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| Marine Corps recruits with Fox Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, wait to receive their rifle during an M16A4 service rifle issue at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California. Lance Cpl. Janell B. Alvarez/US Marine Corps |
The United States military’s first gatekeepers — the people who determine whether hopeful recruits are fit to serve — are warning of a slow-moving crisis that could soon become an operational emergency.
Senior members of the Military Entrance Processing Command, better known as MEPCOM, say they are struggling to hire enough civilian employees to keep their 65 medical and testing stations operating at full strength. These facilities are where tens of thousands of Americans each year undergo academic testing, medical screenings, and physical evaluations before being approved for military service.
According to four MEPCOM officials with direct knowledge of staffing levels, the shortage isn’t just a temporary inconvenience. If civilian hiring doesn’t pick up in the coming months, some locations could miss their processing targets for new recruits — threatening to bottleneck the military’s already fragile recruiting pipeline.
One senior official likened the situation to a hurricane warning. “We can function at the moment,” they said, “but the lethargically slow pace of hiring means we’re five or six months away from a potential critical shortfall.”
A System Already Under Strain
MEPCOM’s role is vital. Every applicant hoping to join the armed forces — from the Army and Navy to the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Space Force — must pass through its doors. Each applicant undergoes a series of evaluations, from academic aptitude tests to comprehensive medical exams.
In 2024 alone, the command processed more than 300,000 medical exams, an increase of nearly 100,000 from just two years prior. This year’s pace is already on track to surpass that record — and yet staffing has not kept up.
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| New Army accessions receive the oath of enlistment at the Military Entrance Processing Station-Baltimore. Master Sgt. Arthur M. Wright/US Air National Guard |
Currently, 20 of the 65 stations have had to “reduce capacity,” meaning they process fewer applicants each week than they could under full staffing. While these reductions aren’t yet triggering emergency shutdowns, officials warn that several high-volume sites are at “very high risk” of being overwhelmed within a year.
Local Bottlenecks With National Consequences
In some major metropolitan areas, the shortage has already forced MEPCOM to cut daily applicant processing by 20%. Two sources familiar with one major city’s recruiting operations said their stations are experiencing normal turnover but aren’t getting replacements fast enough to fill vacated positions.
High costs of living in these cities make it harder to retain staff such as administrators, IT specialists, and medical technicians. Low federal salaries exacerbate the problem, forcing MEPCOM to constantly replenish its workforce — a cycle now disrupted by lengthy hiring delays.
The Trump-era federal hiring freeze, although lifted for essential positions, continues to create bureaucratic hurdles. Even with MEPCOM’s exemption, new hires require additional layers of approval that can take months. In some cases, it has taken half a year to bring a new staff member onboard.
A Growing Workload, Fewer Hands on Deck
The problem is compounded by broader workforce changes. The Army’s deferred resignation program — a voluntary buyout designed to trim personnel — has led 15,000 civilian employees to leave their positions since its launch, according to an Army spokesperson. While MEPCOM serves all branches, it is managed by the Army, meaning its operations have been directly affected by these departures.
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| Navy recruits take the naturalization oath of allegiance during a naturalization ceremony at Navy Recruit Training Command at Great Lakes, Illinois. Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Christopher M. O'Grady/US Navy |
Despite these losses, the demand on MEPCOM facilities has surged. In 2022, the command processed 215,000 medical exams. By 2024, that number had jumped to 312,000 — and in just the first half of 2025, MEPCOM has already surpassed last year’s total.
Less than a third of its facilities — fewer than 20 stations — handle over half of all the nation’s applicants. Many of these high-output stations are also among the hardest hit by staffing shortages.
Recruiting Momentum at Risk
This looming bottleneck comes at a delicate time for US military recruitment. After several years of falling short — particularly in the Army and Navy, with the Air Force also missing targets — the services have finally seen modest gains. The Pentagon has even celebrated a so-called “Trump Bump” in patriotic enlistment numbers, though experts attribute the improvement to a range of factors, including targeted recruitment campaigns and shifting economic conditions.
But officials caution that without enough staff to process applicants efficiently, those hard-won gains could evaporate.
“There’s pressure to keep applicant numbers flowing and to make the process as efficient as possible,” one senior MEPCOM official said. “But we’re being asked to do that with fewer resources. Eventually, something has to give.”
The Stakes for National Readiness
If staffing attrition continues at its current rate without new hires to offset the losses, more MEPCOM locations will be forced to scale back daily processing. Over time, that could slow the rate of new enlistments — creating ripple effects throughout the armed forces.
While the military can weather short-term fluctuations, a prolonged slowdown in recruit processing would risk undermining readiness at a time when global security challenges demand a robust and steady flow of personnel into the ranks.
For now, MEPCOM is holding the line. But without urgent action to speed up hiring, the first choke point in the military’s recruitment system may soon become a crisis.
