Earlier this year the Defense Department reported that every military service had met recruitment goals early. But what's also notable is that more women are joining the military now than in the past.
"Citizens all across the country are enlisting to fight for this nation," said Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson during the department's Weekly Sitrep video. "We are excited to report the surging number of active-duty enlisted females across the service branches. Leadership matters, and women are excited to serve under the strong leadership of [Defense] Secretary [Pete] Hegseth and President [Donald J.] Trump."
So far in fiscal year 2025, more than 115,000 recruits have shipped to basic training, with nearly 24,000 of those being female recruits. At the same time last year, about 16,700 women had opted to enlist.
In Indiana, the DOD's Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering hosted a "technology readiness experimentation" event, also known as T-REX, at Camp Atterbury, to advance the development of drone technology for the department.
"T-REX provides an operational environment that allows drones to be tested under war-like conditions," Wilson said. "The department is committed to preparing our warfighters with American-made, cutting-edge and lethal drone technology. T-REX is another stop on our way to complete American drone dominance."
At the event, the department evaluated systems like Red Dragon, a one-way attack unmanned aerial system designed for high-threat, GPS-denied and communications-degraded environments; the Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System, which is another one-way attack UAS with an open architecture; and the WASP/HIVE system that includes 12 low-cost UAS paired with a "HIVE" launcher box. The total system cost is a fraction of traditional alternatives.
Accelerating the development of autonomous systems is part of the department's larger plan to make historic investments in capabilities that will keep the homeland, Indo-Pacific and other global regions of interest safe and secure. The T-REX effort supports Hegseth's key priorities to rebuild the military and reestablish deterrence by identifying, developing and transitioning technology that improves lethality, warfighting and readiness.
"You're looking at a hundred different systems at T-REX — complex, simple, fast, high-payload, and can avoid detection," said Emil Michael, the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering. "This is some of the most innovative tech we've ever built at the DOD, and all of these systems have been developed in the last one to two years."
This week, the president declared a crime emergency in the nation's capital and vowed to make streets there safe again. The District of Columbia National Guard is now playing a big part in that effort, assisting both federal and local law enforcement personnel in enforcing existing laws and taking violent criminals off the streets.
"Washington, D.C., should be the gold standard of law and order and cleanliness, but for decades under poor leadership it has become a national shame," Wilson said. "The murder rate in D.C. is up — people are dying, children are dying. Residents don't feel safe in the capital. So, President Trump is taking action to make D.C. safe again, and the Department of Defense stands ready for any additional orders."
About 800 National Guard troops, both Army and Air National Guard, have been called up and activated on Title 32 orders to join the Safe and Beautiful Task Force. For now, about 200 guardsmen at a time are on the streets providing support to federal law enforcement and the Metropolitan Police Department.
On the streets of Washington, the National Guardsmen assist federal and local law enforcement partners with monument security, community safety patrols, protecting federal facilities and offices, traffic control posts, and area beautification.
Finally, this week, one of the Marine Corps' most dogged corporals got his due.
"The secretary of the Navy awarded Cpl. Chesty the XVI, of the United States Marine Corps, with a medal for exemplary conduct," Wilson said. "Cpl. Chesty, the unofficial bulldog mascot of the Marine Corps, is known for his grit and warrior spirit. He is always inspection ready and serves as a true inspiration to all our Marines. Congratulations Cpl. Chesty!"
Chesty XVI is an English bulldog and serves as the official mascot of the Marine Corps. He is named after revered Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller and lives at the Marine Corps' Washington Barracks.