This week, the secretary of the United States Navy announced that it met its recruiting goal for the fiscal year 2025.
This came after reports surfaced throughout former President Joe Biden’s tenure that recruiting numbers were dropping.
"I am proud to announce we've met our Fiscal Year 2025 recruiting goal, three months early. 40,600 future Sailors have signed up to serve in our U.S. Navy," Secretary John Phelan said in a video announcement this week.
“This is a critical time in history. The world is more complex and more contested than it has been in decades. Our ability to respond starts with our greatest asset – our people. This milestone reflects more than numbers. It reflects the drive of our recruiters, innovation of our team, and the courage of thousands of Americans who stepped forward to serve,” he added.
“This recruiting milestone is only the beginning, because the challenges ahead are growing. We’re in a new era of warfare, where the battlefield extends from sea bed to space,” he continued. “To our newest sailors: welcome to the fleet. Thank you. Your courage makes it all possible.”
SEC. OF THE NAVY: "I am proud to announce we've met our Fiscal Year 2025 recruiting goal, three months early. 40,600 future Sailors have signed up to serve in our U.S. Navy." 🔥🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/ra2fSj08Sr
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 18, 2025
In fiscal year 2023, the Navy missed its active-duty recruiting goal by several thousand recruits. The goal was 37,700. The Navy only recruited 30,236.
Last year, a report from Navy Times described this as a “crisis.” This did not just impact the Navy. Every branch except the Marines saw recruiting numbers drop.
“I think we can absorb one year of missing mission,” Vice Adm. Brendan McLane, commander of Naval Surface Forces, said at the Surface Navy Association’s annual conference last year. “Two years — that’s going to be a problem, that’s going to have an effect.”