| Army | Navy | Marine Corps | Air Force | |||||
| Year | Enlisted Men | Officers | Enlisted Men | Officers | Enlisted Men | Officers | Enlisted Men | Officers |
| 1949 | 12.4 | 1.8 | 4.7 | 0.0 | 2.1 | 0.0 | 5.1 | 0.6 |
| 1954 | 13.7 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 0.1 | 6.5 | 0.1 | 8.6 | 1.1 |
| 1962 | 12.2 | 3.2 | 5.2 | 0.2 | 7.6 | 0.2 | 9.2 | 1.2 |
Table 14—Estimated Percentage Distribution of Draft-Age Males in U.S. Population by AFQT Groups
(Based on Preinduction Examination, 1959-1962)
| Group | White | Nonwhite |
| I | 11.8 | 0.3 |
| II | 31.3 | 2.6 |
| III | 31.9 | 15.0 |
| IV | 19.0 | 40.1 |
| V | 6.0 | 42.0 |
Table 15—Rate of Men Disqualified for Service in 1962
(In Percentage)
| Cause | White | Nonwhite |
| Medical and other | 21.8 | 10.1 |
| Mental test failure | 8.4 | 50.6 |
| Total | 30.2 | 60.7 |
Table 16—Rejection Rates for Failure to Pass Armed Forces Mental Test, 1962
| Area | Number Examined | Failed Mental Test | |
| Number | Percent | ||
| Grand total, Continental United States | 286,152 | 64,536 | 22.6 |
| Total, white | 235,678 | 36,204 | 15.4 |
| Total, black | 50,474 | 28,332 | 56.1 |
| First Army: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont | |||
| White | 49,171 | 12,989 | 26.4 |
| Black | 7,937 | 3,976 | 50.1 |
| Second Army: Delaware, Washington, D.C., Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia | |||
| White | 48,641 | 5,888 | 12.1 |
| Black | 9,563 | 4,255 | 44.5 |
| Third Army: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee | |||
| White | 30,242 | 5,786 | 19.1 |
| Black | 20,343 | 13,772 | 67.7 |
| Fourth Army: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas | |||
| White | 15,048 | 2,039 | 13.5 |
| Black | 4,796 | 2,988 | 62.3 |
| Fifth Army: Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Wyoming | |||
| White | 51,117 | 4,495 | 8.9 |
| Black | 5,723 | 2,684 | 46.9 |
| Sixth Army: Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington | |||
| White | 41,459 | 5,007 | 12.1 |
| Black | 2,112 | 657 | 31.1 |
This problem became critical for black enlistments in the mid-1950's when the services, with less need for new servicemen, raised the mental standards for enlistees, denying Group IV men the right to enlist. (An exception to this pattern was the Navy's decision to accept Group IV enlistments in 1956 and 1957 to replace post-Korean enlistment losses.) In terms of total black representation, however, the new mental standards made a lesser difference (Table 17). Denying Group IV men enlistment during the 1950's only increased their number in the draft pool, and when the Army stepped up draft inductions in the early 1960's the number of Group IV men in uniform, including Negroes, rapidly increased.
Table 17—Nonwhite Inductions and First Enlistments, Fiscal Years 1953-1962[1]
| Fiscal Year | Total Accessions (000) [1] | Percent Nonwhite | |||||
| DOD | Army | Navy | Marine Corps | Air force | |||
| Inductees [2] | Enlistees | ||||||
| 1953 | 886.1 | 12.8 | 14.7 | 13.4 | 4.3 | 8.0 | 11.1 |
| 1954 | 576.3 | 10.0 | 9.9 | 13.0 | 4.0 | 7.8 | 11.9 |
| 1955 | 622.6 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 12.7 | 9.0 | 5.4 | 13.5 |
| 1956 | 481.9 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 15.1 | 9.5 | 10.6 | 12.2 |
| 1957 | 456.7 | 9.1 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 3.6 | 9.5 | 9.7 |
| 1958 | 367.1 | 7.9 | 13.2 | 6.4 | 2.8 | 5.1 | 7.1 |
| 1959 | 392.0 | 7.1 | 10.4 | 8.1 | 2.4 | 5.0 | 6.5 |
| 1960 | 389.4 | 8.1 | 12.3 | 8.4 | 3.0 | 7.9 | 8.4 |
| 1961 | 394.7 | 8.2 | 14.4 | 8.2 | 2.9 | 5.9 | 9.5 |
| 1962 | 518.6 | 9.7 | 15.3 | 9.0 | 4.1 | 6.5 | 8.6 |
| Total | 5,085.4 | 9.9 | 12.3 | 10.3 | 4.9 | 7.4 | 10.4 |