Military Personnel: Reporting Additional Servicemember Demographics Could Enhance Congressional Oversight

摘要

The high pace of military operations, thousands of casualties in ongoing military operations, and the services' recruiting challenges have raised questions about who is serving in today's military and concern that certain subgroups of the U.S. population may be disproportionately represented among those fighting and dying in support of the war on terrorism. These challenges and concerns have increased the need for information on the demographic characteristics of military personnel. GAO was asked to address three questions: (1) What are the demographic characteristics of servicemembers and how do they compare to the comparable U.S. civilian workforce; (2) How well are the services meeting their overall recruitment goals, and what influences whether or not individuals join the military; (3) What are the demographic characteristics of servicemembers who remained in the military in fiscal years 2000, 2002, and 2004. GAO was also asked to examine the demographic characteristics of servicemembers who died or were wounded in combat in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.