There’s little doubt that Donald Trump’s election was a boon for America’s military recruitment.

Fiscal year 2025 saw a 15-year high in recruitment numbers, with the U.S. Army hitting its 61,000 recruitment target in record time, a full four months before the fiscal year ended. Furthermore, all branches of the military easily met their recruitment goals. This is quite the turnaround from the Joe Biden years, when the military came up short in 2022 and 2023.

Can this positive change be completely credited to Trump? While the current commander-in-chief has undoubtedly played a significant role, there were a number of changes prior to Trump taking up residence in the White House a second time that deserve some credit for the transformation as well.

First, it’s helpful to understand why military recruiting began struggling so badly.

Two culprits rise above the others: the COVID pandemic and the promulgation of wokism, or DEI. The pandemic hit every facet of America, including the military. This, of course, was exacerbated by Biden’s COVID vaccine mandate, which not only shrunk America’s military forces, as personnel who refused to get the jab were effectively kicked out, but also chased would-be new recruits away.

Further complicating the situation was the Biden administration’s push of woke policies throughout the military. Under Biden, DEI was the name of the game. This was evidenced even in the recruitment commercials, which highlighted a litany of DEI issues over and against the primary reason for America’s military: to defend the nation against foreign threats through lethal means, including war.

Contrast that reality with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s warrior ethos, which is front and center under the Trump administration. Under Biden, there was a push for “inclusivity,” like promoting gender-bending deviancy among the troops. Far from encouraging and attracting new young warriors, this pushed more conservative-minded individuals — who generally account for the lion’s share of recruits — to choose otherwise. Hegseth is working hard to restore the ideals that make our military great.

Still, as noted above, there were some developments during the Biden administration that began to turn things around for recruitment. In December 2024, Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act into law. This raised base pay by 14.5% for junior enlisted personnel, making a military career more competitive and attractive. There were also sign-up bonuses that boosted numbers.

Another issue that had driven down recruitment numbers was the growing problem of young Americans lacking the physical fitness standards to even qualify for recruitment. In an effort to tackle this issue, the Army in 2022 began an experimental program dubbed the “Future Soldier Preparatory Course” at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. The program, nicknamed “Army Fat Camp,” serves as a pre-boot camp training system that helps new trainees meet physical fitness or academic standards. Tens of thousands have successfully advanced through the program and moved on to boot camp.

All of these things have helped turn around slumping recruitment numbers. Hegseth’s refocusing of the military on the warrior ethos to keep the main thing the main thing should only encourage more young Americans to sign up and serve their country. And given the state of global affairs, strengthening our military is a must.