The Defense Department’s armed services branches recruited 12.5% more people in fiscal year 2024 than in the year prior despite a challenging and disinterested recruiting market.
While speaking at a multiservice panel on 2025 recruiting issues at the Pentagon earlier this week, 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 said, the services had a 35% increase in written contracts, and the active components’ delayed entry program started FY 2025 with a 10% larger pool.
“[The Office of the Secretary of Defense] and the services will continue to build off the momentum that we’ve gained in 2024,” Helland said.
“Nevertheless,” she continued, “we need to remain cautiously optimistic about the future recruiting operations as we continue to recruit in a market that has low youth propensity to serve, limited familiarity with military opportunities, a competitive labor market and a declining eligibility among young adults.”
Helland elaborated on those challenges by explaining that, for the first time since the metric has been tracked, most young people have never considered the option of serving in the military.
The reasons behind that are multifold, Helland said. Young Americans have fewer ties to friends or family members who have served in the military. There is a declining presence of veterans in our society. Approximately 77% of people between the ages of 17 and 24 require some type of waiver to serve due to any number of disqualifications.
To counter such challenges, Helland said the military has implemented a medical pilot program that allows recruits to join the military without a waiver for numerous health conditions — provided they meet certain requirements. Additionally, there are service member prep courses that prepare recruits to meet the strenuous requirements of military service. Moreover, DOD is seeking to reconnect with youth and their influencers by showing them the value of serving.
“The next generation of Americans to serve should know that there has never been a better time for them to choose military service,” Helland said.
“Youth today seek a larger purpose in their lives and desire jobs where they have greater participation in decision-making and can create a direct tangible impact,” she continued. “Military service offers all of this.”
Explaining that U.S. military service offers more than 250 occupations and that it represents one of the most highly educated organizations throughout the world and across all pay grades, Helland said the Defense Department is working hard to counter the narrative that joining the military is an alternative to attending college or “an option of last resort.”
“We are working to reframe this narrative so that Americans understand that military service is a pathway to greater education and career opportunities while defending democracy and the freedoms we hold dear,” Helland said.
She added that DOD is reframing this narrative. For example, the department’s Joint Advertising Market Research and Studies program will soon launch a campaign to build familiarity with the American public about the value of military service. Plans are also proceeding to have adult influencers advocate for military service.
Helland, who holds a doctorate in industrial/organizational psychology, also said DOD is working with its education partners to develop a plan and strategy to share data with state education agencies so that public high school students will receive credit for military readiness, in addition to college and career readiness.
Helland said the Pentagon has partnered with national service agencies such as the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps to help roll out an overall message of service.
“Because, like military service, there has been a decline in propensity for national service opportunities,” she said. “So, we are working on a whole-of-government solution.”
As she concluded her remarks, Helland made a point of praising the progress of last year’s recruitment efforts.
“While we’re here to talk about recruiting efforts today, we also want to celebrate the 225,000 young adults who’ve enlisted in fiscal year 2024,” she said.
“Through a spirit of selfless service, we continue to build and maintain the world’s most capable military.”
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