Military Personnel: Reporting Additional Servicemember		 
Demographics Could Enhance Congressional Oversight (22-SEP-05,	 
GAO-05-952).							 
                                                                 
The high pace of military operations, thousands of casualties in 
ongoing military operations, and the services' recruiting	 
challenges have raised questions about who is serving in today's 
military and concern that certain subgroups of the U.S. 	 
population may be disproportionately represented among those	 
fighting and dying in support of the war on terrorism. These	 
challenges and concerns have increased the need for information  
on the demographic characteristics of military personnel. GAO was
asked to address three questions: (1) What are the demographic	 
characteristics of servicemembers and how do they compare to the 
comparable U.S. civilian workforce? (2) How well are the services
meeting their overall recruitment goals, and what influences	 
whether or not individuals join the military? (3) What are the	 
demographic characteristics of servicemembers who remained in the
military in fiscal years 2000, 2002, and 2004? GAO was also asked
to examine the demographic characteristics of servicemembers who 
died or were wounded in combat in Operations Iraqi Freedom and	 
Enduring Freedom.						 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-05-952 					        
    ACCNO:   A37739						        
  TITLE:     Military Personnel: Reporting Additional Servicemember   
Demographics Could Enhance Congressional Oversight		 
     DATE:   09/22/2005 
  SUBJECT:   Comparative analysis				 
	     Congressional oversight				 
	     Employee retention 				 
	     Labor statistics					 
	     Military enlistment				 
	     Military forces					 
	     Military personnel 				 
	     Military recruiting				 
	     Population statistics				 
	     Statistical data					 
	     DOD Operation Iraqi Freedom			 
	     Operation Enduring Freedom 			 

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GAO-05-952

                 United States Government Accountability Office

GAO

September 2005

MILITARY PERSONNEL

  Reporting Additional Servicemember Demographics Could Enhance Congressional
                                   Oversight

                                       a

GAO-05-952

[IMG]

September 2005

MILITARY PERSONNEL

Reporting Additional Servicemember Demographics Could Enhance Congressional
Oversight

What GAO Found

Since the institution of the All Volunteer Force in 1973, the military has
become older and better educated, with increasing representation of racial
and ethnic minorities, females, spouses, and parents. Today's force also
differs from the U.S. civilian workforce in a number of important ways.
For example, the military is younger than the civilian workforce. From a
racial diversity perspective, the military, as of December 2004, had
proportionately fewer Whites, partly because the military has
proportionately more African Americans. Although Hispanic representation
in the Active Component has markedly increased from 5 percent in 1993 to 9
percent in 2004, it is below the 11 percent for the U.S. civilian
workforce. The representation of women in the military, at 16 percent, is
below that of women in the U.S. workforce, at 48 percent, partly because
of military policy and federal statutes. Although the 1997 government-wide
requirements for the collection and reporting of information on race and
ethnicity were to have been implemented by January 1, 2003, DOD has not
yet fully implemented the requirements and its internal monthly reports
continue to use some of the former racial/ethnic categories. This
situation makes it difficult for Congress to monitor and directly compare
the military and U.S. civilian racial and ethnic compositions.

Over the past decade, the Active Component met its overall recruiting
goals more frequently than has the Reserve Component. GAO found that a
combination of personal, demographic, family, and societal factors, as
well as the availability of economic and educational incentives, influence
youths' decision to join or not to join the military. DOD reports that
over half of today's youth are not qualified to serve because they cannot
meet the military's entry standards for health, education, aptitude, or
other requirements. DOD has not collected information on a recruit's
socioeconomic status since 1999. Recent DOD research using recruits' zip
codes as a proxy to indicate socioeconomic status and community population
density found that the median income of recruits' communities is similar
to that of other youth and that the majority of recruits come from rural
and suburban areas. Without ongoing research on recruits' socioeconomic
status and communities, DOD will not be able to promptly and accurately
inform Congress and the public about how representation in the services
matches that of the applicable U.S. population.

In fiscal years 2000, 2002, and 2004, AC enlisted personnel had lower
retention rates than officers and there were no consistent differences
between the rates of racial/ethnic subgroups. While DOD prepares retention
rates, it does not publish active duty retention rates which could be used
by Congress in its oversight of military retention and related issues.

As of May 28, 2005, 1,841 servicemembers had died and 12,658 had been
wounded in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom. Most
of those who died or were wounded were Active Component Army or Marine
Corps junior enlisted personnel. Among those who died, 71 percent were
White, 10 percent were Hispanic, and 9 percent were African American.

United States Government Accountability Office

Contents

                                    Letter 1

Results in Brief 3

Background 7

The Charge and the Debate of the All Volunteer Force 7
DOD Publications and Databases for Force Demographics 8
Changing Demographics 9

Demographic 11

Question 1 and Summary of Approach 11
Characteristics of Summary of Findings 11
Servicemembers Findings 14

Recruiting 54

Question 2 and Summary of Approach 54
Summary of Findings 54
Findings 56

Retention 100

Question 3 and Summary of Approach 100
Summary of Findings 100
Findings 102

Casualties 114

Additional Question and Summary of Approach 114
Summary of Findings 114
Findings 116

Conclusions

Recommendations for 132
Executive Action

Agency Comments and

133

  Our Evaluation

Appendixes

Appendix I:

Appendix II:

                          Appendix III: Appendix IV: Appendix V: Appendix VI:

Scope and Methodology Analytic Issues

Datasets Used in Analyses
Tabulating Data on Race and Ethnicity
DOD Used Zip Codes to Estimate Recruits' Socioeconomic Status

and Community Population Density Rounding Error Structure of the Reserve
Component Military Occupational Specialties That Exclude Females Comments
from the Department of Defense GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments

134

138 138 139

140 141

143

145

152

155

Tables	Table 1: Table 2:

Table 3:

Table 4:

Table 5:

Table 6:

Table 7:

Table 8:

Table 9:

Percentage of the AC that Is Female 10
Percentage of Servicemembers Serving for More than 4
Years 10
Number of Servicemembers in Each Service as of
December 31, 2004 14
Number of Servicemembers in Each Pay Grade Subgroup
as of December 31, 2004 15
Percent of Servicemembers in Pay Grade Subgroups as of
December 31, 2004 16
Percent of Servicemembers in Each DOD Occupational
Area as of December 31, 2004 18
Percent of Enlisted Personnel in Each Component in DOD
Occupational Areas as of December 31, 2004 20
Percent of Officers in Each Component in DOD
Occupational Areas as of December 31, 2004 21
Percent of Servicemembers and Civilians Across Racial/
Ethnic Subgroups 22

Table 10: Percent of Enlisted Personnel and Civilians with a High School
Diploma or Equivalent or Some College in the Racial/Ethnic Subgroups 28

Table 11: Percent of Officers and Civilian College Graduates in the
Racial/Ethnic Subgroups 30

Table 12: Percent of AC Enlisted Personnel in Each Racial/Ethnic Subgroup
and DOD Occupational Area as of December 31, 2004 32

Table 13: Percent of AC Officers in Each Racial/Ethnic Subgroup and DOD
Occupational Area as of December 31, 2004 34

Table 14: Percent of RC Enlisted Personnel in Each Racial/Ethnic Subgroup
and DOD Occupational Area as of December 31, 2004 36

Table 15: Percent of RC Officers in Each Racial/Ethnic Subgroup and DOD
Occupational Area as of December 31, 2004 37 Table 16: Percent of
Servicemembers and Civilian Workers in Each Racial/Ethnic and Gender
Subgroup 40 Table 17: Distribution of Race/Ethnicity Among Female
Servicemembers and Civilians 42 Table 18: Representation of AC Females
across and within Enlisted Occupational Areas as of December 31, 2004 44
Table 19: Representation of AC Females across and within Officer
Occupational Areas as of December 31, 2004 44 Table 20: Representation of
RC Females across and within Enlisted Occupational Areas as of December
31, 2004 46 Table 21: Representation of RC Females across and within
Officer Occupational Areas as of December 31, 2004 47 Table 22: Percentage
of Servicemembers and Employed Civilians in

Educational Categories 50 Table 23: DOD and Service-Specific Educational
Standards 70 Table 24: Aptitude Standards and Required and Actual
Percentages

of Nonprior-service Recruits ator Above the 50th Percentile in Fiscal Year
2004 72 Table 25: Percent of Nonprior-service Accessions Scoring in AFQT
Categories I-IIIA during Selected Years 73 Table 26: Examples of DOD
Medical Standards which May Have Disqualified Potential Recruits in Fiscal
Year 2004 74

Table 27: DOD and Service-Specific Moral Character Standards for
Nonprior-service Recruits in Fiscal Year 2004 76

Table 28: Percent of AC Servicemembers in Each Racial/Ethnic Subgroup Who
Have 1 Year or Less of Service in Fiscal Years 2000, 2002, and 2004 86

Table 29: Percent of Enlisted AC Accessions between 1999 and 2004 and
Comparable Civilian Youth Aged 17-21 from Community Population Density
Subgroups 90

Table 30: Percent of Enlisted AC Accessions and Comparable Civilian Youth
Aged 17-21 from Geographic Regions 91 Table 31: Examples of the Reserve
Components' Economic Enlistment Incentives Being Offered in February 2005
96 Table 32: Examples of Reserve Component Educational Enlistment

Incentives Being Offered in February 2005 98 Table 33: AC Enlisted
Retention in Fiscal Years 2000-2005 106 Table 34: AC Continuation Rates
for Each Service in Fiscal Years

2000, 2002, and 2004 108 Table 35: AC Continuation Rates for Race and
Gender Subgroups in Fiscal Years 2000, 2002, and 2004 109 Table 36: AC
Enlisted Continuation Rates for DOD Occupational Codes in Fiscal Years
2000, 2002, and 2004 110 Table 37: AC Officer Continuation Rates for DOD
Occupational Codes in Fiscal Years 2000, 2002, and 2004 111 Table 38:
Continuation Rates for RC Servicemembers in Fiscal Years 2000, 2002, and
the Fourth Quarter of Fiscal Year 2004 112

Table 39: Continuation Rates for RC Servicemembers by Years of Service in
Fiscal Years 2002 and the Fourth Quarter of Fiscal Year 2004 113

Table 40: Number and Percent of Servicemembers in Racial/Ethnic Subgroups
Who Died in Selected Military Operations as of May 28, 2005 116

Table 41: Operation and Circumstance of Death of the 1,841 Servicemembers
Who Died in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom as of May 28,
2005 118

Table 42: Representation of Selected Demographic Subgroups Among the 1,841
Servicemembers Who Died in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom
as of May 28, 2005 120

Table 43: Community Population Density and Estimated Socioeconomic Status
of the 482 Reservists Who Died in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring
Freedom as of May 28, 2005 122

Table 44: Operation for the 12,658 Servicemembers Who Were Wounded in
Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom as of May 28, 2005 124

Table 45: Representation of Selected Demographic Subgroups Among the
12,658 Servicemembers Who Were Wounded in Operations Iraqi Freedom and
Enduring Freedom as of May 28, 2005 126

Table 46: Community Population Density and Estimated Socioeconomic Status
of the 3,197 Reservists Who Were Wounded in Operations Iraqi Freedom and
Enduring Freedom as of May 28, 2005 128

Table 47: Military Occupational Specialties That Exclude Females as of
March 1997 145

Figures	Figure 1: Figure 2:

Figure 3:

Figure 4:

Figure 5:

Figure 6:

Figure 7:

Figure 8:

Military Racial and Ethnic Representation 24
Percent of Males and Females in Each Component and
among Employed Civilians 38
Percentage of the AC, RC, and U.S. Population in Age
Categories 48
Percent of Servicemembers and Civilians in Three
Citizenship Subgroups in 2004 52
AC and RC Achievement of Enlisted Recruiting Goals for
Fiscal Years 1995 through 2004 64
DOD Components' Achievement of Enlisted Recruiting
Goals for October 1, 2004, through June 30, 2005 66
Four General Types of Factors that Influence Youths'
Decisions About Joining 78
Economic and Educational Incentives 92

Abbreviations

AC Active Component
AFQT Armed Forces Qualifying Test
AVF All Volunteer Force
CPS Current Population Survey
DOD Department of Defense
DMDC Defense Manpower Data Center
RC Reserve Component

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A

United States Government Accountability Office Washington, D.C. 20548

September 22, 2005

The Honorable Ike Skelton Ranking Minority Member Committee on Armed
Services House of Representatives

The Honorable Charles Rangel House of Representatives

Since the advent of the All Volunteer Force (AVF) in 1973, the active duty
force has undergone several demographic changes. Our previous examination
of the demographic composition of the AVF showed that between 1974 and
2000, the force became older and better educated. The AVF also experienced
increases in the proportions of servicemembers who were racial/ethnic
minorities, females, married, or parents.1

A number of significant events have occurred within the last 4 years,
namely, the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the ensuing
Operations Enduring Freedom, Noble Eagle, and Iraqi Freedom. These
military commitments increased the pace of operations for U.S. forces,
particularly in the Army and Marine Corps. To ensure that the military has
sufficient personnel to meet U.S. global commitments, Congress in October
2004 authorized increases in personnel for the Army and Marine Corps.2

Ensuring the availability of sufficient numbers of trained, high-quality
personnel in an environment of increased deployment and armed conflict has
proven to be one of the greatest personnel challenges faced by the U.S.
military since the inception of the AVF. The active Army, the Army
Reserve, and the Army National Guard, for example, missed their early
fiscal year 2005 recruiting goals. We are currently looking at the
military services' efforts to enhance recruitment and retention of
enlisted personnel.

1GAO, Military Personnel: Active Duty Benefits Reflect Changing
Demographics, but Opportunities Exist to Improve, GAO-02-935 (Washington,
D.C.: Sept. 18, 2002).

2See the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2005, Pub. L. No. 108-375, S: 401 (2004) and GAO, Military Personnel:
DOD Needs to Conduct a Data-Driven Analysis of Active Military Personnel
Levels Required to Implement the Defense Strategy, GAO-05-200 (Washington,
D.C.: Feb. 1, 2005).

The high pace of military operations, thousands of casualties in ongoing
military operations, and the services' recruiting challenges have raised
questions about who is serving in today's military and concern that
certain subgroups of the U.S. population are disproportionately
represented among those fighting and dying in support of the war on
terrorism. These challenges and concerns have increased the need for
information about the demographic characteristics of military personnel.

As agreed with your offices, this report addressed three questions: (1)
What are the demographic characteristics of servicemembers, and how do
they compare to those of similarly aged and educated civilians in the U.S.
workforce? (2) How well are the services meeting their recruitment goals,
and what influences whether or not individuals join the military? (3) What
are the demographic characteristics of servicemembers who remained in the
military in fiscal years 2000, 2002, and 2004? You also asked us to
examine the demographic characteristics of servicemembers who died or were
wounded in combat in Iraq or Afghanistan in support of Operations Iraqi
Freedom or Enduring Freedom.

To address these objectives, we examined Department of Defense (DOD)
policies, regulations, and instructions and reviewed laws relating to the
staffing of the military. We also reviewed governmentwide guidance on
demographic analyses, such as the recent change in the way that
information about racial/ethnic groups is to be gathered and displayed, as
well as reports on servicemembers' demographics, recruitment, retention,
and casualties issued by GAO, DOD, the services, and individuals from
other organizations such as RAND, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the
University of Maryland's Center for Research on Military Organization.
Additionally, we interviewed policy officials from the Office of the Under
Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and military researchers
from DOD, the services, and other organizations to obtain insights into
the factors that influence enlistment decisions, attitudes and opinions of
today's youth, recruiting challenges, characteristics of recruits, and
demographic trends. We also requested that the Defense Manpower Data
Center provide databases containing demographic data on active and reserve
component servicemembers. We determined that the data were sufficiently
reliable for our purposes and analyzed the data to identify the
demographic characteristics of servicemembers. We conducted our work
between August 2004 and July 2005 in accordance with generally accepted
government auditing standards. Additional information on our scope,
methodology, and analytic procedures are presented in appendixes I and II.

Results in Brief 	According to DOD data, the demographic composition of
the military is somewhat different than that of the similarly aged and
educated segment of the civilian workforce.3 When compared to comparable
civilian workers, the military had proportionately fewer Whites (67
percent in the military compared to 71 percent in the civilian workforce),
partly because the military has proportionately more African Americans (17
percent in the military versus 11 percent in the civilian workforce). The
representation of American Indian/Alaskan Natives in the military equals
that of the civilian workforce (about 1 percent in each). Although
Hispanic representation in the military has markedly increased over the
last decade to 9 percent, 11 percent of the comparable civilian workforce
is of Hispanic ethnicity. Similarly, while Asian Americans/Pacific
Islanders are 3 percent of the military, they comprise 5 percent of the
civilian workforce. The representation of women in the military, at 16
percent, is partly impacted by military policy and federal statutes
denying women access to military specialties involving ground combat. The
distribution of racial/ethnic subgroups among female servicemembers
differed from that of female civilian workers. For example, African
Americans' representation among female servicemembers at 28 percent was
higher than their 13 percent representation among civilian female workers,
but Whites' representation among female servicemembers at 54 percent was
below their 71 percent representation among civilian female workers. Two
percent of servicemembers are not U.S. citizens. The top three foreign
countries of origin identified by servicemembers who are not U.S. citizens
or nationals are the Philippines, Mexico, and Jamaica. Also, DOD has not
fully implemented the government-wide requirements on the collection and
reporting of racial and ethnic data that were to have been implemented by
January 1, 2003. The services continue to convert their data on current
servicemembers' race and ethnicity and DOD's internal monthly reports of
servicemember race and ethnicity continue to use the previous racial and
ethnicity categories.4 This results in racial and ethnic tabulations that
cannot be clearly compared to tabulations of the U.S. population as
reported by other federal agencies such as the Bureau of the Census,

3Data for DOD were as of December 2004 and for the civilian workforce were
as of 2003. See app. II for a description of the Current Population Survey
Annual Social and Economic Supplement, used as the source of civilian data
in this report.

4DOD's internal tabulations do include a category for multiracial
individuals, which is consistent with the revised guidelines, but continue
to include "Hispanic" as a racial subgroup instead of reporting it
separately, in accordance with the revised federal guidelines for
self-reported data on race and ethnicity.

making it difficult for Congress to compare the military and civilian
racial and ethnic compositions. The continued use of the former categories
and methods may result in the undercounting of Hispanic servicemembers who
belong to a minority racial subgroup.

Over the past decade the Active Component5 (AC) has met its overall
recruiting goals more frequently than has the Reserve Component (RC). We
found that a combination of personal, demographic, family, and societal
factors influence whether or not individuals join the military. According
to DOD researchers, at least half of today's youth between the ages of 16
and 21 are not qualified to serve in the military because they fail to
meet the military's entry standards for education, aptitude, health, moral
character, or other requirements. Between fiscal years 2000 and 2004, the
AC annually accessed between approximately 176,400 to 183,000
nonprior-service enlisted personnel and about 17,500 to 21,500 officers.
However, since fiscal year 2002, the proportion of recruits who are
African Americans has declined in the AC. DOD has not routinely surveyed
and reported on the socioeconomic status of its servicemembers since 1999
and has not previously routinely reported on the types of communities from
which recruits are drawn. A recent DOD analysis of over 1 million recruits
found that recruits came from communities representing all socioeconomic
levels and, at $44,500, the median income of recruits' communities roughly
equaled the $44,300 median income of the communities of civilian youths.
Proportionately more recruits came from the South and West than from the
Northeast. Additionally, proportionately more enlisted recruits (45
percent-52 percent) than similarly aged civilian youth (40 percent) came
from a rural community. Weaknesses with DOD's measures of recruits'
socioeconomic status and community population density limit the
information provided to Congress to perform its oversight role. To support
recruiting, DOD spent over $455 million in fiscal year 2003 for enlistment
bonuses, college funds, and loan repayments that were designed, in part,
to help the services maintain the required numbers of personnel in
critical occupational specialties. Some incentives have increased. While
economic

5We use the term "Active Component" to collectively refer to the four
active duty services: the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. We use
the term "Reserve Component" to collectively refer to the six reserve
components: the U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Army National Guard, U.S. Navy
Reserve, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, U.S. Air Force Reserve, and U.S. Air
National Guard. Although the Coast Guard Reserve also assists DOD in
meeting its commitments, it comes under the day-to-day control of the
Department of Homeland Security rather than DOD. The manpower strengths
and analyses reported herein exclude the Coast Guard Reserve.

and educational incentives are cited as important factors youth consider
in their decisions to join or not join the military, DOD data also shows
that the attractiveness of joining the military after high school has
declined because of operations in Iraq.

In fiscal years 2000, 2002, and 2004, DOD reported that 85 to 87 percent
of all AC enlisted personnel and 90 to 93 percent of AC officers remained
in the military. In the RC, 83 to 85 percent of enlisted personnel and 88
to 89 percent of officers remained in the military. In general, active or
reserve Air Force continuation rates tended to be higher than rates for
the other components. In the AC, there were no consistent differences
between the continuation rates of racial/ethnic subgroups and the rates
for females were within 2 percentage points of the rates for males in each
year examined. While DOD routinely prepares some of these types of
retention analyses for use within the department, it does not provide
active duty retention rates in reports such as Population Representation
in the Military Services, which could be used by Congress in its oversight
of military retention and related issues.

As of May 28, 2005, 1,841 servicemembers had died and 12,658 had been
wounded in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Of the 1,841
servicemembers who died, 482 were reservists. Of the 12,658 servicemembers
who were wounded, 3,197 were reservists. Most of those who died or were
wounded were junior enlisted personnel in the active Army or Marine Corps.
Seventy-two percent of those who died were either killed in combat or died
later of wounds received while in combat. White servicemembers constituted
71 percent of the deaths although they represented 67 percent of the AC
and Selected Reserve6 we examined. In contrast, African Americans
accounted for 9 percent of the deaths in these operations although they
comprised 17 percent of the AC and Selected Reserve force we studied.
Hispanic servicemembers comprised 10 percent of the deaths compared to the
9 percent of the AC and Selected Reserve force we examined. The majority
of selected reservists who were killed or wounded during these operations
were from communities that DOD classified as being of medium socioeconomic
status.

6The Selected Reserve comprises part-time drilling reservists, full-time
unit support personnel, Individual Mobilization Augmentees, and reservists
who are in training. See app. III for more information on reserve
personnel categories.

To improve the ability of the public, DOD, and Congress to identify and
monitor demographic changes in the race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status,
and community population density of servicemembers in the AVF and to
enhance Congress's ability to perform its oversight functions, we are
recommending that DOD (1) gather and report data on race and ethnicity
that are consistent with the required procedures set forth by the Office
of
Management and Budget, (2) conduct research to determine a feasible
process for assessing the socioeconomic status of recruits and
periodically
include these findings in annual reports on servicemembers, (3) assess the
type of communities recruits come from and periodically include a
measure of population density in the annual demographic reports, and
(4) include continuation rates on AC and RC personnel in DOD's annual
demographic reports. In commenting on a draft of this report, DOD
concurred with our four recommendations.

We are sending copies of this report to the Secretaries of Defense, the
Army, the Navy, and the Air Force; the Commandant of the Marine Corps;
and the Chiefs of the National Guard Bureau, the Army Reserve, the Army
National Guard, the Air Force Reserve, the Air National Guard, the Navy
Reserve, and the Marine Corps Reserve. We will also make copies available
to others upon request. The report will be available at no charge on GAO's
Web site at http://www.gao.gov.

If you or your staffs have any questions concerning this report, please
contact me at (202) 512-5559 or [email protected]. Contact points for our
Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the
last page of this report. GAO staff who made major contributions to this
report are listed in appendix VI.

Derek B. Stewart
Director, Defense Capabilities and Management

Background

The Charge and the Debate of the All Volunteer Force

In 1970, President Nixon directed the Commission on an All Volunteer Armed
Force-the Gates Commission--to develop a plan to eliminate conscription
and institute an All Volunteer Force (AVF). The commission unanimously
recommended the elimination of conscription, while noting that, except
during major wars and the latter half of the 20th century, the United
States has historically relied on volunteers for its military forces.
Prior to the adoption of the AVF, there were a number of arguments made
for and against an AVF. Some of these arguments, offered by members of the
commission, Congress, military leaders, and the public, follow:

o  Arguments against an AVF

                                     o   o

                                       o

                                       o

                                       o

Opinion that military service is an obligation of citizenship.

Concern that the military would attract an insufficient number of
recruits, especially during times of war.

Concern that because of relatively poorer civilian opportunities, African
Americans would be attracted to the higher pay of a voluntary force and
therefore would be overrepresented in the force.

Fear that a volunteer military would not attract a cross section of
high-quality American youth, causing a decline in military effectiveness.

The AVF is costly because of higher costs for benefits and increased pay.

                             o Arguments for an AVF

                                     o   o

                                       o

Concern that conscription is inequitable, divisive, and inefficient.

Availability of more potential recruits in the late 1960s because the
"baby boom" generation provided more young men eligible for military
service.

Concern that minorities, especially African Americans, represented a
disproportionate share of Vietnam War fatalities.

o 	The higher cost of an AVF transfers the burden of military service from
draftees to the population as a whole. The higher cost also is partly
offset by lower turnover and fewer people in a training status.

o 	Conscription is costly because of the higher costs of recruiting,
training, and turnover.

