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STUDENT REPORT-

BIRTH ORDER AND THE AVIATORj

LCBARRY C. HERTSGAARD 87-118

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DISCLAIMER

The views and conclusions *expressed in thisdocument are those of the author. They arenot intended and should not be thought torepresent official Ideas, attitudes, orpolicies of any agency of the United StatesGovernment. The author has not had specialaccess to official information or ideas andhas employed only open-source materialavailable to any writer on this subject.

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REPORT NUMBER 87-1180

TITLE BIRTH ORDER AND THE COMBAT AVIATOR

AUTHOR(S) LIEUTENANT COMMANDER BARRY C. HERTSGAARD, USN

FACULTY ADVISOR MAJOR T.C. LENTZ, ACSC,EDC

SPONSOR CAPTAIN W.R. DULLEY, MC USN MR. R.A. TARTELLCOMMAND PHYSICAN OMC-OCCUP ANAL DIVNAVAL POST GRADUATE SCHOOL USAFOMC/OMYMONTERREY, CA LACKLAND AFB

Submitted to the faculty in partial fulfilment ofrequirements for graduation.

AIR COMMAND AND STAFF COLLEGE

AIR UNIVERSITY

MAXWELL AFB, AL 36112

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SdCURtTY CLASSIFICATION OF THI4S PAGE

REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE

l& REPORT SECURITY CLASSIFICATION lb. RESTRICTIVE MARKINGS

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ACSC/EDCII AORESS (Ctyw. S6W .nd ZIP C**) 7b. ADORES (City. StvN ad ZIP Cod)

Maxwell AFB AL 36112-5542

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16. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTATION

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- This report conducts limited exploratory research into the possiblerelationship between birth order and an above average aptitude foraviation training. It reviews some of the basic elements of thescience of ethology, birth order traits and possible correlationsto military aviators. The study concludes that actual researchinto the Navy and Air Force aviator populations should be conductedto establish what, if any, relationship exists. Improved selec-tion criteria might be established.

29 WSTRIOUIION/AVAI AWi LITY OP ABSTRACT 21 ABSTRACT SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

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ACSC/EDC Maxwell AFB AL 36112-5542 (205) 293-2483

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lieutenant Commander Hertsgaard is a 1976 graduate of theCitadel with a degree in Business Administration. Commisionedin the U.S. Navy upon graduation he reported to NAS Pensacolafor aviation training. He was designated a Naval Flight Officerin April 1978. He then reported to NAS Oceana Virginia fortraining in the F-4J Phantom. A member of Carrier Air Wing Six,he made extended deployments to the Mediterranean Sea in 1979and the Indian Ocean for hostage contingency operations in 1980-1981. ' He was a qualified mission commander and a graduateof the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN). Later assignedto Fleet Combat Training Center Atlantic where he was officer-in-charg, of the air control training division. In that capa-city he was responsible for all Atlantic Fleet air interceptcontroller (AIC) and anti-submarine air controller (ASAC) train-ing from 1981 to 1983. Ordered to the USS JOHN F KENNEDY (CV-67) as the Assistant Combat Information Center (CIC) Officerin November 1983. He participated in operations supporting theMulti National Force in Beriut. One of three officers onboardthe JFK with weapons release authority for ship and airwingweapons. LCDR Hertsgaard is presently assigned to the Air Com-mand and Staff College.

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PROBLEM FORMULATION

Tbe past few years have witnessed a major increase in thenation's interest and appreciation of the armed forces.Hollywood has made life in the military appear much differentlythan was the case a mere 10 years ago. Release of the majormotion picture To u has made military aviation appear to beone of the most lofty and glamorous professions for high schooland college students. Recruiters have had a major increase inthe applications for flight training. An established selectionprocess is used to select the most capable individuals foraviation training.

In this competitive selection process, objective andmeasurable criteria are used in the screening of the applicants.The Air Force and the Navy use essentially the same types ofmeasurements. These consist of: physical examination and aminimum physical fitness score, Aviation Selection Test Battery.high school or college grade point averages as applicable,references and personal interviews conducted by comdissionedofficers (1:--). A question may be asked concerning thesecriteria. Do these qualifications and test accurately measureand select those individuals most adaptable to modern combataviation? There may be some other factors that have beenoverlooked which could be highly beneficial to this selectionprocess.

This papeor will examine the importance of birth order as akey element of human behavior and abilities. An exploratoryresearch method will be used to advance and support thehypothesis that birth order will have a significant correlationto an individual becoming a qualified and successful militaryaviator. Substantial evidence exists to support the importanceof birth order as the major determinant of behavioral developmentand what abilities, traits, and interests an individual will haveas an adult.

