Army Hits 2024 Recruiting Target After Coming Up Short for 2 Years, Lowering Goal

Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, Commanding General of the 11th Airborne Division, leads the oath of enlistment for future soldiers, during an enlistment ceremony as part of Arctic Angel Rendezvous Week, at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, on June 4, 2024. Spc. Keon Horton/U.S. Army

The U.S. Army hit its main recruiting goal for fiscal year 2024 after notable shortfalls in the prior two recruiting cycles.

The military service announced it has brought in at least 55,300 recruits to boost its active component, surpassing its 55,000-recruit goal by Sept. 30.

The recruiting success comes after the Army missed its 2022 target by 25 percent, bringing in only 45,000 recruits to its active component out of a goal of 60,000.

The service slightly improved in 2023, notching a 15 percent miss as it brought in 55,000 new members. The goal was 65,000 recruits.

In addition to hitting its active component recruiting goal, the Army is set to have more than 11,000 recruits in its delayed entry program (DEP); which allows enlistees to commit to enter Basic Training on a specified date.

Military recruiters have historically worked to place enlistees into the DEP toward the end of a recruiting cycle and set their ship-out dates toward the beginning of the next recruiting cycle, providing an early base for that year’s recruitment effort.

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said the Army’s current DEP pool is “more than double the goal we set” and “will allow our recruiting efforts for next year to start strong right out of the gate.”

This year’s success is due in part to the Army’s Future Soldier Preparatory Course (FSPC), a program to help prospective recruits who fall short of minimum fitness and academic standards train up to meet the needs of the Army by the time they enter the basic training program.

The Army reported that, as of mid-September, some 13,206 trainees had entered basic training through the FSPC program this year.

After the 2023 recruiting miss, the Army also reorganized its recruiting component and revised its practices.

Where in the past Army recruiting efforts have heavily relied on soldiers with no specialized training in the process, the Army moved to expand the number of service members trained specifically to recruit others into the service.

The Army said its Recruiting Command graduated its first class of Talent Acquisition Technician warrant officers, who will specialize in bringing in recruits.

The service branch said it would also shift its focus from high schools to higher education institutions, online job boards such as Glassdoor and ZipRecruiter, and career fairs.

“We are committed to continue to transform Army recruiting to enable our great recruiters to excel,” Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George said, as the Army announced its 2024 recruiting figures.

U.S. Army trainees participating in the Army's new Future Soldier Prep Course learn how to properly use exercise equipment during a physical training session at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C., on Sept. 28, 2022. Scott Olson/Getty Images

The Army’s recent recruiting struggles have invited renewed scrutiny from lawmakers.

At an April Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) noted that while the Army appeared on track to meet its 2024 recruiting goal, that was notably smaller than in prior years.

The Republican senator told Wormuth the Army’s recruiting efforts appeared to be improving “because you’re throwing a dart at the wall and drawing the bullseye around it.”

“Your first full year on the job the target was 60,000 you didn’t even get 45,000. Last year it was 65 you got 55. You had projected, last year, for it to be 62,600 this year and conveniently you decided to change the goal to 55,000 which is exactly what you got last year,” Cotton said.

“You don’t think that is a little suspicious?”

Wormuth replied that the various military combatant commands have been able to meet their needs with the Army’s existing year-end force size and that this figure will begin trending upward.

She said the Army aims to reach a total force size of 470,000 by 2029, up from about 445,000 at present.

The other military branches have also struggled with recruiting efforts, and challenges persist.

The U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Space Force are on track to meet their respective recruiting goals.

The U.S. Navy expects to meet its goal of signing up 40,600 recruits by the end of the fiscal year, but not all of the recruits will be through the recruit training process before the start of the new year.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.