Despite opposition from many in the military, Congress, and the
administration, the AVF was adopted on July 1,1973, marking the end of
conscription.

DOD Publications and Databases for Force Demographics

The Office of the Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness publishes
the demographic characteristics of military personnel in several official
documents.

o 	For 30 years, the Office of Accession Policy has produced the
Population Representation in the Military Services, 1 which contains

o 	demographic characteristics such as age, gender, race, and ethnicity,
of current active duty personnel and selected reservists (including the
Coast Guard);

o 	military characteristics of current active duty and selected reservists
such as pay grade, DOD occupational area, and years of service;

o  information on applicants and accessions; and

o trends.

o 	Similarly, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve
Affairs annually publishes the Official Guard and Reserve Manpower
Strengths and Statistics which includes data on Selected Reservists as
well as reservists in the Individual Ready Reserve, Inactive National
Guard, and Retired Reserves (see app. III for more information on reserve
personnel categories). The report includes:

1The most recent report can be accessed at
http://dod.mil/prhome/poprep2003.

o 	tabulations on current reservists' demographic and military
characteristics such as gender, race, ethnicity, pay grade, and
occupational category; and

o  data on end strength, accessions, attrition, and retention.

o 	Data sources-Data for both reports are drawn from databases maintained
by the DMDC. (See app. II for more detailed information on the data
sources used in this report.)

o 	The active duty master and loss files are the sources of information
for active duty personnel.

o 	The Reserve Components Common Personnel Data System is the source of
information for reserve component personnel.

Changing The AC of the AVF has been characterized by increased: Demographics  o 
               Representation of African Americans and Hispanics.

                                     o   o

                                     o   o

At the initiation of the AVF in 1973, African Americans and Hispanics
comprised 12 percent and 1 percent, respectively, of the AC.

A decade later in 1983, African American and Hispanic representation had
increased to 19 percent and 4 percent, respectively.

By 1993, African Americans and Hispanics comprised 19 percent and 5
percent, respectively, of the AC.

By December 2004, AC African American representation had decreased 1
percentage point to 18 percent, while Hispanic representation rose 4
percentage points to 9 percent.

o  Representation of women (see table 1).

      Table 1: Percentage of the AC that Is Female Year Percentage female

Pre-AVF 1964

AVF initiation 1973

1983 9
Post-AVF 1993 12

2003

Sources: Percentages are GAO calculations using data from DOD's Selected
Manpower Statistics: Fiscal Year 2003, pp. 44-45, 71-73.

o  Retention (see table 2).

Table 2: Percentage of Servicemembers Serving for More than 4 Years

Percentage of each service

Year Army Navy Marine Corps Air Force

Pre-AVF 1969 18 31 16

Post-AVF 2002 51 49 35

Source: Bernard D. Rostker, "The Gates Commission: Right for the Wrong
Reasons," from The All Volunteer Force: Thirty Years of Service, Brassey's
Inc. (Washington, D.C. 2004), p. 29.

Note: Rows may not total 100 percent because of rounding.

Demographic Characteristics of Servicemembers

Question 1 and Summary of Approach

What are the demographic characteristics of servicemembers and how do they
compare to those of similarly aged and educated civilians in the U.S.
workforce?

We compared the characteristics of over 2.2 million servicemembers in the
AC and RC to a nationally representative sample of civilian workers. We
examined almost 1.4 million AC servicemembers who were on active duty on
December, 31, 2004. We also examined almost 835,000 RC Selected Reservists
in the Army Reserve, Army National Guard, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps
Reserve, Air Force Reserve, and Air National Guard. We compared
servicemembers' characteristics to those of employed civilians in the
United States, aged 18-49, with at least a high school diploma or
equivalent.

                              Summary of Findings

1A. Military force overview	AC servicemembers comprise 63 percent of all
servicemembers examined. The components vary both in the extent to which
junior personnel comprise the enlisted corps and in their occupational
make-up.

1B. Race and ethnicity  o 	There are proportionately more African American
and proportionately fewer White servicemembers in the military than in the
comparable civilian workforce.

o 	The proportions of both Hispanics and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders
in the military are slightly lower than in the comparable civilian
workforce.

o 	The proportion of American Indians/Alaskan Natives in the military is
about the same as that in the comparable civilian workforce.

1C. Gender	About 16 percent of the armed forces are female, with
representation being highest in the Air Force and lowest in the Marine
Corps.

1D. Age 	We compared the age of servicemembers to that of the entire U.S.
population and found that, in general, servicemembers are younger than
persons in the U.S. population.

1E. Education	We compared the education levels of servicemembers to those
of the entire U.S. population and found that proportionately fewer
servicemembers have attended college than in the U.S. population.

1F. Citizenship and country Two percent of all servicemembers are not U.S.
citizens. Among the

of origin	countries of birth most frequently cited by noncitizens are the
Philippines, Mexico, and Jamaica.

Findings

1A. Military Force Overview-Force Strength

Table 3: Number of Servicemembers in Each Service as of December 31, 2004
                        Selected Reserve Service Active

                                        Reserve National Guarda         Total 
                   Army   488,143       198,947           335,490   1,022,580 
                   Navy   365,419        79,467                 0     444,886 
              Air Force   365,567        74,875           105,805     546,247 
           Marine Corps   177,110        40,049                 0     217,159 
                  Total  1,396,239      393,338           441,295   2,230,872 

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data.

aNational Guard servicemembers, with their unique federal and state roles,
perform under the command of the President for federal missions such as
warfighting and under the command of the state governor for state missions
such as responding to natural disasters.

o 	Over 2.2 million servicemembers from the AC and RC Selected Reserve
were in the military on December 31, 2004 (see table 3).

o 	AC servicemembers comprised 63 percent (1,396,239) of the
servicemembers we reviewed.

o 	There were 834,633 RC Selected Reservists serving as Individual
Mobilization Augmentees, drilling reservists, or in unit support or
training.1

o 	The Army is the largest service and the only one with less than half of
its personnel in the AC.

1We excluded from our analyses reservists in the Individual Ready Reserve,
Inactive National Guard, Standby Reserve, and Retired Reserve. See app.
III for a description of RC structure.

Table 4: Number of Servicemembers in Each Pay Grade Subgroup as of December 31,
                                 2004 Subtotals

Component

Junior enlisted (E1-E4) Senior enlisted (E5-E9) Warrant officers (WO1-WO5)

Junior officers (O1-O3)

Senior officers (O4-O6)

                                              General/ Flag officers (O7-O10)

Total enlisted

Total officers

                                     Total

 Total AC 609,075 560,794 15,586 126,020 83,867 881 1,169,884 226,355 1,396,239

    Total RC 329,429 380,306 9,821 46,373 68,098 597 709,742 124,891 834,633

 Total 938,504 941,100 25,407 172,393 151,965 1,478 1,879,626 351,246 2,230,872

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data.

Notes: AC enlisted subtotal includes 15 AC enlisted personnel with unknown
pay grades. AC officer subtotal includes 1 AC officer with unknown pay
grade. RC enlisted subtotal includes 7 RC enlisted personnel with unknown
pay grades. RC officer subtotal includes 2 RC officers with unknown pay
grades.

o 	Of the 2.2 million servicemembers, almost 1.9 million or 84 percent
were enlisted personnel (see table 4).

o 	In the AC enlisted and officer corps, there are more junior than senior
personnel, although the opposite pattern is noted in the RC. The higher
proportion of senior personnel in the RC enlisted and officer corps may
reflect the fact that many RC accessions have prior military service and
therefore entered the RC at a pay grade above the lowest (entry-level) pay
grade.

1A. Military Force Overview-Pay Grade

  Table 5: Percent of Servicemembers in Pay Grade Subgroups as of December 31,
                       2004 Pay grade subgroup Subtotals

Component

Junior enlisted (E1-E4) Senior enlisted (E5-E9) Warrant officers (WO1-WO5)

Junior officers (O1-O3)

Senior officers (O4-O6)

                                              General/ flag officers (O7-O10)

Total enlisted

Total officers

             Army              46     38     2      8      6      <1     84   
             Navy              40     45     <1     9      6      <1     85   
         Marine Corps          60     29     1      6      3      <1     89   
           Air Force           36     44     0      12     8      <1     80   
           Total AC            44     40     1      9      6      <1     84   
         Army Reserve          38     43     1      8      10     <1     81   
      Army National Guard      48     41     2      5      3      <1     89   
         Navy Reserve          26     53     <1     5      16     <1     79   
     Marine Corps Reserve      71     20     1      1      7      <1     91   
       Air Force Reserve       22     56     0      6      16     <1     78   
      Air National Guard       24     63     0      4      8      <1     87   
           Total RC            39     46     1      6      8      <1     85   
        Total military         42     42     1      8      7      <1     84   

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data.

o 	Some components have proportionately more enlisted personnel than do
other components (see table 5).

o 	The components with the highest proportions of enlisted personnel are
both Marine Corps components and the Army National Guard (91 percent to 89
percent).

o 	The Air Force Reserve and Navy Reserve have the lowest proportions of
enlisted personnel (78 percent and 79 percent, respectively).

o 	The mix of junior (E1-E4) and senior (E5-E9) pay grades in the enlisted
force varies across components.

o 	Junior enlisted personnel make up over half of the enlisted force in
the Marine Corps Reserve (71 percent) and active Marine Corps (60
percent).

o 	In contrast, junior enlisted make up about one quarter of the Air Force
Reserve (22 percent), Air National Guard (24 percent), and Navy Reserve
(26 percent).

o 	Although the overall officer corps is about evenly split between junior
(8 percent) and senior (7 percent) officer pay grades, the Navy Reserve
and Air Force Reserve have two to three times as many senior as junior
officers.

1A. Military Force Overview-Occupational Areas

Table 6: Percent of Servicemembers in Each DOD Occupational Area as of December
                                    31, 2004

                                  Component                         Component 
     DOD enlisted occupational                    DOD officer                 
          codes and areas             AC RC occupational codes and      AC RC
                                                     areas          
      0 Infantry, gun crews, &        17 19           N/A             N/A N/A 
             seamanship                                             
       1 Electronic equipment           9 5  1 General officers &       1     
             repairers                         executives N.E.C.    
         2 Communications &            10 5  2 Tactical operations     36     
      intelligence specialists                     officers         
     3 Health care specialists          7 6 3 Intelligence officers     5     
     4 Other technical & allied         3 3    4 Engineering and       14     
            specialists                      maintenance officers   
       5 Functional support &         16 20     5 Scientists &          5     
           administration                        professionals      
      6 Electrical/mechanical         21 16 6 Health care officers     16     
        equipment repairers                                         
          7 Craftsworkers               4 6    7 Administrators         6     
    8 Service & supply handlers        9 12 8 Supply, procurement,      9     
                                               & allied officers    
         9 Nonoccupational              5 8    9 Nonoccupational        6     
               Total                101 100          Total             98     

Legend: N.E.C. = Not elsewhere classified.

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data.

Notes: The nonoccupational area includes patients, students, those with
unassigned duties, and unknowns. Columns may not total 100 percent due to
rounding.

o 	Table 6 shows that over half of AC and RC enlisted personnel are in
three occupational areas:

o 	electrical/mechanical equipment repair (21 percent and 16 percent,
respectively);

o 	infantry, gun crews, and seamanship (17 percent and 19 percent,
respectively); and

o 	functional support and administration (16 percent and 20 percent,
respectively).

o 	The biggest differences between AC and RC enlisted occupation
concentrations is that, relative to the RC, the AC has proportionately
more enlisted personnel in:

o 	communications and intelligence (10 percent and 5 percent,
respectively); and

o 	electrical/mechanical equipment repair (21 percent and 16 percent,
respectively).

o 	Over half of AC and RC officers are in the following three occupational
areas:

o  tactical operations (36 percent and 33 percent, respectively);

o  health care (16 percent and 19 percent, respectively); and

o 	engineering and maintenance (14 percent and 11 percent, respectively).

o 	The distribution of occupations both within and between AC and RC
components is in the process of change. In July 2003, the Secretary of
Defense directed the services to examine their AC-RC force structure to
minimize the imbalances that result in lengthy, repeated, or frequent RC
mobilization.

o 	The services rebalanced about 10,000 military spaces both within and
between the AC and RC in fiscal year 2003 and planned to rebalance another
20,000 spaces each in fiscal years 2004 and 2005. Between fiscal years
2005 and 2009, the Army will rebalance over 100,000 spaces of force
structure.

o 	As part of its rebalancing, for example, the Army National Guard is
converting Cold War artillery capability into the military police,
chemical, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance units needed for
current operations.

1A. Military Force Overview-Occupational Areas

  Table 7: Percent of Enlisted Personnel in Each Component in DOD Occupational
                         Areas as of December 31, 2004

AC RC

                                                                      Marine           
    DOD enlisted                                     Army             Corps        Air 
 occupational codes              Air         Army    National Navy    Air     National 
      and areas                 Force        Reserve Guard    Reserve Force      Guard
                                      Marine                          Reserve 
                      Army Navy       Corps                           Reserve 
0 Infantry, gun      26    9    10     23       8       30      11   31 11 
      crews, &                                                                
     seamanship                                                               
    1 Electronic         6   13     9      7       2        3      10     4 5 
      equipment                                                               
      repairers                                                               
 2 Communications &     11    9     8      7       4        6       7     8 3 
    intelligence                                                              
     specialists                                                              
    3 Health care        8    9     7      0      10        4       9    0 11 
     specialists                                                              
 4 Other technical &     3    1     4      3       4        3       1     1 3 
       allied                                                                 
     specialists                                                              
5 Functional support    16   12    21     16      26       14      22   12 27 
          &                                                                   
administration                                                             
          6             14   29    25     16      11       14      19   13 22 
Electrical/mechanical                                                         
 equipment repairers                                                          
7 Craftsworkers       2    6     5      2       6        4      14     3 6 
 8 Service & supply     13    7     5     12      19       13       7    15 5 
      handlers                                                                
  9 Nonoccupational      1    6     6     13      10        9       1    11 8 
        Total          100  101   100     99     100      100     101  98 101 

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data.

Notes: The nonoccupational area includes patients, students, those with
unassigned duties, and unknowns. Columns may not total 100 percent due to
rounding.

 Table 8: Percent of Officers in Each Component in DOD Occupational Areas as of
                            December 31, 2004 AC RC

                                                   Army         Marine       Air 
                                                                  Corps          
  DOD officer               Air Marine    Army National    Navy     Air National
 occupational                                                     Force 
codes and areas Army Navy Force Corps  Reserve    Guard Reserve Reserve    Guard 
                                                                Reserve 
1 General      <1   <1     1      4      <1        1      <1    11 2 
  officers &                                                            
  executives                                                            
    N.E.C.                                                              
  2 Tactical                                                            
  operations      36   39    33     45      17       44      38   47 31 
officers                                                             
3 Intelligence     6    4     5      5       5        3      11     5 7 
officers                                                             
 4 Engineering    15   12    15     11      10       11      12   10 12 
      and                                                               
  maintenance                                                           
officers                                                             
5 Scientists &     6    4     6      3      11        3       4     5 9 
 professionals                                                          
 6 Health care    17   20    16      0      31        8      20    0 24 
officers                                                             
       7           7    4     7      8       9        7       6     7 7 
Administrators                                                          
8 Supply,      10    6     9     13      13       10       6    13 8 
procurement, &                                                          
allied officers                                                         
       9           2   11     5     11       1       11       2    <1 1 
Nonoccupational                                                         
     Total        99  100    97    100      97       98      99  98 101 

Legend: N.E.C. = Not elsewhere classified.

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data.

Notes: The nonoccupational area includes patients, students, those with
unassigned duties, and unknowns. Columns may not total 100 percent due to
rounding.

o 	The enlisted occupational structure varies among the active components
(see table 7).

o 	In the AC, the Army and Marine Corps have a higher proportion (over a
fifth) of their enlisted forces in the occupations which are part of the
infantry, gun crews, and seamanship occupational area than did the active
Navy and Air Force.

o 	In contrast, the active Navy and Air Force have their greatest
concentrations of enlisted personnel in electrical/mechanical equipment
repair occupations.

o 	At least a third of officers in each active and reserve component
except the Army Reserve (17 percent) and the Air Force Reserve (31
percent) were in tactical operations (see table 8).

                 1B. Race and Ethnicity- Component Composition

Table 9: Percent of Servicemembers and Civilians Across Racial/Ethnic Subgroups
                             Racial/Ethnic subgroup

                                                             American 
                      African             Asian American/    Indian/   Other/ 
    Component         American            Pacific Islander   Alaskan  Unknown 
                White          Hispanic                       Native  
       Army        60       23       10                    3        1 
       Navy        62       19        8                    6        3 
    Air Force      72       15        6                    2       <1 
Marine Corps    66       12       14                    2        1 
     Total AC      65       18        9                    4        1 
Army Reserve    60       24       11                    4        1 
       Army                                                           
     National      74       14        7                    2        1 
      Guard                                                           
Navy Reserve    64       15        9                    4        1 
Marine Corps    68        9       14                    4        1 
     Reserve                                                          
    Air Force      72       16        7                    2       <1 
     Reserve                                                          
Air National    80        9        6                    2        1 
      Guard                                                           
     Total RC      70       16        8                    3        1 
      Total        67       17        9                    3        1 
     military                                                         
     Civilian                                                         
    workforce      71       11       11                    5       <1 

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data on servicemembers as of December
31, 2004, and comparable civilians included in the March 2004 Current
Population Survey which reflects civilians' employment status in 2003.

Note: Rows may not total 100 percent due to rounding.

o 	Table 9 shows that compared to the civilian workforce, the military has
proportionately:

o 	More African Americans (17 percent versus 11 percent). Within the
military, African American representation is highest in the Army Reserve
(24 percent) and active Army (23 percent) and lowest in the Marine Corps
Reserve and Air National Guard (9 percent each).

o 	Fewer Hispanics (9 percent versus 11 percent). In general, lacking a
high school diploma reduces the likelihood of being accepted into military
service, and Hispanics drop out of high school at higher rates

than members of other racial/ethnic subgroups.2 Within the military,
Hispanic representation is highest in both Marine Corps components (14
percent each) and lowest in the active Air Force and Air National Guard (6
percent each).

o 	Fewer Whites (67 percent versus 71 percent) and Asian Americans/Pacific
Islanders (3 percent versus 5 percent).

o  The components differ in overall minority representation.

o  The AC is 65 percent White and 34 percent minority.

o  The RC is 70 percent White and 30 percent minority.

o 	The active Army and Army Reserve each have a minority representation of
about 40 percent compared to the Air National Guard, which has a 20
percent minority representation.

2Anita U. Hattiangadi, Gary Lee, and Aline O. Quester, Recruiting
Hispanics: The Marine Corps Experience Final Report, CRM D0009071.A2,
Center for Naval Analysis (Alexandria, Va.: January 2004).

1B. Race and Ethnicity- New Federal Requirements

Figure 1: Military Racial and Ethnic Representation

Source: Joint Combat Camera Center.

o 	The previously presented analysis on race/ethnicity and those in later
parts of this report must be understood in the context of recent changes
in the procedures for collecting and reporting information on racial and
ethnic group membership.

o 	In 1997, the Office of Management and Budget issued Statistical Policy
Directive Number 15, "Race and Ethnic Standards for Statistics and
Administrative Reporting," indicating that by January 1, 2003, federal
agencies would collect information on race and ethnicity by:

o 	asking about race and ethnicity in two separate questions, with the
ethnicity question preceding the race question;

o 	using a minimum of five single race subgroups: American Indian or
Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other
Pacific Islander, and White;

o  enabling individuals to indicate more than one racial identity; and

o 	using two ethnic subgroups-Hispanic or Latino versus Not Hispanic or
Latino-for self-reported data collections.

o 	In addition to changing the way racial and ethnic data are collected,
the revised directive also changed the way federal agencies report this
data by,

o  prohibiting use of the term "nonwhite,"

o 	allowing the use of a "combined format" in which being of Hispanic or
Latino ethnicity is one of six racial/ethnic categories when reporting
observer-collected data.

o 	In March 2000, the Office of Management and Budget issued OMB Bulletin
No. 00-02, which provided guidance on the aggregation and allocation of
multiple race responses by encouraging federal agencies to:

o 	report multiple race individuals separately from single race
individuals, and

o 	report racial combinations representing more than 1 percent of the
population in an area.

1B. Race and Ethnicity- DOD's Implementation of the New Requirements

o 	Prior to 2003, DOD generally tabulated and reported servicemember race
and ethnicity in the following subgroups: Hispanic, White, Black, Asian or
Pacific Islander, and American Indian or Alaskan native, and Other or
Unknown. Some DOD reports combined several subgroups to report on four
categories: Hispanic, White, Black, and Other.

o 	DOD has implemented the new guidelines when collecting racial and
ethnicity data from recruits.

                                       o

                                       o

In 2003, DOD revised the form (DD 1966) used to capture information on
recruits to comply with the newly issued guidance. The revised form,
however, did not require recruits to respond to questions on race and
ethnicity, and instead, enabled them to choose a "Decline to respond"
option.

The Office of Accession Policy indicated that providing this option
resulted in more servicemembers declining to supply the information. DOD
plans to begin using another version of the form without the "Decline to
respond" option in October 2005.

o 	The components are taking different approaches to updating race and
ethnicity in servicemembers' personnel records. A DOD official told us
that race and ethnicity data in one reserve component database were
expunged and reentered when servicemembers updated their files.
Additionally, we were told that:

o 	the Air Force reserve components cleared personnel records of the old
racial/ethnic data and began entering new data consistent with the revised
guidelines, and

o 	the active Air Force notified its personnel that they should access the
Virtual Personnel Center and confirm or revise the data.

o 	Although the varying approaches taken by the components to update
personnel records can be expected to result in varying levels of
compliance, DOD officials told us that an internal study showed that 90

percent of active duty servicemembers had the same race code before and
after implementation of the new guidance.3

o 	Although the components are in the process of gathering or confirming
their data on current servicemembers' race and ethnicity to comply with
the new guidance, DOD still reports race and ethnicity in the old format.

o 	DOD's internal monthly report of servicemember demographics, DMDC EO
3035, still uses the previous racial and ethnicity categories in which,

o 	Hispanic remains one of five single race subgroups instead of being
reported separately, and

o 	Asian Americans, Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders are in one
racial subgroup (instead of two subgroups-Asian and Native Hawaiian/Other
Pacific Islander-in accordance with the new guidance).

o 	DOD's Information Delivery System produces demographic reports of
servicemembers using the former racial/ethnic subgroups of White, African
American, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Alaska Native, although
the reports also include a Multirace/Unknown subgroup.

o 	The Office of Accession Policy excluded racial/ethnic breakouts of
current servicemembers from its Population Report of the Military
Services: Fiscal Year 2003 (such breakouts are, however, available for
accessions) although the office does plan to include these analyses in
future reports.

o 	DOD's continued use of the former racial and ethnic categories makes it
difficult to directly compare race and ethnicity in the U.S. population to
that in the military.

3DOD compared the race codes of 929,651 servicemembers who were on active
duty in both March 2002 and March 2005.

1B. Race and Ethnicity- Enlisted Personnel

                             Racial/Ethnic subgroup

    Table 10: Percent of Enlisted Personnel and Civilians with a High School
      Diploma or Equivalent or Some College in the Racial/Ethnic Subgroups
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Army                                                Marine                      Air                        Air                                                                            Civilian                   school                         
    Asian                  American     African  Pacific Indian/ Other/  Component White American Hispanic Islander Alaskan Unknown Total Army 58 25 11 3 1 3 101 Navy 58 21 9 6 3 2  Marine 65 12 14 3 1 5 100  Air  70 17 6 2 <1 4  Total AC 62 20 10 4 1 3 100  Army   56 26 12 4 1 1 100 National 73 15 8 2 1 2 101  Navy   61 18 10 4 1 6 100  Corps  67 9 15 4 1 5 101  Force  68 19 7 2 <1 4 100 National 79 9 6 3 1 3 101 Total RC 68 17 9 3 1 3 101  Total   64 19 10 3 1 3 100 workers  66 14 14 3 1 1  diploma (or                      
                                                                                                                    Native                                                            Corps                     Force                 enlisted                    Reserve                     Guard                     Reserve                    Reserve                   Reserve                     Guard                    enlisted                   enlisted                     with a                  equivalent)        or some       
                 American/                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 high                                      college       

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data reflecting servicemembers as of
December 31, 2004, and the March 2004 Current Population Survey,
reflecting civilians in 2003.

