_WHAT’S HAPPENING_
The US military has surged under the Trump administration, reversing years of recruitment and retention challenges.
After missing targets during the Biden-Harris years, every military branch has smashed its recruiting goals for the 2025 fiscal year.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump have prioritized this military revival, focusing on combat readiness, higher standards, and a renewed “warrior ethos.” This shift comes with promises of pay raises for service members and cultural changes in the military and its academies.
_THE FACTS_
The Army missed recruitment goals by historic margins under Biden, falling 15,000 recruits short in 2022.
Now, it has reached 85 percent of its 2025 goal of 61,000 new recruits with five months remaining.
The Navy will exceed its target of 40,600 new sailors in 2025.
Air Force recruitment hit 15-year highs for December through February.
The Marine Corps is reporting historic retention rates.
The Army's Holistic Health and Fitness program, which Hegseth implemented more widely, has demonstrated 23 percent higher combat test pass rates, 27 percent better marksmanship scores, and a 500 percent drop in substance abuse cases.
Hegseth has also ordered a 20 percent cut to the number of four-star generals, firing those deemed to have put ideology over military readiness.
President Trump promised "substantial pay raises" to troops during his May 15 visit to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
_INSIGHTS_
Led by Pete Hegseth, who has actively engaged with and worked out alongside the troops, the military is reorienting toward its traditional purpose, not woke ideology that flourished in the past four years.
“Listen, everybody wants to be pushed. They want a challenge. Purpose,” remarked Hegseth in a recent interview. “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 … join the US military. That's why we've seen this record-breaking surge.”
