Just three years ago, many in Washington had written off an entire generation as too soft, out of shape or too detached to serve. In 2023, the Army, Navy and Air Force all fell short of their recruiting targets. Some began to question whether the all-volunteer force could last. A few even raised the possibility of a draft.
They had misjudged young Americans.
In fiscal year 2026, every active-duty service met its recruiting goal under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, and most did so months ahead of schedule. The Army signed up 61,500 future soldiers with more than four months left in the year. The Navy increased its target by 10 percent and still reached it in July. It ended the year with 45,112 sailors, three years after missing its goal by 7,450. The Air Force and Space Force had met their targets by April. The Marines described recruiting conditions as the strongest in years and already have half of next year’s class under contract.
Since November 2024, the military has recorded its highest rate of recruiting-goal completion in more than 15 years, even as U.S. troops were fighting in the Middle East. Interest rose across demographic groups, and women’s recruitment increased again. The gains also reached the reserve components: the Navy Reserve achieved 113 percent of its goal, the Marine Corps Reserve 108 percent, the Army National Guard 102 percent and the Army Reserve 103 percent. For the Army Reserve, it was the first time in a decade it had exceeded its target.
The young people themselves hadn’t changed. The leadership did. President Trump and Secretary Hegseth spoke plainly about military service: the military is there to fight and win, the work is demanding, and earning a place in it is worth taking pride in. A generation often told that nothing was worth a sacrifice, it seems, wanted to hear that something was.
I co-chair the Department of War Recruiting Task Force. Our challenge now is to make this year’s results a beginning, not a peak. Recruiting records don’t maintain themselves. To keep moving forward, I think we need to build both the desire to serve and a closer connection between the military and the people it serves.
Building the desire to serve
A photograph captures the idea better than I can: a young boy, perhaps five, standing in shallow surf in a swim shirt and holding a small American flag as two Army Apache helicopters fly low over the water. He will remember that day.
That is one reason the administration has approved more military flyovers than any before it. People film them, share them and pass them around online, at no cost to taxpayers. We should build on that with live demonstrations, special operations showcases and Fleet Weeks that reach inland communities, too. Some river towns in the heartland have never had a Navy ship visit. They should get the chance.
It’s hard to picture yourself doing something you’ve never seen up close.
Bringing the military closer
I led an infantry platoon in Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division. Soldiers learn quickly that ground you don’t hold can be lost. You might clear a valley in a day, but if you leave, someone else can move in. Holding it means being there consistently.
Recruiting works much the same way. The ground is every community in America, and for two decades the military has drawn back from many of them. We consolidated on fewer, larger bases and left cities where people once saw service members regularly. Then we wondered why fewer young people considered military service.
Today, recruiting relies heavily on military families. They are the Americans the services still reach regularly, and they are essential to the country. But a force that draws mainly from its own families is relying on a pool it cannot replenish indefinitely. The Pentagon expects to add 44,000 service members next year. Reaching that number will mean connecting with people who have never known anyone in uniform.
That is what proximity can do. We need a recruiting presence in communities across the country: service members at county fairs, Friday-night games and Fourth of July parades, talking with people face to face. New recruits could take their oath at halftime. Recruiters should be part of local life, rather than confined to an office in a strip mall. National Guard units, too, should be visible in the communities they serve.
Both matter
Neither approach is enough by itself. The desire to serve can fade if there’s no military presence nearby. That boy on the beach may need to meet a service member in his hometown when he turns 17. And a recruiter at a table won’t get far if young people have no reason to stop.
Showing up consistently
Young Americans never stopped being willing to serve. We stopped showing up in their communities. Under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, the country has renewed its focus on military service. Now we need to keep making that effort—in stadiums, on beaches, at fairs and in towns that will never have a military base.
The desire to serve gives young people a reason to consider it. A military presence nearby can help turn that interest into a decision.
