US Army hits 2026 recruiting goals four months early, Pete Hegseth announces at West Point commencement
Hegseth’s first official West Point visit comes as the academy streams the Class of 2026 commencement on YouTube.
- Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth delivered the commencement address today at the U.S. Military Academy in Orange County, with the West Point ceremony beginning at 9:30 a.m. and livestreamed on YouTube.
- A graduate of Princeton University, Pete Hegseth served as an Army National Guard infantry officer with deployments to Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan before becoming the nation's 29th secretary of defense in 2025.
- Military recruiting has shown strong momentum, with The Army signing contracts with more than 61,500 future soldiers and The Air Force and Space Force surpassing annual goals by signing about 32,000 new recruits.
- The Army reached its fiscal 2026 recruiting goal more than four months early, marking continued success after failing to meet targets in 2022 and 2023.
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Hegseth says quiet part out loud during ceremony: ‘We’re sending you – perhaps – to war’
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a “last-minute” commencement speech Saturday in New York to West Point graduates, during which he made the startling admission that the Trump administration could very well be sending those graduates “to war,” and soon.“Now, today, we are going to send you – we're sending you to lead, we're sending you to forge warriors, and we're sending you – perhaps – to war,” Hegseth told the nearly 1,000 West Point g…
US Army hits 2026 recruiting goals four months early, Pete Hegseth announces at West Point commencement
U.S. Army reached its 2026 recruiting goals four months early, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth revealed during a commencement speech at West Point.
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