21.7 Average age of new active-duty Army recruit, 2008 (5)

$7.7 billion Amount spent by the federal government on military recruiting and retention programs in 2008, more than double that of the $3.4 billion budget in 2004 (4)

66% Percentage of active-duty service members who thought seriously about leaving the military, 2006 (1)

20% Percentage of recruits joining the Army who required a waiver for medical or conduct reasons, FY 2008 (3)

372 Number of former convicts granted waivers to enlist in the Army in FY 2008, down from 511 in FY 2007 (3)

100% Percentage of recruiting goals met by all active-duty and reserve branches of the U.S. military for FY 2008; the Army reached 101 percent of its recruiting goals for the same fiscal year. Analysts cite the economic depression and the high unemployment rate as prime reasons for increased recruiting figures. (3)

27% Percentage of female active-duty Army recruits who were African-American in FY 2008, nearly double the percentage of white females recruited in the same year; Native American, Asian, and Latina women were also recruited into the Army in disproportionate numbers, despite making up the minority of the general female population. (5)

39,365 Number of patients diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to the Military Health System, 2003–2007; (8) the military-aligned think tank Rand estimated in 2008 that 300,000 Iraq and Afghan veterans suffer from PTSD, which would leave more than an estimated 260,000 untreated.

3,230 Number of reports of sexual assault involving military personnel in FY 2009; reported incidents rose 11 percent from 2008 and 20 percent from 2007. The actual number of assaults is much higher, according to military officials, since an estimated 80 percent of military personnel who have been sexually assaulted do not report the assault. (6)

31% Percentage of sexual assault crimes investigated in unrestricted reports in the military determined to be rape in FY 2009; another 31 percent of crimes investigated were determined to be aggravated sexual assault. (7)

53% Percentage of unrestricted reports of sexual assault in the military that were committed by one service member against another service member in FY 2009; 30 percent were committed by a service member against a non-service member. (7)

89% Percentage of victims in completed military investigations of unrestricted reports of sexual assaults who were female, FY 2009; nearly half of sexual assault victims in completed military investigations of unrestricted reports (47 percent) are between 20 and 24 years old. (7)

140,100 Number of active-duty military personnel currently deployed to Iraq, as of March 31, 2010 (2)

87,300 Number of active-duty military personnel currently deployed to Afghanistan, as of March 31, 2010 (2)

Sources: (1) 2006 Status of Forces Survey of Active-Duty Members, DoD; (2) DoD Personnel and Military Casualty Statistics; (3) Powers, Rod. “FY 2008 Military Recruiting Statistics” About.com Guide; (4) Vogel, Steve. “Military Recruiting Faces a Budget Cut” Washington Post. May 11, 2009; (5) nationalpriorities.org; (6) Morgan-Besecker, Terrie. “Still Soldiering On: Military Sexual Assault Victims Push Department of Defense and VA to Make Changes.” Times Leader. June 6, 2010; (7) FY 2009 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military, DoD; (8) Fischer, Hannah. “U.S. Military Casualty Statistics: Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom” Congressional Research Service, March 25, 2009