Combined acceptance

From the standpoint of the System's operations and for other reasons, it is important to consider separately as has been done, the local board, preinduction, and induction acceptance rates for registrants with respect to their qualifications for military service. Also significant is the observance of a combined rate for these three activities relative to the examination of men in connection with their selective service processing. The data reported by the System's local boards and State headquarters to its national headquarters which cover the three activities, can be applied on a partially estimated basis in developing a combined rate:

In general here is the procedure used and the materials applied: (1) The number of examined registrants is the sum of the reported selective service local board rejections plus the reported Armed Forces preinduction examinations plus the reported Armed Forces induction examinations for registrants not previously examined by the forces.

(2) The number of accepted registrants is the difference between the number of examined registrants and the sum of selective service local board rejections plus Armed Forces preinduction rejections plus all Armed Forces induction rejections.

(3) The acceptance percentage or rate is the number of accepted registrants divided by the number of examined registrants.

Acceptance at voluntary enlistment

Over and above the selective service and Armed Forces consideration of the System's militarily available registrants for active duty acceptability, the Armed Forces also examine men-both registrants and nonregistrants-for acceptance upon their volunteering for enlistment. This has already been noted. In such connection, information is on hand for the period July 1956-September 1957 which gives a voluntary enlistment acceptance rate of 89.7 percent. The data upon which this rate is based are 440,543 examinations and 395,027 acceptances for the period.

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The rate on enlistment acceptance for the selected State already cited, is somewhat higher. Of an estimated 26,440 men from that State who were examined for enlistment during the July 1956-September 1957 period, 24,643 or 93.2 percent were accepted. Below is given similar information for the same time periods which this release has been covering:

It will be seen from such materials that acceptances among men who volunteer for enlistment, seem to run a little higher than those for registrants approaching military duty through the selective service process.

Overall acceptance

Sometimes in speaking of a military acceptance rate, the expression "an acceptance percentage for the population as a whole" is used. What does this mean?

A population acceptance rate merely means the proportion of those who qualify for the Armed Forces when all of the people, or all of the men, or at least all of the men of militarily-liable age, are examined for fitness.

Actually, then, there is no such thing as a population rate in existence for the present military manpower procurement program, because nowhere near all of the individuals in the liable ages have as yet been examined.

It is possible, though, to make an approach toward a population rate if the Armed Forces examinations and acceptances for voluntary enlistment, are merged with those of the Selective Service local board and Armed Forces preinduction and induction activities. When this is done, here are the results:

The 69-percent acceptance resulting above with respect to all of the men examined for military service in the United States during the past 13 years, is corroborated somewhat by the System's 1-percent sample inventory of registrants for April 30, 1953. This inventory is indicated in its release No. 26, Current Status of Examined Registrants, revealed an overall acceptance rate of 70 for registrants aged 18 through 27 years.

It should be added, however, that the sample inventory of 1953 included men examined for commissioning and Reserve callup as well as those examined at interview, preinduction, induction, and enlistment. The present release, on the other hand, deals only with interviews, preinduction, induction and enlistment examinees.

New procedure for acceptance evaluation

Likewise mentioned should be the fact that acceptance as considered in this release, is in connection with general military service alone. Thus far under the present operation of Selective Service, the Armed Forces have accepted for current active duty only men who qualified for general military service, and have not accepted any qualified for limited or other duty.

Beginning in the fall of 1960, however, as set forth in the System's Operations Bulletin No. 223, dated August 11 of that year, a new procedure was inaugurated for the evaluation and description of the physical, mental and moral qualifications of examinees. The symbols established to indicate this evaluation, were "X," qualified for present military service; "Y" qualified for service during future war or emergency; and "Z," qualified only for duty in a civilian capacity.

An examinee described as "X" for physical qualifications, "X" for mental and "X" for moral, is acceptable for current service. If one element, or more, is marked "Y," he is eligible only for future wartime duty. One, or more, being "Z" designates acceptance for civilian activity alone. In consequence of this evaluative procedure, a marked step forward has been taken in the field of military acceptability.

Acceptance in World War II

The Second World War also saw overall acceptance of about 70 percent-70.3 to be exact. However, the World War II rate was for men generally aged 18 through 37 years, whereas the rate for the present period applies only to those 18 through 25. For further information on acceptance during the Second World War, reference is made to Selective Service Monograph No. 15, Physical Examination of Selective Service Registrants (vol. I, pp. 153–156). Acceptance during the First World War

Interestingly enough, acceptance during World War I likewise stood near the 70 percent figure-70.9. Here, though, the age span is again different from that of the current time or that of the Second World War. The age range covered by the 1917-18 data, is in general 21 through 30 years. In regard to this acceptance experience, see the report of the Surgeon General to the Secretary of War, in the War Department annual report for fiscal year 1918 (vol. I, p. 365). Acceptance in the Civil War

Acceptance for the Civil War was slightly higher-a percentage of 74.3 for the Federal operation-and the statistics pertaining thereto are for ages 20 through 45. In such regard consult the report of the Provost Marshal to the Secretary of War for the 1863-65 draft period (p. 252, et seq).

Summary

Summarizing, there follows the acceptance rates and age groups to which they apply for four periods, or parts of periods, when national selective service programs have been in operation for the United States:

In making use of these acceptance percentages, it is advisable for them usually to be defined as to period and age coverage. Additionally, there should be an understanding of what acceptance means and how it relates to rejection, yield, and availability.

Acceptance for military service implies, that under the physical, mental, moral, and other standards for the same, a man is qualified for active duty.

He is fit

Rejection is the complement of acceptance. It can be and is expressed in percents also. A rejected man is not qualified for service under the standards. He is unfit-unacceptable-though this is always a matter of degree with respect to the time and the need for military manpower.

Acceptability and yield

Yield is an entirely different matter in most ways. It means of a given number of men, the proportion really entering and performing training and service. In the System's operation, the yield in inductees may be relatively low-say, two in seven, by way of illustration. Yet acceptance for this same group may be 7 in 10 while rejection is 3 in 10.

In such instances, what has happened to the rest of the acceptables? Well, some have enlisted voluntarily-have entered service at their own convenience rather than that of the Selective Service local board. Others may have been deferred and the like. However, in a draft operation overall yield may eventually or ultimately approach overall acceptability. That in a way is what the Secretary of Defense had in mind when he stated in January 1959 at the congressional hearings on the extension of the induction provisions of the Universal Military Training and Service Act, that by age 26-7 out of 10 men had experienced some kind of Regular, or Reserve duty with the Armed Forces (yield) and that this constituted 9 out of 10 so qualified (acceptability).

Acceptance and availability

Availability in the main is still another matter. In the military manpower procurement scheme it tends to be more of the System's business than acceptance, rejection, or yield. An available registrant is one whose local board finds no reason to defer and therefore considers as having availability for armed service. Availability is related to acceptance and yield, of course, because in the orderly processes of Selective Service if a man is not considered available his military acceptability may not be determined and he may not be included in the yield for active duty.