ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

After a year when the Army met its recruiting goal four months early, the service honored 30 top recruiters for fiscal year 2025 during a ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia.

“The diligent work of our recruiters nationwide is instrumental in mitigating challenges in the recruiting market and ensuring sustained success for the development of our force," said Brig. Gen. Sara Dudley, commanding general of the U.S. Army Recruiting Division.

As it competes for young Americans’ attention in a tight labor market, the Army needs a recruiting approach that is “more targeted” and “agile,” according to a new paper published by the Association of the U.S. Army.

The Army Reserve must be “combat ready on Day 1,” the chief of Army Reserve and commanding general of Army Reserve Command said.

“Simply put, your Army Reserve exists for one purpose, to deliver combat ready soldiers and formations at time of need in support of the nation,” Lt. Gen. Robert Harter said May 20 at a hearing before the House Appropriations defense subcommittee. “We are not a strategic formation. We are an operational force by design and necessity. We are the enabling force for the joint fight.”

The Army can ease its recruiting difficulties by actively targeting individuals who withdrew from college, according to a new Land Warfare paper published by the Association of the U.S. Army.

The Army is refining its talent management processes to keep pace with the demands of large-scale combat operations, the service’s top personnel officer said.

“Our Army is lethal, cohesive and ready. We are proud, but we are not satisfied,” said Lt. Gen. Brian Eifler, Army deputy chief of staff for personnel, G-1. “The goal is to improve, streamline and renovate how we do things in the [human resources] community to be faster and more efficient. Our readiness for large-scale combat operations depends on it.”

A new Army National Guard marketing campaign challenges young people to see themselves as becoming “uncommon” through part-time service in uniform.

Titled “Uncommon is Calling,” the campaign features five short black-and-white films starring Army National Guard soldiers working in simulated emergency scenarios that depict the types of missions Guard troops are called upon to do, according to an Army news release.

The Army is more than halfway to meeting this year’s recruiting mission and faces the possibility of exceeding its funded end strength projections, Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus said.

“We’ve seen momentum unlike we have seen in probably a decade,” Mingus said March 12 in testimony before the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on readiness and management support. He explained that the Army is 50% ahead of where it was last year, having recruited 44,358 of its goal of 61,000 new soldiers.