Pentagon Weighs Bigger Army as Service Sees Early Recruiting Success
Published May 29, 2025 at 4:57pm ET
The Army is on the cusp of hitting its annual recruiting target months ahead of schedule, a development that's prompting Pentagon planners to consider a rare move: increasing the active-duty force without Congress.
As of Monday, the Army had brought in 59,875 new active-duty enlisted soldiers with a total goal of 61,000 for fiscal 2025, which ends Sept. 30, according to data reviewed by Military.com. That tally includes about 14,000 recruits who signed up last year but delayed shipping to basic training due to school obligations or training capacity issues. Such recruits are counted in the year they begin service.
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With the Army expected to hit its target in the next week or two, the Pentagon is weighing whether to invoke a little-used and relatively obscure authority that allows the defense secretary to increase a service's end strength by up to 3% without congressional action, four defense officials told Military.com. That would boost the Army's size from 450,000 soldiers to 463,500. The other option, a 4% increase, would require approval from Capitol Hill. The Army secretary also has authority to make some marginal increases.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/05/29/pentagon-weighs-bigger-army-service-sees-early-recruiting-success.html