Note: Rows may not total 100 percent due to rounding.

o 	We identified civilian workers with a high school diploma or equivalent
certification and those who had some college as the civilians most
comparable to enlisted servicemembers and compared the racial/ethnic
distribution of the two groups.

o 	Table 10 shows that the representation of Whites among enlisted
personnel is 2 percentage points less than their representation among
comparable civilian workers (64 percent versus 66 percent,

respectively). The representation of White enlisted personnel varies by
component.

o 	In the AC, the Air Force has the highest proportion of enlisted Whites
at 70 percent, and the Army and Navy have the lowest at 58 percent.

o 	In the RC, the Air National Guard and Army National Guard have the
highest proportions at 79 percent and 73 percent, respectively, and the
Army Reserve has the lowest proportion at 56 percent.

o 	The racial/ethnic distribution of minority enlisted personnel varies
from that for civilian workers with a high school diploma or equivalent or
some college. Compared to these civilians, the military's enlisted pay
grades have proportionately:

o 	more African Americans (19 percent versus 14 percent for civilians),
and

o  fewer Hispanics (10 percent versus 14 percent for civilians).

o 	African American representation among enlisted personnel is highest in
the Army Reserve (26 percent) and active Army (25 percent).

o 	Hispanic enlisted representation is highest in the two Marine Corps
components (14 percent and 15 percent).

1B. Race and Ethnicity- Officers

                             Racial/Ethnic subgroup

      Table 11: Percent of Officers and Civilian College Graduates in the
                            Racial/Ethnic Subgroups
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Army                                             Marine                     Air                    Air                                                                      Civilian                                     
    Asian American                             African  Pacific Alaskan Other/  Component White American Hispanic Islander Native Unknown Total Army 75 13 5 3 <1 3  Navy 81 8 5 3 <1 3 100 Marine 77 7 6 2 1 7 100  Air  82 7 4 2 <1 5 100 Total AC 79 9 5 3 <1 4 100  Army   73 16 6 3 <1 2 100 National 84 7 5 2 <1 1   Navy   77 5 4 3 <1 12 101  Corps  82 5 5 2 1 6 101  Force  85 6 3 1 <1 3  National 87 5 3 2 <1 2  Total RC 80 9 4 2 <1 3   Total   79 9 5 3 <1 4 100  college                                 
                                                                                                                                                                                            Corps                   Force                   officers                   Reserve                     Guard                  Reserve                    Reserve                  Reserve                 Guard                  officers                officers                   graduates           the                  
                         American/ Indian/                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         in            workforce 75 9 7 8 <1 1 100

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data reflecting servicemembers as of
December 31, 2004, and the March 2004 Current Population Survey reflecting
civilians in March 2003.

Note: Rows may not total 100 percent due to rounding.

o 	Findings from table 11 indicate that the racial/ethnic representation
of the officer corps is similar to that of the civilian college-graduate
workforce, except

o 	White representation is higher among military officers (79 percent)
than among civilian college graduates (75 percent), and

o 	Asian American/Pacific Islander representation is lower among military
officers (3 percent) than among civilian college graduates (8 percent).

o 	The comparison of the racial/ethnic distribution of officers to
enlisted personnel (provided earlier in table 10) shows that

o 	Although White representation among officers is higher than in the
college educated workforce (79 percent versus 75 percent, respectively),
White representation among enlisted personnel is lower than comparably
educated civilians (64 percent versus 66 percent, respectively).

o 	Although African American representation among officers is equal to
that of the college workforce (9 percent for both), African American
representation among enlisted personnel exceeds that of comparably
educated civilians (19 percent versus 14 percent, respectively, as shown
in table 10 on the previous page).

o 	Hispanic representation among both officers and enlisted is below that
of comparably educated civilians (5 percent of officers versus 7 percent
of comparably educated civilians are Hispanic; 10 percent of enlisted
personnel versus 14 percent of comparably educated civilians are
Hispanic).

1B. Race and Ethnicity- Active Component Enlisted Occupational Areas

                             Racial/Ethnic subgroup

Table 12: Percent of AC Enlisted Personnel in Each Racial/Ethnic Subgroup
                  and DOD Occupational Area as of December 31,
                                                                                                                                                            0                          1                                                                                                    4 Other                                                                                                                                       8                                                                             
                                             DOD enlisted                                                                                               Infantry,                  Electronic                                                                  3 Health                   technical &                 5 Functional                                                                              7                      Service                         9                                                
    Asian American                           occupational  African  Pacific Alaskan Other/  areas White American Hispanic Islander Native Unknown Total gun crews, 69 14 11 3 1 3  equipment  69 15 9 3 2 3        2               specialists 67 18 9 3 1 3     care     52 25 11 7 1 4    allied    67 17 9 3 1 3    support &    45 34 12 4 1 4            6                  repairers 67 15 9 4 2 3  Craftsworkers 66 17 9 4 2 3  & supply 53 28 11 4 1 3  Nonoccupational 72 14 4 4 3 4  Total AC  62 20 10 4 1 3 
                                              codes and                                                                                                     &                      repairers                 Communications                                   specialists                 specialists                administration                 Electrical/mechanical                                                              handlers                                                enlisted                 
                         American/ Indian/                                                                                                              seamanship                                           & intelligence                                                                                                                               equipment                                                                                                                            personnel                

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data.

Notes: The nonoccupational area includes patients, students, those with
unassigned duties, and unknowns. Rows may not total 100 percent due to
rounding.

o 	The occupational areas with the highest concentration of AC White
enlisted personnel in table 12 are:

o 	the nonoccupational area (which includes patients, students, and those
with unassigned duties) at 72 percent;

o 	infantry, gun crews, and seamanship (69 percent) and electronic
equipment repair (69 percent); and communications and intelligence
specialists (67 percent), other technical and allied specialists (67
percent), and electrical/mechanical equipment repairers (67 percent).

o 	The occupational areas with the highest concentrations of AC African
American enlisted personnel are:

o  functional support and administration (34 percent),

o  service and supply handlers (28 percent), and

o  health care specialists (25 percent).

o 	The occupational areas with the highest concentrations of AC Hispanic
enlisted personnel are:

o  functional support and administration (12 percent), and

o 	infantry, gun crews, and seamanship (11 percent); health care
specialists (11 percent); and service and supply handlers (11 percent).

o 	The racial/ethnic composition of enlisted occupational areas reflects
both servicemembers' preferences and eligibility, as determined by, for
example, the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test score or
other requirements.

1B. Race and Ethnicity- Active Component Officer Occupational Areas

                             Racial/Ethnic subgroup

    Table 13: Percent of AC Officers in Each Racial/Ethnic Subgroup and DOD
                   Occupational Area as of December 31, 2004
                                             DOD officer                                                         1 General                                                                             4                                                                                                           8 Supply,                                                                         
                                             occupational       African            Pacific Alaskan Other/        officers &                 2 Tactical                     3                      Engineering                 5 Scientists                 6 Health                      7                        procurement,                        9                                              
    Asian American                            codes and         American          Islander Native  Unknown Total executives 91 5 2 <1 <1 2  operations 85 5 5 2 <1 3  Intelligence 79 8 5 3 <1 4      and     74 13 5 3 <1 4        &       83 7 4 3 <1 3    care   76 9 4 5 <1 5  Administrators 69 17 6 2 <1 4    & allied   69 17 6 3 <1 4  Nonoccupational 78 5 5 3 <1 9                         
                                                areas                                                              N.E.C.                    officers                   officers                  maintenance                 professionals                officers                                                 officers                                                  Total AC               
                         American/ Indian/                White          Hispanic                                                                                                                  officers                                                                                                                                                                   officers 79 9 5 3 <1 4 

Legend: N.E.C. = Not elsewhere classified.

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data.

Notes: Nonoccupational area includes patients, students, those with
unassigned duties, and unknowns. Rows may not total 100 percent due to
rounding.

o 	Table 13 shows that among AC officers, the occupational areas with the
highest concentrations of Whites are:

o  general officers and executives not elsewhere classified (91 percent),

o  tactical operations officers (85 percent), and

o  scientists and professionals (83 percent).

o 	The occupational areas with the highest concentrations of AC African
Americans are:

o 	administrators (17 percent), and supply, procurement, and allied
officers (17 percent); and

o  engineering and maintenance officers (13 percent).

o 	The representation of Hispanics and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders
in each occupational area except general officers and executives is within
2 percentage points of their average representation within the AC officer
corps.

1B. Race and Ethnicity- Reserve Component Occupational Categories

                             Racial/Ethnic subgroup

Table 14: Percent of RC Enlisted Personnel in Each Racial/Ethnic Subgroup
                  and DOD Occupational Area as of December 31,
                                                                                   DOD enlisted                                                         0                         1                              2                                                           4 Other                                                                                                                                  8                                                                                      
                                                                                   occupational                                                     Infantry,                 Electronic                   Communications                    3 Health                      technical &                    5 Functional                               6                                   7                         Service                            9                                                  
    Asian American                                                                  codes and   White American Hispanic Islander Native known Total gun crews, 75 11 8 2 1 2  equipment  72 13 8 3 1 3 100 & intelligence 75 11 8 3 1 3 101    care     62 21 10 4 1 3 101   allied    72 15 9 2 1 2 101   support &    57 27 10 3 1 3 101 Electrical/mechanical 73 13 9 2 1 2 100 Craftsworkers 72 14 8 2 1 3 100 & supply 63 22 10 2 1 2 100 Nonoccupational 70 14 9 4 1 3 101 Total RC  68 17 9 3 1 3 101
                                                                                      areas                                                             &                     repairers                     specialists                     specialists                    specialists                   administration                     equipment repairers                                                    handlers                                                      enlisted                
                         American/ Indian/ Other/    African  Pacific Alaskan Un-                                                                   seamanship                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   personnel               

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data.

Notes: Nonoccupational area includes patients, students, those with
unassigned duties, and unknowns. Rows may not total 100 percent due to
rounding.

                             Racial/Ethnic subgroup

    Table 15: Percent of RC Officers in Each Racial/Ethnic Subgroup and DOD
                   Occupational Area as of December 31, 2004
                                                                                   DOD officer                                                      1 General                                                                                  4                                                                                                                    8 Supply,                                                                               
                                                                                   occupational                                                     officers &                   2 Tactical                        3                      Engineering                    5 Scientists                    6 Health                       7                          procurement,                          9                                                  
    Asian American                                                            Un-   codes and   White American Hispanic Islander Native known Total executives 92 3 3 1 <1 2 101 operations 87 4 4 2 <1 3 100 Intelligence 81 5 4 3 <1 6      and     79 11 5 3 <1 3 101       &       84 7 4 2 <1 3 100   care   75 12 5 3 <1 4  Administrators 73 16 6 2 1 3 101   & allied   73 16 6 2 1 3 101 Nonoccupational 78 10 5 3 <1 4 100                        
                                                                                       area                                                           N.E.C.                      officers                      officers                  maintenance                    professionals                   officers                                                    officers                                                        Total RC               
                         American/ Indian/ Other/    African  Pacific Alaskan                                                                                                                                                              officers                                                                                                                                                                                  officers 80 9 4 2 <1 3 

Legend: N.E.C. = Not elsewhere classified.

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data.

Notes: Nonoccupational area includes patients, students, those with
unassigned duties, and unknowns. Rows may not total 100 percent due to
rounding.

o 	In tables 14 and 15, the distribution of Hispanic, Asian
American/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaskan Native enlisted
personnel and officers in each occupational area is within 2 percentage
points of their overall distribution within the RC.

o 	In contrast, compared to their overall representation in the RC, White
enlisted personnel are more often found in the infantry, gun crews, and
seamanship occupational area; White officers are more often found in the
general officer and executive occupational area.

o 	Relative to their overall representation in the RC, African American
enlisted personnel were less often found in the infantry, gun crews, and
seamanship and more often found in functional support and administration
and service and supply handler occupational areas. African American
officers were more often found in the administrator and supply,
procurement, and allied officer occupational areas.

1C. Gender-Component Composition

  Figure 2: Percent of Males and Females in Each Component and among Employed
                                   Civilians

                                                                 Army Reserve
                                                            Air Force Reserve
                                                                 Navy Reserve
                                                             Active Air Force
                                                           Air National Guard
                                                                  Active Army
                                                                  Active Navy
                                                                   Army Guard
                                                          Active Marine Corps
                                                         Marine Corps Reserve

AC RC U.S.

15% 17% 48%

Percent

Females

Males

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data on servicemembers as of December
31, 2004 and the March 2004 Current Population Survey which reflects
civilians employment status in March 2003.

o 	Overall, 16 percent of the military is female: 15 percent of the AC and
17 percent of the RC (see fig. 2).

o 	The Marine Corps Reserve has the lowest representation of women (5
percent).

o 	The Army Reserve (24 percent) and Air Force Reserve (23 percent) have
the highest representations of women.

o 	The National Defense Authorization Acts of fiscal years 1992, 1993, and
1994 enabled women to be permanently assigned to combat aircraft and
combatant ships. Since 1994, DOD policy has allowed women to be assigned
to any unit except those below the brigade level whose primary

mission is to engage in direct combat on the ground. (See app. IV for
occupations which exclude females.)

o 	GAO and RAND estimated that the combat exclusion policy results in
women being excluded from about 15 percent to 20 percent of all military
positions. These positions are in units such as infantry, special forces,
and units such as Army ground surveillance radar units that collocate with
direct ground combat units.4

4GAO, Gender Issues: Information on DOD's Assignment Policy and Direct
Ground Combat Definition, GAO/NSIAD-99-7 (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 1998) and
Margaret C. Harrell and Laura L. Miller, New Opportunities for Military
Women, Effects Upon Readiness, Cohesion, and Morale, RAND MR-896-OSD
(Washington, D.C.: 1997).

1C. Gender-Component Racial/Ethnic and Gender Composition

                       Racial/Ethnic and gender subgroup

        Table 16: Percent of Servicemembers and Civilian Workers in Each
                       Racial/Ethnic and Gender Subgroup
                                                                                          White American Hispanic Islander Native Unknown            54 17 9 2 1  2           54 15 7 5 2  2    Air  60 10 4 2 <1 3  Marine 63 11 12  2 1  5   Total 57 14 8 3 1  3      Army   48 15 8 3 <1 1     Army   66 11 6  1 1  2    Navy   53 10 7 3 1  6     Marine  65 8 13  3 1  5        Air   57 10 5  1 <1 3       Air    67 6 5  2 1  2     Total 60 11 7  2 1  2      Total   58 13 7 3 1  3                                 
    Asian American       American/ Indian/     African  Pacific Alaskan Other/  Component   M F   M F      M F         M F  M F     M F         Army  6 6  2 1 <1 <1 100 Navy  7 4  1 1 <1 <1  Force 12 5  1 1 <1 1  Corps   3 1  1  <1 <1 <1   AC    8 4  1 1 <1 1 101 Reserve 11 9  3 1 <1 <1  National  8 3  1 <1 <1 <1  Reserve 11 5  2 1 <1 1 100  Corps   3 1 1  <1 <1 <1 100  Force  15 6  2 <1 <1 1 100 National 13 3 1 <1 <1 1 101  RC   10 5  2 <1 <1 1 101 military  9 4  1 1 <1 1 101 Civilian  37 5 6 3 <1 1 
                                                                                                                                          Total                                                                                                                                                   Guard                                                Reserve                      Reserve                      Guard                                                                            workforce 34 6 5 2 <1 1 100

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data reflecting servicemembers as of
December 31, 2004, and the March 2004 Current Population Survey,
reflecting civilian employment status in 2003.

Notes: Because of rounding, the totals for percentages of males and
females sometimes varies from percentages in other tables. Rows also may
not total 100 percent due to rounding.

o 	Table 16 shows that over half of the military-58 percent-consists of
White males. The second through fourth largest racial/ethnic and gender
subgroups are African American males (13 percent), White females (9
percent), and Hispanic males (7 percent).

o 	Representation of some racial/ethnic and gender subgroups in the
military differs from that in the civilian workforce.

o 	White males are 58 percent of the military compared to 37 percent of
civilian workers. In contrast, African American males are 13 percent of
the military compared to 5 percent of civilian workers.

o 	White females are 9 percent of the military compared to 34 percent of
civilian workers. In contrast, Hispanic females are 1 percent in the
military compared to 5 percent of civilian workers.

o 	All other differences between military and civilian workforce
representation are 2 percentage points or less.

o 	Compared to the other components, the Army Reserve has the largest
percentage (52 percent) of its servicemembers who are other than White
males.

1C. Gender-Racial/Ethnic Composition of Female Servicemembers

                             Racial/Ethnic subgroup

    Table 17: Distribution of Race/Ethnicity Among Female Servicemembers and
                                   Civilians
                                                   Component                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Army                                                Marine                       Air                        Air                                                                               Females                      
                                                   (percent                                 component                                                     Army                     Navy                     Air                    Marine                      AC                       Army                      National                    Navy                       Corps                      Force                     National                     RC                          Female                     in the                   
    Asian American                                  of the    African  Pacific Alaskan Un-   that is  White American Hispanic Islander Native known Total (14%) 42 39 11 4 1 3 100 (14%) 52 28 9 5 3 3 100 Force 61 23 6 3 1 6 100 Corps  54 18 18 3 2 6 101 females 52 30 9 4 2 4 101 Reserve 47 36 11 4 1 1 100  Guard   62 25 8 2 1 2 100 Reserve 55 24 10 3 1 7 100 Reserve 59 15 16 5 1 4 100 Reserve 63 24 7 2 <1 4 100  Guard   73 15 6 3 1 3 101 females 58 27 9 3 1 3 101 servicemembers 54 28 9 3 1 3  civilian  71 13 10 5 <1 1 100
                                                    entire                                   female)                                                                                                       (19%)                    (6%)                      (15%)                     (24%)                      (23%)                      (21%)                      (5%)                       (23%)                      (18%)                      (17%)                        (16%)                     workforce                 
                         American/ Indian/ Other/                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  (48%)                   

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data reflecting servicemembers as of
December 31, 2004, and the March 2004 Current Population Survey reflecting
civilian employment status in 2003.

Notes: 350,278 female AC and Selected Reserve servicemembers and
42,004,449 (weighted) female civilian workforce participants were included
in this analysis. Rows may not total 100 percent due to rounding.

o 	Minority racial/ethnic females comprise 46 percent of all female
servicemembers, compared to 29 percent of all employed civilian females
(see table 17).

o 	African American females participate in the military at a rate more
than twice their civilian workforce participation. Twenty-eight percent of
female servicemembers are African Americans compared to 13 percent of
female civilian workers.

o 	The proportion of military females who are Hispanic (9 percent) is
similar to the proportion of civilian females who are Hispanic (10
percent).

o 	The representation of racial/ethnic minorities among female
servicemembers varies by component.

o 	The active Army (58 percent) and Army Reserve (53 percent) have the
highest proportions of racial/ethnic minorities among their female
personnel.

o 	In contrast, the Air National Guard (27 percent) has the lowest
proportion of racial/ethnic minorities among its female personnel.

o 	Except for their lower representation in both Marine Corps components
and the Air National Guard, African American females comprise 23 percent
to 39 percent of female servicemembers in each of the other components.

1C. Gender-Active Component Occupational Areas and Gender

 Table 18: Representation of AC Females across and within Enlisted Occupational
    Areas as of December 31, 2004 DOD enlisted occupational codes and areas

Percent of occupational area that is female

Percent of females in the military who are in the occupational area

0 Infantry, gun crews, & seamanship 4

1 Electronic equipment repairers 9

2 Communications & intelligence specialists 16

3 Health care specialists 34

4 Other technical & allied specialists 16

5 Functional support & administration 31

6 Electrical/mechanical equipment repairers 6

7 Craftsworkers 7

8 Service & supply handlers 17

9 Nonoccupational 13

Total 15

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data.

Note: The nonoccupational area includes patients, students, those with
unassigned duties, and unknowns. The second column does not total 100
percent because of rounding.

 Table 19: Representation of AC Females across and within Officer Occupational
     Areas as of December 31, 2004 DOD officer occupational codes and areas

Percent of occupational area that is female

Percent of females in the military who are in the occupational area

         1 General officers & executives N.E.C.            4               <1 
             2 Tactical operations officers                5               11 
                3 Intelligence officers                   18                6 
         4 Engineering and maintenance officers           13               12 
              5 Scientists & professionals                15                5 
                 6 Health care officers                   36               37 
                    7 Administrators                      28               11 
        8 Supply, procurement, & allied officers          19               11 
                   9 Nonoccupational                      10                4 
                         Total                            15               97 

Legend: N.E.C. = Not elsewhere classified.

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data.

Notes: The nonoccupational area includes patients, students, those with
unassigned duties, and unknowns. The second column does not total 100
percent because of rounding.

o 	The first columns in tables 18 and 19 show that although female
servicemembers constitute 15 percent of the AC military, AC females are
concentrated in health care and administrative occupations.

o 	The enlisted occupational areas with the highest concentrations of
female servicemembers are health care specialists (34 percent) and
functional support and administration (31 percent).

o 	The officer occupational areas with the highest concentrations of
females are health care officers (36 percent) and administrators (28
percent).

o 	The second columns in tables 18 and 19 show that when data on only
females are examined, the enlisted occupational areas with the largest
female representation are functional support and administration (33
percent) and health care specialists (16 percent), and the officer
occupational area is health care officers (37 percent).

o 	Overall, females are excluded from 178 enlisted occupational
specialties (5 percent of all enlisted occupational specialties), mostly
in infantry, gun crew, and seamanship; electronic equipment repairers; and
electrical/mechanical equipment repairers occupational areas (see app.
IV). Females are excluded from 17 officer specialties (less than 1 percent
of all officer specialties).

1C. Gender-Reserve Component Occupational Areas and Gender

Table 20: Representation of RC Females across and within Enlisted
Occupational Areas as of December 31, 2004

DOD enlisted occupational codes and areas Percent of occupational area
Percent of females in the military who that is female are in the
occupational area

0 Infantry, gun crews, & seamanship 5

1 Electronic equipment repairers 10

2 Communications & intelligence specialists 12

3 Health care specialists 37

4 Other technical & allied specialists 17

5 Functional support & administration 36

6 Electrical/mechanical equipment repairers 7

7 Craftsworkers 8

8 Service & supply handlers 17

9 Nonoccupational 21

Total 17

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data.

Notes: The nonoccupational area includes patients, students, those with
unassigned duties, and unknowns. The second column does not total 100
percent because of rounding.

 Table 21: Representation of RC Females across and within Officer Occupational
     Areas as of December 31, 2004 DOD officer occupational codes and areas

Percent of occupational area that is female

Percent of females in the military who are in the occupational area

         1 General officers & executives N.E.C.            4               <1 
             2 Tactical operations officers                3      
                3 Intelligence officers                   19      
         4 Engineering and maintenance officers           12      
              5 Scientists & professionals                13      
                 6 Health care officers                   42      
                    7 Administrators                      32      
        8 Supply, procurement, & allied officers          20      
                   9 Nonoccupational                      13      
                         Total                            18      

Legend: N.E.C. = Not elsewhere classified.

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data.

Notes: The nonoccupational area includes patients, students, those with
unassigned duties, and unknowns. The second column does not total 100
percent because of rounding.

o 	Like their AC counterparts, RC female servicemembers are also
concentrated in health care and administrative occupations (see tables 20
and 21).

o 	The enlisted occupational areas with the greatest concentrations of
females are health care specialists (37 percent) and functional support
and administration (36 percent).

o 	The officer occupational areas with the greatest concentrations of
females are health care officers (42 percent) and administrators (32
percent).

o 	Also like their AC peers, when data on only females are considered, the
enlisted occupational area with the greatest concentration of female
enlisted personnel is functional support and administration (41 percent).
The officer occupational area with the greatest concentration of female
personnel is health care officers (46 percent).

1D. Age

Figure 3: Percentage of the AC, RC, and U.S. Population in Age Categories
Percentage

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

100 90 80 70 60 50

34 35 40 29

30

20

10

                                     0                                 
17-19 20-24 25-34    35-44   45+        15-19 20-24  25-34   35-44   46-74 
Years of age                        Years of age                    
    Active component                   U.S. population                 

Reserve component

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data relfecting servicemember age as
of
December 31, 2004, and decennial census reflecting the age of the U.S.
population in 2000.

Note: The chart for the U.S. population omits the 21 percent of the U.S.
population under 15 years of

age and the 7 percent of the U.S. population 75 years of age or older.

o 	Figure 3 shows that overall, 69 percent of AC and 49 percent of RC
servicemembers are between the ages of 20 and 34, compared to 21 percent
of the U.S. population.

o 	The RC has five times the proportion of older servicemembers as the
AC-15 percent of the RC compared to 3 percent of the AC is at least 45
years of age.

o 	The ages of AC servicemembers ranged from 17-73 and their average age
was 28.3 years.

o 	In comparison, RC servicemembers ranged from 17-67 years of age, and
their average age was 33.2 years.

o 	Civilians aged 18-49 analyzed from the Current Population Survey to
whom we compared servicemembers had an average age of 34.3 years.

