Chapter Five
The Eligible Pool of Candidates
The pool of individuals from which the military can recruit is defined by specific eligibility requirements that can present a structural barrier to service. Although the specific eligibility requirements differ across the Services, in general, those who wish to serve must first meet standards related to age, citizenship, number of dependents, financial status, education level, aptitude, substance abuse, language skills, moral conduct, height and weight, physical fitness, and medical qualifications (see Asch et al., 2009).1 Together, these requirements define the eligible population from which the Services can recruit. Currently, however, a large portion of young people are not eligible to join the military. In fact, statistics released by the Pentagon show that 75 percent of young people ages 17–24 are currently not eligible to enlist (Gilroy, 2009). Furthermore, racial/ethnic minorities and, in some cases, women tend to meet these eligibility requirements at lower rates than whites and men. Figures 5.1 and 5.2 illustrate the impact of such requirements on the demographic profile of recruits. Figure 5.1 shows how some basic Marine Corps enlisted requirements shaped the profile of the population that was eligible to enlist in 2009. For example, the education requirement (i.e., high school graduation or General Educational Development diploma) and the minimum Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) score requirement reduced the share of non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics who could enlist, and the weight and body fat requirements decreased the share of women who could enlist. Similar patterns are seen in the eligible officer population. Besides height, weight, and medical standards, commissioned officers must have U.S. citizenship and a bachelor’s degree, and they must complete a commissioning program (i.e., the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps [ROTC], Officer Candidate School/Officer Training School [OCS/OTS], or a Service academy), each of which has its own unique standards for admission. Again using Marine Corps requirements as an example, Figure 5.2 shows how the percentage shares of the eligible population for each demographic group in 2009 changed with the successive addition of each requirement. The share of nonHispanic blacks and Hispanics decreased considerably with the addition of the college degree requirement, and the share of female and “other” representation increased.2 The 1
In certain circumstances, some of these eligibility requirements can be waived. Which requirements can be waived (and when) varies by Service.
2
The order of the requirements is arbitrary. We could have applied the citizenship requirement before the college-attainment requirement, and it would have shown a “bigger” effect among Hispanics.
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