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Many of the assertions about the class composition of the military have been based on impressions and anecdotes rather than on empirical data. Analysis of Vietnam era veterans indicated that individuals of high socioeconomic status comprised about half the proportion of draftees compared to their representation in the overall population.(4) Three systematic analyses of the socioeconomic composition of accessions during the volunteer period suggest that little has changed with the All Volunteer Force. All found that members of the military tended to come from backgrounds that were somewhat lower in socioeconomic status than the U.S. average, but that the differences between the military and the comparison groups were relatively modest.(5) These results have been confirmed in recent editions of this report, which portray a socioeconomic composition of enlisted accessions similar to the population as a whole, but with the top quartile of the population underrepresented.(6) While the socioeconomic status of recruits is slightly lower than the general population, today's recruits have higher levels of education, measured aptitudes, and reading skills than their civilian counterparts.
Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm revived concerns that Blacks would bear a disproportionate share of fighting and dying in future wars. The Chairman of the House Committee on Armed Services stated, "The…Committee spent some considerable time on this [issue] and came to a rather surprising conclusion about it. It's not true."(7) A related report concluded that the volunteer system provided quality enlistees; that minorities would not bear a much heavier burden of combat; and that a draft would neither be as fair nor produce a force as high in quality as the current system. (8) The report indicated that a draft would lead to a less educated, less motivated, and less competent force, even though it might be more representative of the upper and lower social strata.
Defining Socioeconomic Status
Although the term "socioeconomic status" is used frequently, there is no general consensus regarding how to define and measure this construct. Often, measures cited in the literature are those of convenience or availability (e.g., race, zip code). In general, socioeconomic status is considered as an indicator of economic and social position.(9)
Research suggests that occupation is the best single indicator of socioeconomic position.(10) However, including additional information, such as education and income, can increase explained variance in the measure of social class. In addition, different items may assess unique dimensions of socioeconomic status, which together may represent the construct more completely.(11) The variables traditionally used to assess social standing are education, occupation, and income; additional measures include employment status, possessions, and presence of reading materials in the home.(12)
Measuring Socioeconomic Status
Socioeconomic representation has been included in the annual Population Representation in the Military Services since the FY 1986 report. However, there were no reliable socioeconomic data to report at that time. Available data included the zip code of a recruit's current address and associated statistics from census data. While this type of data is useful for demographic trend analysis and advertising and marketing research, it is not reliable for comparing socioeconomic representation in the military to that of the general population. For example, applicants and recruits may not come from the background indicated by the zip code for their current address (i.e., these individuals may move away from home to go to college or to work). (13)
The Survey of Recruit Socioeconomic Backgrounds, first administered in March 1989, is currently administered on a continuing basis at recruit training centers. Participants answer questions about their parents' education, employment status, occupation, and home ownership. While income is a widely used measure of socioeconomic status, research provides evidence that recruit-aged youth are not accurate at estimating their parents' income.(14) Therefore, home ownership is included as a proxy for income.
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