The U.S. Army is at its smallest size since pre-World War II after being one of three major military services to miss recruiting goals last year.
The Army has failed to meet its recruiting goals for the last two years and missed its 2023 target by 10,000 soldiers, a 20% shortfall, Vox reported.
The active-duty Army currently has 445,000 soldiers, 41,000 fewer than in 2021, and the smallest it has been since 1940.
The branch is nearly 20,000 members short of the target it hopes to hit by the end of the decade, Yahoo News reported.
The Navy and Air Force also missed their recruiting goals in 2023, when the Marine Corps was the only service to achieve its targets. The smaller Space Force also met its recruiting goals.
The Marines were helped by restructuring that required nearly 19,000 fewer active duty and selected reserve slots to be filled compared to 2020.
