The US Army is facing significant challenges in retaining new recruits, with internal data showing that nearly one-quarter of them leave the service within just two years of enlistment.
Approximately 25 percent of soldiers enlisted since 2022 have not completed their initial contracts with the army, according to data reviewed by Military.com.
All initial enlistment contracts in the army last for eight years, divided into two periods: four years of active duty and four years in the Individual Ready Reserve.
While no specific reasons were provided, the high dropout rate raises concerns about the effectiveness of its recruitment efforts and the quality of its recruiting pool.
Notably, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced last month that the army had achieved its “best recruiting numbers” in January, marking the highest recruitment figures in 15 years.
25% Had to Go Through Preparatory Courses
The same internal report reveals that 25 percent of army recruits in the past year had to attend at least one Future Soldier Preparatory Course.
This program, seen as a key solution to ongoing recruitment challenges, is designed to help recruits who do not initially meet academic or physical fitness standards.
However, despite this extra step, the program does not seem to help with long-term retention, as a significant percentage of recruits still leave the army within two years, regardless if they took preparatory courses or not.
Gil Barndollar, a senior research fellow at the Center for the Study of Statesmanship, expressed concern about the situation, telling Military.com, “If this is the new normal, we’re taking in a whole quarter of the army that isn’t hitting the standard.”
“If we have a crisis and we need a lot of people, what is the state of the nation? We’re looking at a country which by a lot of metrics — physical ability, cognitive ability — all those numbers are going in the wrong direction.”
