The Armed Forces have spent more than $7 billion on recruitment and retention efforts over the past three years

Over the past three years, the Armed Forces spent more than $7 billion to boost recruitment and retain service members.

Between 2022 and 2024, funding for both recruitment and retention steadily increased each year.

In 2022, the Department of Defense (DoD) spent $527.1 million across the four military branches on recruitment. That amount rose to $755.5 million in 2023 and $805.2 million in 2024, totaling nearly $2.1 billion over the three years.

To retain service members, the DoD spent $1.19 billion in 2022, $1.76 billion in 2023, and $2.09 billion in 2024, totaling $5.04 billion over the three years.

According to official data compiled by the Associated Press, the Army was the branch that spent the most over these three years—$999 million on recruitment and $2.109 billion on retention.

Right after the Army, the Navy was the next highest spender, receiving $992 million for recruitment and $1.44 billion for retention. Following them were the Air Force, with $45.5 million for recruiting and $1.073 billion for retention, and the Marine Corps, which spent $51.3 million and $426.7 million respectively.