Latest news with #enlistment
Russia Today
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ukrainians tip off Russia on draft office locations
Ukrainian citizens have provided Russia with the coordinates of local enlistment offices on multiple occasions, Andrey Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, claims. The senior official made the remarks on Tuesday, warning the country's citizens against disclosing the locations of recruitment centers, while threatening them with legal action if they do. 'There have been cases where Ukrainians have sent information to enemy [Telegram] bots. This is true. These people are already known to Ukrainian special services,' Kovalenko stated. In recent days, the Russian military has attacked multiple Ukrainian enlistment offices, which are officially known as territorial centers of recruitment and social support (TCR). In its daily briefing on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry mentioned that TCRs had been among the targets attacked, without providing any further details. Multiple videos circulating online indicate that Geran-2 kamikaze drones were primarily employed in carrying out the strikes. Enlistment offices have reportedly been hit throughout Ukraine, including in Kharkov, Kremenchug, Poltava, the Ukrainian-controlled Russian city of Zaporozhye, and other locations. Online footage suggests that Russia's strikes on TCRs have been welcomed by some Ukrainians, with onlookers heard cheering the attacks. Videos of the strikes have also met with positive reaction online, prompting concerns from Ukrainian officials and public figures. For instance, the former commander of the notorious neo-Nazi Aidar battalion, Yeveny Dikiy, said that welcoming attacks on recruitment offices should be treated as high treason. 'There are real Ukrainian citizens who rejoice at the Russian Federation's strikes on TCRs. This is, in fact, already treason. The SBU should be sent out over such comments, and these people should be prosecuted,' Dikiy stated. Ukrainian mobilization has grown increasingly chaotic and violent over the years of the conflict. Numerous videos circulating online show enlistment officers chasing would-be recruits in the streets, commonly backed by civilian police. Reluctant draftees are sometimes threatened with military-grade weaponry and often beaten, along with any bystanders who attempt to intervene. The mobilization effort has received the moniker 'busification', which describes the process of violently packing recruits into the unmarked minibuses commonly used by TCR officials. Kiev has long dismissing reports of widespread violence and abuse related to mobilization as 'Russian propaganda.' However, last April the country's military did admit that its recruitment process has experienced some hiccups. 'Busification is a shameful phenomenon, and we're doing our best to avoid it,' deputy head of Ukraine's Defense Ministry Lt. Gen. Ivan Gavrilyuk said.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Isn't It Terrible?': Trump Reveals What He Calls Melania In Private, Just Before Bed
President Donald Trump this week revealed what he calls first lady Melania Trump in private, including at bedtime. And it's accurate, although not exactly romantic. The revelation came as Trump spoke about military recruitment during an event in Iowa on Thursday. 'One year ago, I remember saying to our great first lady, I said, you know, 'first lady,'' he said. 'I call her 'first lady' because it makes me feel good. 'First lady.' Isn't it terrible? Saying, 'Good night first lady, my darling?'' But he said the pet name is important for a reason. 'Because it reminds me that I'm president,' he said. 'That's why. Now, I said, 'First lady, it's terrible. Nobody wants to join our military force.'' Trump then took credit for a bump in military enlistments, although CBS News reports that numbers have been rebounding from pandemic-era lows since before he won last year's election. See the moment below:
Daily Mail
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The stunning number of Democrats who would not fight for America in a war revealed
In the aftermath of a historic U.S. bombing campaign in the Middle East, a new Daily Mail poll reveals a stark partisan divide on who's willing to answer the call of duty. Republicans are far more likely to say they'd enlist than their Democratic counterparts, according to a new poll of J.L Partners of 1,025 registered voters taken between June 24 - 25. The margin of error was 3.1 percent. The survey found 41 percent of Democrats would enlist if the U.S. were involved in an active war to defend American interests, with 40 percent of Democrats responding they would not enlist. Republicans, meanwhile, were much more willing to join the armed forces. According to the poll results, 57 percent of Republicans would enlist while 21 percent say they would not. Independents were the least likely to join a U.S. war effort, with 42 percent responding that they'd oppose enlisting, while just 30 percent said they would. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced this month that the U.S. military hit its recruiting goals earlier than expected this year The U.S. does not have a shortage of those who wish to enlist, however. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced this month that the U.S. military hit its recruiting goals earlier than expected this year, signing over 61,000 future soldiers to contracts. That number is 10 percent higher than the target of 55,000 recruits for all of FY2024, according to the Army. The branch hit its recruitment goal four months earlier than expected, a milestone celebrated by Hegseth, who has championed returning a 'warrior ethos' to the Pentagon. The likelihood of Americans wanting to enlist changes depending on race, too, the survey found. Black military-aged men are the most likely to enlist in the U.S. military should a conflict break out. According to the poll, 58 percent would sign up while just 27 percent would decline. Asian and Latino Americans are the least likely to opt to go to war. Among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, just 17 percent responded that they would enlist, while 36 percent said they would not and 47 percent said they are unsure. Meanwhile, 43 percent of Latino respondents indicated they would not enlist, making them the least likely to join a U.S. war effort. Taking into account all military-aged men in the U.S.- usually those between the ages of 17 and 41 - just four in ten responded that they would enlist, the poll found.
