The U.S. Marine Corps hit its fiscal 2026 retention goals just weeks after the target window opened, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith announced in a recent video.

While the Corps’ retention goals were quickly achieved in FY2024 and FY2025, this year’s numbers were met “earlier than ever before,” Smith said in the video, which was produced in October but released later due to the U.S. government shutdown.

Smith noted that, despite the success, a handful of military occupational specialties remain open for interested Marines.

Alongside Smith in the video, Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Carlos A. Ruiz encouraged “qualified Marines who still have the desire to serve … to pursue lateral move opportunities into our critical need MOSs.”

A MARADMIN released earlier this

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