Marital Status of AC Enlisted Force

Marital Status. Although only 9 percent of first-time enlisted recruits are married, a majority of enlisted Servicemembers are (53 percent). By the end of the first term of service (typically four years), approximately 42 percent of male enlisted members have become married.(7) Trends in marital status of active duty members are shown in Figure 3.5. The proportion of married enlisted members declined from FY 1977 (50 percent) to FY 1980 (47 percent). In FY 1981 the proportion began to increase until a peak of 57 percent in FY 1994. Since FY 1994, the proportion of married members has dropped slightly to less than 55 percent in FY 1998. Marital status varies by Service. Air Force members are most likely to be married (65 percent), while Marines are least likely to be married (42 percent).

The percentages of FY 1998 Active Component enlisted married males and females are shown by Service in Table 3.5 and by age in Appendix Table B-24. Proportionally, more Servicemen were married than Servicewomen (55 and 44 percent, respectively). Similarly, more civilian men were married than civilian women (62 versus 55 percent, respectively). The proportion of married Servicemen was somewhat lower than married 18- to 44-year-old men in the civilian population (55 and 62 percent, respectively). The proportion of married Servicewomen was lower than that of women in the comparable civilian population (44 and 55 percent, respectively).

Table 3.5. FY 1998 Active Component Enlisted Members Who Were Married, by Gender and Service, and Civilian Labor Force 18–44 Years Old (Percent)
Gender	Army	Navy	Marine Corps	Air Force	DoD	18- to 44-Year-Old Civilians
Male	53.5	54.6	41.7	65.4	54.9	61.5
Female	44.3	37.6	38.3	50.0	44.2	54.7
Total	52.1	52.4	41.5	62.6	53.4	58.3
Also see Appendix Table B-24 (Age by Marital Status and Gender). Source: Civilian data from Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey File, September 1998.

The percentage of married military women has changed significantly since FY 1973.(8) Twenty-five years ago women constituted 2 percent of military members. Military women were not expected to be married; retention directives implicitly encouraged separation of married enlisted women. In FY 1973, 18 percent of military women were married, increasing to 36 percent in FY 1978 and to 44 percent in FY 1998.

During and after the Persian Gulf War, questions were raised regarding the deployment of both parents in a dual-service marriage (i.e., a marriage wherein both husband and wife are military members). The proportion of members in each Service who are married and the proportion of those married who are members of a dual-service marriage are shown in Table 3.6.

Table 3.6. FY 1998 Active Component Enlisted Personnel Who Were Married, and in Dual-Service Marriages, by Gender and Service (Number and Percent)
		Married		Married Who Were In Dual-Service Marriages
Gender	End-Strength	Number	Percent	Number*	Percent**
ARMY
Male	341,153	182,381	53.5	12,494	6.9
Female	60,830	26,945	44.3	11,301	41.9
Total	401,983	209,326	52.1	23,795	11.4
NAVY
Male	280,731	153,176	54.6	8,351	5.5
Female	41,367	15,565	37.6	6,605	42.4
Total	322,098	168,741	52.4	14,956	8.9
MARINE CORPS
Male	146,335	60,954	41.7	2,835	4.7
Female	8,925	3,416	38.3	2,094	61.3
Total	155,260	64,370	41.5	4,929	7.7
AIR FORCE
Male	238,048	155,640	65.4	14,412	9.3
Female	53,542	26,785	50.0	14,657	54.7
Total	291,590	182,425	62.6	29,069	15.9
DoD
Male	1,006,267	552,151	54.9	38,092	6.9
Female	164,664	72,711	44.2	34,657	47.7
Total	1,170,931	624,862	53.4	72,749	11.6
* There are some differences between the number of males and females reporting dual-service marriages. ** These percentages reflect the proportion of married enlisted members who are married to a Servicemember. For example, 12,494 male Army enlisted personnel are in dual-service marriages. That is, 6.9 percent of married male Army enlisted members (182,381) are in dual-service marriages.

Larger proportions of men than women are married, but significantly greater proportions of women are members of dual-service marriages (48 percent of married women versus 7 percent of married men; Table 3.6). The Marine Corps has the greatest variance, with 5 percent of married men but 61 percent of married women in dual-service marriages. Proportionally, more Air Force personnel are members of dual-service marriages (16 percent). Across the Services, 12 percent of enlisted members are in dual-service marriages.