Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Saturday that “recruitments are up across the joint force” and that “just two days ago, the U.S. Army met its 2026 recruiting goals four months early.”
“A second record year in a row,” Hegseth said during his commencement speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. “That means you’re about to train this group right here and lead 61,500 new soldiers.”
His comments come as the Iran war remains in a tense holding pattern. As U.S.-Iran talks continue without a breakthrough, U.S. officials have warned that without a deal on Tehran’s nuclear program and regional security, U.S. combat operations could rapidly resume.
“You’re in a dangerous line of work, and there is no world in which high intensity conflict exists without great pain, agony, sickness, and human tragedy. In this War Department, we raise up warriors purpose-built not for good weather, blue skies or fancy parades. We’re built to load up on the back of helicopters, C-17s or Strykers in the dead of night, in fair weather or foul, to go to dangerous places, to engage those who would do our nation and our citizens harm and deliver justice in close and brutal combat on behalf of the American people,” Hegseth added in his address.
“But what makes us different is that we don’t fight because we hate what’s in front of us. We fight because we love what’s behind us. Our family, our freedom, and our flag,” he said. “The battlefield does not grade on a curve, and you can’t throw your pronouns at the enemy. Combat is the ultimate test, and our best Americans must ace it.”