Fiscal 2025 was the best recruiting year for the Navy since 2002. The head of Navy recruiting credited the feat, in part, to streamlining tattoo approvals.
Before hundreds of top brass, Hegseth pledged to create more fitness and grooming rules and encouraged commanders to quit if they don’t like his policies.
When combined with another F-35 deal from December 2024, the Pentagon will pay Lockheed Martin about $24.3 billion for the 18th and 19th lots of the jets.
The Pentagon’s top national security focus will mirror that of President Trump’s “America First” agenda to defend the homeland, with China a key focus.