{"id":2399228,"date":"2025-02-05T12:22:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-05T17:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hegseth-speaks-after-15-year-recruiting-drought-is-lifted-youth-want-america-first-leadership\/"},"modified":"2025-02-05T12:23:34","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T17:23:34","slug":"hegseth-speaks-after-15-year-recruiting-drought-is-lifted-youth-want-america-first-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hegseth-speaks-after-15-year-recruiting-drought-is-lifted-youth-want-america-first-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Hegseth Speaks After 15-Year Recruiting Drought Is Lifted: Youth Want &#8216;America First&#8217; Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhegseth-speaks-after-15-year-recruiting-drought-is-lifted-youth-want-america-first-leadership%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2399228&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The \u2063article \u2063discusses the significant increase in U.S. Army \u200drecruitment numbers attributed to the presidency of Donald\u2064 trump. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced via social media that December 2024 saw the Army&#8217;s best\u2062 recruiting numbers in 12 years, followed by another record-breaking month in January 2025,\u2064 marking the best recruiting\u200c figures in 15\u2064 years. \u2064Hegseth credits this surge to\u200c Trump&#8217;s &#8220;America First&#8221; policies and leadership style. \u200cHe emphasizes a shift away from \u2062previous administrations that focused \u200bon\u200c diversity and \u200dpolitical correctness which, according to him, undermined \u2063military recruitment \u200cand morale. Following Trump\u2019s \u2062return\u200d to office, executive orders were signed to restore merit-based policies in the armed \u2062Forces, reinforcing the notion \u200cthat potential recruits are more\u2064 eager to serve without the \u200dinfluence of what \u2062he describes\u200b as &#8220;woke&#8221; \u2064ideologies. the article suggests a rejuvenated enthusiasm for military service among American youth influenced by Trump&#8217;s leadership.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump&rsquo;s second term continues to pay dividends.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth posted exciting news regarding U.S. Army recruiting numbers to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-new-acting-attorney-general-jeff-rosen-recently-wrote-an-essay-on-foreign-influence-in-us-elections-this-tells-us-a-little-about-his-knowledge-of-whats-going-on-today\/\" title=\"The New Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen Recently Wrote an Essay on Foreign Influence in US Elections \u2013 This Tells Us A Little About His Knowledge of What\u2019s Going On Today\">social media platform<\/a> X, stating that the Army had its best recruiting numbers in 12 years in December.<\/p>\n<p>He attributed the sudden uptick to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-take-people-play-knock-game-get-country-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trump&rsquo;s presidency<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">BREAKING: In December 2024, the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/USArmy?\">@USArmy<\/a> had its best recruiting number in 12 years.<\/p>\n<p>In January 2025, the Army hit its best recruiting number in 15 YEARS.<\/p>\n<p>BOTTOM LINE: America&rsquo;s youth want to serve under the bold &amp; strong &ldquo;America First&rdquo; leadership of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump?\">@realDonaldTrump<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PeteHegseth\/status\/1886877495607066798?\">February 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Hegseth noted another record for January while tagging Trump as the reason: &ldquo;In January 2025, the Army hit its best recruiting number in 15 YEARS.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;BOTTOM LINE: America&rsquo;s youth want to serve under the bold &amp; strong &lsquo;America First&rsquo; leadership of @realDonaldTrump,&rdquo; he wrote.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/army-recruiting-shatters-records-after-president-trump-election-win-inauguration\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox News<\/a> reported on those numbers Tuesday, saying 350 enlistments happened per day in December.<\/p>\n<p>Although Fox cited the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-hegseth-cracks-hilarious-army-marine-joke-s-kids-overtime-joke-last-minute-confirmation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">U.S. Army<\/a> in stating this was a 15-year high in December, one thing is clear: There&rsquo;s new enthusiasm for service under Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Among Trump&rsquo;s tidal wave of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-rules-ca-gov-overstepped-his-authority-with-covid-order-issues-permanent-injunction-restraining-newsom-from-further-issuing-unconstitutional-orders\/\" title=\"Judge Rules CA Gov Overstepped His Authority with Covid Order, Issues Permanent Injunction Restraining Newsom From Further Issuing Unconstitutional Orders\">executive orders issued<\/a> upon taking office, he signed one on Jan. 27 that will surely encourage similar numbers for the rest of his term.<\/p>\n<p>That day, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/fact-sheets\/2025\/01\/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-restores-merit-and-lethality-to-americas-armed-forces\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">executive order<\/a> was signed to, &ldquo;restore merit and lethality to America&rsquo;s fighting force.