After years of struggling to meet recruiting goals, the United States Army is now making an about-face and adjusting its retention rules. This week, the service announced two updates to its retention policies as part of an effort to improve retention forecasting. The goal is to give soldiers sufficient time and guidance to make more informed reenlistment decisions.
The service is seeking to make the Army more of a career than a short job.
The changes will begin on June 1, and will suspend most retention extensions. Instead, a 90-day reenlistment window will be reinstated, which the service said will better align retention procedures with mission success and force management objectives. It added that “special circumstances” will still be handled on a “case-by-case basis.”
Retention Extension
The changes will impact the Expiration Term of Service (ETS), which is the date a service member is released from active duty. It is, in essence, the end date of the individual’s initial or subsequent term of enlistment. ETS usually occurs when the service member’s active duty obligation is fulfilled, unless they choose to re-enlist or are extended.
The U.S. Army explained that soldiers “who are not deployed or deploying with an ETS date before October 1,” will have until May 31, to obtain retention extensions under general circumstances. This will allow them to extend their service without officially reenlisting.
Soldiers who ETS after October 1, can extend under specific conditions outlined in Army regulation 601-280.
Reenlistment Window
Beginning on July 1, 2025, soldiers will be allowed to reenlist from the opening of their respective reenlistment window until 90 days after the ETS date.
However, the service noted that soldiers with “less than 90 days from their ETS dates” cannot reenlist. The U.S. Army’s recent retention success allowed for the adjustment of reenlistment options, including those with an ETS date before the end of fiscal year 2026 (FY26), which will be on September 30.
The adjustment was seen as balancing the Army’s current needs while preserving the opportunity for soldiers to continue their service.
Reenlistment Goals Met
The Army further announced that it had surpassed its fiscal year 2025 (FY25) reenlist goal in April, retaining 15,600 soldiers, 800 more than the 14,800 target, and well before the September 30 fiscal year end. It also coincided with it exceeding 90% of its recruiting goals in May, while it builds on last year’s recruiting momentum.
“As the Army adapts to evolving needs and conditions, we have to make sure our retention policies keep pace,” explained Master Sgt. Kindra Ford, Senior Army Retention Operations NCO.
“We’re working hard to keep career counselors, Soldiers, and leaders up to date to help them make informed decisions about their careers,” Ford added. “With reenlistment and recruiting exceeding expectations, the Army is in a good position to maintain its end strength and force requirements for the foreseeable future.”
While the Army’s retention goal has been met, the Army previously explained that soldiers can still reenlist for terms ranging from two to six years and opt for short extensions of three to 23 months. Retention bonuses were also available for critical military occupational specialties.
Last October, the Army announced it had exceeded fiscal year 2024 (FY24) recruiting goals, with at least 55,300 total accessions. It looked to build on that success by upping the recruiting goal by 11% to 61,000 soldiers for FY25.
In February, the Army announced that it saw record-setting recruitment in December 2024. The final month of last year was the most productive the service had seen in 15 years, as it enlisted nearly 350 recruits daily.
