The U.S. Army’s recruitment effort is far ahead of schedule for the fiscal year, having topped 30,000 new active-duty soldiers in just a few months, and that’s due in part to the new commander in chief, his Defense Secretary nominee said Tuesday.



President Trump’s pick to head the Pentagon, Pete <a href="https://mail.aol.com/d/compose/6973583475#">Hegseth</a>, told senators at his confirmation hearing that recruitment has increased since Trump was elected president. He also said there will be a “recruiting renaissance” after Trump takes office and the Pentagon can rid itself of “woke” policies.



“I know the troops will rejoice. They will love it. We have already seen it in recruiting numbers. There has been a surge since President Trump won the election,” Mr. <a href="https://mail.aol.com/d/compose/6973583475#">Hegseth</a> said.&nbsp;



“There’s no better recruiter for our military, in my mind, than President Donald Trump.”



Mr. <a href="https://mail.aol.com/d/compose/6973583475#">Hegseth</a> has pledged to make drawing new enlistments into the military a top priority, noting that “our recruitment numbers have shrunk dramatically.”&nbsp;



Vice President Vance jumped into the fray to castigate senators more interested in Mr. <a href="https://mail.aol.com/d/compose/6973583475#">Hegseth’s</a> tattoos than his qualifications to lead the Pentagon.



“I find this grandstanding from Senate Democrats over the <a href="https://mail.aol.com/d/compose/6973583475#">Hegseth</a> confirmation perplexing,” he wrote on Twitter. “We haven’t won a war in three decades and we have a major recruitment challenge. <a href="https://mail.aol.com/d/compose/6973583475#">Hegseth</a> is assuredly NOT more of the same, and that’s good!”



Mr. <a href="https://mail.aol.com/d/compose/6973583475#">Hegseth</a> said the military has long been a “family business.” 



“My grandfather served, my father served, I served, my daughter served. The shame is that chain has started to break with generations of people my age and older talking to their kids and <a href="https://mail.aol.com/d/compose/6973583475#">grandkids</a>, wondering, pondering, ‘do I want them to serve? Will my country use them responsibly?’ When that kind of doubt is cast, you get serious recruiting problems, like we do right now,” he said.



Over the past few years, recruitment among men has been down. Only two in five young men are deemed both weight-eligible and adequately active to join the military, the <a href="https://mail.aol.com/d/compose/6973583475#">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> says.



Yet women are enlisting in droves. Nearly 10,000 women signed up for active duty in 2024, which is an 18 percent increase from 2023, according to service data reviewed by Military.com. New male recruits still rose, but by just 8 percent, lower than past years.



In fact, enlistments of young men have plunged about 22 percent since 2013, to 45,000 last year from 58,000 men recruited in 2013.



Young men simply aren’t fit enough to go into the military, endless studies have found. A Pentagon study from 2020 found that 77 percent of young men don’t qualify for military service without a waiver due to being overweight, having mental or physical problems, or illegal drug use.



The Army requires just a high school degree, but the service conducts its own test, known as the <a href="https://mail.aol.com/d/compose/6973583475#">Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery</a>, which measures skills in math, science, and language.



The problem has gotten so bad that the Army was forced to create a 90-day program called the Future Solders Preparatory course. The pre-basic training program, created in 2022, seeks to aid ineligible applicants who are too fat or don’t meet academic standards. According to military data, 70 percent of the ineligible are men.

President Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth appears before the Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on January 14, 2025.

Hegseth: There Has Been a Military Recruitment ‘Surge’ Since Trump Elected

'There's no better recruiter for our military, in my mind, than President Donald Trump,' Hegseth said.

Hegseth: There Has Been a Military Recruitment 'Surge' Since Trump Elected | The New York Sun

Home

Hegseth: There Has Been a Military Recruitment &#8216;Surge&#8217; Since Trump Elected

The New York Sun

https://wp.nysun.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/the-new-york-sun-og.jpg

Dr. Casey Means, a wellness influencer, left, and journalist Megan Kelly, attend a confirmation hearing for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Consternation Broils in MAHA and MAGA Worlds Over Trump’s ‘Woo-Woo’ Surgeon General Pick

Jen Psaki's new primetime show debuted Tuesday on MSNBC.

Jen Psaki’s New MSNBC Show Has a Bumpy Start as She’s Accused of Making ‘Obviously False’ Claim That She Never Noticed Biden’s Decline

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, May 8, 2025.

To Cheers of the Faithful the ‘Least American of the Americans,’ Pope Leo XIV, Accedes to Throne of St. Peter

This undated image shows the former acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon.

Biden-Era Prosecutors Accused of ‘Deception’ —  and Targeting Republicans — in Breaking Plea Deal With Sam Bankman-Fried’s Top Lieutenant

The newly elected pope, Leo XIV, left, appears on the central loggia of St. Peter's, May 8, 2025.

Leo XIV: What’s in a Name?

Alleged victim of Harvey Weinstein, Kaja Sokola (C) arrives at Manhattan Criminal Court during Weinstein's rape and sexual assault re-trial on May 8, 2025 in New York City.   

‘He Was Way, Way Larger Than Me’: Weeping Model Describes How Obese Harvey Weinstein Nearly Crushed Her in Alleged Hotel Room Rape

Robert Cardinal Prevost appears on the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica after being chosen the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, May 8, 2025.

A Made in America Pope, Who Believes in the Godliness of Work

Former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates talks with actor Brenda Song during an event celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Microsoft on April 4, 2025 in Redmond, Washington.  

Bill Gates, Once the World’s Richest Man, Will Close His Foundation and Give Away Nearly All His Money

Hegseth: There Has Been a Military Recruitment ‘Surge’ Since Trump Elected

To continue reading, please select:

Enter your email to read for FREE

Join the Sun for a PENNY A DAY

Sections

More

Sign in or create a free account

A login link has been sent to