                                 1E. Education

        Table 22: Percentage of Servicemembers and Employed Civilians in
                             Educational Categories
                   Highest                    Less                      High                                             
 Component     educational AC RC Unknown 3    than 1  High school 4   school 68     Some 7  Baccalaureate 11           6 
            attainment for                    high    equivalency    diploma     college           degree     Graduate   
            servicemembers                  school                                                              degree   

Total servicemembers 100

Highest educational attainment for employed U.S. population 18 years of
age and older

Less than high school

High school diploma or equivalency

Some college

Baccalaureate degree

Graduate degree

Total employed U.S. population 18 years of age and older

Sources: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data reflecting servicemember
education as of December 31, 2004. Data for employed U.S. population 18
years of age and older from Table 5a, Educational Attainment of Civilians
16 Years and Over by Labor Force Status, Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic
Origin: 2004, Current Population Survey, U.S. Census Bureau,
http://census.gov, downloaded July 26, 2005.

o 	Proportionately more servicemembers than employed persons in the U.S.
population aged 18 and older had earned a high school diploma or its
equivalent (see table 22).

o 	Four percent of AC servicemembers and 7 percent of RC servicemembers
did not have a high school diploma or its equivalent.

o 	In contrast, 10 percent of employed persons in the U.S. population aged
18 and older did not have a high school diploma or its equivalent.

o 	Although 24 percent of AC servicemembers had at least some college
education, 38 percent of RC servicemembers were comparably educated.

o 	In general, employed civilians had more postsecondary school
educational attainment than either AC or RC servicemembers. About 59
percent of employed persons in the U.S. population aged 18 and older
compared to 24 percent of the AC and 38 percent of the RC had at least
some college education.

1F. Citizenship and Country of Birth

Figure 4: Percent of Servicemembers and Civilians in Three Citizenship
Subgroups in 2004 Military Civilian

The top countries of birth of servicemembers who are non-U.S. citizens or
nationals

Philippines (12%) Unknown (39%) United Sates (8%) Mexico (7%) Jamaica (3%)

1% 7%

Citizen data Noncitizens missing and nationals

2%

Noncitizens and nationals

U.S. citizens U.S. citizens (by birth or (by birth or naturalization)
naturalization) The five countries of birth of civilians who are non-U.S.
citizens or nationals Mexico (26%) India (7%) Philippines (4%) China (4%)
Elsewhere (4%)

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data reflecting servicemembers as of
December 31, 2004 and the March 2004 Current Population Survey, reflecting
civilian employment status in March 2003.

Note: Non-U.S. citizens are those who owe permanent allegiance to the
United States, such as persons born in American Samoa or the Swains
Island.

o 	Compared to the comparable civilian workforce, the military has
proportionately fewer non-U.S. citizens or nationals (see fig. 4). Two
percent of the AC and RC (over 40,000 servicemembers) are non-U.S.
citizens compared to about 7 percent of civilian workers.

o 	Thirty-nine percent (about 19,500) of all servicemembers who were not
U.S. citizens or nationals had "unknown" for the country of birth in their
personnel record, and most (almost 15,500) were in the RC.

o 	DOD records also showed that the personnel records of 12 percent of the
noncitizens and nationals (almost 4,200 servicemembers) indicated their
country of birth was the United States. This finding was surprising
because persons born in the United States are U.S. citizens, and it could
not be explained by DOD officials.

o 	In Executive Order 13269 issued July 3, 2002, the President exempted
aliens and noncitizen nationals, serving honorably in an active duty
status on September 11, 2001, or thereafter, from the usual requirements
for becoming a citizen (for example, the number of years an individual
must wait between applying and receiving citizenship). By Spring 2005, DOD
officials reported that over 20,000 military personnel had become citizens
since September 11, 2001, and that DOD was processing 5,000 more
applications for citizenship.5

5Statement of Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness,
David S.C. Chu, before the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee on
April 5, 2005.

Recruiting

Question 2 and Summary of Approach

How well are the services meeting their recruitment goals, and what
influences whether or not individuals join the military?

We reviewed recent GAO, DOD, and others' studies and data on enlistment
goals and rates, recruiting, and the factors that shape youths' intentions
to join the military. To identify changes in the demographic make-up of
new servicemembers, we obtained and analyzed data on servicemembers who
had 1 year or less of military service and examined DOD analyses of
recruits' socioeconomic status and home community. We also met with DOD
and service representatives to discuss trends in recruiting and factors
affecting the Army's ability to recruit. Finally, we reviewed the economic
and educational incentives available to recruits. Although we discuss
findings for both enlisted personnel and officers, we primarily focus on
the former because enlisted personnel comprise 84 percent of all
servicemembers.

                              Summary of Findings

2A. Recruiting overview	For fiscal years 2000 through 2003, the AC
annually accessed about 176,400 to about 183,000 nonprior-service enlisted
personnel and about 17,500 to about 21,500 officers.

2B. Achieving enlisted recruiting goals

Over the past decade, the AC met its recruiting goals more frequently than
did the RC.

o 	Over the past decade, some components, particularly in the Army, have
less frequently met their enlisted recruiting goals than have other
components.

o 	DOD estimates that over half of the youth in the U.S. population
between the ages of 16 and 21 do not meet the minimum requirements for
enlistment.

o 	Personal, demographic, family, and societal factors influence youths'
enlistment decisions.

2C. Recruit characteristics	Since fiscal year 2000, the proportion of
recruits who are African Americans has declined, while the proportion of
Hispanic recruits has increased. Recruits tend to be disproportionately
from the middle class and from Southern and Western regions of the United
States.

2D. Enlistment incentives	The military has increased its educational and
economic incentives in an attempt to meet its recruiting goals.

Findings

2A. Recruiting Overview  o 	Congress mandates the services' endstrengths.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 established
the following AC endstrengths:

o  Army-512,400,

o  Navy-365,900,

o  Marine Corps-178,000, and

o  Air Force-359,700.

o 	Additionally, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2005 authorized the Secretary of Defense to increase the authorized end
strengths of the active Army and active Marine Corps by an additional
10,000 and 6,000, respectively, to support the operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan.

o 	In fiscal year 2004, the Army achieved its accession goal in part by
drawing from its delayed entry program, a pool of individuals who have
signed a contract to join the military at a future date up to 1 year in
advance. Typically, the Army likes to have 35 percent of its annual
accession goal in the delayed entry program, but by the end of fiscal year
2004, the delayed entry program had been reduced to 18 percent of the
Army's annual accession goal.

o 	Enlisted and officer recruiting differ partly because the accession of
enlisted personnel is typically more immediate than the accession of most
officers. The two major officer accession programs-the military academies1
and Reserve Officers' Training Corps-take up to 4 years to produce newly
commissioned officers. The military fulfills its remaining requirements
for officers through Officer Candidate School and Officer Training School.
Consequently, today's policy decisions on officer recruiting shape the
future availability of officers and depend on the extent to which
retention rates and the need for officers are accurately forecasted.2

1See GAO, Military Education: DOD Needs to Enhance Performance Goals and
Measures to Improve Oversight of Military Academies, GAO-03-1000
(Washington, D.C.: Sept. 10, 2003) for information on the military
academies.

2Lawrence Kapp, Recruiting and Retention: A Brief Overview of Fiscal Year
2004 and Fiscal Year 2005 for Active Duty Enlisted Personnel,
Congressional Research Service (Washington, D.C.: March 2005).

2A. Recruiting Overview-  o  AC enlisted accessions-Each year for fiscal
years 2000 through 2004, Active Component the AC accessed approximately
176,400 to 183,000 nonprior-service enlisted recruits.

o  More of these accessions joined the Army than any other service:

o  39 to 43 percent joined the Army,

o  22 to 27 percent joined the Navy,

o  17 to 20 percent joined the Air Force, and

o  16 to 18 percent joined the Marine Corps.

o  In fiscal year 2004, all active components met their goal.

o 	AC officer accessions-Each fiscal year from 2000 through 2003, about
17,500 to 21,500 officers were accessed into the AC.

o  The percentage of officers accessed by each service is as follows:

o  30 to 34 percent joined the Army,

o  31 to 37 percent joined the Air Force,

o  22 to 29 percent joined the Navy, and

o  7 to 9 percent joined the Marine Corps.

o 	In fiscal year 2004, the active services accessed over 16,400 officers
to active duty. Only the Air Force, with its shortfall of 12 percent
(comprised mostly of medical specialty direct appointments), missed its
commissioned officer recruiting goal that year.3

o 	Active duty officers and enlisted personnel are required to be
available to serve for 8 years, although some of that service may be in a
reserve component.

3Statement of Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness,
David S.C. Chu, before the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee,
April 5, 2005, p 20.

2A. Recruiting Overview-  o  RC enlisted accessions-Each year for fiscal
years 2000 through 2004, Reserve Component the RC accessed about 118,000
to 153,000 enlisted personnel.

o 	More of these accessions joined the Army National Guard and Army
Reserve than any other service.

o  40 to 44 percent joined the Army National Guard,

o  25 to 32 percent joined the Army Reserve,

o  10 to 11 percent joined the Navy Reserve,

o  6 to 7 percent joined the Marine Corps Reserve,

o  6 to 7 percent joined the Air National Guard, and

o  5 to 8 percent joined the Air Force Reserve.

o 	In fiscal year 2004, the components accessed about 118,000 enlisted
personnel to the RC, and all components except the Army National Guard and
Air National Guard met their goal.

o   o   o   o   o   o

41 percent joined the Army National Guard,
28 percent joined the Army Reserve,
10 percent joined the Navy Reserve,
8 percent joined the Air Force Reserve,
7 percent joined the Marine Corps Reserve, and
7 percent joined the Air National Guard.

o 	One difference between AC and RC recruiting is that the latter relies
heavily on recruits who have prior military service. An official in the
Office of the Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs told us that
currently, about 63 percent of the RC has prior military experience. For
example,

o 	In fiscal year 2003, 52 percent of Air National Guard accessions had
prior military service.4

o 	In fiscal year 2004, at least one-quarter of Marine Corps Reserve
recruits had prior military service.5

o 	Historically, about 25 percent of active duty servicemembers leaving
the Air Force enter the Air Force Reserve, accounting for a significant
portion of Air Force Reserve accessions.6

4Statement of Lieutenant General Daniel James III, Director, Air National
Guard, before the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee, April 13,
2005.

5Statements of Lieutenant General Dennis M. McCarthy, Commander, Marine
Forces Reserve, before the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee on
April 13, 2005, and Lieutenant General H.P. Osman, Deputy Commandant for
Manpower and Reserve Affairs, United States Marine Corps Reserve, before
the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee, April 5, 2005.

6Statement of Lieutenant General John A. Bradley, Chief of Air Force
Reserve, before the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee, April
13, 2005.

2A. Recruiting Overview- Reserve Component

Stop-loss is a policy instituted by the services that requires military
personnel to remain in the service beyond the end of their obligation.7
Because it reduces the number of prior service recruits available to join
the RC at a given point in time and because many entering the RC have
prior military service, stop-loss has been cited as a factor particularly
affecting the reserve components' ability to meet recruitment goals.

o 	The Air Force was the first to issue a stop-loss in the aftermath of
the September 11th attack, although this has since ended.

o 	The Army is the only service with stop-loss currently in effect, and
the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel testified in April 2005
that, during January 2005, the stop-loss program affected 12,353
servicemembers in the Army's active and reserve components. The Army's
current unit-based (rather than being driven by occupational specialty)
stop-loss policy for its reserve components has remained continuously in
effect since it was instituted in 2001.8

o 	Although the reserve components rely partly on recruits with prior
military service to meet their recruiting goals, the Under Secretary of
Defense for Personnel and Readiness noted in April 2005 that because of
high AC retention, increasing percentages of RC recruits had no prior
military service and that "approximately 50 percent are now expected to
come directly from civilian life."

7Stop-loss authority is provided by 10 U.S.C. S:12305. For a description
of the services' implementation of stop-loss after September 11, 2001, see
app. VI in Military Personnel: DOD Needs to Address Long-term Reserve
Force Availability and Related Mobilization and Demobilization Issues, GAO
04-1031 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 15, 2004).

8See GAO 04-1031.

2B. Achieving Enlisted Recruiting Goals- Performance in Fiscal Years

Figure 5: AC and RC Achievement of Enlisted Recruiting Goals for Fiscal
Years 19951995 to 2004 through 2004

Percent of enlisted recruiting goal achieved 120

110

105

100

90

88

0 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Year

Reserve components Active components Source: DMDC Information Delivery
System.

o
Figure 5 shows that over the past 10 years, the AC has met its enlisted
recruiting goals more frequently than the RC.

o
Except for 2 years in the late 1990s, a period of low unemployment and
economic expansion, the AC met its recruiting goals.

o  The RC did not meet its goals for 6 of the past 10 years.

o
DOD researchers reported that events, such as the war in Iraq and
increased operational tempo, have made meeting recruiting goals more
difficult.

o
In April 2005 testimony to the Military Personnel Subcommittee of the
Senate Armed Services Committee, the Assistant Secretary of Defense

for Reserve Affairs said that although the RC was having difficulty
meeting its recruiting objectives, reserve reenlistments in fiscal year
2004 were slightly higher than in previous fiscal years.

o
Also, the components typically start a new fiscal year with youth who have
already signed enlistment contracts and have agreed to delay entry into
the military until a later time. Overcoming monthly recruiting deficits
may require that components acquire recruits from the delayed entry
program. The reduction in the size of the delayed entry program may result
in insufficient numbers of recruits being available in future months.

2B. Achieving Enlisted Recruiting Goals- Performance in Fiscal Year 2005

 Figure 6: DOD Components' Achievement of Enlisted Recruiting Goals for October
                         1, 2004, through June 30, 2005

Air Force Reserve 114

                                      102

                              Active Marine Corps

                                      101

                                Active Air Force

                                    100 100

                        Marine Corps Reserve Active Navy

                                       92

                                  Navy Reserve

                                       86

                                  Active Army

                                       83

                               Air National Guard

                                       79

                                  Army Reserve

                                       77

                              Army National Guard

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Percent of Enlisted Goal Achieved

Source: DOD Monthly Recruiting Announcement, July 11, 2005.

o
Nine months into fiscal year 2005, 5 of the 10 components had not met
their enlisted recruiting goal (see fig. 6).

o
The active Army, Air National Guard, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard
have met 86, 83, 79, and 77 percent, respectively, of their enlistment
goals.

o
Two of the six reserve components, the Air Force Reserve and Marine Corps
Reserve, have met or exceeded their enlisted recruiting goals.

o
DOD found that the public's perceptions about military enlistment has
changed and that youth and their parents believe that deployment to a
hostile environment is very likely for some types of servicemembers.
Officials also said that fear of death and serious injury is an
increasingly important factor affecting potential recruits' decisions
about whether they will join.

2B. Achieving Enlisted Recruiting Goals-Youth Ineligibility

o
DOD researchers have estimated that over half of U.S. youth aged 16 to 21
could be ineligible to join the military because they cannot meet DOD or
service entry standards.9 DOD accession officials stated that inability to
meet medical and physical requirements accounts for much of the
ineligibility among youth.

o
DOD Directive 1304.26 establishes the educational, aptitude, medical, and
moral character standards for entry into the military, as well as other
standards such as those for age, citizenship, and number of dependent
children.10

o
Many youth are ineligible because they cannot meet DOD or service
standards for:

o   o   o

o  education, as indicated by DOD's preference for accessions with a high
school diploma;

mental aptitude, as indicated by receipt of an acceptable score on the
Armed Forces Qualification Test;

physical fitness, as indicated by the absence of certain medical
conditions and the ability to perform the physical challenges of military
training; and

moral character, as indicated by few or no criminal convictions or
antisocial behavior.

9National Research Council, Attitudes, Aptitudes, and Aspirations of
American Youth; DOD, Overview Report June 2003 Youth Poll 5, December
2003, p. 71.

10If married, a recruit can have no more than two dependents under age 18.
If unmarried, a recruit must give up custody of dependent children.

o
The services may use more rigorous standards than those prescribed by DOD
and create additional standards for areas not covered by DOD.

o
Senior officials are allowed to issue waivers for some standards.
Comparing data for 1991 to those for 2000 shows that the extent to which
certain types of waivers were issued to enlisted accessions changed. For
example, the number of moral waivers appeared to have declined, while
physical and other types of waivers appear to have increased.11

11National Research Council, Attitudes, Aptitudes, and Aspirations of
American Youth, briefing fig. 4-9.

2B. Achieving Enlisted Recruiting Goals-Youth Ineligibility and
Educational Standards

Table 23: DOD and Service-Specific Educational Standards

DOD educational standard

At least 90 percent of recruits must have a high school diploma.

                     Service-specific educational standards

Army Navy Marine Corps Air Force

At least 90 percent high school At least 95 percent high school At least
95 percent high school At least 99 percent high school diploma graduates
diploma graduates diploma graduates diploma graduates

Sources: DOD Directive 1304.26, Qualification Standards for Enlistment,
Appointment, and Induction. Service-specific standards were provided by
the Office of Accession Policy.

o
All of the services except the Army have educational standards that exceed
DOD's standard of having at least 90 percent of accessions possessing a
high school diploma (see table 23).

o
The Navy and Marine Corps standard is 95 percent, and the Air Force's
educational standard is 99 percent.

o
Recruits with an alternate educational credential such as a general
educational development high school equivalency diploma or a certificate
of completion may be assigned a lower enlistment priority because DOD's
research shows that holders of an alternate educational credential are
less likely than high school diploma graduates to complete military
training and their initial obligation.

o
DOD educational standards reduce the number of youth eligible for
recruitment because DOD requires that at least 90 percent of recruits have
a high school diploma, but only 71 percent of all high school students
graduate with their class.12 Higher rates of high school completion may be
reported in the Current Population Survey and other research, but in
addition to high school diploma graduates they include

12Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, Public High School Graduation
Rates and College-Readiness: 1991-2002, February 2005.

high school equivalency and general educational development diplomas for
adults 25 and older.

o
In 2002, 52 percent of Hispanics graduated from high school compared to 56
percent of African Americans and 78 percent of Whites. However, of the
youth who graduated from high school in 2002 only 40 percent of Whites, 23
percent of African Americans, and 20 percent, of Hispanics had the skills
needed to attend a 4-year college.13

o
Most high school graduates qualified for college actually enrolled and
this upward trend in college enrollment, both immediately after graduation
and in the decade after high school, potentially reduces the number of
youth interested in becoming enlisted personnel.14

13National Research Council, Attitudes, Aptitudes, and Aspirations of
American Youth, briefing fig. 4-11.

14National Research Council, Attitudes, Aptitudes, and Aspirations of
American Youth.

2B. Achieving Enlisted Recruiting Goals-Youth Ineligibility and Aptitude
Standards

Table 24: Aptitude Standards and Required and Actual Percentages of
Nonprior-service Recruits at or Above the 50th Percentile in Fiscal Year
2004

DOD aptitude standard DOD uses the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT)
to gauge the verbal and quantitative aptitude of potential enlisted
recruits. Based on their AFQT score, applicants are assigned to one of six
categories.

Percentile              Category          Percentile              Category 
93-99                       I                31-49                    IIIB 
65-92                      II                10-30                      IV 
50-64                     IIIA                1-9                V         

DOD policy Federal statute (10 U.S.C., 520)

Requires a minimum of 60 percent from Categories I-IIIA and a Allows a
maximum of 20 percent from Category IV, all of whom must

maximum of 4 percent from Category IV. 	be high school graduates. Unless
required to meet established strength requirements, enlistment is denied
to Category V applicants who have not graduated from high school.

                           Service-specific standards

             For categories I-IIIA Army Navy Marine Corps Air Force

                              Goal 65% 70% 63% 77%

                     2004 actual accessions 72% 70% 69% 82%

Sources: AFQT percentiles and categories from Armor and Sackett, "Manpower
Quality in the All-Volunteer Force," Ch. 6 from The All-Volunteer Force:
Thirty Years of Service. Service-specific standards were provided by the
Office of Accession Policy. Data on the services' 2004 actual accessions
is from Recruiting and Retention: An Overview of FY 2004 and FY 2005
Results for Active and Reserve Component Enlisted Personnel, Congressional
Research Service, pg. 10.

o
Although DOD requires that at least 60 percent of recruits be from AFQT
Categories I-IIIA, the services require that 63 to 77 percent be from
Categories I-IIIA (see table 24).

o
The number of potential recruits available to enlist is less than the size
of the youth population as a whole because DOD can generally access no
more than 4 percent of its recruits from those with the lowest third of
all AFQT scores.

o
The percentage of new recruits scoring at or above the 50th percentile of
the AFQT is higher than it was before the AVF (see table 25).

Table 25: Percent of Nonprior-service Accessions Scoring in AFQT
Categories I-IIIA during Selected Years

Percent nonprior service recruits in AFQT Categories Era Year I-IIIA

        Pre-AVF 1957 43 in Categories I-III 1968 38 in Categories I-III

AVF initiation 1973 58

1983 57

1993 71

Post-AVF 2000 66

2001 66

2002 69

2003 72

Sources: Data for 1957 and 1968 are from Paul F. Hogan, Curtis K. Simon,
and John T. Warner, "Sustaining the Force in an Era of Transformation,"
Ch. 5 from The All-Volunteer Force: Thirty Years of Service, Barbara A.
Bicksler, Curtis L. Gilroy, and John T. Warner, eds., (Washington, D.C.:
Brassey, 2004), Table 2 on p. 61. Data for remaining years are from
Population Representation in the Military Services: Fiscal Year 2003,
Table D-7, obtained from the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and
Readiness homepage at http://dod.mil/prhome.

2B. Achieving Enlisted Recruiting Goals-Youth Ineligibility and Medical
Standards

    Table 26: Examples of DOD Medical Standards which May Have Disqualified
Potential Recruits in Fiscal Year 2004 DOD medical standards Recruits should be:

o  free of contagious/infectious diseases,

o  free of medical conditions or physical defects that might require
excessive time away from duty or likely result in separation due to
medical unfitness, and

o  capable of completing training, adapting to the military environment,
and performing duties without aggravating existing physical or medical
defects or conditions.

              Department of Defense Instruction 6130.4 identifies:

o  medical conditions which, unless waived by DOD officials, disqualify
applicants. For example, applicants currently affected by or with a
history of the following would be disqualified: human immunodeficiency
virus,

o  coronary heart disease, asthma (diagnosed and symptomatic after age
13), endocrine and metabolic disorders such as diabetes mellitus, and
alcohol or drug dependence or abuse.

o  learning, psychiatric, and behavioral disorders such as the following,
which, unless waived, disqualify applicants: attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder, anxiety disorders, and alcohol dependence.

Source: DOD Instruction 6130.4, Medical Standards for Appointment,
Enlistment, or Induction in the Armed Forces.

o 	Medical conditions result in DOD drawing recruits from only a portion
of the overall youth population. DOD research suggests that at least 26
percent of youth have a medical or physical condition that could make them
ineligible to join.15

o 	DOD officials told us that medical and physical conditions, such as
those shown in table 26, were the top reasons youth are ineligible to join
the military.

o 	The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that as of
2002, about 12 percent of children under 18 years of age had been
diagnosed with asthma.

15DOD, Overview Report: June 2003 Youth Poll 5, December 2003 p. 72.

o 	The National Center for Health Statistics found that obesity among
12-19 year olds increased from 6 percent in 1974 to 16 percent in 2002.

o 	The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the
percentage of 5-17 year olds for whom an antidepressant was prescribed or
provided tripled from about 2 percent in 1994 to 6 percent in 2000-2002.16

16Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chartbook on Trends in the
Health of Americans, p. 63.

2B. Achieving Enlisted Recruiting Goals- Youth Ineligibility and Moral
Character Standards

        Table 27: DOD and Service-Specific Moral Character Standards for
                 Nonprior-service Recruits in Fiscal Year 2004

DOD moral character standards

                                Recruits cannot:

o  have previously separated from the military under conditions other than
honorable or for the good of the service,

o  have exhibited antisocial behavior;

o  be under a form of judicial restraint (for example, bond, probation,
imprisonment, or parole); or

o  have a "significant criminal record (although service secretaries may
authorize "exceptions in meritorious cases, for the enlistment
of...persons convicted of felonies.")

     Service-specific moral character standards that disqualify applicants

Army Navy Marine Corps Air Force

Six or more minor traffic offenses, Six or more minor traffic Five or more
minor traffic Six or more minor traffic offenses in any three or more
nonminor traffic offenses, three or more offenses, two or more serious
365-day period during the last 3 years, offenses, two or more nontraffic
offenses, three traffic offenses, four or more two or more minor
nontraffic offenses in misdemeanors, or one or more or less minor class
one minor nontraffic the last 3 years, three or more in a convictions for
driving under the misdemeanors, or one or offenses, or two or less
lifetime, or one or more misdemeanors influence or felony. more felonies.
serious offenses, one felony. or felonies.

Sources: DOD standards are from DOD Directive 1304.26, Qualification
Standards for Enlistment, Appointment, and Induction, and service-specific
standards were from Marine Corps Order P1100.72, Navy Instruction 1130.8f,
and Air Force Instruction 36-2002.

o 	The number of potential recruits available to enlist is less than the
size of the overall youth population because some youth with criminal
records or evidence of antisocial behavior will be ineligible to enlist
(see table 27 for standards). Researchers at the Army's Center for
Accession Research said that about 2 percent of the 17-21 aged population
who are qualified for service in the Army were ineligible because they
have been incarcerated.

o 	Illegal drug use is a moral character condition that might result in
some potential recruits being disqualified to enlist.

o 	In 2000, about 25 percent of high school seniors said that they had
used an illicit drug in the previous 30 days.17

o 	A recent study reported that about 39 percent of high school seniors,
about 31 percent of sophomores, and about 15 percent of youth in their
last year of middle school reported having used illicit drugs in the
previous 12 months.18

17National Research Council, Attitudes, Aptitudes, and Aspirations of
American Youth, briefing fig. 4-16.

