Earlier this month, President Donald Trump proposed increasing the Pentagon’s budget by 50%, bringing the fiscal year 2027 (FY27) budget to $1.5 trillion, $500 billion more than the $1 trillion Congress authorized for FY26. The money is needed to fund new programs, notably the Golden Dome for America missile defense system and the Golden Fleet that could include a new class of battleships.
Lawmakers will still have to sign off on the proposals, but Congress is backing calls to increase the size of the United States military by up to 30,000 troops.
The FY26 National Defense Authorization Act, which was signed into law in December, already had called for the force increase, with the departments’ respective appropriations containing the funding needed to support those increases, the Military Times reported.
More Troops in Uniform
Each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces will see additional troops in uniform. The United States Army and United States Navy will see the most significant increases, with the former adding 11,700 troops, bringing the force size to 454,000; while the sea service will increase its active-duty force from 334,600 by adding 12,300 more sailors.
The Air Force will add 1,500 airmen to its ranks, resulting in a force of 320,000. The Space Force, the newest and smallest branch of the U.S. military, will add 600 guardians, bringing its full-time personnel to 10,400.
The United States Marine Corps is slated to remain at 172,300.
Although the United States Coast Guard is a branch of the U.S. military, it is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in peacetime. It will increase its strength by 9,500 to 50,000 full-time personnel.
Total force strength for the U.S. Armed Forces, including the USCG, will be 1.3 million, the largest authorized active-duty force since fiscal year 2023, the Military Times reported.
Reserve Force Will Decline Overall
Even as active-duty personnel across the U.S. military branches are set to increase, the Department will see its reserve and National Guard components decrease by 1,400 members overall.
The numbers are worth noting.
The Army will have 3,800 fewer reserves, and the Navy Reserve will also see 200 fewer personnel. The Air National Guard will decrease by 2,000 personnel.
However, the Marine Corps Reserve will actually increase by 1,500, with the Air Force Reserve also increasing by 500. The Army National Guard will add 3,000 to its ranks.
The Coast Guard Reserve will add 600, bringing the potential reserve force to 8,500.
“Overall, the total end strength for reserve and National Guard forces would be more than 772,000 members, with total forces topping out at nearly 2.1 million members,” the Military Times explained.
It is unclear whether there will be opportunities for transfer – such as those in the Army Reserve either seeking full-time service opportunities or a transfer to the National Guard.
What About Recruiting Goals?
It is also important to note that these numbers reflect the troop strength authorized by lawmakers. Whether the numbers are reached will depend on the recruiting efforts.
All branches of the U.S. Armed Forces reached their respective recruiting goals in FY24 and FY25, with the DoD hitting 103% of its goals for the last fiscal year, which ended on September 30, 2025.
However, the services had struggled in recent years to meet the goals, and as previously reported, had to relax some policies on past drug use and tattoos, while pre-boot camp training programs were introduced to ensure recruits could meet the physical and academic requirements.
Last year, Secretary Pete Hegseth also began revoking some medical waivers and called for higher fitness standards. It remains to be seen if that will impact the Pentagon’s ability to recruit and retain personnel.
