Geographic Diversity in Military Recruiting

• Published in: Policy File 2018
• Main Authors: Goldberg, Matthew S, Cheng, Karen, Huff, Nancy M, Kimko, Dennis D, Saizan, Alexandra M
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Subjects: Institute for Defense Analyses

From the beginning of the all-volunteer force (AVF) in 1974nd, indeed, in the public dialogue leading up to the implementation of the AVFwere raised about various aspects of diversity in the military. The Congress chartered the Defense Manpower Commission in 1973; the Commission reported its findings in 1976. The Commission pondered whether the diversity in race, gender, economic status, educational status, and tested aptitude that been achieved to varying degrees under the draft could be sustained in an AVF. The Commission's report highlighted geographical diversity as the one dimension along which the draft had largely been successful. Concerns about geographical diversity were publicly aired by the Department of Defense (DoD) as early as 1987, about a dozen years into the AVF. The 1987 report noted the stronger recruiting performance in the rural areas and in the south and southwest. The report attributed that phenomenon to a higher concentration of military installations in those areas, to larger numbers of military retirees, and to individuals with stronger military orientation. Although the stellar recruiting performance from those areas of the United States was certainly welcome, the concern was whether the all-volunteer military might become isolated to largely just those areas.