Senate Personnel Panel Flags Recruiting, Retention and Readiness Strains Across Services

WASHINGTON — Senior personnel leaders from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force told the Senate Armed Services Committee’s Personnel Subcommittee on June 1 that recruiting and retention have improved but that persistent manpower gaps, civilian workforce reductions and continuing-resolution funding risk undermine readiness.

“People are our most valuable asset,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, chairman of the subcommittee, said as he opened the hearing, framing the session around recruitment and readiness. “Those who volunteer to serve in and out of uniform are the backbone of our national defense.”

The hearing focused on the services’ efforts to meet personnel goals ahead of the National Defense Authorization Act cycle for fiscal 2026 and on steps taken to improve recruiting pipelines and retention incentives. Lieutenant General Brian Eifler, Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, U.S. Army, said the Army exceeded its fiscal 2024 recruiting goal with more than 55,000 new soldiers and is targeting 61,000 in the current fiscal year. “Recruiting will remain a priority,” Eifler said. He described ongoing changes to retention processes, centralized promotion…