Military Enlistment Standards

Dr. Jane M. Arabian, Assistant DirectorAccession Policy

Office of the Under Secretary of Defense(Personnel and Readiness)

Prepared for The Alliance for Excellent EducationNovember 17, 2003

2

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

Army Navy MarineCorps

Air Force

Reserve

Guard

Active

Military Force – FY2002Military Force – FY2002

3

Active

ComponentReserve

Component

Army 79,585 104,636

Navy 46,155 15,355

Marine Corps 32,767 10,090

Air Force 37,967 17,048

Total DoD 196,474 147,129

Enlisted Recruiting Mission - FY 2002

4

1 Accessed

140 Contacts

22 Appointments

14 Discussions

3.4 Tested

1.7 Qualified

1.2 Contracted

Recruiters…Recruiters…• Top PerformersTop Performers• Involved in their CommunityInvolved in their Community• Work 60+ Hours WeeklyWork 60+ Hours Weekly

Up From 100 in 1990

To Recruit One High-Quality (HSDG, I-IIIA) Youth. Source - U.S. Army Recruiting Command

The Recruiting ChallengeThe Recruiting Challenge

5

Enlistment Standards

Selection, first, to determine service eligibility:» Education» Aptitude» Medical» Moral Character» Age» Dependents

Classification, second:» Person-Job Match» Depending on Service, Specific or

Open Contract

How Many Complete Their First Enlistment:

• High School DiplomaHigh School Diploma 80%80%

• Other Credential (e.g., GED)Other Credential (e.g., GED) 60%60%

• Non-GraduatesNon-Graduates 50%50%

Education is ImportantEducation is Important

Education Credential is the best single predictor of first-term attrition

AFQT Percentile: I (93-99); II (65-92); IIIA (50-64); IIIB (31-49); IV (10-30)

40

42

44

46

48

50

52

54

0-12 13-24 25-36 37+

Job Experience (Months)

I & II

IIIA

IIIB

IV

Mean Hands-On Performance Scores

AFQT

Category

Aptitude Predicts PerformanceAptitude Predicts Performance

8

ASVAB Composition

GS General Science AR Arithmetic Reasoning WK Word Knowledge PC Paragraph Comprehension MK Mathematics Knowledge AS Auto and Shop Information MC Mechanical Comprehension EI Electronics Information AO Assembling Objects

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Benchmarks

High School Diploma Graduates

Percent of Recruits

Fiscal Year

Category I-IIIA

ASVAB Misnorming, 1977-81. Data from Services for 1981-2001; Previous data is DMDC.

DoD Recruit QualityActive Duty Enlisted

DoD Recruit QualityActive Duty Enlisted

10

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

1975 2000 2025

Per

cent

age

of T

otal

US

P

opul

atio

n

Hispanic Black Other minority

Challenges and Opportunities:Changing Demographics

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

By 2025, 15-19 year-old population will be nearly 24% Hispanic

Challenges:• 2002 High School completion

rates for 25-29 year olds:– 62% for Hispanics

– 88% for Blacks

– 93% for whites

• Language barriers, particularly when talking with parents

11

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

80 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

Source: Digest of Education Statistics 2000

ACT News Release, National College Dropout and Graduation Rates, 1999

Challenges and Opportunities: The College Market

Enrollment Rate

Graduation Rate (2 yr)

Graduation Rate (4 yr)

Percent of HS Seniors who enroll in college after graduation

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OSD Challenges

• Adhere to codified recruit quality standards

• 90-60-4

• Implement new ASVAB norms

• Nationally representative sample of youth population

• Ensure recruiter access to high schools and colleges

• Maintain research and studies support