18National Institutes of Health, National Results of Adolescent Drug Use:
Overview of key Findings 2004.

2B. Achieving Recruiting Goals-Factors Influencing Youths' Decisions About

Figure 7: Four General Types of Factors that Influence Youths' Decisions
AboutJoining Joining

                         Source: GAO and Art Explosion.

Research shows that the factors influencing whether or not youth join the
military can be grouped into four overlapping categories: personal values,
attitudes, and expectations; demographic factors; family factors; and
societal factors (see fig. 7).19

o 	Personal values, attitudes, and expectations-Youth say they consider
many individual-specific factors when deciding whether or not to join in
the military.

o 	Tangible reasons for joining include earning money for college,
acquiring health and vacation benefits, and learning a skill or trade.

o 	Intangible reasons for joining include the opportunity to gain
leadership experience, pride or honor, and the perception that the
military is a good place to work.

19We have summarized some of the factors identified in several recent
studies.

o 	Historically, many African Americans enlisted for tangible reasons and
were more likely than White or Hispanic enlisted personnel to be in
noncombat occupations and make a career of the military.

o 	Research suggests that Whites and Hispanics appear to be more likely
than African Americans to report joining the military for intangible
reasons such as adventure, being part of an elite team, or doing something
for one's country.20

o 	DOD officials say the perception of the military as a good place to
work has been affected by current events. For example, DOD research shows
that a majority of African American youth polled said the war on terrorism
made them less likely to join the military.

  20DOD, Youth Poll 6, November, 2003 and DMDC, Youth Attitude Tracking Study,
                                   July 2000.

2B. Achieving Recruiting  o  Demographic factors-Members of certain
subgroups such as males, Goals-Factors Influencing Hispanics, African
Americans, and youth from the South or West, are Youths' Decisions About
disproportionately more likely than their peers in corresponding

subgroups to enlist and make it a career. Conversely, the likelihood
ofJoining enlisting declines with age and education. 21

                                       o

                                       o

                                       o

Race and ethnicity-African Americans are more likely than Whites to
actually apply for enlistment. Hispanics are more likely than
non-Hispanics to say they are interested in and actually apply for
enlistment. In addition, African Americans and Hispanics are more likely
to make the military a career than are Whites.

Gender-Males are more likely than females to apply for enlistment.
However, interest in enlistment among male high school seniors has
declined over the last 3 decades.22

Changing trends-Recently, interest in military service has declined among
African Americans.23

o 	Family factors-Decisions about joining are influenced by variables such
as the number of parents in the household and family support for joining.

o 	Number of parents in household-Having fewer parents in the home is
associated with a greater likelihood that males will enlist.24

21DMDC, Youth Attitude Tracking Study, July 2000.

22National Research Council, Attitudes, Aptitudes, and Aspirations of
American Youth: Implications for Military Recruitment, briefing fig. 6-4.

23Meredith A. Kleykamp, Military Enlistment Decision Making among Youth:
The Influence of Educational Goals, Military Institutional Presence, and
Family Background; DOD, Youth Poll Wave 7, May 2004, Overview Report.

24Jerald G. Bachman, David R. Segal, Peter Freedman-Doan, and Patrick M.
O'Malley, "Who Chooses Military Service? Correlates of Propensity and
Enlistment in the U.S. Armed Forces," Military Psychology, vol. 12, no. 1
(2000).

o 	Family support for enlistment-Although both mothers and fathers
influence a youth's decision to enlist, a National Research
Council/National Academies of Science study indicated that mothers are
more influential than fathers.25

o 	Changing trends-DOD research indicates that parental support for
military service for their child has decreased over the past year and that
opposition to military service is stronger among African American parents
than among parents of other racial/ethnic subgroups.26

25Attitudes, Aptitudes, and Aspirations of American Youth.

26Findings from the 2004 Image Equity Study as reported by the U.S. Army
Accessions Command in a briefing entitled "State of the Youth Market."

2B. Achieving Recruiting Goals-Factors Influencing Youths' Decisions About
Joining

o 	Other DOD research suggests that compared to youth of other
racial/ethnic subgroups, African American youth are more likely to
perceive that if they were to join the military, they would not receive
support for that decision from the people in their lives.27

o 	Declining veteran population-Because of the declining veteran
population, youth today are less likely than in the past to have one or
more parents who are veterans. Research has also shown that children of
current or former servicemembers are more likely than other youth to join.

o 	Societal factors-Decisions about joining are also influenced by broader
societal factors such as the following.

o 	Exposure to the military-Closure and downsizing of military
installations results in youth today being less likely than in the past to
be directly exposed to military personnel and facilities.

o 	Postsecondary school opportunities-The increased availability of
funding for post-secondary education enables some youth with limited
financial resources to attend college directly after high school.

27DOD, Youth Poll Wave 7, May 2004, Overview Report.

o 	Civilian labor market-High civilian unemployment is associated with
higher enlistment rates.28 For example, during the low civilian
unemployment of the late 1990s, some components failed to meet their
recruiting goals. Although there are regional differences, the current low
unemployment rate results in civilian opportunities for youth considering
post-high school options.

o 	Changing trends-Some researchers suggest that the attractiveness of
joining the military after high school, relative to attending college or
obtaining a civilian job, has declined because of operations in Iraq.
College is the preferred choice of many youth who are eligible for
military enlistment. About two-thirds of high school graduates enroll in
college, but about one-third of these will leave after their first

29

year.

28Beth Asch, et al., Military Recruiting and Retention After the Fiscal
Year 2000 Military Pay Legislation, RAND MR-1532-08D, (Santa Monica, CA.:
2002).

29National Research Council, Attitudes, Aptitudes, and Aspirations of
American Youth; Meredith A. Kleykamp, Military Enlistment Decision Making
among Youth: The Influence of Educational Goals, Military Institutional
Presence, and Family Background.

2C. Recruit Characteristics-Active Component Race/Ethnicity

o 	DOD researchers also have reported a declining representation of
African Americans among AC recruits.

                                       o

                                       o

                                       o

DOD's semi-annual youth polls have noted that between November 2003 and
November 2004: 30

o 	African American and Hispanic youth's inclination to join the military
declined, although

o  White youth's inclination to join remained stable. 31

The youth polls also tracked youth's perception of the favorability of the
U.S. military and found evidence that between November 2003 and November
2004:

o 	African American youth's perception of the favorability of the military
has declined, although

o 	White and Hispanic youth's perception of the favorability of the
military remained unchanged.32

Researchers suggest that parents' favorability/support toward military
service for their child has steadily decreased over the past year.
Opposition to military service is stronger among African American parents
than among parents from other racial/ethnic subgroups.

30DOD, Overview Report: May 2004 Youth Poll Report 7 and Crosstabulations.
31DOD, November 2004 Youth Poll 8 Final Brief.
32DOD, November 2004 Youth Poll 8 Final Brief.

o 	Similarly, a DOD study of the attitudes of people who influence youths'
decision to join the military suggests that relative to influencers from
other racial/ethnic subgroups, African American influencers were less
likely to recommend military service and less likely to approve of the
U.S. military presence in Iraq and the administration's handling of
foreign affairs.33

33 DOD, 2004 Influencer Poll Report and Crosstabulations.

2C. Recruit Characteristics-Active Component Race/Ethnicity

Percent of AC servicemembers with 1 year or less of service

Table 28: Percent of AC Servicemembers in Each Racial/Ethnic Subgroup Who
      Have 1 Year or Less of Service in Fiscal Years 2000, 2002, and 2004
    Asian American   Component/fiscal                               African           Pacific  Alaskan Other/  Total Army/ 66 16 12 4 1 2  Army/ 62 22 11 3 1 1  Army/ 60 23 10 3 1 2  Navy/2004 64 20 4 3 5 4  Navy  56 21 13 5 4 2  Navy/2000 57 20 12 5 4 1    Marine   70 8 12 0 1 10    Marine   69 12 14 2 1 1    Marine   69 13 14 2 1 2     Air     76 14 3 2 1 4     Air     69 16 5 1 <1 8     Air     70 17 7 <1 <1 6 
                           year          American/ Indian/    White American Hispanic Islander Native  Unknown       2004                  2002                  2000                                           /2002                                           Corps/2004                 Corps/2002                 Corps/2000                 Force/2004                Force/2002                 Force/2000                 

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data.

Note: Rows may not total 100 percent due to rounding.

o 	The concerns that we cited earlier about the comparability of racial
and ethnic data collected before and after January 2003, when federal
agencies were required to have implemented the new guidelines, also apply
to the findings in table 28. Although we generally avoid reporting
racial/ethnic trends because of the changes in the way these data are
collected and reported, in the data DOD provided, we were able to identify
comparable racial/ethnic subgroups for AC servicemembers in fiscal years
2000, 2002, and 2004. We were unable to do so for RC servicemembers.

o 	For fiscal years 2000 and 2004, African American representation among
AC servicemembers with 1 year or less of service declined in three active
components. The decline was 7 percentage points for the Army, 5 percentage
points for the Marine Corps, and 3 percentage points for the Air Force.34

o 	In the Navy, Hispanic representation among those with 1 year or less of
service declined by 8 percentage points from fiscal year 2000 to fiscal
year 2004.

34Our analysis of servicemembers with 1 year or less of military service
does not take into account that some recruits will leave the military
prior to completing their first year of service or that recruits from some
subgroups may be more likely to leave prematurely than recruits from other
subgroups.

2C. Recruit Characteristics- Socioeconomic Status

o 	The wealthiest and the poorest segments of the applicable U.S.
population are less likely than others to serve in the military. The
wealthiest have other post-high school options such as attending college,
and the poorest are more likely to be ineligible because of medical,
aptitude, or moral disqualifiers.35

o 	For fiscal year 2004, DOD's Office of Accession Policy found that
recruits came from areas defined by zip codes whose median incomes were
similar to those of civilian youth in general-about $44,500 for recruits
compared to about $44,300 for civilian youth.36

o 	DOD used the median household income of the recruits' and civilians'
home communities to represent socioeconomic status because data typically
used to identify socioeconomic status are not collected on recruits. DOD
performed the analyses with commercial marketing industry software that
uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau and other sources to identify the
social and economic characteristics of each U.S. postal zip code.

o 	DOD also found that the recruits came from communities in which the
median income increased from about $43,000 in fiscal year 2000 to about
$44,500 in fiscal year 2004 (all values in constant 2003 dollars). The
largest increase, about $2,500, came between fiscal years 2001 and 2002.
Researchers suggested that it represented a patriotic response to the
September 11th terrorist attacks, after which a larger than usual number
of recruits from higher income households joined the military.

35David R. Segal and Mady Wechsler Segal, "America's Military Population,"
Population Bulletin, vol. 59, no. 4 (2004).

36 The analyses included 1.08 million AC nonprior-service-enlisted
accessions for fiscal years 1999 through 2004 and 16.7 million comparable
youth aged 17 to 21. The civilian youth excluded high school dropouts but
included youth with general educational development diplomas or another
credential of high school equivalency.

2C. Recruit  o  While the analyses provide some insight into the
socioeconomic status Characteristics- of the families from which recruits
come, the validity of the findings Socioeconomic Status should be
considered relative to concerns that include the following

issues.

                                       o

                                     o   o

                                       o

Although the software can create a distribution of estimated income for
the households from which the recruits were drawn, the software does not
provide a comparable distribution showing the percentage of homes with
various levels of income. This limits DOD's ability to determine how well
households from all socioeconomic levels are represented by recruits.

The average income for a community (as represented by a zip code) may not
represent the actual income of the recruit's household.

Socioeconomic status is often a measure of something more than income. For
example, it might be a combination of household income, parents'
educations and occupations, and home ownership.

If a family with a higher income lives in an area with a higher cost of
living, that family's socioeconomic status could be less than a family
with less income living in a geographic area with a lower cost of living.

o 	DOD's earlier study of socioeconomic status showed that recruits came
from all socioeconomic levels but were proportionately most likely to come
from the lower three quarters of the distribution of socioeconomic status.

o 	DOD's Population Representation in the Military Services: Fiscal Year
1999 indicated that less than 25 percent of the AC nonpriorservice
recruits in 1999 came from U.S. households that were classified as being
in either the top or bottom quartiles of socioeconomic levels.

o 	DOD's Office of Accession Policy reported that it stopped gathering
socioeconomic status information because of concerns that included
questions about how accurately recruits could report their family's
income.

2C. Recruit Characteristics-Population Density of Home Community

Table 29: Percent of Enlisted AC Accessions between 1999 and 2004 and
Comparable Civilian Youth Aged 17-21 from Community Population Density
Subgroups

                     Community population density subgroup

                  Active Component                 Rural Suburban Urban Total 
                        Army                          48       42    10 
                        Navy                          45       42    13 
                    Marine Corps                      48       42    10 
                      Air Force                       52       42     7 
      17-21 year old civilian youth with a high                         
                  school diploma or                                     
                     equivalent                       40       46    14 

Source: DOD.

Note: Rows may not total to 100 percent due to rounding.

o 	For fiscal years 1999 through 2004, rural areas provided a
disproportionately higher percentage of nonprior-service AC enlisted
accessions than did suburban and urban areas (see table 29). This was true
for all four active components.

o 	These analyses were part of the previously described study in which
DOD's Office of Accession Policy examined recruits' socioeconomic level.

o 	Using recruits' zip codes and commercial marketing industry software,
DOD's Office of Accession Policy segmented the accession and civilian
populations into rural, suburban, and urban subgroups. The software
contains zip-code-based data on population density and

other characteristics from the U.S. Census Bureau and other sources.37

o 	The same study showed that proportionately more recruits come from the
South and fewer from the Northeast when the home of record for recruits
was compared to that for 17-21 year old youth (see table 30).

o 	At this time, no decision had been made about whether population
density and geographic region will be routinely analyzed for DOD reports
on the demographics of recruits and other portions of the military.

Table 30: Percent of Enlisted AC Accessions and Comparable Civilian Youth
Aged 17-21 from Geographic Regions

Geographic region subgroup

                       Northeast South Midwest West Total

DOD recruits 14 41 21 24

                     Comparable 17-21 youth 18 35 24 23 100

Source: DOD.

Note: Rows may not total to 100 percent due to rounding.

37In contrast to the three-category definition used above, the Census
Bureau divides community population density into two categories-rural
versus urban. How youths' home communities are characterized is dependent
upon whether the two-category or threecategory measure is used. For
example, as seen in the table above, the three-category definition shows
that 14 percent of qualified military applicants live in an urban area. In
contrast, use of the Census Bureau's two-category definition shows that 79
percent of comparably aged youth live in an urban area.

                           2D. Enlistment Incentives

Figure 8: Economic and Educational Incentives

Source: GAO and Art Explosion.

o 	Youth weigh various economic and educational factors when deciding
whether or not to enlist.

o 	Economic incentives such as enlistment bonuses, degree bonuses, and
occupational specialty bonuses provide cash at the time of enlistment or
shortly thereafter.

o 	Educational incentives such as the Montgomery GI Bill, educational
allowances, and student loan repayment have a longer-term economic
benefit.

o 	Other incentives such as retirement also have a long-term economic
value.

o 	The amount of and eligibility for incentives varies by component and
may change depending on the recruiting environment.

o 	According to the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Compensation,
DOD spent over $455 million in fiscal year 2003 for all types of economic
and educational enlistment incentives.

o 	The military has increased the educational and economic incentives for
enlisting. For example, in 2005 we reported that the National Guard would
increase enlistment bonuses for nonprior-service recruits from $8,000 to
$10,000 and the Army would increase the maximum college scholarship from
$50,000 to $70,000.38

o 	Some services have also increased the number of recruiters. For
example,

o 	the Army plans to add over 900 recruiters to its current force of 5,065
recruiters in fiscal year 2005 and

o 	the Marine Corps plans to add 425 recruiters to its current force of
2,600 recruiters by fiscal year 2007.

o 	Despite increased incentives, recruiting remains difficult. This was
demonstrated by the Army's May 20, 2005, 1-day suspension of recruiting in
order to retrain recruiters after reports of recruiters violating
policies.

38See Military Personnel: Preliminary Observations on Recruiting and
Retention Issues within the U.S. Armed Forces, GAO-05-419T (Washington,
D.C.: Mar. 16, 2005).

2D. Enlistment Incentives-  o  DOD offers a variety of economic incentives
for enlistment. For Economic Enlistment example, DOD's Office of
Compensation reported that in fiscal year Incentives 2003, almost $334
million was spent on enlistment bonuses.39 Other

                      economic incentives include:  o   o

                                     o   o

a bonus for enlistment in a specific hard-to-fill military specialties for
up to $20,000,

a National Call to Service Program bonus in which recruits may choose to
receive a cash bonus of $5,000 or a monthly entitlement allowance of up to
about $1,000,

a "quick ship" bonus in which recruits who are able to immediately join
are eligible for up to $9,000, and

college degree bonuses for up to $40,000.

o 	When comparing military and civilian compensation packages, potential
recruits may not recognize the full value of some benefits such as
retirement.

o We40 recently reported that:

o 	The most recent Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation found, on
average, military pay was at the 70th percentile or higher of the wages
provided to comparably educated civilians.

o 	DOD does not effectively educate servicemembers about the
competitiveness of their total compensation packages.

o 	Studies show that youth and newly enlisted servicemembers place greater
value on financial compensation such as pay while retirement and other
benefits are of greater value to midcareer servicemembers.

39Data provided by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Compensation).

40GAO, Military Personnel: DOD Needs to Improve the Transparency and
Reassess the Reasonableness, Appropriateness, Affordability, and
Sustainability of Its Military Compensation System, GAO-05-798
(Washington, D.C.: July 19, 2005).

o 	One difference between the total compensation of servicemembers and
civilians is that servicemembers' pay comprises a smaller proportion of
total compensation than does pay for civilians. For example,
servicemembers also receive allowances for housing and subsistence/food
that few civilians would receive.

2D. Enlistment Incentives- Economic Enlistment Incentives

       Table 31: Examples of the Reserve Components' Economic Enlistment
                   Incentives Being Offered in February 2005
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 $50                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     $2,500                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 per                                                                                                                                                                                                                $5,000                                   contract                                        year                         for           $4,000   first                                                                                                            
     Army  Marine    Air      Army    Navy           Air                      $3,000,                                   or $8,000     for                for      year             service   service                                             month                               months    months      x    months       months  remaining    on                 on       on      military                                                               Prior  for                                      or two     years,          contract           bonuses;  6-year     year      the    $2,500  for     3 and            3 and     $2,000 for      the     second  $2,000                                                
 National  Corps   National  Reserve Reserve Reserve Force   Guard Enlistment $5,000,                             bonus    for     nonprior- contract nonprior- contract           recruits  recruits nonprior-service      recruits Affiliation x $50 $50          $50  $50   bonus months    remaining months remaining remaining    on on   military remaining military military  obligation obligation obligation obligation obligation  obligation     service 6-year                             bonus 3-bonuses; $5,000 contract  or two  contract    the    contract  bonuses;   $2,000  for     the     second  contract $3,500        the        second     3,    for    served                                         
                              Guard                  Reserve                  $8,000  $5,000 $8,000 $8,000 $5,000       6-contract                                for                                                                            per   per    $50   per  per         remaining             of                        military                                                                                                                       Only          $5,000 $8,000 $5,000       $2,500     for                3-              first 3                        for    3-year first    3,                for     consecutively     3,     served  second                                                
                                                                              for     for 6   for   for 6  for a                                                            year                                                                 month month  per  month month                                                                                                                                                                                      two    $2,500 for     for   for                                                          and                          the                    served                                                                                     3-year                
                                                                              6-year  years  6-year years    6-                                                           contract                                                               x     x     month   x   x                                                                                                                                                                                          3-year for 3  6-year 6-year 6-year                                                                                                                                                                                      consecutively  contract consecutively 

     Loan    $10,000 or   Max $10,000; Only None None    Max    15 percent or 
                                                      $15,000;  
               $20,000    for repayment of               annual   $500 per    
repayment                                           payments 
              depending   existing loans;             of $5,000    qualifying 
                 on                                     for 3       loan, not 
               select    nonprior-service:                      to exceed     
              critical                                  years   $2,500        
               skills    for initial                            per member    
                         contract                               per           
                         only; prior                                 year and 
                         service:                                     $20,000 
                             those who                          over lifetime 
                                                                     of       
                            immediately                          member, for  
                                                                     6-       
                         reenlist or extend                              year 
                                                                enlistment or 
                          for a period not                      reenlistment  
                         less than 3 years,                     
                                         if                     
                         for reenlistment/                      
                          extension bonus                       

Source: Office of the Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs.

Table 31 provides examples of some of the economic incentives offered by
the RC.

o 	These examples of incentives illustrate some of the tools that
recruiters are provided to help them with their mission.

o 	The examples highlight the extent to which the components emphasize
different types of incentives.

o 	Because the active components use the same types of incentives and may
alter the levels of incentives to match their recruiting environment, a
similar table of AC economic enlistment incentives is not provided.

2D. Enlistment Incentives- Educational Incentives

Table 32: Examples of Reserve Component Educational Enlistment Incentives
Being Offered in February 2005

Army National Marine Corps Air Force Air National Army Reserve Guard Navy
Reserve Reserve Reserve Guard

Basic Montgomery GI Bill

$282 per month

$282 per month	$282 per month

$282 per month	$282 per month

  $282 per month College fund $100, $200, or $350 per month $350 per $350 per
                       month $350 per $350 per month for

$350 per month

Available to nonprior service, officer candidate school, and SMP

                                  month month

                       critical Air Force Specialty Codes

Source: Office of the Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs.

o 	Examples of some of the educational incentives offered by DOD and the
services are the:

o 	Montgomery GI Bill and College Funds which provide funds for up to 36
months (see table 32);

o 	College First program, which provides recruits a stipend to attend
college for up to 24 months; and

o 	National Call to Service Program, which offers recruits the option of
choosing to have a qualifying student loan repaid for up to $18,000 (or
the previously mentioned economic incentives).

o 	In addition to these incentives, there is also evidence that
longer-term educational incentives may be more attractive to some
applicants than other benefits.41 Several studies have suggested that
benefits providing money for college or repaying student loans may be an
incentive to join the military for youth with college aspirations and
limited financial resources.42 Therefore, providing educational incentives
may be particularly important today since many potential recruits are
eligible for and interested in attending college.

41Hogan, Simon, & Warner, "Sustaining the Force in an Era of
Transformation."

42Congressional Budget Office, January 2004; Attitudes, Aptitudes, and
Aspirations of American Youth, Chapter 5; Rebecca Asch, Can Du, and
Matthias Schonlau, Policy Options for Military Recruiting in the College
Market, RAND (Santa Monica, Ca.: 2004).

Retention

Question 3 and Summary of Approach

What are the demographic characteristics of servicemembers who remained in
the military in fiscal years 2000, 2002, and 2004?

We identified and compared the DOD-provided rates at which servicemembers
in service, pay grade, years of service, racial/ethnic, gender, and
occupational subgroups remained in the military in fiscal years 2000,
2002, and 2004. Continuation rates represent the number of subgroup
members who remained in the military for an entire fiscal year divided by
the number of servicemembers who were in the subgroup at the beginning of
the fiscal year.1 We noted differences in the extent to which subgroups
remained in the military in fiscal years 2000, 2002, and 2004. In general,
we discuss differences of 3 percentage points or more between subgroups.
An ongoing GAO effort is examining in greater detail the services'
retention goals and achievements. 2

                              Summary of Findings

3A. Overview of military With several exceptions, the AC has generally met
or exceeded its overall retention retention goals for enlisted personnel
over the last 5 years.

3B. AC continuation  o 	In each year examined, proportionately fewer
enlisted personnel than officers remained in the military.

1Because fiscal year 2004 continuation rates for RC servicemembers had not
been published at the time of this report, we examined fourth quarter
continuation rates for RC servicemembers in 2004.

2Although we did not address this in our report, it is important to note
that not all servicemembers leaving the AC or RC are leaving the military
entirely. As discussed in the previous section of this report, some AC
members will enter the RC. In examining servicemembers who left the
Selected Reserve in fiscal year 2003, the Center for Naval Analysis found
that less than 50 percent actually left the RC and that most switched to
the Individual Ready Reserve or to the Retired Reserve.

o 	The overall AC continuation rates for enlisted personnel were 85 to 87
percent in the 3 years examined. In contrast, the continuation rates for
AC officers were between 90 percent and 93 percent during this period.

3C. RC continuation	For fiscal years 2000, 2002, and the fourth quarter of
2004, overall RC enlisted retention rates ranged from 83 to 85 percent,
while overall officers' rates were 88 percent or 89 percent each year.

