Military Experience of Parents

Just as the educational choices and experiences of parents can have an impact on their children, so too can their military experience. Using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey (NELS), Kilburn and Klerman found that, among high school graduates, having a parent who served in the military significantly raised enlistment probabilities.[Footnote 6] The Commission's report presents some rather dramatic numbers in this regard. In 1970, 40 percent of births were to couples with at least one parent who had served in the military. By the year 2000, this number declined to 8 percent. Among the 2000 cohort of 18 year-olds, 18 percent had a father or mother who had served in the military. This means that between 1982 and 2000 the fraction of 18 year-olds with veteran parents declined by more than 50 percent, and between 2000 and 2018 it is projected to decline another 50 percent.

[Footnote 6]  U.S. Department of Education. The Digest of Education Statistics 2001 (NCES 2002-130) (Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, 2002), Table 108. [back to paragraph]

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