U.S. Army Hits 61,500-Soldier 2026 Recruiting Goal 4 Months Early

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 23

61,500 new soldiers are now expected for 2026 after the U.S. Army met its recruiting target four months ahead of schedule, Pete Hegseth said at West Point.
The early milestone marks a second straight strong year: the Army set a 61,000 goal for 2025 and finished with 62,050 recruits, according to the Pentagon.
Hegseth said the Army would grow again next year and used the speech to argue recruiting momentum followed a shift away from diversity-focused policies toward merit, unity and combat readiness.
The announcement came as he cast the security environment as increasingly dangerous, citing recent deployments to the Middle East and U.S. consideration of possible fresh military action against Iran.

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