Military recruiting rebounds after several tough years, but challenges remain

FORT JACKSON, South Carolina — After a very difficult few years and a series of new programs and temptations, the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Space Force will all reach their recruiting goals by the end of this month and the navy will come very closesay the armed forces.

The results show a slight increase in the number of young people joining the military, reversing a bleak trend that began as the military struggled to cope with strict restrictions on in-person recruitment imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, a low unemployment rate and fierce competition from private companies that could pay more and offer similar or better employment conditions.

But Army leaders looking to the future worry that an expected decline in the youth population could signal tougher times ahead. And other military officials say that while they see improvements, they will still face tough challenges and must continue to transform their recruiting efforts going forward.

Military leaders note that only 23 percent of young adults are physically, mentally, and morally qualified to serve without receiving some form of waiver. Moral issues include drug use, gang affiliation, or criminal records. And of those who are qualified to serve, many are reluctant to take a job that will put their life or health at risk.

The military has made the biggest comeback after falling far short of recruitment targets for the past two years. Two years ago, the army brought in 45,000 recruits, far fewer than the 60,000 it needed, and last year it again fell 15,000 short of what leaders had publicly set as a “stretch goal” of 65,000 recruits.

This year, the service will meet its goal with a lower target of 55,000, Defense Minister Christine Wormuth said Wednesday. She plans to set a higher target for 2025.

“We not only met our goal, we exceeded it,” she said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Our goal was 55,000 new hires and 5,000 youth in our delayed entry program. We exceeded that goal of 55,000 by a couple hundred and we placed 11,000 youth in the delayed entry program, which will give our recruiters a really strong starting point to begin our hiring goal for next year.”

Still, she noted that “the headwinds we’ve been facing are not going to stop blowing.” Wormuth said a projected decline of about 10% in the number of college-age youth by 2026 is a significant concern. The dip comes 18 years after the 2008 financial recession, which caused a decline in the number of children born.

It’s a big problem, she said, because the military and other services recruit from that demographic. And other challenges will continue.

“I think we’re probably going to continue to see fairly low unemployment. We’re still going to see 60 percent going to college. It’s a more competitive job market,” Wormuth said. “So we’re going to have to continue to fight hard for our new recruits.”

A key to the recruitment’s success, she said, is the Army’s preparatory course for future soldiers, which gives underperforming recruits up to 90 days of academic or fitness instruction to help them meet military standards. This year, more than 13,000 recruits — or 24 percent of the 55,000 — came through the program, which began as a pilot two years ago.

The Navy is the only service that will miss its goal this year. Although the service was able to enroll 40,600 recruits as hoped, a rush of last-minute enrollments means they won’t all make it through boot camp next month. As a result, the Navy will be about 5,000 short of getting all the recruits into the 10-week training course in Great Lakes, Illinois, by the end of the fiscal year.

“I’m pleased that even though we can’t get everyone we have signed up for through boot camp by the end of this month, we now have a deferred enrollment pool for early next year, which will really prime the pump,” Navy Adm. Lisa Franchetti said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The Navy underserved about 7,000 people last year, forcing leaders to take more drastic measures than other military services. The Navy has worked to significantly expand its pool of applicants by bringing in recruits who do not have a high school diploma or a GED and by taking young adults who score very low on the military test. Both are rare steps that greatly limit or avoid the other services.

Navy leaders also followed the Army’s lead, creating a Future Sailor Prep Course that gives underperforming recruits academic or physical fitness training to help them qualify for service. That course, Franchetti said, “really produces good results for our teammates who want to join the Navy.”

The Air Force, which missed its recruiting target by about 10 percent last year, will meet its goal of hiring at least 27,100 people this year while expanding its pool of delayed applicants, starting next budget year with more than 13,000.

All services try to have a pool of applicants ready at the beginning of the year. But in recent years, they have all had to draw heavily on that pool of applicants to meet their requirements.

Brig. Gen. Christopher Amrhein, who directs Air Force recruiting, told the AP that there was no “silver bullet” and that the service could make some adjustments “without actually changing the quality of members coming in.”

The service has expanded its capabilities to recruit legal permanent residents, increased its social media presence and sought greater partnerships with sporting events, including NASCAR.

“It was different initiatives, thoughts, discipline training, everything working in harmony, plus really hard work from our recruiters to have a really strong year,” he said, but added, “We have to keep our foot on the gas pedal. We’re not out of it yet.”

The Marine Corps and the tiny Space Force — the two smallest services — have consistently met their goals. The Space Force brought in 716 recruits — slightly more than its goal of 659.

The Marine Corps has met its goal of approximately 28,000 recruits and will enter the new year with a larger group of delayed recruits than the year before for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our recruiters, assigned to every zip code across the country, knew this year would be challenging, but they never stopped fighting to accomplish the mission,” said Maj. Gen. William Bowers, head of Marine Corps Recruiting Command, adding that they “enter the next fiscal year with increased confidence, focus and determination to meet or exceed the 2025 mission.”