For the seventh year in a row, the United States Army has met or exceeded its retention goal. This time, the accomplishment comes nearly six months ahead of schedule.
The Army reportedly retained 15,600 soldiers eligible for reenlistment, 800 more than the original goal of 14,800.
“The early success in [fiscal 2025] reenlistments, combined with the targeted retention strategy, is allowing the Army to effectively manage personnel requirements,” said Sgt. Maj. Enrique Rose, a senior Army career counselor. “This strategy helps the Army maintain a balanced and skilled force while supporting Soldiers’ career goals.”
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The early reenlistments began with those soldiers eligible starting in March 2024, according to an Army release.
“Reaching our [fiscal 2025] reenlistment goal ahead of schedule has put the Army in a good position to maintain a highly skilled and ready force,” Rose said. “Coupling that with the recruiting success we’ve seen makes a powerful statement about the Army’s future.”
Incentives such as current station stabilization, specific training opportunities, overseas assignments or choice of CONUS station were among items that helped the service meet its goals. Reenlistments after April 21, 2025, were limited to the “needs of the Army.”
Soldiers may still reenlist for terms ranging from two to six years or opt for shorter extensions of three to 23 months. Retention bonuses remain in effect for critical Military Occupational Specialties, according to the release.
Officials continue to encouraging soldiers in overstaffed jobs to consider transferring to critical, understaffed fields. Those include field artillery, air defense artillery, armor, cyber and electronic warfare specialists.
The service also met its lowered recruiting goals for the first time in two years in September. It is 85% of the way to its recruiting mission for this year with more than five months to go.
Service leaders said in January they expect to meet the fiscal 2025 goals as well. That will mean bringing 61,000 new soldiers into the ranks, with another 20,000 in the delayed entry program for fiscal 2026.
That’s a more ambitious goal than what the service pursued in recent years.
The service surpassed its lower goal of 55,000 new soldiers in fiscal year 2024 and headed into fiscal 2025 with 10,000 soldiers on the delayed entry program rosters for fiscal 2025.
At the time, then-Army Secretary Christine Wormuth provided additional context.
“What’s really remarkable is the first quarter contracts that we have signed are the highest rate in the last 10 years,” Wormuth said. “We are going like gangbusters, which is terrific.”
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
