So, Something Really Good Has Happened to The Military Under Trump and Hegseth

Department of Defense to the Department of War, there has been a dramatic uptick in recruiting across all service branches:

The rebrand seems to have come at the right time, after years of alarming shortfalls that left the services struggling to fill ranks; military recruiting has staged a remarkable turnaround. In fiscal year 2025, every branch met or exceeded its active-duty goals for the first time in years. The Army hit 101.7 percent of its 61,000 target with 62,050 recruits. The Navy crushed its goal, reaching 108.6 percent. The Air Force, Marines, and Space Force all cleared their marks as well.

The momentum has carried into 2026 as the Army announced it reached its recruiting goal more than four months early. The Air Force and Space Force hit theirs five months ahead of schedule. Prior years told a different story. Multiple branches missed targets in 2022 and 2023, which is something Sen. Tuberville and other critics attributed to perceptions of a force more focused on internal politics and “woke” policies than warfighting.

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