The training of a combat-ready, military aviator is a veryexpensive investment for the Department of Defense (DoD). Thecost of putting a trained aviatUL into the fleet for the Navy orinto an operational wing in the Air Force has been estimated atover $1 million per individual pilot (2:--). With these largedollar mounts being spent on training. it is imperative thatevery effort be made to put the right person into that seat inthe aviation training pipeline. If a statistically significantcorrelation of birth order to successful completion of aviation

training can be shown, substantial cost savings might be realizedin both the Wavy and the Air Force flight training programs byimproved methods of selecting aviation training candidates.

Much has been written on the subject of a person's birthorder and the effect that it has on that individual's behavioralpatterns. The Old Testament and the works of William Shakespeareare replete with examples showing that the ordinal position of anindividual in his or her family was of great importance.Consider the significant dilemma young Joseph had with his elderbrothers when his father made Joseph, the youngest,, his favoriteand presented him with the coat-of-many-colors. Of the tragicShakespearean figures of Macbeth and his wife, both werefirstborns and saw life as only a firstborn will in their gloomyand unhappy world.

The success of royalty and the patterns of familyinheritance are based almost completely, if not totally, on theordinal position of the siblings. This is true not only inWestern societies, but in those found throughout the world. Somemay argue that this has created a predisposed social bias to thefirstborn position.

This report will use somewhat more recent data, and that ofa more scientific nature, to support the hypothesis that birthorder is crucial to human behavioral development and that asignificant correlation has existed in the past to militaryaviation and that it should still exist. The study of birthorder is not new, but it has not been until the last few decadesthat accurate scientific studies have been made.

The study of birth order as a part of a scientificdiscipline has been primarily conducted by a group ofhuman/animal behaviorists called ethologists. Ethology is asystematic study of human, character (3:781). Dr Walter Tomanconducted much of the initial research on birth order. His book,Family Constellation, has been the basis for many subsequentstudies. Toman states, 'We proceed from the assumption that aperson's family represents the most influential context of hislife, and that it exerts influence more regularly, moreexclusively, and earlier in a person's life than do any otherlife contexts' (4:5). Lest anyone consider the findings ofethologist unimportant, they did win the Nobel Prize for Medicinein 1973 for their work on human and animal behavior patterns(5:102).

A more detailed look at ethology and an explanation ofbehavior patterns will be helpful in comprehending the importanceof birth order on individuals. Ethologists have shown that "lifeexperience must be superimposed on genetically programmedpatterns of behavior for normal development of the individual"(5s102). Put more simply, the Darwinistic selection process is

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heavily Influenced by the individual's actual experiences,particularly that of family development as veil as a number offixed, innate responses. This has *produced a hierarcby ofinstinct in man's historical development: (l) the male hierarchyof dominance, (2) the male-male bond, (3) territorialidentification, and (4) the male-female bond (6:1).

The first two instincts facilitate the establishment oforder in both societal groups and in the family. Territorialidentification reflects both the group's and the individual'sdesire to ensure the survival of the species and the continuationof the group's behavior characteristics. The male-female bondis for the reproductive purposes of the group and forms the basisfor the family unit which is the rearing device for the species.Maximum human development occurs within the structure of this"normal family" (6:2-6).

The normal family has a dominant and loving male, bondedwith a subordinate and loving female, living in a stable group ofrelatives and offspring. This group or organization satisfiesthe human disposition .f or lasting partnerships and provides anenvironment for the continuous mothering and fathering during theformative years through the completion of adolescence. Thisdefinition does not presuppose a low or negative opinion ofwomen. Numerous studies have shown women to be physicallysuperior to men in categories such as tolerance to pain. Women,overall, tend to be more adaptable than are men. What isimportant is that with virtually no exceptions, males arebiologically programmed to be the hunters and the dominantmembers of the family unit and in society in general (7:B8).

When the structure of a normal family is not present, abtressful environment exists. This can have a temporary or alasting damage.

The interruption or denial of male dominance andfemale subordination in the family unit results inparental deprivation . 0 0 there are two particularlysensitive periods in which certain basic parentalbonds with children become fixated, as in imprinting:from conception until 6 years of age and duringpuberty, especially for boys. If such periods arepassi~ biologically unfulfilled, there will be lastingdamage to the development of the children (6:2-6).

