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Military Enlistment of Hispanic Youth Obstacles and Opportunities Beth J. Asch, Christopher Buck, Jacob Alex Klerman, Meredith Kleykamp, David S. Loughran Prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense Approved for public release; distribution unlimited NATIONAL DEFENSE RESEARCH INSTITUTE 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 OSD, the Joint Staff, the Unified Combatant Commands, the Department of the Navy, the Marine Corps, the defense agencies, and the defense Intelligence Community under Contract W74V8H-06-C-0002. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Military enlistment of Hispanic youth : obstacles and opportunities / Beth J. Asch ... [et al.]. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-8330-4572-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. United States—Armed Forces—Hispanic Americans. 2. Recruiting and enlistment. I. Asch, Beth J. UB418.H57M55 2009 355.2'236208968073—dc22 2009050790 The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R ® is a registered trademark. © Copyright 2009 RAND Corporation All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from RAND. Published 2009 by the RAND Corporation 1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 1200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202-5050 4570 Fifth Avenue, Suite 600, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2665 RAND URL: http://www.rand.org To order RAND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution Services: Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Email: [email protected] Preface An ongoing concern of Congress, the Department of Defense (DoD), and the armed services is whether the military represents U.S. society at large. An implicit goal is that diversity in the armed services should approximate the diversity of the general population. A key aspect of that diversity is the representation of Hispanics. Furthermore, when military recruiting becomes more challenging, policymakers need to ensure that policies are in place to effectively enlist youth in key demographic groups, such as Hispanics. Hispanics are a growing segment of the youth population, yet they have historically been underrepresented among military recruits. A widely cited reason is Hispanics’ below-average rate of graduation from high school, combined with the services’ preference for recruits with high school diplomas. But other, less studied, factors may also contribute. Such factors might include lack of language proficiency as reflected in aptitude test scores; fertility choices; health factors, such as obesity; and involvement in risky activities, such as the use of illegal drugs. These factors, to the extent they are present in the Hispanic population, could adversely affect the services’ ability to meet their enlistment standards. Our project, “Hispanic Youth in the U.S. and the Factors Affecting Their Enlistment,” analyzed the factors that lead to the underrepresentation of Hispanic youth among military enlistments. To help policymakers evaluate the feasibility of improving Hispanic enlistments by recruiting more intensively from among the population that is qualified for service and the implications of recruiting Hispanics who are less qualified, we also analyzed both the nonmili- tary opportunities available to qualified Hispanic youth and the consequences of recruiting less-qualified Hispanic youth. This report should be of interest to policymakers and researchers concerned about social representation in the military, opportunities for Hispanic youth, and military recruiting policies. This research was conducted for the Defense Human Resources Activity and for the Office of Accession Policy, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readi- ness. This study was conducted in the Forces and Policy Resources Center of RAND’s 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. Comments are welcome and may be addressed to Beth Asch at [email protected]. For more information on RAND’s Forces and Policy Resources Center, contact the Direc- tor, James Hosek. He can be reached by email at [email protected]; by phone at 310- 393-0411, extension 7183; or by mail at RAND, 1776 Main Street, Santa Monica, California 90407-2138. More information about RAND is available at www.rand.org. iii Contents Preface ........................................................................................................... iii Figures ........................................................................................................... ix Tables ............................................................................................................ xi Summary ........................................................................................................xv Acknowledgments ........................................................................................... xxv Abbreviations ................................................................................................xxvii CHAPTER ONE Introduction: Hispanic Enlistments in Perspective ...................................................... 1 Enlistment Standards ............................................................................................ 4 Organization of the Report ..................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER TWO Overview of Service Enlistment Standards ................................................................ 7 Waivers ............................................................................................................ 7 Enlistment Standards ............................................................................................ 8 Age .............................................................................................................. 8 Citizenship .....................................................................................................10 Number of Dependents .....................................................................................11 Financial Screening ...........................................................................................11 Education ......................................................................................................12 Aptitude ........................................................................................................13 Moral Character ..............................................................................................14 Substance Use .................................................................................................14 Language Proficiency .........................................................................................15 Homosexual Conduct ........................................................................................16 Height and Weight Standards ...............................................................................16 Strength Requirements .......................................................................................18 Medical Screening ............................................................................................18 CHAPTER THREE Enlistment Qualifications ....................................................................................21 Data ...............................................................................................................21 Caveats .......................................................................................................... 22 Organization .................................................................................................... 23 Hispanics in the Census and NLSY97 .................................................................... 23 v vi Military Enlistment of Hispanic Youth: Obstacles and Opportunities AFQT ......................................................................................................... 27 Weight ........................................................................................................ 34 Number of Dependents ..................................................................................... 38 Substance Abuse and Illegal Activity ...................................................................... 38 The Cumulative Effect of Enlistment Standards ..........................................................41 Conclusions ......................................................................................................49 CHAPTER FOUR Health Obstacles to the Enlistment of Hispanic Youth ................................................51 Previous Research on Hispanic Health .......................................................................51 Citizenship and National Orgin ..............................................................................52 Data ...............................................................................................................53 Enlistment Standards and Measurement Strategy ........................................................53 Measurement of Health Conditions ........................................................................53 Approach ........................................................................................................ 54 Results ............................................................................................................55 Discussion .....................................................................................................61 Summary of Descriptive Results ............................................................................62 Summary of Findings and Conclusions ......................................................................63 CHAPTER FIVE Analysis of Hispanic Military Career Outcomes ........................................................65 Conceptual Framework ....................................................................................... 66 Early Attrition and Promotion ............................................................................. 66 Retention ...................................................................................................... 66 Past Studies ......................................................................................................67 Data .............................................................................................................. 68 Career Outcomes for Hispanics Versus Other Races and Ethnicities ....................................69 Linear Regression Methodology ...............................................................................71 Linear Regression Results ......................................................................................73 Adjusted Versus Raw Outcomes, by Race and Ethnicity ................................................73 Effects of Entry Standard Characteristics on Outcomes, by Race and Ethnicity .....................75 Summary ........................................................................................................85 CHAPTER SIX Increasing Hispanic Enlistments: Evaluating Education and Career Choices .................... 87 High School Dropouts and Category IV–V Youth .........................................................89 High School Graduates, Category IIIA–IIIB ................................................................93 High School Graduates, Category I–II ..................................................................... 109 Conclusions .................................................................................................... 115 CHAPTER SEVEN Policy Implications .......................................................................................... 117 Contents vii APPENDIXES A. Detailed Information on Enlistment Standards .................................................. 121 B. Service Waiver Policy .................................................................................. 169 C. Estimates of Prevalence of Health Conditions, by Race and Ethnicity ...................... 177 D. Tests of Statistical Significance in Medical Disqualification Rates ........................... 181 References ..................................................................................................... 189