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Most of Those Who Did Not Enlist Immediately After High School Sought Jobs or Further Education Instead

• Among those surveyed, 73 percent of the older recruits said they remembered recruiters visiting their high schools. Among the reasons given for why they did not enlist directly after high school graduation, many said they went to college or vocational school or got jobs.

Some Who Did Not Enlist Immediately Faced Opposition from Family or Friends

• Of the 38 percent who said they just took time off, one-quarter indicated that someone did not want them to enlist.

Others Were Concerned About Current Commitments Overseas

• Nearly one-quarter also indicated that they were concerned about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Those Who Enlisted Later Were Concerned About the Job Market

• When asked why they decided to join the Army, about a third of those who joined later said there were "no jobs at home," and about half were of the view that the jobs that were available were "dead-end jobs."

They Were Also Less Concerned About External Factors

• When they did enlist, they indicated that the views of others had become less important to their decision and they were less concerned about the war, despite the fact that nearly all indicated that they expected to be deployed.

Since the advent of the all-volunteer force, little attention has been paid to high school graduates who do not enlist immediately after graduation, primarily those who seek employment in the private sector of the economy. However, over time, this group has made up a significant and increasing portion of total enlistments. However, since 2005, the majority of the Army's recruits has not joined directly out of high school but has instead made the decision to join at a later time. Why these recruits initially chose not to join when they had the opportunity after graduating from high school and why they changed their minds several years later and enlisted are the subjects of this report. Given the importance of older recruits to the Army, the authors examine what is known about these recruits, their performance during military service, and why they came to join the Army after first choosing another postsecondary path. The results of a survey of 5,000 Army recruits designed to answer this question are presented. Finally, the implications of the survey results are discussed, along with suggestions of ways to gain additional insights by tracking this survey cohort through their Army careers.

• Chapter One

  Introduction

• Chapter Two

  Who Are the Older Recruits and How Successful Are They in the Army?

• Chapter Three

  Why Do Older Youths Join the Military?

• Chapter Four

  Surveys of Army Enlistees and the American Youth Population

• Chapter Five

  What We Learned About Older Recruits: An Analysis of Survey Results

• Chapter Six

  Conclusions and Recommendations

• Appendix

  The Survey