Global Courant
The US military has said it sees an upward trend in recruitment, but has declined to provide figures to support the claim.
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told Congress the branch improved its numbers from last year in its bid to reverse a serious recruiting crisis but would not comply with a request to provide the actual data when asked by Military .com
Requests for quarterly recruiting data were made to the military in early April, according to the outlet, and the department has refused to come forward with the numbers for weeks, giving no reason for their refusal.
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The Army missed its 2022 recruitment targets by 25%. (US Army)
“We’ve seen an increase in force in every quarter,” Madison Bonzo, an Army spokesman, told Military.com. “We expect to close the third quarter strong and continue this momentum as we enter the fourth quarter.”
The report comes as the military is experiencing its worst recruiting crisis since the military transitioned to an all-volunteer model after the Vietnam War, falling 15,000 recruits short of the 60,000 enlistment goal by fiscal year 2022.
While all branches of the military are struggling to fill their ranks, the military, the largest branch of the armed forces, has been hardest hit by the crisis. The low number was of particular concern to Congress, as the military is a vital partner for NATO’s defense amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
However, Wormuth has taken a more optimistic note of late, telling lawmakers at a hearing last month that the industry is making progress toward a course reversal.
United States Army service patch can be seen on a uniform. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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“We are seeing improvements in our recruitment situation. We are better off this year than last year,” Wormuth said at the hearing.
However, Wormuth also told lawmakers at the Senate Judiciary Committee defense panel that the branch probably still won’t meet its goal this year.
“At the same time, the chief and I have set a very ambitious target of 65,000 recruits this year,” said Wormuth. “We are not going to achieve that goal. We are doing everything we can to get as close as possible to it.”
The Army has taken multiple steps in recent months to bolster its recruiting efforts, including expanding a pre-basic training course that would allow recruits who would normally be ineligible for service due to low physical fitness or aptitude test scores to attend training and meet Army standards before being sent to initial training.
The United States Armed Forces recruiting station in Times Square, New York City. (Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Global Courant
The course has been successful so far, the military said, and could lead to as many as 12,000 additional troops entering the ranks that would otherwise have been disqualified from service.
The military did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
Michael Lee is a writer at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter @UAMichaelLee
