The Air Force’s top uniformed leader pointed to increases in recruiting numbers, slightly longer basic military training exercises and new dining hall options as examples of how he is reviving the service’s “warrior ethos” — using a phrase pushed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

In an update letter to all airmen Friday, Gen. David Allvin, the chief of staff, said the service has already signed up and enlisted 74% of the people it set for its fiscal 2025 goal.

“A year and a half ago, I committed to leading our Air Force into the future through initiatives designed to ensure we remain the world’s most lethal force,” Allvin said in his letter. “This update outlines our strategic direction as we continue to revive our warrior ethos and rebuild our military.”

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Allvin said in the last six months, “our recruiting statistics have continually exceeded our goals,” adding “it’s a true testament to our unwavering commitment to build the best warfighting team possible.”

While Hegseth has been quick to attribute those recruiting upswings in the Air Force, as well as other services such as the Army, to the reelection of President Donald Trump and the new administration’s priorities, personnel experts tell Military.com it’s too soon to tell what factors are contributing to the shift.

Notably, the Air Force has been working tirelessly since the COVID-19 pandemic to reverse a downward recruiting trend, which culminated in 2023 in the service missing its recruiting goal for the first time since 1999. Since then, the Air Force made numerous policy changes, including loosening tattoo restrictions, allowing for higher percentages of body fat and expanding waivers overall, Military.com previously reported.

Taren Sylvester, a research assistant at the Center for a New American Security think tank in Washington, D.C., told Military.com it’s too soon to tell whether the new administration or other factors, even potential fears of a shaky economy, are causing the upticks in recruiting. Many of those who have joined in the last six months are from the Air Force’s delayed entry program — a waiting area for recruits known as the DEP — who have joined and are waiting to ship out to boot camp.

“A lot of these recruits that you see going in, in those first six months are people who were in the delayed entry program from the end of last fiscal year,” Sylvester said in an interview. “Those are being metered out over the course of the fiscal year to control the flow of how people are going to basic at one time.”

Brig. Gen. Christopher Amrhein, commander of the Air Force Recruiting Service, told reporters at the Air and Space Forces Association’s Warfare Symposium in Colorado in March that the service had been adding to the DEP “at a rate not seen in over 15 years.”

An Air Force spokesperson, when asked whether the service attributes the uptick in recruiting numbers to the new administration, did not explicitly say it was due to Trump or Hegseth.

“The positive recruiting trend we are experiencing is a result of many factors, including an excitement to serve, effective marketing and proactive community engagement, amongst others,” said the spokesperson, who gave the comment on the condition their name not be used. “What is most important is, the trend continues and young Americans continue to want to serve their country like we are seeing right now.”

Among other items mentioned in Allvin’s letter to the force was that PACER FORGE, a culminating exercise at basic military training that stands for the Primary Agile Combat Employment Range, Forward Operations Readiness Generation Exercise, had been expanded from 36 hours to 57 hours.

“By introducing operational concepts and mission-focused skills earlier in training, PACER FORGE reinforces the warrior mindset from day one,” Allvin wrote in the letter. “We are harnessing the innovative talent and warrior ethos that exist in every corner of our Air Force.”

Notably, PACER FORGE was instituted as a replacement in 2022 for BEAST Week — a weeklong mock deployment exercise that stood for Basic Expeditionary Airman Skills Training.

Allvin also highlighted that “responding to feedback,” the Air Force updated its dining facility menus with new meal options to “better support warfighter performance.” He also highlighted the progress made on the service’s F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance fighter as well as unmanned fighters dubbed Collaborative Combat Aircraft and planned large-scale exercises in the Pacific slated for this summer.

The chief of staff’s brief update letter made multiple references to “warfighters” and “warrior ethos” throughout the text. Military.com reported during the Air and Space Forces Association’s March conference in Colorado that Allvin had seemingly embraced Hegseth’s new rhetoric during his keynote address.

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