In fiscal year 2005, the Army, Army Reserve, Navy, Air Force, and Marines recruited a total of 372 recruits from Kent County according to data compiled by the National Priorities Project. There were a total of 5,760 soldiers recruited in Michigan by the military. While detailed analyses examining the relationship between recruitment and race, income, and education are only available for the Army at this point from the National Priorities Project, the numbers show that the Army is continuing to recruit a disproportionate number of low income recruits and are recruiting an increased number of recruits who have not received a high school diploma. In order to target these populations, often with the promise of education and high enlistment bonuses, the military has a total recruiting budget that now exceeds $4 billion annually if one includes not only the more than $1.5 billion spent on advertising each year but also the maintenance of recruiting stations, the pay and benefits of more than 22,000 military recruiters, and enlistment bonuses.

In Kent County, the military has recruited 372 people. This includes 122 recruits enlisting in the Army, 36 in the Army Reserve, 69 in the Navy, 45 in the Air Force, and 100 in the Marines. While numbers looking at income levels are not available, numbers on race and military recruiting in Kent County reveal that in Kent County the proportions of people of color recruited into military service are generally consistent with the demographic number of 15 to 24 year olds in the county, with the exception being the Navy in which a disproportionate number of people of color are being recruited. In Kent County, population figures available from the National Priorities Project put the percentage of White youth at 85.7%, African-American 11.7%, and Latino 10.1% (numbers were not available for other races). While perhaps a somewhat tedious exercise, it is worth examining the percentage of recruits by race in Kent County for each branch of the military service. Among Army recruits, 90.2% were White, 7.4% were African-American, 1.6% were Asian/Pacific Islanders, 5.7% were Latino, and 0.8% were Native American. In the Air Force, 88.9% were white, 6.7% were African-American, and 4.4% reported two or more races. In the Navy, Native Americans accounted for 5.8% of recruits, African-Americans for 7.2%, Latinos 1.4%, Asian/Pacific Islander 4.3%, and White 82.6%. Marine recruits in Kent County were overwhelmingly White at 95%, African-Americans at 3%, Asian 1%, and Native American 1%.

In the entire state of Michigan there were a total of 5,760 recruits, with 2,224 recruited by the Army, 522 by the Army Reserve, 1,070 by the Navy, 579 by the Air Force, and 1,365 by the Marines. Again, looking at the numbers for race and recruitment into each branch of the military is a useful exercise. 12.3% of Army recruits were African-American, 85.8% were White, 1.3% were Asian/Pacific Islander, 3.1% were Latino, and 0.6% were Native American. In the Army Reserve, 15.7% were African-American, 81.6% were White, 1.7% were Asian/Pacific Islander, 4.4% were Latino, and 0.9% were Native American. 16.2%, of Navy recruits were African-American, 72.4% were White, 3% were Asian/Pacific Islanders, and 4.8% were Latino. Among Air Force recruits, 12.3% were African-American, 0.7% were Native American, 4% were Latino, 1% were Asian, and 84.6% were White. Numbers examining race and recruitment for the Marines in Michigan are less than useful, as 41% of recruits did not respond to questions about their race. When looking at national numbers, youth of color are significantly overrepresented in all branches of the military for which the National Priorities Project has statistics. In all branches except the Marines African-Americans were over represented, while in all branches except for the Army Whites were significantly under represented compared to their share of the population. Both in Michigan and around the country rural counties are among the top counties for recruits per 1,000 youth, with Ogemaw, Gogebic, and Alcona counties in Michigan ranking within top 100 counties for Army recruits. Among the top 100 counties by number of Army recruits, five Michigan counties--Wayne, Oakland, Kent, Genesee, and Macomb--are ranked, with Wayne County having the 16th highest number of Army recruits in the country. In Michigan, only 74.3% of Army recruits had a high school diploma, down from 85.1% last year and slightly better than the overall percentage of 73.1%.