Although
only 9 percent of first-time enlisted recruits are married, a majority
of enlisted Servicemembers are (52 percent). By the end of the first
term of service (typically four years), approximately 42 percent
of male enlisted members have become married. 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 to less than 52 percent in FY 1999.
Marital status varies by Service. Air Force members are most likely
to be married (61 percent), while Marines are least likely to be
married (41 percent).
Figure
3.5. Percentage of Active Component enlisted members who were married,
by Service, FYs 1973-1999.
The
percentages of FY 1999 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 (53 and 43 percent,
respectively). Similarly, more civilian men were married than civilian
women (53 versus 51 percent, respectively). The proportion of married
Servicemen was almost identical to married 18- to 44-year-old men
in the civilian population (53.0 and 53.1 percent, respectively).
The proportion of married Servicewomen was lower than that of women
in the comparable civilian population (43 and 51 percent, respectively).
The
percentage of married military women has changed significantly since
FY 1973. 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 43 percent in FY 1999.
Table
3.5. FY 1999 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
|
52.6
|
50.7
|
40.9
|
64.0
|
53.0
|
53.1
|
Female
|
43.8
|
33.8
|
39.6
|
48.5
|
42.6
|
50.8
|
Total
|
51.2
|
48.5
|
40.8
|
61.1
|
51.5
|
52.1
|
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 1999.
|
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 1999 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
|
335,872
|
176,514
|
52.6
|
12,093
|
6.9
|
Female
|
60,283
|
26,382
|
43.8
|
11,137
|
42.2
|
Total
|
396,155
|
202,896
|
51.2
|
23,230
|
11.5
|
NAVY
|
Male
|
272,887
|
138,314
|
50.7
|
7,341
|
5.3
|
Female
|
41,399
|
13,978
|
33.8
|
5,602
|
40.1
|
Total
|
314,286
|
152,292
|
48.5
|
12,943
|
8.5
|
MARINE
CORPS
|
Male
|
145,554
|
59,522
|
40.9
|
2,988
|
5.0
|
Female
|
9,276
|
3,672
|
39.6
|
2,256
|
61.4
|
Total
|
154,830
|
63,194
|
40.8
|
5,244
|
8.3
|
AIR
FORCE
|
Male
|
232,202
|
148,665
|
64.0
|
14,131
|
9.5
|
Female
|
53,968
|
26,192
|
48.5
|
14,401
|
55.0
|
Total
|
286,170
|
174,857
|
61.1
|
28,532
|
16.3
|
DoD
|
Male
|
986,515
|
523,015
|
53.0
|
36,553
|
7.0
|
Female
|
164,926
|
70,224
|
42.6
|
33,396
|
47.6
|
Total
|
1,151,441
|
593,239
|
51.5
|
69,949
|
11.8
|
*
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, 12,093
male Army enlisted personnel are in dual-service marriages.
That is, 6.9 percent of married male Army enlisted members
(176,514) 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.
|