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Chapter 3:

 

Marital Status

Although only 9 percent of first-time enlisted recruits are married, a large percentage of enlisted Servicemembers are (49 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 49 percent in FY 2002. Marital status varies by Service. Air Force members are most likely to be married (56 percent), while Marines are least likely to be married (41 percent).

The percentages of FY 2002 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 (50 and 42 percent, respectively). The only Service where these proportions are not evident is the Marine Corps where only 41 percent of both men and women are married. Similarly, more civilian men were married than civilian women (52 versus 50 percent, respectively). The proportion of married Servicemen was slightly smaller than married 18- to 44-year-old men in the civilian population (50 and 52 percent, respectively). The proportion of married Servicewomen was lower than that of women in the comparable civilian population (42 and 50 percent, respectively).

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 42 percent in FY 2002.


Figure 3.6. Percentage of Active Component enlisted members who were married, by Service, FYs 1973–2002.


Table 3.5. FY 2002 Active Component Enlisted Members Who Were Married, by Gender and Service, and Civilian Labor Force 18-44 Years Old (Percent)
Gender
Army
Navy
Marine Corps
Air Force
DoD
18- to 44-Year-Old Civilians
Male
50.1
46.9
40.7
58.1
49.7
51.8
Female
42.6
33.1
41.2
47.0
41.5
49.8
Total
48.9
44.9
40.7
55.9
48.5
50.9

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 2002.

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 2002 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
343,377
172,021
50.1
11,324
6.6
Female
62,806
26,756
42.6
11,214
41.9
Total
406,183
198,777
48.9
22,538
11.3
Male
278,208
130,502
46.9
5,559
4.3
Female
46,490
15,389
33.1
6,353
41.3
Total
324,698
145,891
44.9
11,912
8.2
MARINE CORPS
Male
146,140
59,463
40.7
3,270
5.5
Female
9,459
3,897
41.2
2,555
65.6
Total
155,599
63,360
40.7
5,825
9.2
AIR FORCE
Male
234,571
136,350
58.1
16,230
11.9
Female
57,957
27,263
47.0
15,914
58.4
Total
292,528
163,613
55.9
32,144
19.7
DoD
Male
1,002,289
498,336
49.7
36,383
7.3
Female
176,712
73,305
41.5
36,036
49.2
Total
1,179,001
571,641
48.5
72,419
12.7

* 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, 11,324 male Army enlisted personnel are in dual-service marriages. That is, 6.6 percent of married male Army enlisted members (172,021) 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 (49 percent of married women versus 7 percent of married men; Table 3.6). The Marine Corps has the greatest variance, with 6 percent of married men but 66 percent of married women in dual-service marriages. Proportionally, more Air Force personnel are members of dual-service marriages (20 percent). Across the Services, 13 percent of enlisted members are in dual-service marriages.

[Footnote 7]  Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness), 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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