FIRST ON FOX: One branch of the U.S. military is boasting booming recruitment numbers and huge operational success in the infancy of President Donald Trump’s second term in office, according to a Department of Homeland Security memo.
According to the DHS memo obtained by Fox News Digital, the U.S. Coast Guard’s recruitment numbers are thriving, allowing the military branch to maximize the use of assets that were underused or completely abandoned under the Biden administration.
DHS says the Biden administration failed to meet Coast Guard recruiting goals for three years straight. During that period, 10 cutters were taken out of service and almost 30 Coast Guard stations were temporarily abandoned.
The crew of a U.S. Coast cutter shouts commands at suspected drug smugglers in the eastern Pacific on April 17, 2025. (U.S. Coast Guard via Petty Officer 3rd Class Austin Wiley)
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“Under the Biden administration, the U.S. Coast Guard had its hands tied behind its back,” the memo says. “Recruitment goals were not met, and our Coast Guardsmen were hamstrung and overwhelmed while cartels smuggled humans and illicit drugs through our maritime borders.”
However, recruitment is now surging, allowing the Coast Guard to execute its mission at its full potential. In FY 2025, the Coast Guard has recruited more than 4,700 new members, which is 1,200 more than it had at this time last year.
It is on pace to exceed its recruitment goal for this year.
Now, the Coast Guard has “deployed a surge of cutters, aircraft, boats, and specialized forces to key areas surrounding the U.S. maritime border,” adding that the assets are “now being used to their full effect.”
Crew members of the U.S. Coast Guard Kimball board a boat and arrest suspected smugglers on April 17, 2025. (U.S. Coast Guard via Petty Officer 3rd Class Austin Wiley)
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“President Trump and [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem issued orders to the U.S. Coast Guard to surge assets to key areas, and the results speak for themselves,” the memo says. “Billions’ worth of illicit drugs have been seized, human smuggling has ground to a halt, and recruitment is skyrocketing.”
The memo says the Coast Guard has already seized 11% more cocaine in FY 2025 than it did in FY 2024, and that since Trump’s inauguration, the military branch has interdicted 148,000 pounds of cocaine and marijuana, worth more than $1.5 billion in street value.
Not only have drugs been seized, but 870 illegal aliens allegedly responsible for trafficking the drugs have been taken into custody since Jan. 20.
The Coast Guard Cutter James at Port Everglades. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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Retired Lt. Col. Daniel Davis had four combat deployments during his 21 years in the Army, and is a two-time Bronze Star recipient. Now, he is a senior fellow at Defense Priorities, a foreign policy think tank.
He said people stopped joining the military during the Biden administration because it was viewed as “woke” and because the top military brass in Washington were more interested in playing politics than defending the country.
“They’re like, ‘We just don’t feel like we can trust these guys,’ and so they’re proving it by not joining up,” Davis told Fox News Digital. “And one of the bigger things was, the guys who have been in, guys like me, for example – if someone asked us, ‘Do you think we should join up?’ I would have said ‘No.’ I didn’t trust the military leaders and I didn’t trust the administration.”
But with Trump in office, Davis thinks the pendulum is swinging in the other direction.
“Trump said he brought [Secretary of Defense Pete] Hegseth in to bring back the warrior culture, to bring back accountability and merit promotions, etc., as opposed to any quotas or criteria, and that really appealed to all those folks that were not signing up,” David said, adding that Trump is viewed as more “pro-America” and more “pro-service member” than his predecessor.
President Donald Trump speaks next to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, April 30, 2025. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo)
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He also said Trump appeals to potential military members because of his promise not to enter the United States into what he calls “stupid wars.”
READ THE FULL MEMO:
“And he says he doesn’t want to get into stupid wars. He wants to get the one in Russia over with,” said Davis, cautioning that it is still too early in Trump’s second term to know exactly how his foreign policy positions will play out.
“But as long as Trump stays on this path of bringing peace and not sending people out to fight dumb wars, then I think you’ll see the numbers keep rising.”
