Military recruiting hit a 15-year high. How quickly do recruits become mission ready?
How quickly recruits move from accession to operational qualification can affect force generation, unit staffing and long-term readiness planning.
Your Military
Incoming female students at US Naval Academy must cut hair below chin
The school is returning to a female grooming standard that it upheld for decades before a 2018 shift in policy.
Marines create dedicated track for Doctor of Philosophy officers
The new MOS 8899 establishes a career path for PhD-trained officers in technical fields.
Air Force selects new technical sergeants with highest promotion rate since 2021
The Air Force announced the promotion of 6,668 staff sergeants to technical sergeant for a selection rate of 26.56%.
Flu outbreak sickens 200 trainees at Lackland Air Force Base
The outbreak among trainees comes two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made the annual flu shot optional for U.S. military personnel.
Army recruiter pleads guilty to stealing the identities of potential recruits for bank fraud
A New Jersey Army recruiter admitted to stealing the identities of seven potential recruits in a bank fraud scheme.
Air Force releases plan to recruit, retain AI professionals
The Air Force released its plans to "aggressively" recruit and retain AI professionals to further become an "AI-first force."
Air Force hits fiscal 2026 recruitment goal ahead of schedule
Five months ahead of the end of fiscal 2026, the Air Force and Space Force achieved their recruiting goal in part to the Delayed Entry Program.
Automatic registration for US military draft-eligible men to begin in December
Automatic registration into Selective Service was mandated in December 2025, when President Donald Trump signed into law the fiscal year 2026 NDAA.
Navy hits historic recruiting numbers with more ads, tattoo approvals
Fiscal 2025 was the best recruiting year for the Navy since 2002. The head of Navy recruiting credited the feat, in part, to streamlining tattoo approvals.
Marines move some recruiting centers to urban hubs in massive realignment
To date, they have closed the Corps’ recruiting station headquarters in Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Des Moines, Iowa.
Opinion
How addressing waivers and eligibility can fix the recruiting crisis
There are many factors that contribute to the recruiting crisis facing the military, but at least one of them is within the Pentagon's power to fix.
Army recruiting reforms go ‘back to the future’ to fix ongoing crisis
The Army appears to have modeled recruiting reforms after a defunct organization that fell victim to budget cuts, not performance.
Air Force, Space Force raise max enlistment age to 42
The change arrives around a month after the Air Force missed its recruiting target for the first time since 1999.
Marine Corps eyes national rebranding of recruiting centers
Marine Corps recruiting offices across the country may soon be getting a major face-lift for the first time in more than 17 years.
Senators press Pentagon on new medical system’s recruiting impact
A letter to the Defense Department Wednesday seeks answers on how the Genesis military health system, and the need for more waivers, affects recruiting.
Army recruiters at two-thirds of contract goals as fiscal year closes
Army Times obtained internal recruiting data that details the service's continuing recruiting crisis.
