Early Momentum: Army Hits 30,000 Recruits, Half its Goal for the Year

The Army is already nearly halfway to meeting its ambitious goal of recruiting 61,000 active-duty soldiers during this fiscal year, according to internal data reviewed by Military.com. The service has 30,000 new enlistments this year — an increase of 6,000 compared to the same period last year, the data shows. The milestone comes as the […]
The Army's Answer to a Lack of Recruits is a Prep Course to Boost Low Scores. It's Working

FORT JACKSON, S.C. (AP) — Index cards taped to a large board on the wall at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, reveal the sometimes blunt and gritty reasons that new recruits took a chance at a last-ditch program to get into the Army. “Eviction notices motivate me,” one said. Others talked about getting free college, a […]
The Army Is Reducing Job Choice for New Recruits in 2 Critical Fields

New Army recruits going into two of the service’s most critical fields will no longer be able to choose which specific jobs they enlist into, according to an internal service email reviewed by Military.com. Both the field artillery and air defense fields, which each have several jobs within them that center around different weapons and […]
Faceless People, Invisible Hands: New Army Video Aims to Lure Recruits for Psychological Operations

FORT LIBERTY, N.C. — The video is unsettling, with haunting images of faceless people, fire and soldiers. The voiceover is a cascade of recognizable historical voices as the screen pulses cryptic messages touting the power of words, ideas and “invisible hands.” Hints of its origin are tucked into frames as they flash by: PSYWAR. The […]
Army Sees Sharp Decline in White Recruits

The Army’s recruiting of white soldiers has dropped significantly in the last half decade, according to internal data reviewed by Military.com, a decline that accounts for much of the service’s historic recruitment slump that has become the subject of increasing concern for Army leadership and Capitol Hill. The shift in demographics for incoming recruits would […]
US Military to Screen All New Recruits for Heart Conditions Under Must-Pass Annual Defense Bill

Beginning next year, the U.S. military is expected to screen all potential recruits for cardiac anomalies under a new program designed to reduce deaths at boot camp and beyond. The current version of the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, expected to pass Congress this month, requires the Defense Department to launch a pilot program […]
Too Heavy to Fight? How the Army Is Combating the Obesity Crisis to Find Recruits

FORT JACKSON, South Carolina — Pvt. David Dean weighed 320 lbs. when he went to visit a National Guard recruiter. A West Virginia plumber by trade, he wanted to prove to himself that he could serve, and he’d always wanted to put on the uniform. “I could never get in because I was overweight,” Dean […]
Once a Pilot, Army Program for Recruits Who Fall Short of Weight, Academic Standards Is Becoming Permanent

FORT JACKSON, South Carolina — The Army’s pre-basic training courses are here to stay and will likely be a fundamental tool for the service to fill the ranks amid falling academic performance and growing obesity among young Americans. The Future Soldier Preparatory Course was launched as a pilot program in August last year, with most […]
Nearly 1 in 3 Female Recruits Were Injured in Army Basic Training Last Year

Women are at least twice as likely as men to be injured in Army basic training, according to data collected over six years by the service. Most of those injuries were musculoskeletal — meaning they affect the bones, muscles, joints and tendons of female recruits. Military.com obtained the injury data as the Army is looking […]
100 Soldiers Awarded Recruiting Ribbon as Army Struggles to Find New Recruits

More than 100 soldiers have earned the Army’s new recruiting award as the service leans on existing troops to bring enlistees into the ranks and help fill gaps amid a historic recruiting slump. The Army recruiting ribbon has been given out to 104 soldiers, according to internal service documents reviewed by Military.com. In addition to […]