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Age. By law, Active Component recruits must be
between 17 and 35 years old; 17-year-olds must have parental permission to enlist.(18) Within the 17–35 age range, the Services have different age ceilings. The Army and Navy accept applicants up to age 35; the Air Force accepts recruits prior to
their 28th birthday, and the Marine Corps age limit is 29.The age distribution of FY 1998 active duty NPS accessions is shown in Table 2.4. Approximately, 87 percent of new recruits are
18- to 24-year-olds, compared to about 35 percent of the comparable civilian population. The Marine Corps enlists the greatest percentage of 17- and 18-year-old recruits (48 percent) and the smallest percentage of
those over age 21 (11 percent). The Army has the greatest proportion of recruits older than age 21 (23 percent) and the smallest proportion of 17- and 18-year-old recruits (38 percent).
Table 2.4. Age of FY 1998 Active Component NPS Accessions, by Service, and
Civilians 17–35 Years Old (Percent)
|
| Age |
Army |
Navy |
Marine Corps |
Air Force |
DoD |
17- to 35-Year-Old Civilians |
Number of Accessions per 1,000 Civilians |
| 17 |
5.9 |
6.1 |
6.9 |
4.4 |
5.9 |
5.5 |
2.7 |
| 18 |
31.8 |
34.6 |
41.2 |
34.4 |
34.8 |
5.3 |
15.9 |
| 19 |
20.2 |
22.6 |
23.7 |
24.1 |
22.2 |
5.2 |
10.4 |
| 20 |
11.4 |
12.3 |
10.9 |
13.7 |
11.9 |
5.0 |
5.9 |
| 21 |
7.6 |
7.5 |
5.9 |
8.3 |
7.4 |
4.9 |
3.7 |
| 22 |
5.6 |
4.9 |
3.7 |
5.6 |
5.0 |
4.6 |
2.7 |
| 23 |
4.4 |
3.3 |
2.5 |
3.6 |
3.6 |
4.8 |
1.9 |
| 24 |
3.2 |
2.4 |
1.7 |
2.2 |
2.5 |
4.8 |
1.3 |
| >24 |
10.0 |
6.2 |
3.4 |
3.8 |
6.7 |
59.8 |
0.3 |
| Total |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
2.5 |
Columns may not add to total due to rounding.
Also see Appendix Table B-1
(Age by Service and Gender).
Source: Civilian data from Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey File, October 1997 – September 1998. |
The right column of Table 2.4 shows the numerical rate at which civilian youth in each
age group enlisted in the Armed Services in FY 1998. For example, an average of 15.9 of every 1,000 18-year-olds and 1.3 of every 1,000 24-year-olds enlisted in FY 1998.
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