The Military Recruiting Crisis Is Over

US Army has no shortage of volunteers

December 2024 was “the most productive December in 15 years” for US Army recruiting. Altogether, ten new basic training units will be established this year to take in the new recruiting class. “By April, the service expects to have 10 additional basic training units established across Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and Fort Sill, Oklahoma — some of which are already established,” Military.com reports. “In total, that would allow the Army to train up to 9,600 new recruits per year.”

Newly-minted Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth credited Donald Trump for the sudden surge of volunteers at recruitment centers. Hegseth is a darling of the veterans community, millions of families across the country from which a majority of military service volunteers emerge in an intergenerational chain of trust. Like it or not, he is objectively correct that the reelection of Donald Trump immediately preceded this event, so 45/47 will be credited as the president who fixed the recruiting crisis simply by getting elected.

If the trend lasts, and meets the needs of all the kinetic fighting services, the second Trump presidency will set a new standard for maintaining the vital culture of American military service. During his first term, President Trump was more popular among the enlisted than the officer class. Hegseth has vowed to pursue Trump’s policy of reducing the general staff and the top-heavy Pentagon structure. Carried out over the long term, history suggests, this will have larger, long-term social and political effects on the United States, galvanizing small-d democracy in favor of small-r republicanism.

I expected that this would happen and wrote as much eight days after the election. I enjoy being right, so here is a 24-hour flash sale on premium annual subscriptions to celebrate. If you are a free subscriber, then please consider upgrading before I publish my next paywalled piece on Ukraine’s new laser weapon and the state of the long-range strike war with Russia. I have had an eye on both topic areas for a long time, and now they are merging into one discussion — just as I said they would. If you are already a premium subscriber, then thank you for your support. You make this project possible.