Opinion

SEAN PARNELL: The military needs more than recruiting ads — it needs to be seen

Under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, America is back, and so is military service

By Sean Parnell Fox News

Published November 3, 2026 5:00am EST

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Three years ago, Washington had written off a generation. Too soft, too unfit, too disconnected to serve. In 2023, the Army, Navy and Air Force all missed their recruiting goals. People in this town started asking out loud whether the all-volunteer force could survive. Some started talking about a draft.

They were wrong about the kids.

Under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, every active-duty service made its recruiting mission in fiscal year 2026, and most of them did it months early. The Army signed 61,500 future soldiers with more than four months to spare. The Navy raised its goal by 10 percent and still hit it in July. It finished the year with 45,112 sailors, three years after coming up 7,450 short of its goal. The Air Force and Space Force had met their goals by April. The Marines said it was the best recruiting environment they'd seen in years, and they already have half of next year's class under contract.

RENEWED PATRIOTISM AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FUEL ARMY'S BIGGEST RECRUITING SURGE IN YEARS

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Since November 2024, the military has posted its best rate of recruiting mission achieved in more than 15 years. We did it while American troops........

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