Lawmakers back White House FY26 plans for more troops, 3.8% pay hike

After months of positive news about military recruiting efforts, lawmakers are poised to back White House plans to boost the Defense Department’s end strength by about 26,000 troops next year.

Both plans call for a significant boost in troop numbers in fiscal 2026, with most additions in the Army and Navy ranks.

Earlier this year, White House officials in their budget plans for next year outlined a goal of 454,000 active-duty soldiers in fiscal 2026, an increase of 11,700 troops over this year. Similarly, the Navy would grow to 334,600 sailors, up 12,300 active-duty personnel from this year.

The Marine Corps, with 172,300 personnel, would be the only active-duty service not to see an increase.

The increases would grow the armed forces to just over 1.3 million active-duty troops, the largest goal since fiscal 2023.

Recruiting challenges in recent years have made reaching those goals difficult, leading lawmakers to lower their end-strength targets at the start of this fiscal year. In the last few weeks, officials from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Space Force announced they have already met their year-end recruiting targets.

If the fiscal 2026 targets become law, those recruiters will face additional challenges in coming months. House and Senate leaders are expected to work on a final negotiated version of the authorization bill throughout the rest of the summer.

The total number of guardsmen and reservists would drop by about 800 troops under the plan. The total end strength for those forces is roughly 772,000 service members.

Both drafts of the must-pass legislation also back White House plans for a 3.8% pay raise for all troops next year, equal to the federal formula for military salaries to keep pace with private-sector pay.

Military pay has increased by at least 2% every year since 2017, and troops have seen a pay increase annually since the 1970s.

But the 3.8% pay hike would be a step down from the 4.5% hike all troops saw this past January. And lawmakers last year also approved a second, targeted pay raise for junior enlisted troops which went into effect in January, raising some service members’ paychecks by an additional 10%.

For junior enlisted troops, a 3.8% raise in 2026 would mean about $1,200 more in take-home pay for the year. For senior enlisted and junior officers, the raise would add about $2,500 more to their annual paychecks. An O-4 with 12 years of service would see almost $4,300 more over 2025 pay levels.

The authorization bill is expected to be finalized sometime this fall.