Recruitment Rises 12.5% Despite Ongoing Challenges

The Defense Department’s armed services branches recruited 12.5% more individuals in financial year 2024 than in the year prior despite a tough and disinterested recruiting market.

Katie Helland Director of Military Accessions Policy Katie Helland speaks with members of the media throughout a panel on 2025 recruiting goals at the Pentagon, Oct. 30, 2024.
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Credit: Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jackie Sanders, DOD.
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While speaking at a multiservice panel on 2025 recruiting problems at the Pentagon earlier today, Director of Military Accession Policy Katie Helland said that the services increased the number of recruits from 200,000 in FY 2023 to 225,000 in FY 2024, which ended September 30.

Additionally, she stated, the services had a 35% increase in composed agreements, and employment the active parts’ postponed entry program began FY 2025 with a 10% larger swimming pool.

” [The Office of the Secretary of Defense] and the services will continue to build off the momentum that we have actually gained in 2024,” Helland stated.

” Nevertheless,” she continued, “we require to stay very carefully positive about the future recruiting operations as we continue to recruit in a market that has low youth tendency to serve, limited familiarity with military opportunities, a competitive labor market and a declining eligibility among young grownups.”

Helland elaborated on those difficulties by discussing that, for the very first time since the metric has actually been tracked, a lot of young people have actually never ever thought about the option of serving in the military.

The reasons behind that are multifold, Helland stated. Young Americans have less ties to buddies or member of the family who have actually served in the military. There is a declining existence of veterans in our society. Approximately 77% of individuals in between the ages of 17 and 24 need some type of waiver to serve due to any number of disqualifications.

To counter such difficulties, employment Helland stated the military has implemented a medical pilot program that allows employees to sign up with the military without a waiver for many health conditions – provided they meet certain requirements. Additionally, there are service member preparation courses that prepare recruits to meet the strenuous requirements of military service. Moreover, DOD is looking for to reconnect with youth and their influencers by showing them the worth of serving.

” The next generation of Americans to serve need to know that there has actually never been a better time for them to pick military service,” Helland said.

Panel Pentagon Press Secretary Flying Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder helps with a panel on financial year 2025 recruiting goals at the Pentagon, Oct. 30, employment 2024.
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” Youth today seek a larger purpose in their lives and desire tasks where they have higher involvement in decision-making and can produce a direct tangible effect,” she continued. “Military service offers all of this.”

Explaining that U.S. military service uses more than 250 occupations which it represents among the most highly informed organizations throughout the world and across all pay grades, the Defense Department is striving to counter the story that joining the armed force is an alternative to going to college or “an alternative of last option.”

” We are working to reframe this narrative so that Americans comprehend that military service is a path to greater education and profession opportunities while defending democracy and the liberties we hold dear,” Helland stated.

She included that DOD is reframing this narrative. For example, the department’s Joint Advertising Marketing research and Studies program will quickly launch a campaign to construct familiarity with the American public about the value of military service. Plans are also proceeding to have adult influencers promote for military service.