Findings

3A. Overview of Military Retention-Military Policies and Practices

o 	Military personnel policies and practices that influence retention
include those addressing the following issues.

o 	All entrants are obligated to serve 8 years. Almost all personnel who
choose to leave active duty prior to completion of 8 years of service must
serve the remaining balance of their obligation in the RC.3

o 	Enlisted recruits sign an initial "contract"-which can range from 2 to
6 years-that specifies the length of their active duty service. After
enlisted personnel have fulfilled their contract and the active duty
portion of their military service obligation, they may opt to: (a)
reenlist by signing another contract or (b) leave active duty and serve
the remainder of their 8-year obligation in a reserve component.

o 	Officers who have completed their initial service are not required to
sign subsequent contracts to remain in the military.

o 	The military's "up or out" system forces turnover among officers and
enlisted personnel who are not consistently promoted.

o 	Research on first-term enlisted personnel showed that those promoted
more quickly than usual reenlisted at higher rates than those promoted at
a slower than the usual rate.4

3Recruits who join the military under the National Call to Service
Program, which was initiated on October 1, 2003, are required to serve on
active duty for 15 months, after which they must serve either an
additional period on active duty as determined by the Secretary of
Defense, or 24 months in an active status in the Selected Reserve. After
meeting these requirements and without a break in service, recruits must
then serve the balance of their obligation in one of the following: on
active duty; in the Selected Reserve; in the Individual Ready Reserve; or
in the Peace Corps, Americorps, or other national service program jointly
designated by the Secretary of Defense and the head of such a program. The
National Call to Service Program will end on December 31, 2007.

4RAND, How Does Deployment Affect Retention of Military Personnel?
Research Brief, RB7557-OSD (Santa Monica, Ca.: 2003).

o 	The stop-loss policy temporarily prevents leaving the military even
when an obligation is finished. As a result, it may artificially inflate
retention rates for the period when the policy was in effect and
artificially deflate retention rates for the months after it is rescinded.

o 	Reenlistment/retention bonuses are available for certain hard-toretain
specialties (e.g., Air Force combat controllers).

o 	Some special opportunities for additional education or training result
in servicemembers incurring an additional service obligation.

3A. Overview of Military  o  Each service has its own method for tracking
enlisted retention.
Retention-Military Policies
and Practices  o  The Army and Marine Corps set numeric retention goals
and track

retention relative to those goals.

o 	The Army tracks the retention of initial term (first enlistment,
regardless of length); midcareer (second or subsequent enlistments with
less than 10 years of service); and career (second or subsequent
enlistments with 10 or more years of service).

o 	The Marine Corps tracks retention by first enlistment and second or
subsequent enlistment.

o 	The Navy and Air Force set goals in terms of percentages of those
eligible to reenlist.

o 	The Navy's most important retention categories are Zone A (up to 6
years of service), Zone B (6 years of service to less than 10 years of
service), and Zone C (10 years of service to less than 14 years of
service).

o 	The Air Force tracks retention by first term (first enlistment,
regardless of length); second term (second enlistment); and career (third
or subsequent enlistment).

o 	A DOD official in the Officer and Enlisted Personnel Management
Directorate told us that DOD is in the process of developing a retention
measure that will be used by all services.

o 	Every year the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve
Affairs publishes the Official Guard & Reserve Manpower Strengths &
Statistics, which includes information that might be useful to track RC
retention such as:

o  monthly reenlistments and extensions by pay grade;

o 	reenlistments and extensions by race, sex, aptitude, and civilian
educational attainment;

o 	continuation rates for officers and enlisted personnel in each
component for recent years; and

o 	continuation rates for officers and enlisted personnel in each
component by year of service.

o 	AC retention rates are available via DMDC's Information Delivery
System, an on-line data warehouse. Persons wishing to access the data
warehouse must send a request to DMDC. Among the reports provided are
several that would assist in tracking retention, such as,

o 	active duty enlisted and officer continuation rates broken out by
service, gender, years of service, DOD occupational category, and race;

o  active duty separations; and

o  reserve and guard attrition and losses.

3A. Overview of Military Retention-Enlisted Retention Goals

           Table 33: AC Enlisted Retention in Fiscal Years 2000-2005

Fiscal year 2000 Fiscal year 2002 Fiscal year 2004 Fiscal year 2005 (thru
February, 2005)

Annual Annual Annual Mission

Percent Percent Percent Enlistment of goal of goal of goal Performance
Service category Goal Actual met Goal Actual met Goal Actual met Mission
Actual of mission Goal

First
term/initial 20,000 21,402 107 19,100 19,433 102 23,000 24,903 108 12,094
11,165 92% 26,935

Midcareer 23,700 24,118 102 22,700 23,074 102 20,292 21,120 104 10,378
9,991 96% 23,773

Army    Career    24,300 25,791 106 15,000 15,700   105    2,808 13,987   109    5,874 7,180   122%   13,454 
        First                                                                                         
     term/initial   *     30%    *   56%    59%   Exceeded  56%   54%    Short    53%   59%  Exceeded  53%   
      Midcareer     *     47%    *   73%    75%   Exceeded  70%   70%   Exceeded  69%   69%    Met     69%   
                                                                                             mission  
                    *            *                                                             Met           
Navy    Career            57%        90%    87%    Short    85%   87%   Exceeded  85%   85%  mission   85%

Marine Corps

         First                                                                                      
      term/initial 5,791 5,846  101  5,900 6,050    10    5,974 6,011   101    2,972 4,953 Exceeded 5,944 
        Subsequent   *    63%    *   5,784 7,258   125    5,628 7,729   137    2,540 3,072 Exceeded 5,079 
         First                                                                                      
      term/initial  55%   53%  Short  55%   72%  Exceeded  55%   63%  Exceeded  55%   55%    Met     55%  
                                                                                           mission  
 Air   Midcareer    75%   70%  Short  75%   78%  Exceeded  75%   70%   Short    75%   59%   Short    75%  
Force    Career     95%   91%  Short  95%  95%a   Short    95%   97%  Exceeded  95%   94%   Short     95% 

Sources: Fiscal year 2000, 2002, and 2004 data from GAO 05-419T. Data for
fiscal year 2005 in April 2005 testimony by the Under Secretary of Defense
for Personnel and Readiness before the Senate Armed Services Personnel
Subcommittee.

aThe actual percentage achieved was 94.6, resulting in the component being
slightly short of its goal of 95%.

o 	Table 33 shows that for the active components in fiscal years 2000,
2002, and 2004:

o 	the Army and Marine Corps met or exceeded their overall retention goals
in each of the 3 years for each category of enlisted personnel;

o 	the Navy met its retention goals except for career personnel in fiscal
year 2002 and first term/initial enlisted personnel in fiscal year 2004;
and

o 	the Air Force missed its retention goals for: all categories of
enlisted personnel in fiscal year 2000, career personnel in fiscal year
2002, and midcareer personnel in fiscal year 2004.

o 	Although DOD expects to meet its fiscal year 2005 active duty retention
goals, the Office of Military Personnel Policy provided an information
paper dated December 2004 acknowledging that retention may suffer because
of an improving civilian labor market and high operational tempo.

o 	An ongoing GAO effort is examining in greater detail the degree to
which components have met their overall retention goals, met their
retention goals for hard-to-fill critical occupations, and the steps taken
to achieve their retention goals.

3B. Active Component- Continuation Rates

Table 34: AC Continuation Rates for Each Service in Fiscal Years 2000, 2002, and
                                      2004

AC continuation rate (percent)

Enlisted personnel Warrant Officers Commissioned officers

Fiscal Fiscal Fiscal Fiscal Fiscal Fiscal year Fiscal Fiscal year year
Fiscal Service year 2000 year 2002 year 2004 year 2000 2002 year 2004 2000
2002 year 2004

Army 83 85 82 9193 92 9093

Navy 85 89 86 8592 88 9093

Marine Corps 83 83 83 91 91 90 91 93

Air Force 87 91 90 N/A N/A N/A 90 94

Total 85 87 86 9093 92 9093

Legend: N/A=Not applicable because the Air Force does not have any warrant
officers. Source: DOD.

o 	Table 34 shows that, across the 3 examined years, the overall
continuation rates for each type of servicemember remained flat, varying
by 3 percentage points or less.

o 	In general, continuation rates for enlisted personnel were lower than
those for warrant and commissioned officers.

o 	In fiscal years 2002 and 2004, Air Force enlisted personnel had higher
continuation rates than enlisted personnel from other services.

 AC continuation rate (percent) Type of AC subgroup Enlisted personnel Officers

    Table 35: AC Continuation Rates for Race and Gender Subgroups in Fiscal
                           Years 2000, 2002, and 2004
  Fiscal Fiscal Fiscal Fiscal Fiscal Fiscal   2000 2002 2004 2000 2002  Years                     service 2 90 90 91 98 99 98  3 84 87 86 95 96   4 60 68 65 85 88   5 81 84 78 85 90   6 83 86 85 88 93   10 84 90 89 87 93   20 50 64 55 76 80  Race White 84 86 85 90 93   African  86 88 86 92 94   Other/Multiracial 86 87 88 91 94   Unknown 77 88 84 90 94  Gender Male 85 87 85 90 94                         
    year  year   year   year   year    year                              of   1 87 88 89 99 99 98                                                                                                                                                                             American                                                                                                          Female 83 86 83 90 92 

Source: DOD.

o 	Table 35 shows that for the period examined, continuation rates were
generally highest in the first and second years of service for both
officers and enlisted personnel. Enlisted continuation peaked again at 10
years of service, ranging between 84 and 90 percent in the years examined.

o 	In general, the continuation rates between most racial subgroups were
within 3 percentage points of each other in each of the years examined.

o 	The continuation rates for female enlisted personnel and officers were
no more than 2 percentage points lower than the rates for their male peers
in each year examined.

3B. Active Component- Enlisted Continuation Rates

Table 36: AC Enlisted Continuation Rates for DOD Occupational Codes in
Fiscal Years 2000, 2002, and 2004

AC enlisted continuation rate (percent) Fiscal year Fiscal year

DOD enlisted occupational codes and areas

                                      2000

Fiscal year 2002

                    0 Infantry, gun crews, & seamanship     82             84 
                       1 Electronic equipment repairers     85             87 
                        2 Communications & intelligence     84             87 
                                            specialists            
                              3 Health care specialists     85             88 
                 4 Other technical & allied specialists     85             88 
                  5 Functional support & administration     86             88 
                    6 Electrical & mechanical equipment     85             88 
                                              repairers            
                                        7 Craftsworkers     84             88 
                            8 Service & supply handlers     83             85 
                                      9 Nonoccupational     85             86 

Source: DOD.
Note: The nonoccupational area includes patients, students, and those with
unassigned duties,

o 	Among AC enlisted personnel, continuation rates between DOD
occupational areas differed by 5 percentage points or less in each year
examined (see table 36).

o 	The rates for enlisted personnel in the following DOD occupational
areas increased by at least 3 percentage points from fiscal year 2000 to
fiscal year 2002:

o  health care specialists,  o  other technical and allied specialists,

o  electrical and mechanical equipment repairers, and

o  craftsworkers.

3B. Active Component-
Officer Continuation Rates Years 2000, 2002, and 2004

AC officer continuation rates (percent)

DOD officer occupational codes and Fiscal year Fiscal year Fiscal year
areas 2000 2002

                  1 General officers & executives N.E.C.     83            86 
                          2 Tactical operations officers     90            94 
                                 3 Intelligence officers     90            94 
                  4 Engineering and maintenance officers     90            93 
                            5 Scientists & professionals     90            93 
                                  6 Health care officers     89            92 
                                        7 Administrators     91            93 
                8 Supply, procurement, & allied officers     90            93 
                                       9 Nonoccupational     97            98 

Legend: N/A = Not applicable, N.E.C. = Not elsewhere classified. Source:
DOD.

Notes: The nonoccupational area includes patients, students, and those
with unassigned duties.

o 	Table 37 shows that in each year examined, servicemembers in the
general officers and executives DOD occupational area had lower
continuation rates (82 to 86 percent) than officers in other DOD
occupational areas (90 to 98 percent).

o 	The rates for officers in the following DOD occupational categories
increased by at least 3 percentage points from fiscal year 2000 to fiscal
year 2002:

o  general officers and executives,

o  tactical operations officers,

o  intelligence officers,

o  engineering and maintenance officers,

o  scientists and professionals,

o  health care officers, and

o  supply, procurement, and allied officers.

3C. Reserve Component- Continuation Rates

 Table 38: Continuation Rates for RC Servicemembers in Fiscal Years 2000, 2002,
                  and the Fourth Quarter of Fiscal Year 2004a

RC continuation rate (percent)

                          Enlisted personnel Officers

                          Fiscal  Fiscal   Fiscal year Fiscal Fiscal   Fiscal 
                                                                         year 
Type of RC subgroup year 2000 year 2002  2004 (4th   year    year     (4th 
                                            quarter)    2000    2002 quarter) 
     Component Army           78        80          82     83     87 
         Reserve                                                     
Army National Guard        83        83          85     91     92 
      Navy Reserve            80        81          80     87     85 
          Marine Corps        78        80          79     82     83 
               Reserve                                               
    Air Force Reserve         89        93          89     91     92 
Air National Guard         90        94          91     92     94 
          Total               83        85          85     88     89 

Source: Official Guard & Reserve Manpower Strengths & Statistics: FY 2004.

aThe Official Guard & Reserve Manpower Strengths & Statistics: FY 2004
contains data for each quarter in 2004 and does not present data for all
of fiscal year 2004.

o 	In the three time periods examined, total RC enlisted continuation
rates were 83 percent or 85 percent; total RC officers' continuation rates
were 88 percent or 89 percent (see table 38).

o 	In fiscal years 2002 and the fourth quarter of 2004, continuation rates
for servicemembers in the Air National Guard were higher than those for
servicemembers in the other reserve components.

RC continuation rate (percent)

Table 39: Continuation Rates for RC Servicemembers by Years of Service in
          Fiscal Years 2002 and the Fourth Quarter of Fiscal Year 2004
                                   2002       2002                                                                                     
      Enlisted  Officers service   2004       2004 1 82 93 2 84 89 3 84 89 4 82 89 5 68 86 6 74 89 10 85 90 15 94 94 20 88 88          
Years personnel                    (4TH       (4TH   85 94   89 92   88 90   87 92   73 88   77 89    85 90    93 95    84 87    86 87
of                            quarter) quarter)                                                                            25 83 86

Source: Official Guard & Reserve Manpower Strengths & Statistics: FY 2004.

o 	Table 39 shows that, for RC enlisted personnel in 2002 and the fourth
quarter of 2004, continuation rates were generally high at 1 to 3 years of
service (82 to 89 percent). Rates were even higher at 15 years of service
(93 to 94 percent).

o 	Continuation rates among officers were higher at 15 years of service
(94 and 95 percent) than at other years of service examined.

Casualties

Additional Question and Summary of Approach

What are the Characteristics of Servicemembers Who Died or Were Wounded in
Combat in Iraq and Afghanistan in Support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and
Enduring Freedom?

DOD provided GAO with data on characteristics of servicemembers who died
or were wounded while serving in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi
Freedom as of May 28, 2005. For each person listed as a casualty, the data
included the operation in which the casualty occurred, type of casualty,
service and component, pay grade, race/ethnicity, and gender. For
reservists, the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Accession Policy
also used the home-of-record zip code and the previously cited marketing
software to (1) determine the population density (town/rural, suburban, or
urban) of the servicemember's community and (2) estimate the average
socioeconomic level of the servicemember's community because DOD does not
have a record of socioeconomic level for each individual servicemember's
family. Similar population density and socioeconomic level analyses were
not conducted on active duty personnel because the findings would have
largely been influenced by the clustering of AC servicemembers in the
immediate vicinity of a limited number of military installations. Also,
some AC servicemembers' home of record may reflect their current address,
whereas others might not have changed their home of record from where they
lived years earlier.

                              Summary of Findings

Historical overview of As of May 28, 2005, the number of deaths from the
two examined

deaths	operations were almost five times those sustained during the first
Persian Gulf War but were a fraction of the deaths sustained during the
Vietnam Conflict and Korean War.

Deaths	As of May 28, 2005, 1,841 servicemembers died while serving in
Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. The majority of deaths
involved servicemembers who were active Army or Marine Corps, White,
junior enlisted, males, between the ranks of E1 to E4.

Wounded	As of May 28, 2005, a total of 12,658 servicemembers had been
wounded while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom.
Fortyseven percent of those wounded while serving in Operation Iraqi
Freedom and 23 percent of those wounded while serving in Operation
Enduring Freedom returned to duty within 72 hours. The majority of wounded
servicemembers were active Army or Marine Corps, White, junior enlisted,
males, between the ranks of E1 to E4.

Findings

Historical Overview of Deaths-Servicemember Deaths in Selected Current and
Past Military Operations and the Race/Ethnicity of Those Who Died

Servicemember deaths

Table 40: Number and Percent of Servicemembers in Racial/Ethnic Subgroups
          Who Died in Selected Military Operations as of May 28, 2005
    Operations      Freedom  Korean Vietnam  Persian         Racial/Ethnic # # # #       29,274 49,810 292      African  3,075 7,241 66              881 349 15                   Pacific  389 368 3                 Alaskan 104 226 3    Other/Multiple 2,853 204 3    Total                382       
         Iraqi          and     War Conflict    Gulf Freedom   subgroup    % % % % White   80     86    76 1296 American   8    12   17 191 Hispanic  2   1   4 183   Asian       Islander  1   1  1 65 American     Native  <1  <1  1 17  race/Unknown    8   <1  1 89 deaths 36,576 58,198 100 
                   Enduring                      War                                                                                                                American/                           Indian/                                                                 100    100       1,841

Sources: Data on active duty deaths for the Korean War, Vietnam Conflict,
and the Persian Gulf War (also known as Operations Desert Shield/Storm)
are from Washington Headquarters Service's Web site, web1.whs.osd.mil,
downloaded on April 1, 2005. Deaths during Operations Enduring and Iraqi
Freedom are a GAO analysis of DOD-provided data.

Note: Columns may not total 100 percent due to rounding.

o 	Table 40 shows that as of May 28, 2005, the combined deaths for
Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom were nearly five times the
number of deaths in the Persian Gulf War, but about 5 percent and 3
percent the number of deaths in the Korean War and Vietnam Conflict,
respectively.

o 	The two current operations that we reviewed had resulted in the deaths
of 1,841 servicemembers as of May 28, 2005.1

o  Operation Enduring Freedom resulted in 186 deaths.

o  Operation Iraqi Freedom resulted in 1,655 deaths.

o 	In previous large-scale military operations, 76 percent to 86 percent
of those who died were White. In comparison, proportionately fewer White
servicemembers have died in the two current operations.

o 	For Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, 70 percent of those
who died were White servicemembers.

o 	As points of comparison, the representation of Whites in the three
following reference populations are:

o 	67 percent of the combined AC and Selected Reserve as of December 31,
2004,

o  65 percent of the AC as of December 31, 2004, and

o  71 percent of the civilian workforce as of March 2004.

1Official DOD and Army websites indicate that the beginning dates for
Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom were October 7, 2001 and
March 19, 2003, respectively.

Deaths-Operation in Which the Death Occurred and the Circumstance of Death

Table 41: Operation and Circumstance of Death of the 1,841 Servicemembers
Who Died in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom as of May 28,
2005

       Percent of deaths in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom

Operation and circumstance of death Army Marine Corps Navy Air Force Total 
         Operation Iraqi Freedom         61           27  2           1 
                      Enduring Freedom    7            1  1           1 
    Circumstance of Killed in action     36           18  1           1    56 
          death Died of wounds           13            3  <1         <1    16 
                Accident                 13            5  <1          1 
                 Illness                  2           <1  <1         <1 
             Self-inflicted               2           <1  <1         <1 
                 Pending                  1           <1  <1         <1 
                  Other                   1           <1  <1         <1 

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data.

Notes: Operation Iraqi Freedom includes casualties in Iraq as well as in
other countries such as Germany. Operation Enduring Freedom includes
casualties in Afghanistan, the Philippines, Pakistan, Kuwait, Persian
Gulf, Guantanamo Bay, Djibouti, Uzbekistan, Arabian Sea, Qatar, and the
North Arabian Peninsula.

The totals for operation and circumstance of death may not sum to 100
percent due to rounding. To calculate row totals, we counted <1s as 0s.
Therefore, the actual row totals may differ from those in the table.

Table 41 provides information on the operation, service, and circumstance
of death for the 1,841 servicemembers who died in support of Operations
Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom as of May 28, 2005.

o 	Operation-Operation Iraqi Freedom accounted for about 91 percent
(1,655) of the deaths, and Operation Enduring Freedom accounted for 10
percent (186).

o  Circumstance of death

o 	Seventy-two percent of those who died were either killed in action (56
percent) or died as a result of wounds sustained during action (16
percent).

o 	An additional 19 percent of those who died in either of the two
operations did so as the result of accidents.

o  The 1 percent of deaths in the "Other" category included:

o  nine servicemembers who died while missing or captive,

o  eight homicides, and

o  four undetermined deaths.

o 	Service-The Army and Marine Corps sustained almost all of the deaths in
Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

o  The Army accounted for 68 percent of the deaths.

o  The Marine Corps accounted for 28 percent of the deaths.

Deaths-Demographic Characteristics of Servicemembers who Died

Percent of deaths in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom Percent
in AC

Table 42: Representation of Selected Demographic Subgroups Among the 1,841
    Servicemembers Who Died in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom
                               as of May 28, 2005
                                                                                                                  Pay                                                                                                                                               Asian                   American                                                                                       Age             
  Marine         and   Demographic   Army Corps Navy  Air  Total Reserve Component 46 24 2 2 74  RC 22 3 1 0 26  grade 39 21 1 0 61  E5-E9 22 4 1 1 28  Officers 8 2 <1 <1 10  Race/Ethnicity 47 21 2 1 71  African  8 1 <1 <1 9  Hispanic 7 3 <1 <1 10  American/Pacific 2 1 <1 0 3  Indian/Alaskan <1 <1 0 <1 1  Multiple/Unknown 3 2 <1 <1 5  Gender 66 28 3 2 99  Female 2 <1 <1 <1 2   19  4 46 0 0 7 
            Selected characteristics                 Force                  AC                                   E1-E4                                                             White                    American                                             Islander                     Native                                              Male                                      or             
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           less            

       20-24             28    16         1         0        45            29 
       25-34             25     7         1         1        34            33 
       35-44             10     1         1         1        13            23 
        45+               2     0        <1        <1         2             8 

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data. Percentages in the right column
labeled "Percent in AC and Selected Reserve" are as of December 31, 2004.

Notes: Operation Iraqi Freedom includes casualties in Iraq as well as in
other countries such as Germany. Operation Enduring Freedom includes
casualties in Afghanistan, the Philippines, Pakistan, Kuwait, Persian
Gulf, Guantanamo Bay, Djibouti, Uzbekistan, Arabian Sea, Qatar, and the
North Arabian Peninsula. The totals for demographic characteristics may
not sum to 100 percent due to rounding. To calculate row totals, we
counted <1s as 0s. Therefore, the actual row totals may differ from those
in the table.

o 	Component-The AC represented 63 percent of the combined AC and Selected
Reserve force that we examined earlier in this report, but it sustained 74
percent of the deaths (see table 42).

o  Pay grade

o 	The death rate for junior enlisted personnel was 19 percentage points
higher than their representation in the combined AC and Selected Reserve
on December 31, 2004.

o 	The death rates for both senior enlisted personnel and officers were
lower than their representation in the force.

o  Race/ethnicity

o 	Whites constituted 67 percent of the AC and Selected Reserve on
December 31, 2004, but sustained proportionately more (71 percent) of the
deaths resulting from Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

o 	In contrast, African Americans were 17 percent of the described force,
and 9 percent of those killed in the two operations.

o 	For the other four racial/ethnic subgroups, all of the comparisons of
the force-to-death rates were within 2 percentage points.

o 	Gender-Males constituted 85 percent of the examined force while
sustaining 99 percent of the deaths.

Deaths-Population Density and Estimated Socioeconomic Status for
Reservists

Table 43: Community Population Density and Estimated Socioeconomic Status
of the 482 Reservists Who Died in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring
Freedom as of May 28, 2005

Percent of deaths in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom

                                                  Marine                
       Characteristics derived from home     Army Corps  Navy Air Force Total 
              community zip code                                        
       Population density of home Urban        26      4    0         0    30 
              community Suburban               12      4    2    <1        18 
                  Town/rural                   48      3    0         1 
         Estimated socioeconomic High           9      3    0         1 
                 status Medium                 50      6    2    <1     
                      Low                      27      2    0         0 

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data.

Notes: Ninety-eight servicemembers whose zip-codes were unknown are not
included in these analyses. Operation Iraqi Freedom includes casualties in
Iraq as well as in other countries such as Germany. Operation Enduring
Freedom includes casualties in Afghanistan, the Philippines, Pakistan,
Kuwait, Persian Gulf, Guantanamo Bay, Djibouti, Uzbekistan, Arabian Sea,
Qatar, and the North Arabian Peninsula. The totals for characteristics
derived from home community zip code may not sum to 100 percent due to
rounding. To calculate row totals, we counted <1s as 0s. Therefore, the
actual row totals may be higher than those in the table.

