Characteristics of Active Enlisted Force

Although only 9 percent of first-time enlisted recruits are married, a majority of enlisted Servicemembers are (50 percent). By the end of the first term of service (typically four years), approximately 42 percent of male enlisted members have become married.[footnote 7] Trends in marital status of active duty members are shown in Figure 3.6. The proportion of married enlisted members declined from FY 1977 (50 percent) to FY 1980 (47 percent). In FY 1981 the proportion began to increase until a peak of 57 percent in FY 1994. Since FY 1994, the proportion of married members has dropped to less than 50 percent in FY 2000. Marital status varies by Service. Air Force members are most likely to be married (59 percent), while Marines are least likely to be married (40 percent).

The percentages of FY 2000 Active Component enlisted married males and females are shown by Service in Table 3.5 and by age in Appendix Table B-24. Proportionally, more Servicemen were married than Servicewomen (51 and 41 percent, respectively). Similarly, more civilian men were married than civilian women (53 versus 51 percent, respectively). The proportion of married Servicemen was slightly smaller than married 18- to 44-year-old men in the civilian population (51 and 53 percent, respectively). The proportion of married Servicewomen was lower than that of women in the comparable civilian population (41 and 51 percent, respectively).

Figure 3.6. Percentage of Active Component enlisted members who were married, by Service, FYs 19732000.

Table 3.5. FY 2000 Active Component Enlisted Members Who Were Married, by Gender and Service, and Civilian Labor Force 1844 Years Old (Percent)
Gender	Army	Navy	Marine Corps	Air Force	DoD	18- to 44-Year-Old Civilians
Male	51.1	48.0	40.3	62.2	51.2	52.5
Female	42.1	31.6	39.7	47.3	41.0	50.5
Total	49.7	45.8	40.3	59.4	49.7	51.5
Also see Appendix Table B-24 (Age by Marital Status and Gender). Source: Civilian data from Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey File, September 2000.

The percentage of married military women has changed significantly since FY 1973.[footnote 8] Twenty-five years ago women constituted 2 percent of military members. Military women were not expected to be married; retention directives implicitly encouraged separation of married enlisted women. In FY 1973, 18 percent of military women were married, increasing to 36 percent in FY 1978 and to 41 percent in FY 2000.

During and after the Persian Gulf War, questions were raised regarding the deployment of both parents in a dual-service marriage (i.e., a marriage wherein both husband and wife are military members). The proportion of members in each Service who are married and the proportion of those married who are members of a dual-service marriage are shown in Table 3.6.

Table 3.6. FY 2000 Active Component Enlisted Personnel Who Were Married, and in Dual-Service Marriages, by Gender and Service (Number and Percent)
		Married		Married Who Were In Dual-Service Marriages
Gender	End-Strength	Number	Percent	Number*	Percent**
ARMY
Male	339,659	173,382	51.1	11,088	6.4
Female	62,491	26,321	42.1	11,050	42.0
Total	402,150	199,703	49.7	22,138	11.1
NAVY
Male	271,333	130,337	48.0	6,648	5.1
Female	42,750	13,508	31.6	5,015	37.1
Total	314,083	143,845	45.8	11,663	8.1
MARINE CORPS
Male	145,539	58,639	40.3	3,093	5.3
Female	9,499	3,766	39.7	2,421	64.3
Total	155,038	62,405	40.3	5,514	8.8
AIR FORCE
Male	227,960	141,881	62.2	13,998	9.9
Female	54,344	25,713	47.3	14,331	55.7
Total	282,304	167,594	59.4	28,329	16.9
DoD
Male	984,491	504,239	51.2	34,827	6.9
Female	169,084	69,308	41.0	32,817	47.4
Total	1,153,575	573,547	49.7	67,644	11.8
* There are some differences between the number of males and females reporting dual-service marriages. ** These percentages reflect the proportion of married enlisted members who are married to a Servicemember. For example, 11,088 male Army enlisted personnel are in dual-service marriages. That is, 6.4 percent of married male Army enlisted members (173,382) are in dual-service marriages.

Larger proportions of men than women are married, but significantly greater proportions of women are members of dual-service marriages (47 percent of married women versus 7 percent of married men; Table 3.6). The Marine Corps has the greatest variance, with 5 percent of married men but 64 percent of married women in dual-service marriages. Proportionally, more Air Force personnel are members of dual-service marriages (17 percent). Across the Services, 12 percent of enlisted members are in dual-service marriages.

[footnote 7] Department of Defense, Family Status and Initial Term of Service, Volume I-Summary (Washington, DC: Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense [Personnel and Readiness], December 1993).[back to paragraph]

[footnote 8] Department of Defense, Population Representation in the Military Services: Fiscal Year 1989 (Washington, DC: Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense [Force Management and Personnel], July 1990).[back to paragraph]

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