Just two years after missing its active-duty recruiting goal , the U.S. Navy is celebrating the largest group of new accessions in nearly a quarter-century.

In a roundtable discussion with reporters Monday prior to the end of the fiscal year, Rear Adm. James Waters, head of Navy recruiting command, revealed that the service had achieved surpluses in every recruiting category, including officers, enlisted and Reserve — with enough in the Delayed Entry Program to make up about one-fourth of the recruiting mission for fiscal 2026.

The numbers were the best the service had seen since the early 2000s, Waters said.

He credited efforts to plus-up recruiters and cut back administrative frustrations as a major component for success, specifically citing work to streamline the tattoo approval pr

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