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Executive Order bans the use of discriminatory race- or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-assembly-passes-constitutional-amendment-to-allow-race-based-programs\/\" title=\"California Assembly approves amendment to permit race-based programs.\">sex-based preferences<\/a> by any element of the Armed Forces, the Department of Defense, or the Department of Homeland Security,&rdquo; a fact sheet on the order read.<\/p>\n<p>It further stated that after former Presidents <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-jennifer-aniston-opened-barack-obama-cheating-rumor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Barack Obama<\/a> and Joe Biden had politicized the military with diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, saying, &ldquo;[T]hese two administrations exploited the military in favor of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/stop-sexualizing-politicians-its-creepy-and-weird\/\" title=\"Stop Sexualizing Politicians. It&#039;s Creepy And Weird\">identity politics &#038;mdash<\/a>; harming our national defense, undermining the non-political nature of our military, and eroding morale and recruitment.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Due to this &lsquo;woke&rsquo; assault, the Services together logged their lowest recruiting records since 1940 with a 41,000-troop shortfall in 2023,&rdquo; it continued.<\/p>\n<p>Hegseth boasted on X about December&rsquo;s numbers as just the anticipation of Trump&rsquo;s return created change.<\/p>\n<p>Now that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-report-card-trump-delivers-on-promises-in-first-week-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"White House Report Card: Trump delivers on promises in first week - Washington Examiner\">executive orders &#038;mdash<\/a>; including one that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-comes-8000-service-members-kicked-military-refusing-covid-vaccine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">restores service members<\/a> terminated for refusing a COVID-19 vaccine with backpay &mdash; are official, potential enlistees can be even more confident.<\/p>\n<p>The American people owe a debt to our armed forces for keeping us safe. Providing for the security of the country has nothing to do with one&rsquo;s preferred pronouns or race.<\/p>\n<p>America&rsquo;s enemies do not care how diverse or inclusive we are.<\/p>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s presidency inspires recruitment as soldiers know they won&rsquo;t have to go through leftist indoctrination.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<style> \t\t\t \t\t\t.insticator-unit.type-commenting{margin: 0 10px 25px 10px}@media screen and (max-width:1060px){#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{margin: 0 auto 25px auto !important;}}#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{height: 280px !important; width: 336px !important} \t\t<\/style>\n<div class=\"insticator-unit type-commenting\">\n<div class=\"insticator-ads\"> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t<script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> \t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"insticator-ads additional\"> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t<script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> \t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Donald Trump&#8217;s second term is yielding positive results. On Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared encouraging news about U.S. Army recruitment on the social media platform X, announcing that December marked the Army&#8217;s highest recruiting figures in 12 years. He credited this increase to Trump&#8217;s leadership. Hegseth also highlighted another record for January, noting that it was the best month for recruitment in 15 years and emphasized that young Americans are eager to serve under Trump&#8217;s &#8220;America First&#8221; approach. Fox News reported an average of 350 enlistments per day in December, indicating a renewed enthusiasm for military service during Trump\u2019s presidency. An executive order signed by Trump aimed at restoring merit within the armed forces may further boost these numbers by eliminating race- or sex-based preferences and countering previous administrations&#8217; diversity initiatives that he claimed harmed military morale and recruitment efforts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2399229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Pete-Hegseth.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[34041,45173,49871,49872],"class_list":["post-2399228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-america-first","tag-hegseth","tag-recruiting-drought","tag-youth-engagement"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Pete-Hegseth.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2399228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2399228"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2399228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2399232,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2399228\/revisions\/2399232"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2399229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2399228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2399228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2399228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}