US military weighs recruiting campaign to honor Charlie Kirk

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — The body of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk is carried from Air Force Two, accompanied by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, (not pictured) as the aircraft lands at the airport in Phoenix, Ariz., on Sept. 11, 2025, one day after Kirk was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University. (Thomas Machowicz/Reuters)

Pentagon officials are weighing a new recruiting campaign that would urge young people to join the military as a way to pay homage to assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk, NBC News reported on Thursday, citing two officials familiar with the plan. 

The campaign would be framed as a national call to service with the slogan to possibly be along the lines of "Charlie has awakened a generation of warriors,” NBC reported, citing two officials. 

The recruiting effort would utilize chapters of Kirk’s conservative student group Turning Point USA and universities across the U.S. as military recruitment centers, the officials told NBC.     

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Leading the effort is Anthony Tata, who serves as undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. 

The officials NBC interviewed did not know whether the campaign would ultimately happen. The idea faces resistance from some Pentagon leaders who have warned that such a campaign could be perceived as an attempt to capitalize on Kirk’s death. 

Kirk, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, helped build the Republican Party's support among younger voters. Republicans celebrated him as a charismatic advocate for right-wing policies on race, gender, immigration, religion and gun regulation.   

Trump said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. 

 (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by David Gregorio // REUTERS)