In 2026, the U.S. military will do something it hasn’t done meaningfully in years: grow. Congress has authorized an increase of more than 30,000 active-duty service members across the force, with the largest gains concentrated in the Army and Navy. The move coincides with the Pentagon’s newly released 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS) , which calls for sharper priorities: defending the homeland first, deterring China in the Indo-Pacific, pressing allies to shoulder more responsibility, and