US Military shatters recruiting records following Trump election victory

On Tuesday, Hegseth posted on X, “BREAKING: In December 2024, the @USArmy had its best recruiting number in 12 years. In January 2025, the Army hit its best recruiting number in 15 YEARS. BOTTOM LINE: America’s youth want to serve under the bold & strong 'America First' leadership of @realDonaldTrump.”

Army officials announced Tuesday on social media that the branch had shattered previous recruiting records. December 2024 was the most active in 15 years, with almost 350 soldiers enlisted every day that month.

Army recruiting officials wrote in a post on X, "Our Recruiters have one of the toughest jobs – inspiring the next generation of #Soldiers to serve. Congratulations and keep up the great work! #BAYCB."

According to Military.com, the service has already reached the halfway mark toward its ambitious goal of bringing in 61,000 active-duty soldiers this fiscal year, which began in October.

This is a massive turnaround after the US military missed its recruiting goals in 2023 by 41,000 under the Biden-Harris administration. The situation got so dire that, in 2024, the Army announced it was cutting its force by 24,000 in a restructuring to "help the service fight in future wars," according to Fox News.

According to Lt. Col. Randy Ready, a service spokesperson, the Army will expand how many new recruits it can send to basic training this spring, riding the momentum of recent gains toward reversing a recruiting slump it has struggled with during the Biden administration. The service expects by April to have 10 additional basic training units established across Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and Fort Sill, Oklahoma that would allow the Army to train up to 9,600 recruits annually.