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An ongoing concern of Congress, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and the armed services is the social representation of the military, particularly of active duty accessions. Hispanics are a growing segment of the youth population yet have been underrepresented historically among military accessions. The widely cited reason is their below-average rate of graduation from high school and the services’ preference for diploma graduate recruits. But other less-studied factors may contribute. These other possible factors may include lack of language proficiency as reflected in their applicant aptitude test scores, fertility choices, health factors such as obesity, and involvement in risky activities such as the use of illegal drugs. These factors could adversely affect the ability of some Hispanic youth to meet service enlistment standards. The RAND Corporation project “Hispanic Youth in the United States and the Factors Affecting Their Enlistment” is conducting an analysis of the factors that lead to the underrepresentation of Hispanic youth in the military. This documented briefing summarizes interim results from the research effort’s first year. First, it highlights the various enlistments standards recruits must meet in each branch of service. Then using available data on American young adults, it summarizes the degree to which Hispanic youth qualify for service relative to youth who are members of other racial and ethnic groups. This documented briefing is intended for individuals interested in military recruiting and in the population representation of personnel in the armed forces.

Table of Contents

  • Chapter One

    Introduction

  • Chapter Two

    Year One, Task One: Cataloging Current Enlistment Standards

  • Chapter Three

    Year One, Task Two: Assessing the Importance of Enlistment Standard Characteristics Among Hispanics

  • Chapter Four

    Year One, Task Three: Examining How the Fraction Passing Enlistment Standards Has Changed Over Time

  • Chapter Five

    Year Two: Remaining Research Tasks

  • Appendix A

    Revising Estimates of Hispanic Representation in the 18- to 24-Year-Old Population

  • Appendix B

    Enlistment Documents by Source

  • Appendix C

    White and Black Males and Black, Hispanic, and White Females

The research described in this report was prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). The research was conducted in the RAND National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the Unified Combatant Commands, the Department of the Navy, the Marine Corps, the defense agencies, and the defense Intelligence Community.

This report is part of the RAND Corporation Documented briefing series. RAND documented briefings are based on research presented to a client, sponsor, or targeted audience in briefing format. Additional information is provided in the documented briefing in the form of the written narration accompanying the briefing charts. All RAND documented briefings undergo rigorous peer review to ensure that they meet high standards for research quality and objectivity. However, they are not expected to be comprehensive and may present preliminary findings. Major research findings are published in the monograph series; supporting or preliminary research is published in the technical report series.

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