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth sat down on Monday with Fox News host Will Cain to talk about the overwhelming surge in recruitment across all branches of the military. There are naysayers fact-checking this, claiming that the surge started before former President Joe Biden left office. But as my colleague Bonchie documented, the numbers tell the tale.

With Hegseth now in charge, the U.S. Army, for example, is set to smash recruitment goals for fiscal year 2025. As of mid-April, 51,837 new enlistments had occurred. That's a staggering 85 percent of the 60,000 goal met with five months still left. Other branches are seeing similar surges. 

Matt Margolis of our sister site PJ Media also spotlighted the recruitment boom and accurately pinpointed the reason.

As Hegseth put it, this remarkable surge — what they proudly call the “Trump bump” — isn’t surprising. It’s the natural result of a leadership team that put war fighters first, made historic investments, and reminded Americans why serving their country is something to be proud of again. All the left’s noise couldn’t drown out the reality: under Trump and Hegseth, the U.S. military is back and stronger than ever.

A Sunday op-ed praised the transformation in recruitment and readiness under Hegseth and pinpointed why, despite the external attacks and attempts to remove Hegseth from his cabinet position, the armed forces have experienced a revival they have not experienced in decades.

The new mission at the Department of Defense is simple: mission first, people always, and no apologies for putting America’s defense at the center of American policy. The secretary has made clear among the ranks that the three areas listed will be at the center of all that the U.S. military will do: restoring warrior ethos, rebuilding our military and reestablishing deterrence.

The "Warrior Ethos" part of the mission is the magnet that is drawing young men and women back into military service. Hegseth told Cain this ethos is "a back to basics message," and distilled it down to four prongs: Readiness, accountability, lethality, and warfighting. As Hegseth affirmed, young people want to pursue purpose and live for something beyond themselves.

Listen, everybody wants to be pushed. They want a challenge. Purpose. They don't want you to say, "Join the military where it's going to be nice and easy for you." No! How far can I go? Can I excel? Can I meet the standard? Can I be excellent? That's what young men and women of this nation want. If they want some Woke garbage, they can go to college. If they want to train to be a warrior and be a part of something bigger than themselves and raise their right hand and seek purpose, and honor, and duty, join the U.S. military, be a part of it. And that's why we've seen this record-breaking surge. 

There is no starker contrast than that between a 25-year-old angry over the fact that he exists, who violently sought to destroy a place that represents life, and a 25-year-old who raises his right hand and takes the enlistment oath to protect and defend the Constitution. Cursing life versus defending and protecting life? It appears our younger generation has turned a corner, and not a moment too soon. 

Hegseth concluded:

"I mean, the numbers don't lie, Will. It literally starts at election day with President Trump, and the inauguration, and what we've been building, it's been a surge that we can barely keep up with: the amount of people that want to join the U.S. military, which is about the biggest vote of confidence I can conceive of."

WATCH:

.@SecDef on military recruitment breaking records! 🔥

"It has been a surge we can barely keep up with, the amount of people that want to join the U.S. military, which is about the biggest vote of confidence I can conceive of." pic.twitter.com/USgpISG03g

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) May 19, 2025

Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America's military.

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