Enlisted Personnel

Below the rank of officer, military personnel who make up most of the armed forces and fulfill the primary missions of the military. Enlisted personnel comprise 85% of the Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. The remaining 15% consist of officers who are responsible for the leadership and management aspects of the military. There are currently 1.2 million active-duty enlisted personnel in the United States.

Enlisted personnel are classified by rank as well as by their individual military occupational specialties (MOS). Specialties are selected at the beginning of enlistment and divided into 12 occupational groups. These include administrative; combat; construction; electronic and electrical equipment repair; engineering, science, and technical occupations; health care; human resources development; machine operator; media and public affairs; protective services; transportation and material handling; and vehicle and machine mechanics.

Enlisted personnel enter the armed forces by signing an enlistment contract, committing for a period of four to eight years. Recruits must possess at least a high school diploma or an equivalency degree (GED). On entering into an enlistment contract, an individual is assessed and given the option to select an MOS. The recruit then enters basic training for a period of six to twelve weeks learning all aspects required of an enlisted service member. This includes military traditions, physical fitness, and further fundamental skills such as marksmanship, orienteering, close-order drill, weapons and survival training, and military discipline.

After basic training, enlisted personnel enter advanced individual training to focus on their MOS. This individualized training program varies in duration from specialty to specialty. Following completion of this training, the enlisted members are sent out to a military unit either in the United States or abroad. There they perform the basic duties that enable the military to meet its goal of defending U.S. national security.

At the end of the contract, an enlisted person can leave the service with the benefits promised by the military, which include assistance toward further education. Many soldiers, however, choose to extend their contracts, or re-up. The highest enlisted rank an individual can attain in the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps is Staff Sergeant; in the U.S. Air Force, it is Chief Master Sergeant; and in the U.S. Navy, it is Master Chief Petty Officer. Many enlisted personnel make a career out of the armed services, retiring with a full government pension before beginning careers in civilian life.