Stars Make the Difference: Does Military Rank Effect the Long-Term-Survival of Military Academy Graduates– Causation or Selection?

Ronny Westerman , Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB), Germany
Allan Mazur, Syracuse University
Ulrich O. Mueller, Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB)

Objectives: Military officers who retire at the highest ranks have the greatest survival benefits, especially at advanced ages. This might be causative: attaining a higher military rank more effectively promotes health and life expectancy. Alternatively, it may be selective: only men in robust health will attain the top ranks. Methods: We investigated the long-term survival of the 1949, 1950 and 1951 graduates from the US Naval Academy (n=2206) and the US Military Academy (n=1719). In the survival analysis, we used nonparametric and parametric (gamma)-Gompertz survival models. Results: We found the expected positive association between final rank and life span. An unexpected finding was the maximum effect for retirees who died at approximately 80 years. This pattern supports the selection hypothesis. Discussion: The survival of the oldest-old age group in this military population was affected by selection: only individuals with robust health well into their 60s attained top ranks.

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 Presented in Session P1. Postercafe