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Military families are a numerical minority in U.S. society and are largely misrepresented, stereotyped, and misunderstood, particularly in the media (Lofty 2006; Spell 2011). During World War II, 1 in 10 members of the civilian population served in the active or Reserve components of the military (Bureau of Labor Statistics 2011; U.S. Census Bureau 2012). The percentage of adolescents willing to even consider military service has fallen below 20% for males and 10% for females (Bachman et al. 2000), and the number of members of Congress with military experience fell to only 20% during the 2010–2011 session, its lowest level since WWII, compared with more than 70% during the 1960s and 1970s (Military Officers Association of America 2011). Military members are sometimes portrayed as poorly educated, disproportionately from low-income backgrounds, or poorly paid relative to members of the civilian population (Rall 2007; Travers 2009). Each of these portrayals is either incorrect or incomplete. Military members are more likely than those in the civilian population to have earned a high school diploma or the equivalent but less likely to have earned a college degree (Table 2-). Further, regular military compensation has exceeded comparable civilian pay, including allowances and in-kind benefits, since 2002 (Murray 2010). National Guard and Reserve members experience an average income increase of nearly $20,000 when facing long deployments (Hosek 2011).
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