Boing-boing // Wikimedia Commons
1 / 32Active duty personnel – Army
2016 active duty personnel: 378,835
Percent of total personnel: 35.7%
While a great deal of noise has been made about the politicization of the military in recent years, people on both sides of the aisle can step back from politics and simply appreciate the bravery put on display by the more than one million active service members in the armed forces. Not only do they put their lives on the line in the pursuit of defending the United States, but they come from all different walks of life, having various ethnic backgrounds, educational history, and unique skill sets.
To provide more context on military diversity, Stacker used data from CNA that provides specific breakdowns of the American armed forces by various demographics. This story focuses on Department of Defense services branches, specifically the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. Data was unavailable for the U.S. Coast Guard. For each branch, we've included 2016 statistics about the makeup of their personnel across various categories.
Read on to get a better idea of what the large coalition of brave servicemen and servicewomen protecting our nation actually looks like.
ALSO: Military heroes from every state
Official Navy Page // Wikimedia Commons
2 / 32Active duty personnel – Navy
2016 active duty personnel: 265,716
Percent of total personnel: 25.1%
US Air Force // Flickr
3 / 32Active duty personnel – Air Force
2016 active duty personnel: 252,762
Percent of total personnel: 23.8%
Marines // Flickr
4 / 32Active duty personnel – Marines
2016 active duty personnel: 162,828
Percent of total personnel: 15.4%
The U.S. Army // Wikimedia Commons
5 / 32Breakdown by gender – Army
2016 active duty males: 325,603 (85.9%)
2016 active duty females: 53,232 (14.1%)
Official Navy Page // Wikimedia Commons
6 / 32Breakdown by gender – Navy
2016 active duty males: 215,540 (81.1%)
2016 active duty females: 50,176 (18.9%)
US Air Force // Flickr
7 / 32Breakdown by gender – Air Force
2016 active duty males: 204,476 (80.9%)
2016 active duty females: 48,286 (19.1%)
U.S. Department of Defense Current Photos // Flickr
8 / 32Breakdown by gender – Marines
2016 active duty males: 149,497 (91.8%)
2016 active duty females: 13,331 (8.2%)
The U.S. Army // Wikimedia Commons
9 / 32Breakdown by race/ethnicity – Army
2016 active duty members:
White: 65.1%
Black: 24.3%
Asian: 4.5%
Unknown: 4.12%
Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander: 1.2%
American Indian, Alaska Native: 0.8%
Two or more: 0.0%
Official Navy Page // Wikimedia Commons
10 / 32Breakdown by race/ethnicity – Navy
2016 active duty members:
White: 58.3%
Black: 19.1%
Asian: 5.6%
Unknown: 3.5%
Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander: 1.2%
American Indian, Alaska Native: 3.0%
Two or more: 9.3%
US Air Force // Flickr
11 / 32Breakdown by race/ethnicity – Air Force
2016 active duty members:
White: 70.2%
Black: 16.4%
Asian: 4.5%
Unknown: 3.4%
Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander: 1.3%
American Indian, Alaska Native: 0.7%
Two or more: 1.3%
U.S. Department of Defense Current Photos // Flickr
12 / 32Breakdown by race/ethnicity – Marines
2016 active duty members:
White: 79.4%
Black: 11.5%
Asian: 2.7%
Unknown: 3.2%
Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander: 1.2%
American Indian, Alaska Native: 1.1%
Two or more: 0.9%
The U.S. Army // Wikimedia Commons
13 / 32Percent who graduated high school – Army
2016 active duty members:
Who graduated high school: 96.35%
Who have a GED or equivalent: 3.50%
Who did not graduate high school: 0.15%
Official Navy Page // Wikimedia Commons
14 / 32Percent who graduated high school – Navy
2016 active duty members:
Who graduated high school: 98.37%
Who have a GED or equivalent: 1.21%
Who did not graduate high school: 0.42%
US Air Force // Flickr
15 / 32Percent who graduated high school – Air Force
2016 active duty members:
Who graduated high school: 99.96%
Who have a GED or equivalent: 0.04%
Who did not graduate high school: 0.00%
Marines // Flickr
16 / 32Percent who graduated high school – Marines
2016 active duty members:
Who graduated high school: 99.60%
Who have a GED or equivalent: 0.37%
Who did not graduate high school: 0.03%
The U.S. Army // Wikimedia Commons
17 / 32Percent who continue serving after several years – Army
2016 active duty members who continue serving after:
5 years of service: 80.3%
10 years of service: 84.8%
30 years of service: 73.2%
Official Navy Page // Wikimedia Commons
18 / 32Percent who continue serving after several years – Navy
2016 active duty members who continue serving after:
5 years of service: 81.5%
10 years of service: 91.7%
30 years of service: 12.6%
Washington National Guard // Flickr
19 / 32Percent who continue serving after several years – Air Force
2016 active duty members who continue serving after:
5 years of service: 93.1%
10 years of service: 91.7%
30 years of service: 8.6%
Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th F // Flickr
20 / 32Percent who continue serving after several years – Marines
2016 active duty members who continue serving after:
5 years of service: 51.9%
10 years of service: 84.3%
30 years of service: 2.2%
The U.S. Army // Wikimedia Commons
21 / 32Occupations with the most men – Army
Occupation with the most men: Infantry, Gun Crews and Seamanship (98,062)
Occupation with the highest percentage of men: Infantry, Gun Crews and Seamanship (98.29%)
Presidio of Monterey // Flickr
22 / 32Occupations with the most men – Navy
Occupation with the most men: Electrical (65,732)
Occupation with the highest percentage of men: Other Technical (91.50%)
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff // Flickr
23 / 32Occupations with the most men – Air Force
Occupation with the most men: Supply (29,866)
Occupation with the highest percentage of men: Electrical (93.49%)
Marines // Flickr
24 / 32Occupations with the most men – Marines
Occupation with the most men: Infantry, Gun Crews and Seamanship (35,073)
Occupation with the highest percentage of men: Infantry, Gun Crews and Seamanship (99.01%)
The U.S. Army // Wikimedia Commons
25 / 32Occupations with the most women – Army
Occupation with the most women: Administrators (17,790)
Occupation with the highest percentage of women: Medical (26.88%)
Official Navy Page // Wikimedia Commons
26 / 32Occupations with the most women – Navy
Occupation with the most women: Electrical (12,974)
Occupation with the highest percentage of women: Administrators (28.54%)
US Air Force // Flickr
27 / 32Occupations with the most women – Air Force
Occupation with the most women: Administrators (13,916)
Occupation with the highest percentage of women: Medical (48.79%)
Marines // Flickr
28 / 32Occupations with the most women – Marines
Occupation with the most women: Administrators (4,072)
Occupation with the highest percentage of women: Administrators (19.20%)
The U.S. Army // Wikimedia Commons
29 / 322016 enlistees – Army
2016 enlistees: 62,362
Percent change from 2015: +5.38%
United States Naval Special Warfare // Wikimedia Commons
30 / 322016 enlistees – Navy
2016 enlistees: 30,624
Percent change from 2015: -12.44%
Mobilus In Mobili // Flickr
31 / 322016 enlistees – Air Force
2016 enlistees: 32,279
Percent change from 2015: +24.92%
Marines // Flickr
32 / 322016 enlistees – Marines
2016 enlistees: 30,378
Percent change from 2015: +2.59%
