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Chapter 2:

 

Characteristics of Active Component Non-Prior Service Applicants

In FY 2002, nearly 381,000 individuals applied to serve in the active enlisted military force (Appendix Table A-1), up from approximately 370,000 in FY 2001. Applicants are those individuals who express an interest in joining one of the military services by visiting a recruiter and then following through with their intentions by completing background paperwork and submitting to a physical and/or taking the ASVAB. Not all applicants are eligible to enlist, for example certain medical conditions disqualify an applicant from serving in the military. Some applicants change their mind regarding enlistment before completing the process. Thus, not all applicants join one of the Services (those that do join are called accessions, see Characteristics of Active Component Accessions). The distribution of FY 2002 Active Component NPS applicants by race/ethnicity and gender is shown in Table 2.2.

Seventy-eight percent of the applicants were male, of whom 66 percent were White, 16 percent Black, 12 percent Hispanic, and 7 percent “Other.” For female applicants, approximately 54 percent were White, 26 percent Black, 13 percent Hispanic, and 8 percent “Other.”[footnote 18] A smaller proportion of Whites, whether male or female, applied for the Army and Navy, compared to the Marine Corps and Air Force.

Additional statistics on applicant characteristics (e.g., age, education levels, AFQT scores, and marital status, by gender and race/ethnicity) are contained in Appendix A. See Tables A-1 through A-8.

Table 2.2.  Race/Ethnicity and Gender of FY 2002 Active Component NPS Applicants,*
by Service (Percent)
 
Army
Marine Corps
Air Force
DoD
MALES
White
66.2
57.4
68.8
72.4
65.6
Black
16.2
19.9
10.8
15.1
16.0
Hispanic
12.0
12.3
14.1
6.9
11.6
Other
5.7
10.5
6.3
5.6
6.9
Total
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
FEMALES
White
50.2
49.9
61.4
63.0
53.7
Black
29.4
26.3
15.4
23.0
26.4
Hispanic
13.7
13.7
15.6
7.7
12.5
Other
6.7
10.1
7.6
6.2
7.5
Total
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
TOTAL
Male
76.2
77.2
91.3
71.1
77.8
Female
23.8
22.8
8.7
28.9
22.2

Columns may not add to total due to rounding.
* Applicant data reported for FY 2002 are based on the DMDC edit version of the USMEPCOM file, which has been "cleaned" by the edit process.  FY 2002 applicant data are consistent with Information Delivery System (IDS) data.
Also see Appendix Tables A-3 (Race/Ethnicity by Service and Gender) and A-4 (Ethnicity by Service).

 

[Footnote 18]  Includes Native Americans, Asians, and Pacific Islanders. [back to paragraph]

 

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