Development of a Methodology for Establishing Joint Service Height and Weight Standards for Enlistment

摘要

Recent analyses of the qualification rates for enlistment into the U.S. military have revealed differences between males and females. While 96 percent of the young males, aged 16-24 met the current height and weight standards, only 74 percent of the females, aged 16-24 were qualified for military service. The purpose of this report is to examine the height and weight standards currently in effect, explore the differences, and propose revisions to the height and weight standards that would mitigate the difference in the male and female qualification rates. The latter portion of the analysis involves the application of quantitative methods, consistently applied, that ensure equal treatment of males and females in the specification of proposed revised height and weight standards. The single constraint on the present analysis was that the maximum weight standards for young males, aged 16-24, were to remain unchanged as revisions in the height and weight standards for older males and all females were proposed. However, supplemental revisions in the maximum weight standards for the young males are presented to illustrate their effect on qualification rates in the absence of this analytic constraint.