Defense Secretary Hegseth says patriotism driving military recruitment surge

Joining “Fox & Friends” live from Normandy, France, where Allied forces once stormed the beaches to turn the tide of World War II, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth honored the 81st anniversary of D-Day with a message that looked not only to the past but to the future.

As the nation honors the bravery and sacrifices of World War II veterans, Hegseth emphasized a new wave of patriotism among today’s young Americans – one he says is driving an uptick in military recruitment.

“It’s historic. Of course it’s a morale shift. It shifts back to the day President Trump was elected and then inaugurated,” he said Friday.

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The Army alone has posted the best recruiting numbers in years, reaching 61,000 for fiscal year 2025, with four months remaining. That’s an increase of more than 6,000 from 55,150 in fiscal year 2024.

Hegseth told co-hosts Ainsley Earhardt, Lawrence Jones and Brian Kilmeade that the spirit inside the U.S. armed forces is “incredible” right now, and the morale shift isn’t isolated to the Army.

“It’s also the Air Force, it’s also the Navy, it is also the Marine Corps, Coast Guard and, as the president says, law enforcement,” he continued. 

“Across the board, the spirit of our country, [there’s a] willingness and desire to serve, because they see leadership that believes in the country that’s going to have their back, that says, ‘We want you to be warriors. We’re not doing this politically correct garbage anymore. We’re doing war fighting. We’re training, we’re preparing, we’re focused on [getting] back to basics, and… the young people of America have responded, and they’ll continue to respond.”

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Hegseth attended this year’s ceremony where military officials and veterans commemorated the 81st anniversary of D-Day.

He started his morning with a physical training session with rangers from the 75th Ranger Regiment on Omaha Beach at nearly the same time as the first landing craft would have hit in 1944.

“These men [World War II soldiers] were willing to charge toward the guns with almost no chance of success, especially in those first waves, and they did it for us,” he said.

Days ago, the defense secretary honored the sacrifices of U.S. armed forces at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., where he greeted a number of World War II veterans whose resolve remains high more than half a century later.

“The contrast of those 100-year-old World War II vets and then those 25-year old Army Rangers that I did a workout with this morning – the blood of fighting for freedom still pumps in the veins of Americans, and we still raise those types, and that’s what was really cool to see.”