Characteristics of the Selected Reserve Enlisted Force
Representation Within Occupation

 

The assignment of Reserve Component personnel to occupations is based upon individual qualifications and desires, military requirements, and unit vacancies.  The changing missions of the Armed Services, including domestic and international humanitarian efforts, affect personnel assignment.  Table 5.13 shows the occupational area distribution of Reserve and Active Components.

Table 5.13.  Comparison of FY 1999 Reserve and Active Enlisted Occupational Areas (Percent)
Occupational Code and Area			Reserve		Active
0	Infantry, Gun Crews, and Seamanship Specialists	18.3		17.0
1	Electronic Equipment Repairers	4.5		9.4
2	Communications and Intelligence Specialists	5.0		9.0
3	Medical and Dental Specialists	6.9		6.9
4	Other Allied Specialists	2.8		3.0
5	Functional Support and Administration	18.6		16.0
6	Electrical/Mechanical Equipment Repairers	16.5		19.8
7	Craftsmen	5.8		3.5
8	Service and Supply Handlers	10.6		8.5
9	Non-occupational*	11.1		6.9
	Total	100.0		100.0
Columns may not add to total due to rounding. * Non-occupational includes patients, students, those with unassigned duties, and unknowns. Also see Appendix Tables B-29 and C-21 (Occupational Area by Service/Component and Gender) and B-30 and C-22 (Occupational Area by Service/Component and Race/Ethnicity).

  Table 5.14 indicates that the occupational distribution among Active and Reserve Components varies. The differences reflect each Reserve Component's unique mission requirements and force structure. These differences may preclude some direct transfers from active duty to the National Guard and Reserve within the same skill.  For example, 13 percent of active Navy enlisted members serve in electronics specialties, but Naval Reserve requirements account for only 8 percent of this skill area.  On the other hand, only 10 percent of active Navy enlistees serve in administration while 21 percent of USNR enlistees serve in administration.  Similar occupational differences are found in each Service component.  Some occupational areas may not be able to absorb all transfers, while other areas may have to recruit more NPS individuals to fill unit vacancies or retrain those with prior service.  The occupational distribution percentages for FY 1999 are relatively similar to those of FY 1998.

Table 5.14. Comparison of FY 1999 Occupational Area Distribution of Enlisted Members, by Active and Reserve Components (Percent)
Active and Reserve	Occupational Area*
Components	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
ARMY  Active Component Army National Guard  Army Reserve	26.1 24.6 15.5	6.8 3.4 2.3	10.2 5.0 4.2	8.0 4.52 11.6	3.4 2.4 3.4	16.2 13.8 23.5	14.3 14.2 11.0	2.1 3.9 5.3	12.4 11.2 15.4	0.5 17.0 7.8
NAVY  Active Component  Naval Reserve	10.3 10.1	13.4 7.5	10.0 9.0	8.0 9.9	2.1 0.8	10.1 21.1	25.7 21.2	5.2 14.2	4.5 5.1	10.9 1.1
MARINE CORPS  Active Component  USMC Reserve	22.2 26.9	6.3 3.0	7.1 7.8	0.0 0.0	2.5 1.2	16.1 12.6	15.8 12.8	2.5 3.2	12.9 15.5	14.8 17.0
AIR FORCE  Active Component  Air National Guard  USAF Reserve	8.9 7.9 11.9	10.1 10.1 5.4	7.5 3.6 3.0	8.1 4.9 11.0	3.8 4.8 3.3	22.1 22.4 26.4	23.2 27.0 24.2	4.3 7.4 6.2	4.9 6.0 4.8	7.2 6.0 3.8
* Occupational Area Codes:  0=Infantry, 1=Electronics, 2=Communications, 3=Medical, 4=Other Technical, 5=Administration, 6=Electrical, 7=Craftsmen, 8=Supply, 9=Non-occupational.

  Representation of minorities within occupations.  As shown in Table 5.15, about two-thirds of all Selected Reserve personnel are in four occupational areas:  infantry, administration, electrical/mechanical equipment repair, and service and supply.  The largest percentage of Blacks and “Others” are in functional support and administration, while combat occupations are the most prevalent among Whites and Hispanics.

Table 5.15.  FY 1999 Occupational Areas of Selected Reserve Enlisted Personnel within Race/Ethnicity (Percent)
Occupational Code and Area		White	Black	Hispanic	Other
0	Infantry, Gun Crews, and Seamanship Specialists	19.3	13.9	19.9	18.1
1	Electronic Equipment Repairers	4.9	3.5	3.7	4.5
2	Communications and Intelligence Specialists	5.5	3.7	4.6	4.4
3	Medical and Dental Specialists	6.3	8.5	7.5	8.4
4	Other Allied Specialists	2.9	2.4	2.4	2.3
5	Functional Support and Administration	16.3	26.9	18.6	20.2
6	Electrical/Mechanical Equipment Repairers	17.7	12.1	16.4	15.2
7	Craftsmen	6.3	4.2	5.2	5.2
8	Service and Supply Handlers	9.7	14.1	11.5	8.7
9	Non-occupational*	11.1	10.8	10.4	13.1
Total		100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Columns may not add to total due to rounding. * Non-occupational includes patients, students, those with unassigned duties, and unknowns. Also see Appendix Table C-22 (Occupational Area by Component and Race/Ethnicity).

Representation of women within occupations.  The assignment patterns for Selected Reserve enlisted men and women in occupational areas are reflected in Table 5.16.  Most National Guard and Reserve enlisted women are assigned to two occupational areas:  functional support (41percent) and medical (16 percent).  Enlisted men are assigned primarily to infantry (21 percent) and electrical/mechanical equipment repair (19 percent).

Table 5.16.  FY 1999 Occupational Areas of Selected Reserve Enlisted Personnel, by Gender (Percent)
Occupational Code and Area		Male	Female
0	Infantry, Gun Crews, and Seamanship Specialists	21.0	4.3
1	Electronic Equipment Repairers	4.9	2.3
2	Communications and Intelligence Specialists	5.2	3.9
3	Medical and Dental Specialists	5.3	15.9
4	Other Allied Specialists	2.8	2.4
5	Functional Support and Administration	14.5	40.8
6	Electrical/Mechanical Equipment Repairers	18.5	5.6
7	Craftsmen	6.4	2.4
8	Service and Supply Handlers	10.8	9.6
9	Non-occupational*	10.8	12.9
	Total	100.0	100.0
Columns may not add to total due to rounding. * Non-occupational includes patients, students, those with unassigned duties, and unknowns. Also see Appendix Table C-21 (Occupational Area by Component and Gender).

The April 1993 policy [1] to open more specialties and assignments to women resulted in new opportunities for women in both the Active and Reserve Components. Women are not permitted to serve in direct ground combat roles, but positions on ships and aircraft engaging in combat are now open to women.  In FY 1999, 4 percent of women served in infantry, gun crew, and seamanship specialties, as illustrated in Table 5.16 and the same as in FY 1998.

The proportion of Selected Reserve women in non-traditional occupations, such as technical and craftsmen, was relatively low in FY 1999.  Women were nearly three times more likely than men to serve in the traditional occupational areas of medical and administration.  In the future, the proportion of women enlisting in nontraditional positions in the National Guard and Reserves will depend to a considerable extent on the number of Active Component women in nontraditional skills, their willingness to join a Selected Reserve unit upon separating from active duty, and the proportion of technical skill vacancies in Guard and Reserve units.  However, with the end of the military drawdown, there are fewer prior service women available to enter the Selected Reserve.  Consequently, it is important to continue monitoring occupational trends by gender in both the Active and Reserve Components.    

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