Female military recruits surge across all service branches

FIRST ON FOX: Female military recruits have sharply increased across all service branches so far in fiscal year 2025.

Around 7,260 more women have enlisted so far this fiscal year than at this point last fiscal year: from 16,725 to 23,985, according to Pentagon figures seen by Fox News Digital. 

“The media’s narrative that the female recruitment numbers have either fallen or stayed the same under Secretary Hegseth and President Trump is 100% Fake News,” a defense official said. “Leadership matters and women are excited to serve under the strong leadership of Secretary Hegseth and President Trump.”

The Army surpassed its overall recruitment goals in June, four months before the end of the fiscal year: the service branch announced that month it had signed contracts with more than 61,000 future soldiers, which is more than 10% higher than the 55,000 recruits targeted in fiscal 2024.

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After record-low recruitment in 2022, the trend began to reverse in 2024, with the armed forces bringing in 12.5% more personnel than the year prior. In 2025, all service branches are on track to meet or exceed their recruiting goals.

This year, a survey by the Defense Department found 87% of those between the ages of 16 and 21 were probably or definitely not considering military service. 

Three out of four were worried about physical injury and two thirds had concerns about the emotional toll. However, Hegseth’s team has credited a “Trump bump” and a returned focus on the “warfighter” for a rise in recruits, despite the broad youth sentiment. 

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“They see leadership … that says, ‘We want you to be warriors. We’re not doing this politically correct garbage anymore. We’re doing war fighting,'” Hegseth said during a visit to Normandy in June. 

Additionally, Congress passed three straight pay raises for troops, between 4% and 5%, and an additional 10% for junior enlisted soldiers. 

“The bottom line is this administration and Secretary Hegseth has prioritized lethality and mission readiness over political pandering. That’s exactly why women, and men, all across the country are more trusting of their leadership and more willing to serve,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., an Air Force Veteran, said. 

Hegseth has come under media scrutiny for his comments about women in combat and the removal of a number of women who served in top Pentagon roles under the Biden administration. His leadership claims they don’t discriminate: they’ve removed men from top roles too. 

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Prior to his confirmation, the secretary had publicly questioned the effectiveness of including women in direct ground combat roles — arguing such integration complicates operations and compromises battlefield effectiveness.

During his confirmation hearing, Hegseth explained that he believed women should be allowed to serve in combat but should have to meet the same fitness standards as men. 

Recently, Hegseth reassigned Adm. Yvette Davids from superintendent of the Naval Academy to the position of deputy chief of naval operations. While some accused leadership of de-elevating a female leader, officials insisted the move was a promotion: Davids is now on a path that could lead her to becoming a four-star admiral. 

This week, critics seized on a moment in a CNN interview with a pastor, Douglas Wilson, affiliated with Hegseth’s church’s denomination, that the secretary reposted on X.

“Women are the kind of people that people come out of,” Wilson said in the interview. “The wife and mother, who is the chief executive of the home, is entrusted with three or four or five eternal souls.”

In another moment of the interview, a member of the denomination, Josh Prince, was asked if he saw his wife Amy as his equal. “Yes and no,” he responded. 

“He is the head of our household and I do submit to him,” Amy added. 

“I’m not a White nationalist, I’m not a fascist, I’m not a racist, I’m not a misogynist,” Wilson insisted. 

In his repost of the clip, Hegseth added, “All of Christ for All of Life.”