Dr Benjamin Spock, the renowned pediatrician, stated,when women become aggressive and dominating, they often producesubmissive sons, an unwholesome development' (8:56). The numberof single-parent households is continuing to grow in thiscountry. Will this social development result in a large numberof maladjusted adolescents and young adults in the years to come?Time will tell. Harvard Professor Emeritus, Dr Carle Zimmerman,has stated a somewhat more pessimistic view of the future for us.

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The extinct .on of faith in the familialistic system isidentical with the movements in Greece following thePeloponesian Wars and in Rome from A.D. 150. In eachcase, the change in the faith and belief in familysystems was associated with rapid adoption of negativereproduction rates and with enormous crises in the verycivilizations themselves (6:1).

Thus far, we have been establishing the conceptual frameworkof the family as it relates to the individual and society ingeneral. A macro viewpoint has been used till now, but whatabout specific traits that have been linked to individuals basedupon birth order. The following are a series of findings andsurveys that show a definite correlation to birth order.

As of March 1985, of the 102 U.S. Supreme Court justicesappointed by the President, 56 have been firstborn. Randomprobability would have expected the number of firstborn justicesto have been appointed only 36 times out of 102 possibilities.Also, Republican Presidents have appointed 78 percent firstbornsto the Court while Democratic Presidents have appointed on 36percent firstborns to the Court (10:22). The partisanrelationship to birth order is interesting, but not unexpected.The Republicans would tend to select appointees of a moreconservative nature; a major trait of being firstborn.Democrats, seeking a more liberal appointee, will find thatcharacteristic trait more common among latter-born siblings.

Twenty-one of the first 23 U.S. astronauts who flew on spacemissions were either firstborn sons or were the only children oftheir parents (ll:Cl). The striking thing about this figure isthat statistically only 33 percent of the population isfirstborn. The astronauts mentioned here show a group that isover 91 percent either firstborn males or only children.

Families with a firstborn father and a latter-born motherhad children who showed a smaller incidence of what is termeddiseases of adaption. Examples of diseases of adaption are:heart disease, cancer, asthmas, diabetes, arthritis, and highblood pressure. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it doesshow that these diseases are not related to diseases of a viralor a bacteriological transmission such as measles, polio, mumps,cholera, AIDS, vtc (6:7).

Famous American assassins have almost always been youngerchildren in their families, and in most cases have had olderbrothers. John W. Hinckley, Jr., is a classic example.Hinckley's older brother has followed in the successful footstepsof the father. The older brother is the president of VanderbiltEnergy Corporation. Lack of self-esteem, hatred of authoritarianfigures, and no grasp of reality led to the attempt on President

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Reagan's life. A further list of the victims of these *youngerbrother* assassins include: Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield,William McKinley# John F. Kennedy,*Robert F. Kennedy, and GeorgeC. Wallace (12:A21).

Though these have been generalizations, they do show that apattern exists linking birth order to some recognizable patterns

* of human behavior and abilities. Much as been made of thespecial position and advantages enjoyed by a firstborn or onlychild.* Superior mental capability and better health traits havebeen only some of the more positive attributes associated withfirstborns. The Washingion Post reported that, 'The averagescore on the verbal portion of an 10 test for firstborn childrenwas 105.6 compared with 96.8 for that of their younger brothersand sisters' (13:5). A study conducted in the Netherlands givesadditional support to the relation of birth order and measuredintelligence.

Lillian Belmont and Francis A. Marolla studied theintelligence tests given to almost 400,000 19-year-old men inthe Netherlands. No matter what the size of the families thatwere involved, the firstborns were always associated with thehigher intelligence scores (ll:Cl).

The previous examples have had obvious interest andapplication to the human behaviorists, but what is the value tothe military? A U.S. Navy flight surgeon, Captain Frank EdwardDully, Jr., has found that the Naval aviator is more often thannot a firstborn son. "If not a firstborn son, then he is asecond-born son whose older brother is an artist or a dirt-bag"(14:--). As a Navy flight surgeon, Captain Dully has had theopportunity to observe firsthand hundreds of Naval aviators, bothin a professional and a personal capacity.

Captain Dully is well known in the Naval aviation communityand in the Air force aeromedical community for a lecture he givescalled Sex and the Naval Aviator. The topic of this presentationis not the mating preferences of Navy pilots, flight officers,and flight surgeons, but rather the Naval aviators consistentlyvisible behavior characteristics and personality traits.

