Population Representation 2004 - Selected Reserve Enlisted Accessions and Enlisted Force

SELECTED RESERVE ENLISTED ACCESSIONS AND ENLISTED FORCE

Education. More Selected Reserve NPS recruits completed high school than was the case for their civilian peers (Table 5.7). Approximately 99 percent of FY 2004 Selected Reserve NPS accessions were in Tiers 1 (high school graduates) and 2 (alternative credentials), compared to 80 percent of 18- to 24-year-old civilians. This figure represents an increase for the Selected Reserve, where 87 percent of 2003 NPS accessions were in Tiers 1 and 2.

College experience refers to individuals who have completed at least one semester in junior college or a 4-year institution. The USNR had, by far, the highest proportion of accessions with college experience (23 percent), in part, due to college credit earned through the Navy’s Tech Prep partnerships with selected community colleges. Tech Prep is a federally-funded educational program providing technical career training and job placement. The Navy has agreements with a number of community colleges that in turn work with feeder high schools. Qualified, interested students sign up while in their junior or senior year of high school. They complete college credit Tech Prep courses during high school. After graduation, they attend two semesters at a local community college while in the Navy’s delayed entry program. Following recruit training, the enlistees complete technical training courses provided by the Navy; the community college counts the Navy training toward the requirements for an associates degree.

The percentage of 18- to 24-year-old civilians with college experience is much greater than even the 23 percent in the Naval Reserve, at 48 percent. Since most enlisted occupations are generally comparable to civilian jobs not requiring college education, this should not be surprising.

Table 5.7. FY 2004 Selected Reserve Non-Prior Service Enlisted Accessions, by Education Tier and Component, and Civilians 18–24 Years Old (Percent)
Education Tier	Army National Guard	Army Reserve	Naval Reserve	Marine Corps Reserve	Air National Guard	Air Force Reserve	Total DoD	18- to 24-Year-Old Civilians²
Tier 1: Regular High School Graduate or Higher¹	84.7	98.7	96.6	98.0	95.1	96.5	91.5	79.7
Tier 2: GED, Alternative Credentials	14.8	0.8	0.4	1.9	4.5	3.5	7.9	79.7
Tier 3: No Credentials	0.6	0.5	3.0	0.1	0.4	0.0	0.6	20.3
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
College Experience (Part of Tier 1)	9.0	3.1	23.2	5.0	7.5	4.8	7.6	47.7
Columns may not add to total due to rounding. ¹Tier 1 includes members still in high school. ²Civilian percentages combine Tiers 1 and 2. Civilian data from Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey File, October 2003 – September 2004.

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