WASHINGTON — Buoyed by an increase in recruiting, the Army will expand its basic combat training in what its leaders hope reflects a turning point as it prepares to meet the challenges of future wars.
The added training will begin in October and comes as the Army tries to reverse years of dismal recruiting when it failed to meet its enlistment goals. New units in Oklahoma and Missouri will train as many as 4,000 recruits every year.
Army leaders are optimistic they will hit their target of 55,000 recruits this year and say the influx of new soldiers forced them to increase the number of training sites.
''I am happy to say last year's recruiting transformation efforts have us on track to make this year's recruiting mission, with thousands awaiting basic training'' in the next year, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said. Adding the two new locations, she said, is a way to get the soldiers trained and into units quickly, ''with further expansion likely next spring if our recruiting numbers keep improving.''
The expanded training is part of a broader effort to restructure the Army so it is better able to fight against a sophisticated adversary such as Russia or China. The U.S. military spent much of the past two decades battling insurgent groups in Iraq and Afghanistan rather than fighting a broader war with another high-tech, more capable nation.
Brig. Gen. Jenn Walkawicz, head of operations for the Army's Training and Doctrine Command, said there will be two new training companies at Fort Sill in Oklahoma and two at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.
Driving the growth is the successful Future Soldier Prep Course, which was created at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in August 2022 as a new way to bolster enlistments. 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.
Created two years ago, the program has been cited as a key reason Army leaders expect that this fall they will reverse several years of recruiting shortfalls. In the budget year that ended Sept. 30, the Army brought in a bit more than 50,000 recruits, falling far short of the publicly stated ''stretch goal'' of 65,000.