The Defense Department’s armed services branches hired 12.5% more individuals in 2024 than in the year prior in spite of a challenging and disinterested recruiting market.

Katie Helland Director of Military Accessions Policy Katie Helland speaks with members of the media throughout a panel on fiscal year 2025 recruiting objectives at the Pentagon, Oct. 30, 2024. Share: × Share Copy Link Email Facebook X. LinkedIn. WhatsApp

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While speaking at a multiservice panel on 2025 recruiting problems at the Pentagon previously today, Director of Military Accession Policy Katie Helland stated that the services increased the number of employees from 200,000 in FY 2023 to 225,000 in FY 2024, akropolistravel.com which ended September 30.

Additionally, she stated, fakenews.win the services had a 35% increase in written agreements, and the active parts’ delayed entry program started FY 2025 with a 10% larger pool.

” [The Office of the Secretary of Defense] and the services will continue to build off the momentum that we’ve gained in 2024,” Helland said.

” Nevertheless,” she continued, “we need to stay very carefully positive about the future recruiting operations as we continue to hire in a market that has low youth propensity to serve, limited familiarity with military opportunities, a competitive labor market and a decreasing eligibility amongst young people.”

Helland elaborated on those obstacles by discussing that, for the first time because the metric has been tracked, the majority of young individuals have never considered the option of serving in the armed force.

The reasons behind that are multifold, Helland stated. Young Americans have less ties to friends or member of the family who have actually served in the military. There is a decreasing existence of veterans in our society. Approximately 77% of individuals between the ages of 17 and 24 need some kind of waiver to serve due to any number of disqualifications.

To counter such difficulties, Helland said the military has implemented a medical pilot program that enables recruits to sign up with the armed force without a waiver for numerous health conditions - offered they fulfill particular requirements. Additionally, there are service member preparation courses that prepare employees to satisfy the difficult requirements of military service. Moreover, DOD is looking for wiki.team-glisto.com to reconnect with youth and their influencers by revealing them the worth of serving.

” The next generation of Americans to serve must know that there has never been a better time for them to choose military service,” Helland said.

Panel Pentagon Press Secretary Flying Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder facilitates a panel on 2025 recruiting goals at the Pentagon, Oct. 30, 2024. Share:. ×. Share. Copy Link. Email. Facebook. X. LinkedIn. WhatsApp

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” Youth today seek a larger purpose in their lives and desire jobs where they have higher involvement in decision-making and can produce a direct tangible impact,” she continued. “Military service provides all of this.”

Explaining that U.S. military service uses more than 250 and that it represents one of the most extremely educated organizations throughout the world and across all pay grades, Helland said the Defense Department is working hard to counter the narrative that signing up with the military is an alternative to participating in college or “an alternative of last option.”

” We are working to reframe this narrative so that Americans comprehend that military service is a path to greater education and profession chances while protecting democracy and the flexibilities we love,” Helland said.

She added that DOD is reframing this story. For example, the department’s Joint Advertising Market Research and Studies program will soon introduce a project to build familiarity with the American public about the worth of military service. Plans are also proceeding to have adult influencers advocate for military service.