National Post
25-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
U.S. military spent $6 billion in bonuses over three years to fix recruitment process
Article content The Army has seen the greatest recruiting struggles over the past decade, and by using a range of new programs and policies, has had one of the largest comebacks. The Navy has had the most trouble more recently, and took a number of steps to expand those eligible for service and spend more in bonuses. Article content While the Army spends hundreds of millions each year to recruit troops, it also has relied on an array of new programs and policies to woo young people. A key driver of the Army's rebound has been its decision to create the Future Soldier Prep Course at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in August 2022. Article content That program gives lower-performing recruits up to 90 days of academic or fitness instruction to help them meet military standards and move on to basic training. It has resulted in thousands of enlistments. Article content The Air Force increased its spending on recruiting bonuses in 2023 as it also struggled to overcome shortfalls, but lowered the amount the following year. The payments were for jobs including munitions systems, aircraft maintenance and security forces. The Space Force does not currently authorize enlistment bonuses. Article content Article content The Marine Corps and the tiny Space Force have consistently hit their recruiting goals, although the Marines had to dig deep into their pool of delayed entry candidates in 2022 to meet their target. The Corps, which is much smaller than the Army and Air Force, spends the least on bonuses and tends to spread the amount among a larger number of service members. Article content Maj. Jacoby Getty, a Marine spokesman, said the spike in retention bonuses from $126 million in 2023 to $201 million in 2024 was because Marines were allowed to re-enlist a year early for the first time. More than 7,000 Marines got bonuses as a result, a jump of nearly 2,200 over the previous year. Article content When asked about bonuses in 2023, Gen. Eric Smith, the Marine commandant, famously told a naval conference that 'your bonus is you get to call yourself a Marine.' Article content 'That's your bonus, right?' he said. 'There's no dollar amount that goes with that.' Article content The services tailor their recruiting and retention money to bolster harder-to-fill jobs, including cyber, intelligence and special operations forces. The Army and Marine Corps also use the money to woo troops to some combat, armour and artillery jobs. Article content
Arab News
25-05-2025
- Business
- Arab News
US military spent $6 billion in the past 3 years to recruit and retain troops
WASHINGTON: The US military spent more than $6 billion over the past three years to recruit and retain service members, in what has been a growing campaign to counter enlistment shortfalls. The financial incentives to reenlist in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines increased dramatically from 2022 through last year, with the Navy vastly outspending the others, according to funding totals provided by the services. The overall amount of recruiting bonuses also rose steadily, fueled by significant jumps in spending by the Army and Marine Corps. The military services have routinely poured money into recruiting and retention bonuses over the years. But the totals spiked as Pentagon leaders tried to reverse falling enlistment numbers, particularly as COVID-19 restrictions locked down public events, fairs and school visits that recruiters relied on to meet with young people. Coupled with an array of new programs, an increased number of recruiters and adjustments to enlistment requirements, the additional incentives have helped the services bounce back from the shortfalls. All but the Navy met their recruiting targets last year and all are expected to do so this year. Officials have tied them more directly to the widespread overhauls that the services have done, including the increased financial incentives. The Army, the military's largest service, spent more on recruiting bonuses in 2022 and 2024 than the other services. But it was significantly outspent by the Navy in 2023, when the sea service was struggling to overcome a large enlistment shortfall. As a result, even though the Navy is a smaller service, it spent more overall in the three years than the Army did. The Navy also has spent considerably more than the others to entice sailors to reenlist, doling out retention bonuses to roughly 70,000 service members for each of the past three years. That total is more than double the number of troops the Army gave retention bonuses to each year, even though the Army is a much larger service. 'Navy is dedicated to retaining our most capable sailors; retention is a critical component of achieving our end-strength goals,' Adm. James Kilby, the vice chief of naval operations, told a Senate Armed Services subcommittee in March. He said reenlistment for enlisted sailors 'remains healthy,' but officers are a challenge in specific jobs, including aviation, explosive ordnance disposal, surface and submarine warfare, health professionals and naval special operations. He added that the Navy has struggled to fill all of its at-sea jobs and is using financial incentives as one way to combat the problem. The Army has seen the greatest recruiting struggles over the past decade, and by using a range of new programs and policies, has had one of the largest comebacks. The Navy has had the most trouble more recently, and took a number of steps to expand those eligible for service and spend more in bonuses. While the Army spends hundreds of millions each year to recruit troops, it also has relied on an array of new programs and policies to woo young people. A key driver of the Army's rebound has been its decision to create the Future Soldier Prep Course, at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in August 2022. That program gives lower-performing recruits up to 90 days of academic or fitness instruction to help them meet military standards and move on to basic training. It has resulted in thousands of enlistments.
