Slogans of the United States Army


Slogans of the United States Army changed rarely in the 20th century, relative to the 21st.

World War I

"I Want YOU for US Army" featured on a poster of Uncle Sam painted by James Montgomery Flagg.

1950s–1971

"Choice, Not Chance" and "Modern Army Green" were both used as slogans to advertise for having the choice of job training, travel, and branch and to highlight the newly introduced Class A Uniform, respectively. Public announcements on broadcast television, and highway roadway signs advertised slogans during a time of a national draft of young men 18 to 34 years of age. The advantage of volunteering for service as opposed to being drafted was the option to choose which career field you wanted to serve in along with the first unit and/or location of assignment.

1971 to 1980

"Today's Army Wants to Join You" was a recruiting slogan from the 1971 Volunteer Army campaign, which was introduced as the country prepared to transition to an all-volunteer military. When N. W. Ayer & Son, who were engaged by the US Army, believed they felt the army said "Today's Army is changing; we want to meet you half way", the firm came up with that slogan. General William Westmoreland asked "Do we have to ask it that way?" but agreed to the campaign. The slogan was replaced by "Join the People Who've Joined the Army" in 1973, which later evolved into "This is the Army."
Slogan was written in 1971 by Ted Regan Jr., Executive Vice President and Executive Creative Director of N.W. Ayer, the Army's ad agency.
Regan also wrote the follow up slogan, "Join the people who've joined the Army."

1980 to 2001

"Be All You Can Be" was the recruiting slogan of the United States Army for over twenty years. Earl Carter working for the N. W. Ayer Advertising Agency as a Senior Copywriter created the "Be All You Can Be" theme line in 1980. In January 2003, the U.S. Army awarded Carter its Outstanding Civilian Service Award. Carter’s original concept sheet, with words “Be All You Can Be”, is now part of a permanent collection at the US Army Heritage Center Foundation.

2001 to 2006

"Army of One" was a relatively short-lived recruiting slogan. It replaced the popular "Be All You Can Be" and was replaced in 2006 by the new slogan "Army Strong". The reason for the replacement, states Frank Luntz, is that the slogan "Army of One" is contrary to the idea of teamwork.

2006 to 2018

"Army Strong" is the recruiting slogan that has been used for more than a decade by the United States Army. The composer of the music used in the Army Strong television commercials is Mark Isham.

2018 to 2019

The Army debuted a new recruiting slogan, "Warriors Wanted," in October 2018.
The Army updated the recruiting slogan to "What's Your Warrior?" The slogan will officially launch on broadcast, print and digital properties in November 2019 and will continue to evolve over time through the depiction of new, compelling Soldier stories that try to inspire youth to join the Army.