Active Component Enlisted Force
Marital Status

Chapter 3

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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.


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