The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY)

This article questions what factors are associated with joining the military after high school rather than attending college, getting a job, or doing some other activity. Three areas of influence are highlighted: educational goals, the presence of the military in ones community, and race and socioeconomic status.
Resource Type: Article

Source: Radical Math

After the worst recession since the Great Depression, unemployment in the United States remains high. Army recruiters have credited the weak economy with a rise in recruitment numbers for years. Not only did the Army meet its recruitment goals for Fiscal Year 2012, in its analysis of FY2010 accessions to the U.S. Army, National Priorities Project (NPP) finds great gains in terms of recruit quality, particularly with respect to the educational attainment of recruits.

Tables Include:

• Military Recruitment Count by County 2010
• Military Recruitment - Demographics by Year
• Military Recruitment - Proportion of Tier 1 Recruits by State
• Military Recruitment - Proportion of Test Score Categories I-IIIA and IV by State
• Military Recruitment - Proportion of High Quality Recruits
• Military Recruitment - Regional Recruitment Rates
• Military Recruitment - State Recruitment Rates
• Military Recruitment - Percentage Metro/Non Metro
• Recruit Zip Code Income

Ann Scott Tyson, a respected military reporter just back from Iraq, wrote in a front-page story Nov. 4 that "newly released Pentagon demographic data show that the military is leaning heavily for recruits on economically depressed rural areas where youths' need for jobs may outweigh the risks of going to war."
Resource Type: Article

Source: Washington Post

This paper reports the results of summary research into the demographic composition of two groups of recruits: those who enlisted between October 1998 and September 1999 and those who enlisted between January 2003 and September 2003. These groups are referred to as the 1999 and 2003 recruit cohorts, respectively. Nationwide Census data for citizens ages 18?24 were used as a baseline for comparison. Comparisons of these three different groups highlight the differences not only between the general population and military volunteers, but also between recruits who volun­teered for the military before 9/11 and those who volunteered after 9/11. - More Information