Table 43 provides the population density and estimated socioeconomic
status on the 482 reservists who died in Operations Iraqi Freedom and
Enduring Freedom as of May 28, 2005.2

o 	The reservists who died were more likely to come from town/rural and
urban areas and less likely to come from areas that DOD has identified as
suburban (based on the reservists' zip codes).

2A GAO analysis of the DOD-provided data identified 482 servicemembers who
died as reservists.

o 	Nearly one of every three (30 percent) came from the 14 percent of
communities with the highest population density and were labeled as urban
by DOD.

o 	Over half (52 percent) of deceased reservists came from the 40 percent
of communities with the lowest population density by DOD.

o 	In contrast, 18 percent of the deceased reservists were from the 46
percent of communities that were labeled as suburban by DOD.

o 	Almost 6 of 10 (58 percent) deceased reservists came from communities
that DOD-through use of commercial marketing software and zip
codes-classified as being of medium socioeconomic status.3

o 	Because of the previously discussed limitations with using zip codes
and community-based characteristics to estimate individuals' actual
socioeconomic status, these findings (and later similar findings on
wounded servicemembers) need to be viewed with caution.

3The marketing software used by DOD assigns socioeconomic status to
communities based upon economic and social information from federal and
commercial databases. The software partitions the U.S. into market
segments with unique socioeconomic characteristics.

Wounded-Operation in which Servicemembers Were Wounded and Analysis of the
Wounded by Service

Table 44: Operation for the 12,658 Servicemembers Who Were Wounded in
Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom as of May 28, 2005

      Percent of wounded in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom

           Operation           Army  Marine Corps   Navy   Air Force    Total 
    Operation Iraqi Freedom      63             31   2              1 
            Enduring Freedom      3             <1   <1       <1      
    Wounded while in action      65             31   2              2 

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data.

Notes: Operation Iraqi Freedom includes casualties in Iraq as well as in
other countries such as Germany. Operation Enduring Freedom includes
casualties in Afghanistan, the Philippines, Pakistan, Kuwait, Persian
Gulf, Guantanamo Bay, Djibouti, Uzbekistan, Arabian Sea, Qatar, and the
North Arabian Peninsula. The totals for operation may not sum to 100
percent due to rounding. To calculate row totals, we counted <1s as 0s.
Therefore, the actual row totals may be higher than those in the table.

Table 44 provides the operation and service of the 12,658 servicemembers
who were wounded in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring
Freedom as of May 28, 2005.

o 	Operation-97 percent of the wounded servicemembers received their
wounds in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and 3 percent received theirs in
Operation Enduring Freedom.

o 	Wounded while in action-The Army sustained nearly two-thirds (65
percent) of the wounded personnel in the two operations, and Marines
accounted for most (31 percent) of the remaining wounded servicemembers.
As we showed earlier when answering question 1:

o 	the Army represents almost half (46 percent) of the combined AC and
Selected Reserve examined, and

o 	the Marine Corps represents about 10 percent of all examined
servicemembers.

o 	Forty-seven percent (5,723 servicemembers) of those wounded while
serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom returned to duty within 72 hours.

o 	Twenty-three percent (108 servicemembers) of those wounded while
serving in Operation Enduring Freedom returned to duty within 72 hours.

Wounded-Demographic Characteristics of Servicemembers Who Were Wounded

Percent of wounded in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom
Percent in AC

      Table 45: Representation of Selected Demographic Subgroups Among the
     12,658 Servicemembers Who Were Wounded in Operations Iraqi Freedom and
                      Enduring Freedom as of May 28, 2005
                                               Navy                                                      Pay                                                                                                                        Asian           American                                                                             Age             
  Marine        and   Demographic   Army Corps  Air  Total Reserve Component 45 27 2 75  RC 21 3 <1 24  grade 39 24 1 65  E5-E9 22 5 1 29  Officers 5 2 <1 7  Race/ethnicity 46 22 1 70  African  7 1 <1 8  Hispanic 7 4 <1 11  American/ 2 1 <1 3   Indian/ 1 <1 <1 1  Multiple/unknown <1 2 <1 2  Gender 63 29 2 95  Female 2 <1  0 2   19  4 10 <1 14 
           Selected characteristics            Force                  AC           1             <1     E1-E4       1                1                  <1        White            1     American     <1                 <1       Pacific     <1     Alaskan      0                           <1     Male        1                 <1     or       <1    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Islander             Native                                                                             less            

       20-24             28    14         1        <1        43            29 
       25-34             24     6         1         1        32            33 
       35-44              8     1        <1        <1         9            23 
        45+               1    <1        <1        <1         1             8 

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data. Percentages in the right column
labeled "Percent in AC and Selected Reserve" are as of December 31, 2004.

Notes: Gender-179 Marine Corps servicemembers whose gender was reported as
"unknown" or "not captured" in DOD reports were added to the male gender
subgroup. Age-1065 servicemembers were of unknown age. The totals for
demographic characteristics may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding. To
calculate row totals, we counted <1s as 0s. Therefore, the actual row
totals may be higher than those in the table.

o 	Component-Three-fourths of the wounded servicemembers were from the AC,
and 24 percent were from the RC (see table 45). In comparison, the AC was
almost two-thirds (63 percent) and the RC was about onethird (37 percent)
of the combined AC and Selected Reserve as of December 31, 2004.

o 	Pay grade-Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of wounded servicemembers were
junior enlisted personnel in pay grades E4 and below. As we showed
earlier, junior enlisted comprise 42 percent of the examined AC and RC.

o 	Race/Ethnicity-The representation of Whites and African Americans among
those wounded is different from their representation among the 2.2 million
AC and Selected Reserve servicemembers in the military as of December 31,
2004.

o 	The representation of Whites among the wounded (70 percent) was 3
percentage points higher than their representation in the examined force
(67 percent).

o 	In contrast, the representation of African Americans among the wounded
was 9 percentage points less than their 17 percent representation in the
force.

o 	For each of the other four racial/ethnic subgroups, their percentage
for wounded and their representation in the force were within 2
percentages of one another.

o 	Gender-Males constituted 95 percent of the wounded, but they were 85
percent of the examined force.

Wounded-Population Density and Estimated Socioeconomic Status for
Reservists

Table 46: Community Population Density and Estimated Socioeconomic Status
of the 3,197 Reservists Who Were Wounded in Operations Iraqi Freedom and
Enduring Freedom as of May 28, 2005

      Percent of wounded in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom

Characteristics derived from home community zip code Army Marine Corps Navy Air
                                  Force Total

      Population density of          Urban        26      3      <1      <1   
          home community           Suburban       15      2       1      <1   
                                  Town/rural      47      3      <1      1    
     Estimated socioeconomic         High             9   1       0      <1   
              status                Medium        51      5       2      1    
                                      Low         28      2      <1      <1   

Source: GAO analysis of DOD-provided data.

Note: Four hundred and sixty servicemembers whose zip codes were unknown
are not included in this analysis. The totals for characteristics derived
from home community zip code may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding.
To calculate row totals, we counted <1s as 0s. Therefore, the actual row
totals may be higher than those in the table.

o 	Table 46 shows that of the 3,197 reservists who were wounded in
Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom as of May 28, 2005,4

o 	29 percent were from the 14 percent of communities with the highest
population density and which were labeled as urban by DOD, and

o 	over half (51 percent) were from the 40 percent of communities that had
the lowest population density and were labeled as town/rural by DOD.

o 	The majority (59 percent) of wounded reservists came from communities
that DOD-through the use of commercial marketing

4A GAO analysis of the DOD-provided data identified 3,197 wounded
servicemembers as reservists.

software and zip codes-classified as being of medium socioeconomic status.

o 	Ten percent of wounded reservists came from communities DOD identified
as being of high socioeconomic status, while

o 	Thirty percent of wounded reservists came from communities DOD
characterized as being of low socioeconomic status.

Conclusions

Eight years after the announcement and 2 1/2 years beyond the required
date, DOD and the components are still in the process of implementing the
Office of Management and Budget's 1997 guidance on gathering and reporting
racial and ethnic subgroup membership. Consequently, at this time,
comparing the distribution of race and ethnicity in the military to that
of the U.S. population yields an imprecise estimate of the extent to which
the military reflects the larger society on these demographic
characteristics. In addition, because the components have taken different
approaches to updating servicemember records, the extent to which direct
comparisons of race and ethnicity across the components yield reliable and
accurate results is unclear at this time. DOD's reporting on the
percentage of Hispanics is particularly problematic. The 1997 guidance on
how federal agencies should collect and report racial and ethnic data
enabled individuals to indicate whether or not they are Hispanic
separately from their racial group. In contrast, the prior procedures for
data gathering and reporting did not allow an individual to report that
she or he was both Hispanic and a member of a racial subgroup. As a result
of failing to use the revised procedures that require separate tabulations
of racial and ethnic subgroup membership, DOD's internal reports may
introduce uncertainty about membership in racial subgroups since anyone
identified as Hispanic was not also included in a racial subgroup.
Additionally, because DOD's internal reports assign all servicemembers of
Hispanic ethnicity to one racial subgroup irrespective of the race to
which they actually belong, DOD's data tabulation and recoding of race and
ethnicity may undercount the number of racial minorities in the military.

Although there is congressional and public interest in the socioeconomic
status of the households and the types of communities from which recruits
are drawn, DOD has not routinely reported such information in recent
years. Without current information on the socioeconomic status of
servicemembers, DOD cannot accurately and reliably respond to concerns
that particular socioeconomic subgroups are underrepresented among those
serving in the military. We listed problems associated with the measure
DOD recently used to identify socioeconomic status for the analyses
included in this report. The challenges associated with the former and
current measurements of socioeconomic status might suggest that there is
still a need for accurate information on this demographic characteristic.
In contrast, DOD's use of zip codes may provide an adequate measure of the
population density (for example, rural, urban, and suburban) of recruits'
home of record once DOD has had more of an opportunity to explore the
strengths and weaknesses of the commercial marketing software used in the
analyses and the types of information that

DOD gathers on recruits. DOD's prompt efforts to fill the void of
information on recruits' communities were responsive to the needs of
Congress and the public for this type of information, but longer term use
of analyses of this type could identify problems that were not detected in
this initial set of analyses. Without ongoing research on recruits'
socioeconomic status and communities, DOD will not be able to promptly and
accurately inform Congress and the public about how representation in the
services matches that of the applicable U.S. population.

Continuation rates for Active Component servicemembers are available from
a Defense Manpower Data Center Web site to individuals who have been
granted access by DOD, but active duty continuation rates are not
routinely published. As a result, Congress and interested members of the
public may not be fully aware of the large percentage of personnel that
the services retain each year. Also, the current high operational tempo of
both active duty and reserve component servicemembers has raised concerns
about the extent to which servicemembers, particularly reservists, will
continue their military service in the future. Without better access to
this type of data and the ability to identify and monitor changes in
retention, Congress may not have the information it needs to (1) provide
oversight of DOD and (2) address retention issues whenever they may begin
to emerge. Also, failure to make the ongoing retention findings more
accessible may require other specialized efforts or studies to obtain that
information.

                      Recommendations for Executive Action

To improve the ability of the public, department, and Congress to identify
and monitor demographic changes in the race, ethnicity, socioeconomic
status, and community population density of servicemembers in the
All-Volunteer Force and to enhance Congress's ability to perform its
oversight functions, we recommend that the Secretary of Defense direct the
Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to take the
following four actions:

o 	Gather and report data on racial and ethnic subgroup membership in a
manner that is consistent with the required procedures set forth by the
Office of Management and Budget in 1997. In addition to requiring that
recruits provide their racial and ethnic subgroup membership using revised
categories and procedures, DOD should also determine procedures that could
be used for updating the information on servicemembers who previously
provided their racial and ethnic subgroup membership with different
subgroup categories and questions.

o 	Conduct research to determine a feasible process for assessing the
socioeconomic status of recruits, implement that process, and periodically
include findings on the socioeconomic status of recruits' households in
annual reports on servicemembers in the active and reserve components.

o 	Conduct research to determine a feasible process for assessing the type
of community (for example, rural, suburban, and urban) from which recruits
were drawn and periodically include a measure of population density in the
annual reports that describe the demographic characteristics of recruits
in the active and reserve components.

o 	Include continuation rates on active and reserve component personnel in
DOD's annual demographic reports. Implementation of the recommendation
could use findings from the analyses that the Defense Manpower Data Center
already conducts for the department.

                       Agency Comments and Our Evaluation

In commenting on a draft of this report, DOD concurred with our four
recommendations and indicated the department is currently working with the
Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) to determine how best to capture the
data recommended in our report. DOD further indicated that the
coordination will continue until a viable methodology is established and
data are reported. DOD pointed out, and we agree, that measures of
recruits' socioeconomic status and community population density are
unlikely to significantly change from one year to the next and that such
measures need not be published every year. We have revised our second and
third recommendations to reflect this. DOD's comments are reprinted in
their entirety in appendix V.

Appendix I

Scope and Methodology

To compare the demographic characteristics of servicemembers in the active
components or in the Selected Reserve to those of similarly aged and
educated civilians in the U.S. workforce, we began by reviewing applicable
laws, such as the National Defense Authorization Acts of fiscal years
1992, 1993, and 1994, which enabled women to be permanently assigned to
combat aircraft and combatant ships; Executive Order 13269 which shortened
the time noncitizens must wait before receiving citizenship, and United
States Code Title 10 Section 520 which established enlistment aptitude
standards. We reviewed Department of Defense-wide and servicespecific
policies such as DOD Instruction 1336.5, Automated Extract of Active Duty
Military Personnel Records; DOD Instruction 7730.54, Reserve Components
Common Personnel Data System; and DOD Directive 1205.17, Official National
Guard and Reserve Component Personnel Data. We also reviewed U.S. Census
Bureau technical reports such as the Current Population Survey Technical
Paper 63RV: Design and Methodology. We visited or conducted telephone
interviews with DOD and service officials from the following offices:
Office of the Secretary of Defense (Reserve Affairs); Defense Manpower
Data Center (both East and West-coast offices); Office of the Deputy Under
Secretary of Defense (Equal Opportunity); Office of Army Demographics;
U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences; and
the Office of Naval Personnel, Research, Studies and Technology. We also
visited or conducted telephone interviews with experts from academic and
private-sector organizations conducting military personnel research
including the Center for Naval Analyses, Center for Research on Military
Organization at the University of Maryland, and RAND. We obtained and
analyzed data extracted by the Defense Manpower Data Center from the
Active Duty Master Personnel File and the Reserve Components Common
Personnel Data System. These extracts contained selected variables on the
over 2.2 million active duty and Selected Reservists in the military on
December 31, 2004. We limited our analyses of reservists to only those in
the Selected Reserve (see app. III for more information on reserve
personnel categories) because we wanted to compare our findings to those
contained in DOD's annual Population Representation in the Military
Services.1 We also compared the results of our analyses of servicemembers
to those published in the December 2004 Defense Manpower Data Center
(DMDC) EO 3035 report. To identify the demographic characteristics of
comparable civilian personnel, we analyzed data from the Annual Social and
Economic Supplement of the Current

1The report can be accessed at the home page for the Office of the
Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at
http://www.dod.mil/prhome/poprep2003.

Population Survey on employed civilians who were 18-49 years of age and
possessed at least a high school diploma or equivalent. We determined that
this subset of the United States population is comparable to AC and
Selected Reserve personnel because the majority of servicemembers are in
this age range, have a high school diploma or equivalent certification,
and, by nature of their military affiliation, receive some type of
compensation in exchange for their service. This subsetting resulted in
64,414 survey respondents (representing 87,411,786 Americans or almost a
third of the total U.S. population2) being included in our civilian
analyses. We did not use data from the 2000 decennial census for these and
other analyses in this report because we determined that the cost and time
required to procure the special analyses we needed would negatively affect
our ability to produce a timely report.

To assess the extent to which the services met their recruitment goals and
the factors that influence an individual's decision to join or not join
the military, we examined applicable federal statutes such as Section 520
of Title 10 United States Code and reviewed DOD and service-specific
policies on the qualification standards for enlistment such as DOD
Directive 1304.26, Qualification Standards for Enlistment, Appointment,
and Induction, and DOD Instruction 6130.4, Medical Standards for
Appointment, Enlistment, or Induction in the Armed Forces. We also
examined DOD policy on reenlistment incentives and contacted, visited,
conducted telephone interviews, or collected studies on recruiting, the
youth population, and related issues from the following offices:
Department of Defense Joint Advertising, Market Research and Studies;
Office of the Secretary of Defense for Accession Policy; Office of the
Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs (Manpower and Personnel); U.S.
Military Entrance Processing Command; U.S. Army Accessions Command; Office
of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Human Resources; U.S.
Army Personnel Command; Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for
Manpower and Reserve Affairs; Navy Recruiting Command, Marine Corps
Recruiting Command; Marine Corps Office of Equal Opportunity; Air Force
Education and Training Command; Air Force Personnel Center; Air Force
Reserve Personnel Directorate, Air Force Office of Testing Policy and
Research Integration; Centers for Naval Analysis; RAND; and the Center for
Research on Military Organization at the University of Maryland. We
obtained information on DOD's expenditures on enlistment incentives from
the Office of the Secretary of

2Based on a total U.S. population size of 281,421,906, as determined by
the 2000 census.

Defense (Compensation). We accessed and evaluated data from DMDC's
Information Delivery System (DOD's data warehouse) and Defense Market
Research Executive Notes. We obtained the results of a study jointly
performed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Accession Policy) and
the Center for Army Accessions on the socioeconomic status and community
population density of over 1 million active and reserve component
recruits. We evaluated whether or not there has been a change in the
extent to which members of racial/ethnic subgroups are entering the
military by analyzing the race and ethnicity of almost 540,000 active duty
servicemembers with 1 year or less of military service in fiscal years
2000, 2002, and 2004.

To identify the demographic characteristics of servicemembers who remained
in the military and address our third objective, we reviewed DOD retention
and recruiting announcements, examined data on the services' retention
goals and achievements for AC enlistment retention for each fiscal year
from 2000 through February 2005, and collected previously published
research by RAND, the Centers for Naval Analysis, and the Center for
Research on Military Organization at the University of Maryland. We
interviewed an official from the Officer and Enlisted Personnel Management
Directorate in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and discussed
retention with subject matter experts at RAND and the Center for Research
on Military Organization at the University of Maryland. We accessed DOD's
Information Delivery System and obtained the continuation rates for AC
servicemembers and we extracted RC continuation rates from Official Guard
& Reserve Manpower Strengths & Statistics: Fiscal Year 2004 Summary.

To identify the demographic characteristics of servicemembers who died or
were wounded in combat in Iraq or Afghanistan in support of Operations
Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom, we requested that DOD's Washington
Headquarters Services provide information on each applicable
servicemember. That office developed a file that combined casualty data
obtained from Central Command with demographic data appended to each
servicemember's record by DMDC, using files that we had previously
assessed for data reliability. The data reflect casualties as of May 28,
2005. To identify reservists' socioeconomic status and their community's
population density we extracted the zip codes of reservists' homes of
record and requested that the Office of Secretary of Defense (Accession
Policy) analyze them using PRIZM,(R) commercial marketing software by
Claritas, Inc. which assigns zip-codes to 1 of 64 market segments based

upon economic and social data from the Bureau of the Census and other
sources.

We determined that the data used in the preparation of this report were
sufficiently reliable to answer our objectives. For example, we
interviewed personnel knowledgeable about the data sources we used,
inquiring about their methods for ensuring that the data were accurate. We
reviewed available data for inconsistencies and, when applicable,
performed computer testing to assess data validity and reliability. Among
other things, appendix II describes the primary databases from which we
obtained data extracts.

We conducted our review between August 2004 and July 2005 in accordance
with generally accepted government auditing standards.

Appendix II

Analytic Issues

Datasets Used in 	Data on servicemembers were primarily taken from two
military databases and one monthly report. Data on civilians were
primarily taken from a

Analyses large-scale civilian survey.

Active Duty Military Personnel Master File

The Active Duty Military Personnel Master File is Department of Defense's
(DOD) centralized database of all individuals on active duty in the Army,
Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force.1 We used extracts that DOD provided
from this file as the basis for all of our analyses of Active Component
(AC) personnel. The file is maintained by the Defense Manpower Data Center
(DMDC) which updates it monthly based upon information submitted from each
of the services. The file contains information on personal characteristics
such as name, social security number, date of birth, gender, race, ethnic
group, and education, as well as information on military characteristics
such as service, pay grade, months of service, and duty occupation. Data
are available on active duty servicemembers back to 1971. The Active Duty
Military Personnel Master File is also one source of information for
demographic reports available through DOD's Information Delivery System on
active duty personnel.

Reserve Components Common Personnel Data System

The Reserve Components Common Personnel Data System is a centralized
database of current and past members of the Army National Guard, Army
Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air Force Reserve, and Air
National Guard, and is DOD's official source of reserve accession, loss,
and reenlistment information. The file was created in 1975 and is updated
monthly based upon submissions by the reserve components. It contains
information on reservists' personal characteristics such as name, social
security number, date of birth, gender, home address, and education, as
well as information on their military characteristics such as service,
reserve component, drilling status, prior service status, and date of
initial entry into the reserve forces. This is also one source of
information for demographic reports available through DOD's Information
Delivery System on reservists.

1It also contains data on active duty personnel in the Coast Guard, Public
Health Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
who were not included in these analyses.

Defense Manpower Data Center EO 3035 Monthly Report

Each month the Defense Manpower Data Center produces an EO 3035 report
which includes cross-tabulations of pay grade, gender, and race/ethnicity
for servicemembers in each active duty component, the AC, and the Coast
Guard. A separate, comparable report is compiled for the reserve
components. The findings contained in the EO 3035 reports are computed
using information from the active duty and reserve files described above.
As mentioned earlier in this report, the six racial/ethnic categories
tabulated are: White, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian
American/Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic, and Multiracial/Unknown. This
differs from the 1997 guidance from the Office of Management and Budget on
the separate reporting of race and ethnicity.

Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement

The Current Population Survey is a monthly survey conducted via personal
and telephone interviews by the Census Bureau. The survey, which is based
on the civilian noninstitutional population of the United States, contains
information such as age, education, gender, occupation, hours of work,
number of jobs held, duration of unemployment, part- or full-time status,
and earnings on about 112,000 persons living in almost 60,000 households.
In March, the Census Bureau fields the Annual Social and Economic
Supplement to provide additional labor force information on topics such as
work experience, income, and benefits. Data for employment and income
refer to the preceding year, although demographic data refer to the time
of the survey. Therefore, our analysis of the March 2004 Current
Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement reflects
respondents' employment status in 2003 and their personal characteristics
as of March 2004.

                               Tabulating Data on
                               Race and Ethnicity

Although the current guidelines require that executive agencies identify
new racial categories and separately report race and ethnicity, we decided
to continue using the former racial/ethnic categories in a combined format
because (1) data using the old racial/ethnic format were available on the
majority of servicemembers we examined and (2) some military components
are still transitioning to the new procedures.

To identify race/ethnicity in the DOD datasets, we first determined
whether or not an individual was Hispanic by assigning to the Hispanic
subgroup all servicemembers whose ethnic group on the DOD files was Cuban,
Latin American with Hispanic descent, Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Other
Hispanic descent. Next, we determined race by assigning servicemembers
belonging

to a single race group to one of the following subgroups: White, African
American, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and Asian (which includes
Pacific Islanders, Asian Americans, and Native Hawaiians). Servicemembers
for whom race was missing, unknown, or who had multiple races were
assigned to one "Other/Unknown" race/ethnic subgroup.2

The revision of standards on the collection and reporting of data on race
and ethnicity limits the ability to clearly discern changes in racial and
ethnic representation before and after the new guidance was implemented.
Additionally, because DOD components may be at differing stages of
compliance with the 1997 guidance, tabulations of race and ethnicity over
the next few years may reflect inconsistencies in the extent to which
various federal organizations, both within and outside of DOD, have
complied with the new directives. For these reasons, we decided to limit
our analyses of racial and ethnic trends to only one analysis-an
examination of AC servicemembers' continuation rates in fiscal years 2000,
2002, and 2004 by race and ethnicity.

DOD Used Zip Codes to Estimate Recruits' Socioeconomic Status and
Community Population Density

DOD last reported the results of analyses on recruits' socioeconomic
status in the Population Representation in the Military Services: Fiscal
Year 1999. At that time, the socioeconomic status of enlisted accessions
was estimated from information recruits provided on family status;
parental educational attainment, employment status, and occupation; and
home ownership. A commonly used socioeconomic index based upon parents'
education, income, and occupational prestige was also created and
analyzed.3

DOD has ceased routinely collecting this information from recruits and we
were told that one problem with attempting to measure the socioeconomic
status of youth's households is that young people may not know their
parents' income or other information needed to create a measure of
socioeconomic status. However, the March 2003 Status of Forces Survey of

2If we were able to determine that an individual belonged to more than one
race, we also assigned that individual to the "Other/Unknown"
racial/ethnic subgroup.

3The TSEI socioeconomic index is described in R.M. Hauser and J.R. Warren,
Socioeconomic Indexes for Occupations: A Review, Update, and Critique
(Madison, Wisc: Center for Demography and Ecology, October 1996).

