4-Education

There are few exceptions to the Service requirements that commissioned officers have at least a 4-year college degree, so the education levels of FY 1999 Active Component officer accessions come as no surprise. Table 4.13 clearly shows the officer corps’ reliance on the college-educated. Eight percent of officers commissioned in FY 1999 did not have at least a bachelor's degree; most likely these officers were former enlisted personnel. A notable percentage of newly commissioned officers (18 percent)—mostly lawyers, chaplains, and health care professionals (i.e., physicians, dentists, etc.)—held advanced degrees.

Table 4.13. FY 1999 Educational Attainment of Active Component Officer Accessions and Officer Corps, by Service (Percent)
Educational Attainment	Army	Navy	Marine Corps*	Air Force	DoD
ACTIVE COMPONENT OFFICER ACCESSIONS
Less than College Graduate	4.1	19.0	4.5	2.5	7.3
College Graduate (B.A., B.S., etc.)	69.1	62.1	92.5	80.3	74.4
Advanced Degree (M.A., Ph.D., etc.)	26.8	19.0	3.0	17.2	18.4
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
ACTIVE COMPONENT OFFICER CORPS
Less than College Graduate	0.9	7.1	4.5	0.5	2.6
College Graduate (B.A., B.S., etc.)	56.6	54.4	77.5	42.9	52.9
Advanced Degree (M.A., Ph.D., etc.)	42.4	38.5	18.0	56.6	44.5
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Columns may not add to total due to rounding. *Education credential information in the DMDC active and loss edit file is not always updated on a frequent basis. The Marine Corps accession data was provided by U.S. Marine Corps for more accurate information. Percentages do not include "Unknown" data. Also see Appendix Table B-35 (Education by Service).

Not only are college graduates amply represented among newly commissioned officers, but the education levels in the officer corps indicate that the Services promote continuing education. Significant proportions of officers attained advanced degrees while serving. The Air Force had the greatest proportion (57 percent) of officers with advanced degrees, and was the only Service with a greater proportion of officers with advanced degrees than bachelor's degrees. The Marine Corps had fewer officers with advanced degrees than the other Services. A contributing factor may be that the Navy provides the Marine Corps with health professionals, chaplains, or other such direct appointees, who typically have advanced degrees.