US Navy meets recruiting goals three months ahead of schedule
Under the Trump administration, the U.S. Navy has made history, being the first military service branch to meet its recruiting goal three months ahead of schedule.
Secretary of the Navy John Phelan announced Wednesday that the U.S. Navy met its recruiting goal three months before the end of the fiscal year. The fiscal year goes from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. The Navy met its goal before the third quarter ends June 30.
As of Wednesday, 40,600 future sailors had signed up to serve in the U.S. Navy, Phelan said.
“This achievement reflects the courage of those who choose a life of honor and commitment in defense of our nation,” Phelan said, thanking President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for their leadership, which made the recruiting milestone possible. Their support “has been instrumental in strengthening our U.S. Navy and ensuring its readiness for the challenges ahead,” he said.
The recruitment milestone also comes at “a critical time in history,” Phelan said. “The world is more complex and more contested than it has been in decades, and our ability to respond starts with our greatest asset, our people. This milestone reflects more than numbers. It reflects the drive of our recruiters, the innovation of our team and the courage of thousands of Americans who stepped forward to serve.”
With new recruits, the Navy is also modernizing to adapt to a new era of warfare, he said.
“This recruiting milestone is only the beginning because the challenges ahead are only growing. We’re in a new era of warfare where the battlefield extends from seabed to space. To succeed, we must innovate, adapt and move boldly. As we mark 250 years of naval service, we’re building towards the next 250 years. Those in uniform today are sailing forward. The next generation is already preparing to take the watch.”
He also welcomed and thanked the Navy’s newest sailors, saying their “courage makes it all possible.”
The U.S. Navy is the first of the U.S. military branches to reach its recruitment goal. Other branches earlier this year began reporting record level recruitment numbers, as well as the Coast Guard, Secret Service and Border Patrol, The Center Square reported.
As the U.S. Army just celebrated its 250th anniversary on June 14, it announced its recruitment level was at 85%. Trump also swore in several hundred soldiers who chose to reenlist.
This marked a significant reversal from the Biden era when more than 60,000 Army soldiers faced losing pay and benefits over a vaccine mandate and recruitment and retention levels were at an all-time low, The Center Square reported.
Under the Biden administration, each military service branch suffered from low morale and other issues prompting congressional hearings. The Biden administration also prioritized DEI policies over military readiness, congress members argued.
Perhaps the biggest blow to morale was the administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, during which Americans were left behind and 13 service members were killed. Prior to being elected to his second term, then candidate Trump acknowledged and gave a voice to the angel families of killed service members who argued former President Joe Biden ignored them and was responsible for their family member’s death.
After the U.S. was embroiled in an $85 billion 20-year conflict in Afghanistan during which more than 2,400 Americans died fighting the Taliban and other Islamic terrorist organizations, the Biden administration turned over Afghanistan to Taliban control in August 30, 2021.
In a few months in office, Trump and Hegseth reversed many Biden administration military policies. Phelan and others credit them for the record level recruitment, increased morale and large number of service members reenlisting.