Active Duty Members did ask active duty servicemembers to recall their
family structure and the education, employment status, and occupation of
their parents at the time they joined the military. Because of concerns
about the reliability of data based upon respondents' ability to recall
circumstances of years past, we elected not to analyze and report these
data.

To estimate recruits' socioeconomic status and the home community
population density in the absence of data supplied by recruits, military
researchers in the Office of Accession Policy and the Army's Center for
Accessions Research matched recruits' zip codes to public and private
databases containing economic and social information on all U.S. zip
codes. DOD used mean household income, as determined by Bureau of the
Census estimates, as the indicator of socioeconomic status. To indicate
the population density for recruits' home communities, DOD classified the
zip codes using two sets of definitions: (1) the Census Bureau's
definitions of rural and urban communities4 and (2) definitions of rural,
suburban, and urban communities used by commercial marketing software. 5

Using zip codes as the basis for estimates of socioeconomic status and
population density is admittedly flawed. The assumption that household
income is the main determinate of status ignores the fact that household
income may subject to temporary or seasonal fluctuations and that research
shows that education and occupation are more stable, reliable indicators
of socioeconomic status. Also, median household income may not be a
meaningful reflection of status for individuals from economically
stratified communities that are heavily populated by residents at either
end of the economic spectrum. Similarly, using zip code as an indicator of
community population density ignores the possibility that population
clusters may form within a particular community.

Rounding Error	We rounded percentages to whole numbers as follows. If the
tenth place (first place to the right of the decimal) equaled .4 or below,
we retained the

4The U.S. Census Bureau defines rural areas as open country and
settlements with fewer than 2,500 residents. Urban areas, of which there
are two types-urbanized areas and urban clusters-comprise larger places
and the densely settled areas around them.

5DOD used marketing software developed by Claritas Inc. to group zip codes
by population density.

original whole percentage. If the tenth place was .5 or above, we rounded
up to the next highest whole percentage. Percentages that were more than 0
and less than .4 were written as <1.

Appendix III

                       Structure of the Reserve Component

The Department of Defense has six reserve components: Army Reserve, Army
National Guard, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air Force Reserve, and
Air National Guard. Reserve forces can be divided into three categories:
Ready Reserve, Standby Reserve, and Retired Reserve. While the Army
Reserve, Navy Reserve, Air Force Reserve, and Marine Corps Reserve each
consist of all three types of reservists, the Army National Guard and Air
National Guard are composed solely of Ready Reserve personnel.

Ready Reserve 	The Ready Reserve consists of Reserve Component units,
individual reservists assigned to active component units, and individuals
subject to recall to active duty to augment the active forces in time of
war or national emergency. In fiscal year 2004, the Ready Reserve
contained 1,145,035 servicemembers, comprising about 98 percent of the
total reserve manpower. The Ready Reserve consists of three subgroups: the
Selected Reserve, the Individual Ready Reserve, and the Inactive National
Guard.

Selected Reserve	This group comprises about 74 percent of the total
reserve manpower and is composed of those units and individuals designated
by their respective services and approved by the Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff as so essential to initial wartime missions that they have
priority for training, equipment, and personnel over all other reserve
elements. The Selected Reserve, which contained 851,395 members in
September 2004, is divided into three categories:

Unit members

Unit members include both part-time drilling reservists and two types of
full-time unit support personnel: (1) Active Guard and Reserve personnel,
whose duty it is to organize, administer, recruit, or train Reserve
Component units and (2) Military technicians who are federal civilians
providing full-time support for units.

Individual Mobilization Augmentees

Individual Mobilization Augmentees are trained individuals assigned to an
active component.

Training pipeline

Reservists in the training pipeline are nondeployable personnel who have
not yet completed initial active duty for training or are professional
training.

Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) 	This group consists mainly of trained
individuals who have previously served in Active Component units or in the
Selected Reserve and who have a remaining military service obligation.
Members of the Individual Ready Reserve are liable for involuntary
mobilization to active duty for training or deployment. In fiscal year
2004, there were 284,201 reservists in this category.

Inactive National Guard	This group consists of National Guard personnel
who are attached to a specific unit but are temporarily unable to
participate in regular training. Currently, this category is used only by
the Army National Guard. In fiscal year 2004, there were 1,428 reservists
in this category.

Standby Reserve 	Personnel assigned to the Standby Reserve have completed
all obligated or required service or have been removed from the Ready
Reserve because of civilian employment, temporary hardship, or disability.
Standby Reservists maintain their military affiliation but are not
required to perform training or to be assigned to a unit. In fiscal year
2004, there were 21,549 reservists in this category.

Retired Reserve	The Retired Reserve consists of personnel who have been
placed in a retirement status based on the completion of 20 or more
qualifying years of Reserve Component or Active Component service. A
member of the Retired Reserve does not receive retired pay until reaching
age 60, unless he or she has 20 or more years of active duty military
service. In fiscal year 2004, there were 1,132,454 former servicemembers
who had retired from a reserve component.

Appendix IV

Military Occupational Specialties That Exclude Females

     Table 47: Military Occupational Specialties That Exclude Females as of
                                   March 1997
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Special                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                     Infantry,                                                                             Heavy                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Anti-Tank/                                           Special                    Special                    Special                                                     Forces                         Special                      Special                        Seal                                                                                                                                  Assault                                                                                                                                                                                         
    DOD            code/                                           Service                     Air  Gun crews,                                             Indirect                      Antiarmor                     Fighting                     Infantry                                          LAV                  Reconnaissance                                             Mortar                                           Assault                  Infantry                    Forces                     Forces                     Forces                    Special Forces                   Assistant                       Forces                      Warfare                      Delivery                    M48-M60                     M1                       Armor                       M1A1                      Amphibious                    Combat                      Bridge                       Cannon                       VULCAN                        Field                        Field             
occupational      Military      occupational    Marine  specialty occupation Army Navy Corps Force  Seamanship  x x x x 11B Infantryman x N/A N/A N/A 11C    Fire     x N/A N/A N/A 11H   Weapons   x N/A N/A N/A 11M   Vehicle   x N/A N/A N/A 11Z  Senior  x N/A N/A N/A  Rifleman N/A N/A x N/A  Crewman N/A N/A x N/A       Man       N/A N/A x N/A  Machinegunner N/A N/A x N/A   Man   N/A N/A x N/A  Assaultman N/A N/A x N/A    Guided   N/A N/A x N/A    Unit   N/A N/A x N/A 18B Weapons  x N/A N/A N/A 18C Engineer x N/A N/A N/A 18D Medical  x N/A N/A N/A 18E Communications x N/A N/A N/A 18F Operations   x N/A N/A N/A 18Z  Senior  x N/A N/A N/A 9533 Combatant N/A x N/A N/A 9534  Vehicle   N/A x N/A N/A 19E  Armor  x N/A N/A N/A 19K  Armor  x N/A N/A N/A 19Z  Senior  x N/A N/A N/A 1812  Tank   N/A N/A x N/A 1833  Vehicle   N/A N/A x N/A 12B Engineer x N/A N/A N/A 12C Crewmember x N/A N/A N/A 13B Crewmember x N/A N/A N/A 16R Crewmember x N/A N/A N/A 0811 Artillery N/A N/A x N/A 0844 Artillery           
                                                                    title                           Specialists                                           Infantryman                   Infantryman                   Infantryman                   Sergeant                                                                                                                                                                          Missileman                 Leader                    Sergeant                   Sergeant                   Sergeant                      Sergeant                      and                            Sergeant                      Craft                      (SDV) Team                   Crewman                   Crewman                   Sergeant                    Crewman                     Crewman                                                                                                                                        Cannoneer                      Fire              
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Intelligence                                                Crewman                     Technician                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Control            
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Sergeant                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Man    N/A N/A x N/A

Appendix IV Military Occupational Specialties That Exclude Females

                         (Continued From Previous Page)

DOD occupational                                                 
    code/ Military                                                  
     occupational                                            Marine 
      specialty        Service occupation title    Army Navy Corps  Air Force 
                           Fire Support Man        N/A  N/A            N/A    
         13M        Multiple Launch Rocket System   x   N/A   N/A      N/A    
                          (MLRS) Crewmember                         
                        Multiple Launch Rocket                                
         13P            System/Fire Direction       x   N/A   N/A      N/A
                              Specialist                            
         14J        Early Warning System Operator   x   N/A   N/A      N/A    
         14R         Line of Sight-Forward-Heavy    x   N/A   N/A      N/A    
                              Crewmember                            
         14S              Avenger Crewmember        x   N/A   N/A      N/A    
         16P             CHAPARRAL Crewmember       x   N/A   N/A      N/A    
         16S        Man Portable Air Defense        x   N/A   N/A      N/A    
                    Systems (MANPADS) Crewmember                    
        1T231           Pararescue Apprentice      N/A  N/A   N/A       x     
        1T251           Pararescue Journeyman      N/A  N/A   N/A       x     
        1T271            Pararescue Craftsman      N/A  N/A   N/A       x     
        1T291         Pararescue Superintendent    N/A  N/A   N/A       x     
                       Deep Submergence Vehicle    N/A   x    N/A      N/A    
                               Operator                             
                       Deep Submergence Vehicle                               
                              Crewmember           N/A   x    N/A      N/A

Electronic Equipment Repairers

ET 14SM     SWS Navigation System Maintenance Technician     N/A x N/A N/A 
ET 14TM          TRIDENT I/II Radio Frequency (RF) Equipment               
                                                    Maintenance N/A   N/A N/A
                                Technician                                
ET 14TO TRIDENT I/II Radio Frequency (RF) Equipment Operator N/A x N/A N/A 
CTM9238 Submarine Carry-on Equipment Maintenance Technician  N/A x N/A N/A 
ET 14BF            Project SSN 637 ESM Technician            N/A x N/A N/A 
ET 14BG              SSN 768-773 ESM Technician              N/A x N/A N/A 
ET 14CM    SSN Radio Frequency (RF) Equipment Technician     N/A x N/A N/A 
ET 14CT           Submarine Conversion Technician            N/A x N/A N/A 
ET 14EB             SSN 668 Class ESM Technician             N/A x N/A N/A 
ET 14EM       SSN ESM Equipment Maintenance Technician       N/A x N/A N/A 
ET 14EP              SSN 719-767 ESM Technician              N/A x N/A N/A 
ET 14ET             ESM Technician (All Classes)             N/A x N/A N/A 
ET 14FA TRIDENT Submarine Electronics Technician Command and N/A x N/A N/A 
                              Control System                              
ET 14HB             SSN 637 Class ESM Technician             N/A x N/A N/A 
ET 14HH             SSN 21 Class ESM Technician              N/A x N/A N/A 
ET 14IC                    Former IC(SS)                     N/A x N/A N/A 
ET 14JA                TRIDENT ESM Technician                N/A x N/A N/A 
ET 14NM     Navigation Equipment Maintenance Technician      N/A x N/A N/A 
ET 14NO            Navigation Equipment Operator             N/A x N/A N/A 

Appendix IV Military Occupational Specialties That Exclude Females

                         (Continued From Previous Page)

DOD occupational                                                 
    code/ Military                                                  
     occupational                                            Marine 
      specialty     Service occupation title Army       Navy Corps  Air Force 
       ET 14QM               Former QM(SS) N/A           x    N/A      N/A    
       ET 14RD      SSN 637 Class Navigation Technician  x    N/A      N/A    
                                    N/A                             
       ET 14RM              Former RM (SS) N/A           x    N/A      N/A    
       ET 14RO      SSN Radio Frequency (RF) Equipment   x    N/A      N/A    
                               Operator N/A                         
       ET 14SF         SSN 594/688 Class Navigation      x    N/A      N/A    
                              Technician N/A                        
       ET 14TG         SSN 637/688 Class Navigation      x    N/A      N/A    
                              Technician N/A                        
       ET 14TK       SSN 21 Navigation Technician N/A    x    N/A      N/A    
       ET 14ZA      AN/BRD-7 Submarine Radio Direction   x                    
                           Finding (RDF) Set N/A              N/A      N/A
                          Maintenance. Technician                   
       FT 1174      Combat Control System MK 1 Vertical  x    N/A      N/A    
                       Launch System Technician N/A                 
       FT 1175       Combat Control System MK 1 MOD 1    x                    
                          Advanced Capability N/A             N/A      N/A
                           Subsystem Technician                     
       FT 1194      AN/BSY-2(V) Advanced Maintainer N/A  x    N/A      N/A    
       FT 1196       Underwater Fire Control System MK   x    N/A      N/A    
                         113 MOD 9 Technician N/A                   
       FT 1312          CCS MK 2 MOD 0 Maintenance       x    N/A      N/A    
                              Technician N/A                        
       FT 1313          CCS MK 2 MOD 1 Maintenance       x    N/A      N/A    
                              Technician N/A                        
       FT 1315          CCS MK 2 MOD 3 Maintenance       x    N/A      N/A    
                              Technician N/A                        
       FT 1320         TRIDENT MK 118 Combat Control     x                    
                          System Maintenance N/A              N/A      N/A
                                Technician                          
         FTG        Fire Control Technician G (Gunfire   x    N/A      N/A    
                               Control) N/A                         
       IC 4737      TRIDENT Submarine Ship Control and   x                    
                         ASMO and Maintenance N/A             N/A      N/A
                          Technician (Level III)                    
          FT            Fire Control Technician N/A      x    N/A      N/A    
       FT 1179       AN/BSY-1 (XN-1)(V) Organizational   x                    
                           Level Maintenance N/A              N/A      N/A
                                Technician                          
                         Fire Control Technician B                            
         FTB         (Ballistic Missile Fire Control)    x    N/A      N/A
                                    N/A                             
          MT              Missile Technician N/A         x    N/A      N/A    
       MT 3305      Missile Tech (MK88 MOD 2/MK98 MOD 0  x                    
                          FC Sys with TRIDENT-N/A             N/A      N/A
                           1 SSBN/Backfit SSBN)                     
       MT 3307       Missile Technician (MK 98 MOD 1)    x    N/A      N/A    
                          TRIDENT II D-5 SWS N/A                    
       MT 3310      Missile Technician (TRIDENT I (C-4)  x    N/A      N/A    
                                 SWS) N/A                           
       MT 3311        Missile Technician (TRIDENT II     x    N/A      N/A    
                              (D-5) SWS) N/A                        
       MT 3317      Missile Technician (TRIDENT-I SSBN)  x    N/A      N/A    
                                    N/A                             
       MT 3319         Missile and Missile Checkout      x                    
                      Technician (TRIDENT D-5 SWS N/A         N/A      N/A
                                   SSBN)                            
       RM 23JH          Submarine Radioman Tactical      x                    
                       Communications Equipment N/A           N/A      N/A
                                Technician                          

Appendix IV Military Occupational Specialties That Exclude Females

                         (Continued From Previous Page)

DOD occupational                                                 
    code/ Military                                                  
     occupational                                            Marine 
      specialty        Service occupation title    Army Navy Corps  Air Force 
         STS        Sonar Technician S (Submarine) N/A   x    N/A      N/A    
       STS0418         AN/BSY-1 (XN-1) (V)Basic          x                    
                      Organizational Maintenance   N/A        N/A      N/A
                              Technician                            
       STS0419       AN/BSY-1 (XN-1) (V) Advanced                             
                      Organizational Maintenance   N/A   x    N/A      N/A
                              Technician                            
       STS0421       Sub Special Purpose Acoustic                             
                        Equipment Maintenance      N/A   x    N/A      N/A
                              Technician                            
       STS0422        BQQ-5/5 (Series) Submarine                              
                      Sonar Advanced Maintenance   N/A   x    N/A      N/A
                              Technician                            
                    AN/BQQ-6 trident Level II                                 
       STS0424      Journeyman Operation &                          
                    Maintenance                    N/A   x    N/A      N/A
                              Technician                            
       STS0425      AN/BQQ-6 TRIDENT Level III                                
                    Master Operation & Maintenance N/A   x    N/A      N/A
                              Technician                            
       STS0495         Sonar Technician AN/BQQ5                               
                      Series (B/C/D/E) Advanced    N/A   x    N/A      N/A
                              Maintainer                            
       STS0501      Submarine Sonar Master Analyst N/A   x    N/A      N/A    
       RM 23EY       Submarine Radioman Strategic        x                    
                       Communications Equipment    N/A        N/A      N/A
                              Technician                            
       RM 23JS       Submarine Radioman Tactical                              
                       Communications Equipment    N/A   x    N/A      N/A
                              Technician                            
                    Submarine Radioman                                        
       RM 23MZ      Communications Combined                         
                    Maintenance                    N/A   x    N/A      N/A
                              Technician                            
                    Submarine Radioman                                        
       RM 23NJ      Communications Combined                         
                    Maintenance                    N/A   x    N/A      N/A
                              Technician                            
       RM 23SM      SSN ECS Maintenance Technician N/A   x    N/A      N/A    
       RM 23SO             SSN ECS Operator        N/A   x    N/A      N/A    
       RM 23TA      TRIDENT Radioman Exterior Comm       x                    
                        Sub-Systems Operations     N/A        N/A      N/A
                         and Maint Technician                       
       RM 23TB      TRIDENT Radioman Exterior Comm                            
                        Sub-Systems Operations     N/A   x    N/A      N/A
                         and Maint Technician                       
       RM 23TC      TRIDENT Radioman Exterior Comm                            
                        Sub-Systems Operations     N/A   x    N/A      N/A
                         and Maint Technician                       
       RM 23TM         TRIDENT ECS Maintenance     N/A   x    N/A      N/A    
                              Technician                            
       RM 23TO           TRIDENT ECS Operator      N/A   x    N/A      N/A    
       ET 3323       Central Navigation Computer         x                    
                        (CNC) Tech (CP-890B OR     N/A        N/A      N/A
                            TRIDENT SSBN)                           
       ET 3324        Ships Inertial Navigation    N/A   x    N/A      N/A    
                       System (SINS) Technician                     
       ET 3327        Navigation AIDS (NAVAIDS)    N/A   x    N/A      N/A    
       ET 3328          Navigation Electronic                                 
                              Technician           N/A   x    N/A      N/A

Appendix IV Military Occupational Specialties That Exclude Females

                         (Continued From Previous Page)

DOD occupational                                                
    code/ Military                                                 
     occupational                                          Marine  
       specialty     Service occupation title   Army Navy   Corps   Air Force 
        ET 9611       AN/SSN-2(V)4 maintainer    N/A   x     N/A      N/A     
        OS 0325       AN/SSN-2(V) 4 Operator     N/A   x     N/A      N/A     

Communications and Intelligence

     13R              FA Firefinder Radar Operator             x  N/A N/A N/A 
                     Field Artillery Radar Operator           N/A N/A  x  N/A 
     96R          Ground Surveillance Systems Operator         x  N/A N/A N/A 
     13C       Automated Fire Support Systems Specialist       x  N/A N/A N/A 
     13E            Cannon Fire Direction Specialist           x  N/A N/A N/A 
     13F                Fire Support Specialist                x  N/A N/A N/A 
     19D                     Cavalry Scout                     x  N/A N/A N/A 
                     Field Artillery Operations Man           N/A N/A  x  N/A 
    1C231              Combat Control Apprentice              N/A N/A N/A  x  
    1C251              Combat Control Journeyman              N/A N/A N/A  x  
    1C271               Combat Control Craftsman              N/A N/A N/A  x  
    1C291            Combat Control Superintendent            N/A N/A N/A  x  
    1C431     Tactical Air Command And Control Apprentice     N/A N/A N/A  x  
    1C451     Tactical Air Command And Control Journeyman     N/A N/A N/A  x  
    1C471      Tactical Air Command And Control Craftsman     N/A N/A N/A  x  
    1C491   Tactical Air Command And Control Superintendent   N/A N/A N/A  x  
      3                       Health Care                                 
HM 8427     Fleet Marine Force Reconnaissance Corpsman     N/A  x  N/A N/A 
HM 8491    Special Operations Independent Duty Corpsman    N/A  x  N/A N/A 
HM 8492           Special Operations Technician            N/A  x  N/A N/A 
HM 8402     Submarine Force Independent Duty Corpsman      N/A  x  N/A N/A 
HM 8403 Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Independent Duty N/A  x  N/A N/A 
                                Corpsman                                  
      4                Other Technical and Allied                         
     82C                Field Artillery Surveyor               x  N/A N/A N/A 
    0847              Artillery Meteorological Man            N/A N/A  x  N/A 
    5320                Basic Combatant Swimmer               N/A  x  N/A N/A 
    5323            SDV Pilot/Navigator/DDS Operator          N/A  x  N/A N/A 
    5326                Combatant Swimmer (SEAL)              N/A  x  N/A N/A 
    5301                   UDT/SEAL Candidate                 N/A  x  N/A N/A 
      5          Functional Support and Administration                    
    9579           Chief of the Boat (all Submarines)         N/A  x  N/A N/A 

Appendix IV Military Occupational Specialties That Exclude Females

                         (Continued From Previous Page)

DOD occupational                                                
    code/ Military                                                 
     occupational                                          Marine  
       specialty     Service occupation title   Army Navy   Corps   Air Force 

Electrical/Mechanical Equip Repairers

     63D     Self-Propelled Field Artillery System Mechanic    x  N/A N/A N/A 
     63E             M1 ABRAMS Tank System Mechanic            x  N/A N/A N/A 
     63N             M60A1/A3 Tank System Mechanic             x  N/A N/A N/A 
     63T                  BFV System Mechanic                  x  N/A N/A N/A 
     24M                 VULCAN System Mechanic                x  N/A N/A N/A 
     24N               CHAPARRAL System Mechanic               x  N/A N/A N/A 
     45D     Self-Propelled Field Artillery Turret Mechanic    x  N/A N/A N/A 
     45E             M1 ABRAMS Tank Turret Mechanic            x  N/A N/A N/A 
     45N             M60A1/A3 Tank Turret Mechanic             x  N/A N/A N/A 
     45T    Bradley Fighting Vehicle System Turret Mechanic    x  N/A N/A N/A 
MM 4230       SSN/SSBN Auxiliary Equipment Operator        N/A  x  N/A N/A 
MM 4231      SSN/SSBN Auxiliary Equipment Technician       N/A  x  N/A N/A 
MM 4232        SSN/SSBN Weapons Equipment Operator         N/A  x  N/A N/A 
MM 4233       SSN/SSBN Weapons Equipment Technician        N/A  x  N/A N/A 
MM 4245   SSN/SSBN Basic Auxiliary Equipment Technician    N/A  x  N/A N/A 
MM 4246   SSBN Diesel Engine (Fairbanks-Morse) Maintenance N/A  x  N/A N/A 
                                                   Technician             
    3351   Submarine Nuclear Propulsion Plant Emergency       N/A  x  N/A N/A 
           Welder                                                         
    3353   Submarine Nuclear Propulsion Plant - Reactor       N/A  x  N/A N/A 
           Control                                                        
    3354    Submarine Nuclear Propulsion Plant - Electrical   N/A  x  N/A N/A 
    3355     Submarine Nuclear Propulsion Plant -Mechanical   N/A  x  N/A N/A 
    3356   Submarine Nuclear Propulsion Plant - Engineer           x          
           Laboratory                                         N/A     N/A N/A
                               Technician                                 
    3359   Submarine Nuclear Propulsion Plant - Special       N/A  x  N/A N/A 
           Category                                                       
    3363       Submarine Nuclear Propulsion Plant Supervisor- N/A  x  N/A N/A 
                                              reactor Control             
    3364   Submarine Nuclear Propulsion Plant Supervisor-     N/A  x  N/A N/A 
           Electrical                                                     
    3365   Submarine Nuclear Propulsion Plant Supervisor-     N/A  x  N/A N/A 
           Mechanical                                                     
    3366   Submarine Nuclear Propulsion Plant Supervisor-          x          
           Engineering                                        N/A     N/A N/A
                         Laboratory Technician                            
      7                      Craftsworkers                                
     52G        Transmission and Distribution Specialist       x  N/A N/A N/A 
      8               Service and Supply Handlers                         
      9                     Nonoccupational                               
     18X       Special Forces Candidate (Reporting Code)       x  N/A N/A N/A 
    1C211                Combat Control Helper                N/A N/A N/A  x  
    1C411       Tactical Air command And Control Helper       N/A N/A N/A  x  

Appendix IV Military Occupational Specialties That Exclude Females

                         (Continued From Previous Page)

DOD occupational                                                
    code/ Military                                                 
     occupational                                          Marine  
       specialty     Service occupation title   Army Navy   Corps   Air Force 
         1T211           Pararescue Helper       N/A  N/A    N/A       x      

Source: DOD 1312.1-1, Occupational Conversion Index: Enlisted/Officer/Civilian.

                                   Appendix V

                    Comments from the Department of Defense

Appendix VI

                     GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments

GAO Contact Derek B. Stewart, (202) 512-5559 or [email protected]

Acknowledgments	In addition to the contact named above, Jack E. Edwards,
Assistant Director, William Bates, Virginia A. Chanley, Jonathan Clark,
George M. Duncan, Gregg J. Justice, III, John G. Smale, Mitchell B.
Karpman, Renee McElveen, Jacquelyn S. Randolph, and Dale O. Wineholt also
made key contributions to this report.

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