By Diyar Guldogan
WASHINGTON (AA) - US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday cited historic military recruiting numbers but acknowledged barriers to military enlistment, including obesity and criminal records.
Speaking at the Recruiting Excellence Forum at the Pentagon, Hegseth referenced what he described as “historic recruiting numbers” under the Trump administration but noted ongoing challenges.
"I know it's not easy on the basic ingredients on recruiting," Hegseth said.
"Too many of our young people are too fat or too dumb. Not dumb, that's wrong. You know, we're just not educating them properly, or they've got criminal records ... all these other things ... contributing to what someone may or may not qualify to get into the military," he added.
Hegseth encouraged recruiters to make serving in the military more attractive and to treat service members as they would want their own children to be treated.