By Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,
U.S. Air Force recruiting has risen to its highest level in 15 years, senior military officials say.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin announced on March 3 that recruiting numbers for the past three months – December through February – were the strongest in the past decade and a half.
Calling the numbers “astonishing,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the increase reflected a broader revival of interest in military service, fueled by a renewed emphasis on combat readiness and discipline.
“Americans are excited to serve their country again! The next generation of American warfighters will join the greatest fighting force the world has ever known!” Hegseth wrote in X’s post.
Allvin did not release exact figures but said that all recruiting figures look excellent, even as the Air Force increased its recruiting goal by 20 percent for fiscal year 2025.
An Air Force public relations officer, contacted by phone, declined to provide further details.
Allvin confirmed that about 13,000 recruits are currently participating in the Delayed Entry Program (DEP), a system that allows recruits to delay their shipboard start date while they graduate from school, attend to personal matters or prepare for military training.
The recruitment surge follows a disappointing fiscal year 2023, when the Air Force missed its recruitment goal for the first time since 1999. In response, the service changed certain recruiting standards, including relaxing policies on tattoos and body fat composition.
By the end of fiscal year 2024, the Air Force had recruited 27,139 active duty personnel, and the number of DEP enrollees increased significantly—from 8,000 in 2023 to 11,000 in 2024. By 2025, the Air Force aims to recruit 33,100 personnel.
The Air Force’s recruitment surge follows similar progress in the U.S. Army, which also reported its highest recruitment numbers in 15 years.
President Donald Trump has argued that the renewed enthusiasm for conscription reflects a broader national shift.
“We’ve done a lot of interviews and asked why this is happening now and they just said there’s a spirit in our country that they haven’t seen in many, many years. And I happen to agree with that,” Trump told a crowd at the White House on Feb. 5.
He also praised his administration’s efforts to eliminate “woke insanity” from the military, citing a January 27 order that repealed gender identity policies in favor of “readiness and effectiveness.”
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin delivers the keynote address at the Air and Space Forces Association’s Warfare Symposium in Aurora, Colo., March 3, 2025. Courtesy of U.S. Air Force/Photo by Staff Sgt. Adam R. Shanks
Speaking at the Air and Space Forces Association (AFA) Warfare Symposium in Aurora, Colorado, on March 3, Allvin supported increased investment in the Air Force, consistent with the Trump administration’s goals of rebuilding the U.S. military and restoring deterrence.
“America needs more air power,” Allvin said. But “more air power doesn’t just mean more of the same.”
Allvin cited two main challenges: pilots are not getting enough flying time and the service is overburdened by excess infrastructure. Since the end of the Cold War, the Air Force has cut 60 percent of its squadrons and 40 percent of its personnel, but reduced only 15 percent of its bases.
To address this problem, Allvin proposed closing unnecessary bases and redirecting those resources to modernizing aircraft and weapons. This includes investing in advanced autonomous drones designed to fly alongside manned jets.
“I think we need more options for the president. And more air power provides that,” Allvin said. “That means everything from rapid response to decisive victory.”
He said national security depends on expanding and transforming the air force to combat emerging threats.
“We must maintain and preserve the ability to go into the most dense threat environment at any time and anywhere and put ‘warheads on the forehead’ wherever the president demands,” he concluded.
