[ad_1]
The Department of the Air Force met its fiscal 2025 recruiting targets several months ahead of schedule — after lowering its goal by 3,000 recruits due to budget constraints under a continuing resolution.
Last September, the Air Force set an ambitious goal of bringing in 32,500 active-duty Airmen for fiscal 2025. But after Congress failed to pass a full-year budget on time, the service decided in April to lower that number to just under 30,000 recruits.
“We suffered a recruiting setback due to the yearlong continuing resolution and subsequent reduction of nearly a half of a billion in our military personnel account. This will result in our inability to fund the recruitment of 3,000 Americans who want to join our Air Force,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin told the House Armed Services Committee on June 5.
The service has already sent 24,633 recruits to basic training, with another 5,548 scheduled to ship by the end of September.
There are currently 14,590 recruits in the service’s Delayed Entry Program, including 9,042 who are contracted but still awaiting their ship date.
“This year’s achievement is particularly noteworthy as the Air Force Recruiting Service has built its strongest Delayed Entry Program in the last decade,” the Air Education and Training Command said in a press release.
An Air Force spokesperson told Federal News Network the service would have met its original recruiting target if it had not been forced to scale back due to this fiscal year’s funding constraints.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Christopher Amrhein told reporters last September that the service would need more than 370 additional recruiters to meet its fiscal 2025 target. The Air Force spokesperson said the service has onboarded over 400 additional recruiting personnel since June 2023. The expanded workforce has helped improve outreach, increase engagement and maintain a more consistent recruiting pace throughout the year.
“We have taken a more deliberate approach to training as well to ensure that our recruiters are performing to their maximum potential and effectively engaging with influencers in their local communities,” the Air Force spokesperson told Federal News Network.
“The Air Force Accessions Center expanded its audience reach by 25% through a more adaptive marketing approach to better reach Gen Z. We have adjusted our audience archetypes by including those interested in community service and trade schools and served additional content to those archetypes thus increasing our direct marketing to an additional 5.5 million consumers,” he added.
The Air Force bounced back in 2024 after missing its recruiting targets in 2023 for the first time since 1999. Amrhein said there was no single policy adjustment or incentive structure that changed the recruiting landscape, but rather “multiple levers” that contributed to the successful year in 2024.
“The number one question I get asked is, ‘What was the one thing that changed for this year?’ And my answer is, ‘There wasn’t one thing. It was multiple levers being pulled or done in unison to give the recruiting force the abilities to be able to get out there and find the talent and bring it in,” Amrhein told reporters last September.
Amid a challenging recruiting environment across the military services following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Air Force adjusted some of its internal requirements, including revising its tattoo policies, modifying the body composition program and changing its drug testing requirements.
When asked what had led to improved results in fiscal 2025, the Air Force spokesperson highlighted that the service reshaped its recruiting strategy to better connect with Gen Z.
“We recognize that Gen Z has different priorities and expectations than previous generations. Gen Z wants to make a difference, so we’re emphasizing the opportunities to contribute to something larger than themselves and to develop valuable skills that will benefit them throughout their lives,” the Air Force spokesperson said.
The service has expanded outreach through interactive events like air shows, robotics championships and special operations field days to help young people “see themselves in uniform and understand the value they bring to the mission, regardless of their background.”
“Today’s youth are digitally native, socially aware and value authenticity — and we’ve adapted accordingly. Our marketing now focuses on platforms where young Americans are most engaged, such as Instagram and YouTube. But more importantly, we’ve shifted our message from transactional to transformational. We’re not just talking about pay and benefits — we’re highlighting real stories of Airmen making a difference, building advanced skills and serving something greater than themselves. It’s about purpose, passion and possibilities,” the Air Force spokesperson said.
The Air Force and Space Force hit its recruiting goals shortly after the Navy and Army announced they had reached their targets for 2025. A Marine Corps spokesperson told Federal News Network the service is on track to meet its recruiting goals for both enlisted personnel and officers in 2025.
While Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump have credited the recent recruiting uptick to the change in presidential administrations — with Hegseth calling it the ‘Trump bump’ — the increase is more likely the result of recruitment reforms introduced in prior years, such as the Army’s highly successful soldier prep course.
If you would like to contact this reporter about recent changes in the federal government, please email anastasia.obis@federalnewsnetwork.com or reach out on Signal at (301) 830-2747
Copyright
© 2025 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
[ad_2]
Source link
