With about six months to go, the Army is on pace to meet its recruiting goals for the fiscal year, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said.

“While I don’t want to be overconfident because we have six more months in the fiscal year, if we continue to perform as we have, there’s an excellent chance we’ll meet our recruiting goal this year of 55,000 soldiers and 5,000 in the delayed entry program,” Wormuth told the House Armed Services Committee.

Wormuth and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George testified April 16 before the committee to discuss the service’s $185.9 billion budget request for fiscal 2025.

The Army has missed its recruiting goals the past two years—falling short by about 15,000 in fiscal 2022 and 10,000 in fiscal 2023. In response, the service offered promotion and bonus incentives for soldiers who refer recruits who make it through basic training, and in turn offered recruits incentives such as quick-ship bonuses, duty station of choice and bonuses for critical MOSs.

It revived its iconic “Be All You Can Be” marketing slogan and is investing in targeted marketing and advertising campaigns.

The Army also stood up the Future Soldier Preparatory Course, designed to help recruits meet the service’s academic or physical fitness standards, and announced several initiatives to transform the recruiting workforce, including the creation of recruiting warrant officers.

The first cohort of those warrant officers, who will bring specialized expertise to the recruiting force, will be trained and out in the field by the end of summer, Wormuth said.

“The things the Army’s been doing in the last year and a half, I think, are beginning to work,” Wormuth said.

As the Army continues to confront its recruiting challenges, the service is restructuring and would like to grow, Wormuth said. Regular Army troop strength is 452,000, she said, and plans call for that number to grow to 470,000 by fiscal 2029.

“We would like to grow, absolutely,” she said. “We’re committed to increasing the size of the Army, particularly the active-duty force.”