As the US military recently faced what the Pentagon warned the most dangerous employee deficiency in half a century, employment is now significantly.
President Donald Trump – who regularly invited the army to local and foreign issues since his return to his post – has been transformed into an increase in patriotism inspired by his election and new defense leaders who are rooted in what they intersect as “screaming” in the ranks.
Meanwhile, defense analysts provide a different interpretation. They cite the measures that have been taken for years that are now taking fruits, including increased wages, accelerated paths of citizenship, and programs to train recruits with late academic grades or fitness.
Why did we write this
President Donald Trump focused on building military force. Attracting new soldiers may require an additional effort.
Trump administration officials say that in any case, recent gains must be studied and understood. To this end, the Ministry of Defense launched in June a workplace to employ military service. Its recommendations are due in mid -August.
“the [recruitment] “But six months from now, we will see,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Bernil told a news conference in June.
Why the employment decreased in the first place?
The challenges of the American army began to lead the headlines after the army missed the target of employment by about 25 % in the fiscal year 2022. With the aim of 60,000 new soldiers, it has participated in only 45,000.
Analysts said that one of the factors is the rules of isolation in the Covid-19s, during which American military services have temporarily suspended basic training efforts. Several secondary schools were closed during this time for students and military employment.
“We had to withdraw from societies for about two years,” Katie Hilland, Pentagon’s recruitment officials, said in a discussion with correspondents last October. “It takes some time to return and develop these relationships again.”
After securing the epidemic, the results of the ambitious recruits in military acceptance tests decreased, and obesity and mental health diagnoses increased.
Today, defense officials have reported that more than three quarters of young people between the ages of 17 and 24 cannot qualify for military service without concession, an exception that allows individuals to serve despite the lack of qualification.
The tendency of young people to join armed services also decreased. In a survey of the Ministry of Defense published in March this year, about 87 % of those between the ages of 16 and 21 said they may – or certainly – are not planning to serve the army. Two out of 3 said they were concerned about the emotional or psychological impact of the war, and he mentioned nearly 3 of 4 concerns about the possibility of physical injury or death.
For the first time since the Pentagon began tracking the scale, the majority of the youth, as one of the officials said, “has never considered the military service an option.”
At the same time, the historically low unemployment rates for young people have created severe competition from the talent sector.
When and why did the recovery employment began?
Defense Minister Beit Higseth attributed the election of President Trump with what he and other officials described as the “Trump stumbling block” of military employment.
“They see the leadership … he says:” We want you to be warriors, “Minister Higseth said on a visit to Normandy, France, in June to honor the eighties of D-Day. We no longer do this correct garbage politically anymore. We are fighting the war. “
In fact, the Pentagon figures show that military recruitment began to bounce again between October 2023 and September 2024 – before Mr. Trump’s election – rises by 12.5 %.
Starting in 2023, Congress approved three increased basic wages of the forces, which reach between 4.5 % and 5.2 % annually. Another 10 % object entered for juniors – those in the lowest levels of service – in effect last April, adding between 3000 to 6000 dollars a year to the pockets of each of these new soldiers.
These increases were the largest increases in the salaries of the main forces in two decades. The annual basic salaries of the new forces increased from about 22,000 dollars in 2022 to nearly 28,000 dollars in 2025.
Since 2017, services have also spent more on employment and retaining bonuses, especially for the most stringent jobs, as in electronic majors.
Partially to help address the effect of isolation during the epidemic, the army also created preparatory courses from 2022 to recruits ready for basic training. The navy later did the same. Graduates of these courses are now about a quarter of all the recruitment of the army.
“Services and Congress really put a tremendous amount of attention in terms of various policies and reforms, and we have seen an improvement,” says Beth Asha, the main economist specializing in military employees at the Rand Research Center.
By October 2024, recruitment increased by 60 % from the previous year. In March of this year, the services welcomed 13,000 new recruits – nearly 50 % more than the same time last year, but it is still less than 16,800 registered in January 2018, during the first period of Mr. Trump, and 20,000 registered in August 2024 under the leadership of President Joe Biden.
“This does not mean [presidential] “The elections had no effect,” says Dr. Ash.
Will the positive path continue?
Because of its success and reduced employment goals last year, the army now has a surplus of about 11,000 applicants waiting for basic training, which is nearly twice the number of the previous year. The surplus of the Air Force is the highest in a decade.
In response, the army creates 10 other basic training units to train 10 more additional new soldiers every year.
The surplus of recruits from 2024 will be calculated for the army’s goal of this year, which is to bring 60,000 new soldiers. Last June, the army announced that it had reached the most target months before the specified date.
After reducing its goals – as the army did – during the recession of the recruitment, the Air Force reflected the path and increased its targets in employment by 20 % for 2025. Although this target later returned to an 11 % increase, the Air Force achieved this target three months before the specified date. The strength of the space has increased its recruitment targets as well.
Although it did not increase the targets of employment, the navy has already achieved its targets for this year as well. As well as in the Marine Corps.
Analysts look forward to whether employment and retaining women and minority forces will be affected by the Trump administration movement away from diversity, fair and inclusion measures. Women make up approximately 18 % of the actual forces, while black and Latin forces, respectively, make up about 20 % and 18 % of the force.
How doing services reach young people?
Air Force officials have noticed the success of the 2023 program, which provides recruits from foreign employees a hurry to citizenship. Recruits can complete paperwork and conduct citizenship tests as soon as basic training enter. By the time they graduate after 7/2 weeks, the constitutional oath can be sworn as citizens.
Likewise, the employment companies in the Marine Corps grant the benefit of immigration that grants temporary legal situation and the protection from deportation to unauthorized immigrants who are family members of American citizens who serve in the army. However, amid the Trump administration’s migration campaign, the Marine Corps Corps It is said She told her recruits to stop promoting this program, known as the conditional release in place, earlier this summer.
Naval leaders have also created new professional specializations, such as robots, which they say are attractive to young people. The service also tries to improve the quality of sailors through initiatives that include everything from 24/7 to gyms to better situations.
“There was an explosion in the retirement, which did not receive a lot of attention. It was historically in all services,” he said in a large part of it due to generous military benefits. These allowances include housing, college academic fees for family members, and medical care.
At the same time, the Pentagon launches social media campaigns to target “parents, teachers and other relevant adult influencers to build a call for military service.” It is also developing the experimental “excavation” tools that use artificial intelligence “to enhance the efficiency of the recruiter.
The new recruitment work squad of the Ministry of Defense brings together data analysts, lawyers and employees working in this field. “Their mission is: to provide visions” that would excel this president, “said Mr. Barnil,” their mission is to provide visions “that would excel this president.”
The work group plans to treat, among other things, the accumulation of medical concessions that military doctors can give for conditions such as childhood asthma and pregnancy, a diagnosis given to about 10 % of pregnant women in the United States.
Mr. Barnell, who is participating in the presidency of the Labor Squad, said that the exemptions currently take six months on average for treatment through services. By that time [recruits] I got another job. “