Service-Total Active Duty Personne-Percentage Female-Enlisted-Officers
Army-500,203-15.2%-414,325-69,307
Marine Corps-176,202-6.0%157,150-19,052
Navy-375,521-14.5%-319,929-55,592
Air Force-358,612-19.6%-285,520-73,091
Coast Guard-40,151-10.7%-31,286-7,835

from wikipedia.
in USArmy, its around 6 Enlisted men to 1 Officer
in USMC, its around 8.2 to 1
in USN, its around 5.7 to 1
in USAF, its around 3.9 to 1
in USCG its around 3.9 to 1

so does that mean, its easier to rank up...such as an officer has a better chance at USMC and enlisted have a better chance at USAF or so.. or does this not matter.. does USAF hav more officers because there are alot of pilots or..

well I dont really know what im asking.. just kinda weird its not even out through all branches...

Originally Posted by JulesLee

so does that mean, its easier to rank up...such as an officer has a better chance at USMC and enlisted have a better chance at USAF or so.. or does this not matter.. does USAF hav more officers because there are alot of pilots or..

well I dont really know what im asking.. just kinda weird its not even out through all branches...

Each service has its own characteristics, which usually explains why the discrepancies in the enlisted-to-officer ratios. But it generally doesn't matter which service you're in, the methods of going from enlisted to officer are all pretty much the same. More important is if your commanders see leadership potential in you, and have confidence in your decision-making abilities.

Originally Posted by Doody

Did I miss any other ways to get your commission???

One much overlooked commission is as a Chief Warrant Officer. This route is via enlisted to Warrant Officer. Same schools and training (If I recall correctly what I was told) as a commissioned officer. They are generally considered a specialist among specialists in their field of expertise.

In the United States military officers at the Chief Warrant Officer level are in fact commissioned officers and are afforded the same privileges and courtesies, such as terms of address and salutes, as other commissioned officers.

A little history for your perusal:

The warrant officer corps began in the 13th century in the nascent English Royal Navy. At that time, nobles assumed command of the new Navy, adopting the Army ranks of lieutenant and captain. These officers often had no knowledge of life on board a ship—let alone how to navigate such a vessel—and relied on the expertise and cooperation of a senior sailor who tended to the technical aspects of running the ship. As cannon came into use, the officers also required gunnery experts.
These sailors became indispensable to less-experienced officers and were rewarded with a royal warrant. This warrant was a special designation, designed to set them apart from other sailors, yet not violate the strict class system that was prevalent during the time

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrant_officer

Historically the ratio of officer to enlisted has changed drastically as the enlisted ranks have become better educated.

As the level of education has risen, the number of officers to enlisted has decreased as the number of senior enlisted to junior enlisted has risen. The most senior of the enlisted personnel now fill slots that would have formerly been filled by junior officers, often filling company or division slots.

I don't know the exact figures, however Chief Petty Officer training courses pointed out the above facts when I attended as a newly frocked CPO.

Another thing to remember is the U.S. Army has a lot more officers because they have additional 'Title 10, USC' responsibilities. For instance, bulk supplies on land all have to be handled by the Army, even if in a joint environment with Marines and Air Force. In fact, during combined ops with other countries, often the U.S. Army is responsible for their supplies as well. This requires a lot of officers as much of the hauling is handled by civilian contracters, and just managed by officers.

Another issue is that Marines do not have many chaplains or doctors - most of those folks come from the Navy.

As for warrant officers, the Air Force doesn't have any. This skews some of their ratios.

Tankersteve

As far as I know, the Marine Corps doesn't have any doctors or chaplains.