Congress is backing increases to the size of the U.S. armed forces this year, having passed and proposed final legislation that will raise and fund rises in end strength by more than 30,000 troops.
The fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, signed into law Dec. 18, allowed the defense and homeland security departments to increase the size of their services. The departments’ respective appropriations bills, released Tuesday, contain the funding needed to support the increases.
Under the legislation, the Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard will grow, with the Army and Navy seeing the largest increases.
According to the law and bills, the Army will grow to 454,000, up 11,700 from last year, while the Navy active-duty ranks will increase by 12,300 to 334,600.
The Air Force’s end strength will rise by 1,500 to 320,000, while the Space Force is slated to increase by 600 to 10,400.
In the Department of Homeland Security, the size of the Coast Guard will increase to 50,000, up from 44,500.
The Marine Corps will remain at 172,300.
The end strength of more than 1.3 million service members is the largest authorized active-duty force since fiscal 2023.
By law, however, the Defense Department’s reserve and National Guard components will see an overall decrease of 1,400 members, with the Army and Navy Reserves and Air National Guard expected to decrease by 3,800, 200 and 2,000, respectively.
The Marine Corps Reserve would grow by 1,500, while the Air Force Reserve is slated to increase by 500. The Army National Guard is expected to gain 3,000 members. The Coast Guard Reserve also will see an increase: The service hopes to have 8,500 Reserve members, up by more than 600.
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.
After suffering several years of recruiting shortfalls in the early 2020s, the services bolstered recruitment in fiscal 2025, with the Defense Department reaching an average of 103% of their recruiting goals.
The Coast Guard met its recruiting goals in 2024 for the first time since 2018, and in 2025, the service exceeded its targets by 121% — the highest accession numbers since 1991. The Coast Guard brought in 5,204 active-duty enlisted members in fiscal 2025; its goal had been 4,300 service members.
Both chambers must pass the proposed Defense and Homeland Security appropriations bills before Jan. 30 to avoid a partial government shutdown, or they must agree on a continuing resolution to keep portions of the federal government open after the end of the month.
Some Democrats have said they will vote against the proposed Homeland Security appropriations bill in objection to the administration’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. ICE is funded by the bill.
House Appropriations Committee ranking Democrat Rep. Rosa DeLauro of California said Tuesday that while she understands her colleagues’ frustration with ICE, she does not believe that blocking the bill would affect the agency because it received $75 billion to support immigration enforcement in the reconciliation legislation known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“I understand that many of my Democratic colleagues may be dissatisfied with any bill that funds ICE. I share their frustration with the out-of-control agency. I encourage my colleagues to review the bill and determine what is best for their constituents and communities,” DeLauro said in a statement.
Committee Chairman Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., said the bills released Tuesday, which also included appropriations for the departments of labor and health and human services, education, transportation, housing and urban development, will fund investment in the “long arc of American leadership.”
“[The bills reflect] the core tenets of American strength: combat-ready forces, secure communities, effective education and health systems, and modern transportation,” Cole said in a press release.
Patricia Kime is a senior writer covering military and veterans health care, medicine and personnel issues.
