Summarized by the Alliance for Fort Gordon
Published July 25, 2025
Just two years ago, the outlook for military recruitment was bleak. A 15,000-soldier shortfall — the Army’s deepest gap since the draft ended in 1973 — forced commanders to trim training rotations and rethink end-strength projections, while lawmakers warned the all-volunteer force faced its most serious manning crisis in half a century.
Pandemic school closures had kept recruiters off campuses and students out of classrooms, the chaotic end of the Afghanistan war shook public confidence, and a private sector labor market flush with signing bonuses lured away many of the young Americans who still qualified for military service.