All five Defense Department military services say they met fiscal 2026 recruiting goals

The armed services closed the books on fiscal 2026 on Sept. 30 with each of the five Defense Department services reporting it had reached its enlistment goal, a turnaround from 2022 and 2023, when the Army missed its goals and, in 2023, the Navy did too.

Final tallies released in the first days of October show the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force all at or above their targets. Several services reached their numbers months before the fiscal year ended, and at least two have announced larger goals for fiscal 2027, which began Oct. 1.

Army hits active, Reserve and Special Forces targets

The Army announced on May 23 that it had signed contracts with more than 61,500 future soldiers, meeting its active-duty goal four months before the end of the fiscal year. Brig. Gen. Sara Dudley, commanding general of the U.S. Army Recruiting Division, credited recruiters, saying their dedication “is the reason we achieved this momentous milestone.”

The service’s reserve components followed. Lt. Gen. Johnny Davis, who leads U.S. Army Recruiting Command, said at an Association of the United States Army event that the Army Reserve and Special Forces had met their goals for the first time in a decade or more, according to Military Times. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on X that the Reserve reached its mission of 14,322 future soldiers in September and that Special Forces recruiters hit their target of 2,940 candidates for the first time in 15 years, the outlet reported. Davis said the Army National Guard also met its target, narrowly, about a week before the fiscal year ended.

Davis said the Army is now recruiting for specific needs, such as the right mix of specialists for Patriot missile battalions and a set number of drone pilots, and is working to reduce the number of recruits lost in the training pipeline, Military Times reported.

Navy tops 45,000 for third straight successful year

The Navy said on July 2 that it had contracted 45,000 future sailors, meeting its fiscal 2026 objective. By year’s end it had enlisted 45,112, according to Stars and Stripes, the third consecutive year it beat its goal after missing in 2023. The Navy enters fiscal 2027 with 13,508 recruits waiting in its Delayed Entry Program and has again set a goal of 45,000, the newspaper reported.

The Navy has attributed the gains to faster applicant timelines and new tools for recruiters, and Stars and Stripes reported the service moved its paperwork into digital systems after 2023.

Marines, Air Force and Space Force

The Marine Corps enlisted 31,250 new Marines in fiscal 2026, along with 1,672 officers and 3,503 prior-service members for the Marine Corps Reserve, Stars and Stripes reported, citing a Corps statement. That is 714 more enlisted Marines than the year before. The Corps, which has met its recruiting goals every year since 1994, said it has already contracted about half of its fiscal 2027 mission.

The Department of the Air Force enlisted 31,950 airmen and 730 guardians, Military Times reported. The Air Force had announced in April that it reached its goal early; the airman target was later revised to 31,950 from 32,750 based on retention and the availability of training dates, according to the report. A spokesperson said the fiscal 2027 goals are 36,300 airmen and 1,402 guardians, which would nearly double Space Force enlistments.

Behind the numbers

The results follow a difficult stretch for the services. The Navy missed its fiscal 2023 goal by 7,450 recruits, according to Military Times, and the Army missed its missions in 2022 and 2023, the outlet reported.

Service leaders have pointed to changes in how recruiting works rather than to a single program. The Army activated a separate enlisted recruiting division in August 2025 and, under a recently announced policy, promotes noncommissioned officers immediately when they complete its recruiting course, which Davis said has already produced 2,000 promotions, according to Military Times.

Higher fiscal 2027 targets for the Air Force and Space Force mean recruiters will need to sustain, and in some cases exceed, this year’s pace.