Population Representation 2004 - Active Component Officers

ACTIVE COMPONENT OFFICERS

Representation Within Occupations. Tables 4.14 and 4.15 present the distribution of officers across occupational areas by gender and race/ethnic group, respectively. More than one-third of officers were working in jobs classified as part of tactical operation. Together, the second, third, and fourth most populous occupations—health care, engineering and maintenance, and supply—slightly exceeded the manning levels of tactical operations. Appendix Table B-36 provides FY 2004 occupational area data by Service, including personnel classified as non-occupational.

Table 4.14. FY 2004 Occupational Areas of Active Component Officer Corps, by Gender (Percent)
Occupational Area	Males	Females	Total
General Officers and Executives	0.5	0.1	0.4
Tactical Operations	41.2	10.9	36.3
Intelligence	5.0	6.1	5.2
Engineering and Maintenance	12.9	11.2	12.6
Scientists and Professionals	5.7	5.3	5.7
Health Care	13.3	38.7	17.4
Administration	5.1	10.9	6.1
Supply, Procurement, and Allied Occupations	8.8	10.7	9.1
Non-Occupational*	7.5	6.2	7.3
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0
Columns may not add to total due to rounding. Calculations do not include 6 male Army, 1 male Navy, 619 male and 21 female Marine Corps, and 372 male and 23 female Air Force O-6 officers classified as general officers by the Services. * Non-occupational includes patients, students, those with unassigned duties, and unknowns. Also see Appendix Table B-37 (Occupational Area by Service and Gender).

Table 4.15. FY 2004 Occupational Areas of Active Component Officer Corps, by Race/Ethnicity (Percent)
Occupational Area	White	Black	AIAN	Asian	NHPI	Two or more races	Unknown	Hispanic	Non- Hispanic
General Officers and Executives	0.5	0.3	0.2	*	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.4
Tactical Operations	38.7	22.9	36.3	24.5	25.5	22.4	29.2	35.2	36.3
Intelligence	5.2	4.7	6.2	5.3	5.3	4.8	5.5	5.8	5.1
Engineering and Maintenance	12.2	16.5	11.7	14.1	21.2	17.1	12.4	13.6	12.6
Scientists and Professionals	5.9	4.6	5.9	5.5	2.4	4.3	4.6	4.9	5.7
Health Care	16.7	18.4	15.6	29.7	15.4	12.9	20.4	14.4	17.5
Administration	5.4	11.8	7.3	5.1	6.7	8.3	6.8	6.9	6.0
Supply, Procurement, and Allied Occupations	8.3	16.4	8.5	8.3	12.0	10.7	9.9	11.6	9.0
Non-Occupational**	7.3	4.5	8.2	7.5	11.5	19.4	11.2	7.6	7.3
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Columns may not add to total due to rounding. Calculations do not include 959 White, 40 Black, 1 AIAN, 6 Asian, 1 NHPI, 2 two or more races, 33 unknown race, for a total of 1,042 (25 Hispanic and 1,017 non-Hispanic) O-6 officers classified as general officers by the Services. * Less than one-tenth of one percent. ** Non-occupational includes patients, students, those with unassigned duties, and unknowns. Also see Appendix Table B-38 (Occupational Area by Service and Race/Ethnicity).

Women and occupational assignments. Table 4.14 shows significant assignment differences between male and female officers. Despite expanding numbers of and roles for women, it takes time to bring women into new positions and career fields. Significantly greater percentages of men than women were in tactical operations (41 and 11 percent, respectively), whereas greater percentages of women than men were in "traditional" female occupations of administration (11 and 5 percent, respectively) and health care (39 and 13 percent, respectively). Appendix Table B-37 shows the assignment patterns by Service and gender.

Minorities and occupational assignments. The percentage of each racial/ethnic category by officer occupational areas is shown in Table 4.15. In FY 2004, racial and ethnic groups of officers generally had similar patterns of representation across occupational areas, although there are several specific differences in the patterns. More Blacks were assigned to supply and administration positions than were those in other racial groups. Similarly, a greater percentage of Asian officers were in health care positions. Proportionately, more Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders than other racial groups were in the engineering and maintenance occupations. American Indians and Alaskan Natives were slightly more likely to be in the intelligence field. Hispanics were somewhat more likely to be in supply occupations than non-Hispanics. The Services strive to achieve racial and ethnic balance during the assignment process. Such a focus is important because occupational assignment is related to promotion opportunities and success as an officer.

Regardless of race or ethnicity, the largest percentage of officers worked in tactical operations; the lowest percentages worked in intelligence and scientific/professional occupations. Appendix Table B-38 provides data on occupational areas by Service and race/ethnicity.

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