This Chapter:

In FY 1997, nearly 392,000 individuals applied to serve in the active enlisted military force (Appendix Table A-1).  The distribution of FY 1997 Active Component NPS applicants by race/ethnicity and gender is shown in Table 2.2.

 Seventy-eight percent of the applicants are male, of whom 63 percent are White, 20 percent Black, 10 percent Hispanic, and 7 percent "Other." (13)  For female applicants, approximately 52 percent are White, 32 percent Black, 9 percent Hispanic, and 7 percent "Other." Additional statistics on applicant characteristics (e.g., age, education levels, AFQT scores, and marital status, by gender and race/ethnicity) are contained in Appendix A, Tables A-1 through A-8.

Table 2.2.  Race/Ethnicity and Gender of FY 1997 Active Component NPS Applicants*,  by Service (Percent)
	Army	Navy	Marine Corps	Air Force	DoD
MALES
White	60.9	60.3	66.0	70.2	62.9
Black	23.0	19.9	15.9	17.0	20.2
Hispanic	10.4	10.2	12.0	6.6	10.2
Other	5.6	9.6	6.2	6.3	6.8
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
FEMALES
White	48.1	52.6	61.0	60.3	52.3
Black	36.9	29.3	20.6	26.1	32.2
Hispanic	9.0	8.9	11.3	6.5	8.6
Other	6.0	9.2	7.2	7.1	6.9
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
TOTAL
Male	74.2	82.3	90.7	68.5	77.9
Female	25.8	17.7	9.3	31.5	22.1
Columns may not add to total due to rounding. * Applicant data reported for FY 1997 are based on the DMDC Edit version of the MEPCOM file, which has been "cleaned" by the edit process.  FY 1997 applicant data are consistent with Information Delivery System (IDS) data.  However, comparisons of FY 1997 applicant data to data reported in Population Representation reports for FY 1994 or earlier (from unedited MEPCOM files) may show differences. Also see Appendix Tables A-3 (Race/Ethnicity by Service and Gender) and A-4 (Ethnicity by Service).

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13.   Includes Native Americans, Asians, and Pacific Islanders. 
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