Within the various communities of Naval aviation, CaptainDully found that~ the percentage of-firstborns varies slightly,but consistently by aircraft and/or mission type. He found thehighest percentage of firstborns in the fighter community,followed by the attack community, and then the land-based patrolcommunity (14:--). These findings are consistent with previousstudies that found a very high percentage of firstborns in thesepositions. A study conducted in 1970 found that 67 percent ofsuperior Navy jet pilots were firstborn compared with 55 percentof Navy pilots picked at random (15:88).

in an address given to an Air Force aeromedical symposium,Captain Dully stated that roughly the same birth orderpercentages would be present with Air Force aviators and thevarious types of aircraft and miision communities (14:--). Iconducted a limited and very informal survey of 19 fellowclassmates at the Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). Thesample group of ACSC students were all fighter pilots flyingeither the F-15 or the F-16. There was no surprise in theresults. Of the 19 pilots questioned, 14 were firstborn sons or74 percent of the group studied. That percentage is consistentwith previous studies, but it is almost 2 1/2 times thestatistical random expectation.

As we look for answers to explain why firstborns seem togravitate to these positions, the astronauts may be helpful inillustrating an understanding for this phenomenon. Dr Lucille K.Forer offered the following rationale for why firstborn maleshave had a predominance in the astronaut corps:

(1) high need for achievement, (2) high responsibilityscores, (3) low test anxiety, (4) strong self-discipline, (5) need for approval of others, (6)sulceptibility to social pressure, (7) conformity toauthority and regulation, and (8) task orientation(15:88).

Captain Dully noted that Naval aviators, as a general rule, willhave the following features: always in control of self and thesituation; mission oriented and compartmentalized; and methodicaland systematic (14:--).

Firstborns have also shown higher aspiration levels, ahigher achievement motivation, and tested highest in, the semanticdifferential of Opowera (5:294-295). Compared to other birthorder patterns, we can see the firstborn has a greater need togain and exercise positions of authority, visibility, andresponsibility.

Obviously, the occupation of a military aviator satisfiesmany, if not most, of the needs of the firstborn. Not only doesthe airplane ad the demands of flying it fit in well with thesetraits, but the military life in general approves of and rewardsthose aforementios.m traits. What then of a latter-born? Arethere specific traits, skills, and abilities that the latter-bornpessess that my make him better suited for certain jobs andasseignmtS? A latter-born, because of his sibling position, haslearMed how to get his way, not by force, but by imaginativetaotics, creativity, and sometimes guile (16t--). His strengthis not La tLo direct assault, but in the indirect approach andwith intricate strategies.

The exclusion of women as aviators and as firstborns has notbeen an oversight. The title of this paper, Birth order and theAviator, does not selectively omit them from consideration. But,the operative aspect of military aviation is combat aviation.

49 Currently, women are precluded by law from serving in billetsthat are considered to be *combat arms." I can see where littlewill be gained for the purpose of this project to include them in

* an analysis.

Also, the integration of women into operational tacticalaviation squadrons would elicit significant problems. The realquestion is whether or not integrating women into combat units isdesirable or even feasible. My own observations of what makes atop-notch squadron superior to an average one is the strength ofthe esprit de corps and the camaraderie that is also exhibited inathletic teams involved in contact sports.

Lionel Tiger stated in his book Men In Grouos,

When a community deals with its most pressing problems,when statements of internal and external importance aremade, when--particularly in warfare--decisive actionsmust be taken, at these times females do notparticipate. The public forum is the male forum(17:57).

I am not promoting misogyny or seeking an escalation of the warbetween the sexes, but rather asking that we clearly define therole of women in the military, vis-a-vis combat. Legislation canaccomplish many things, but changing mankind's biologicalbehavior patterns will probably not be among them.

In anticipation of a possible feminist rebuttal., to thisstatement, there is no similarity between the previous point andthe exclusion of Blacks from equality and integration until theend of World War II. That was a case of bigotry that had noscientific rationale or historical basis for support and wascorrected at the completion of the war. I can find no majormilitary organization in the world today that places women intobillets and assignments that would expect to see combat ifhostilities broke out. Not even the defense forces of Israel do

this, although many people are under the false impression thatthey do put women side-by-side men in combat (18:--). The mereIfact that legislation has been previously ratified that couldsupport a bill to change the federal statutes is no reason to do

it.

Several conclusions can be made from the material presentedin this report. Birth order is a highly significant determinant

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of an individual's behavior patterns. Both the Navy and the AirForce have a far higher than statistically random chance offinding a majority of firstborns in their ranks of aviators.Highly successful aviators, more often than not, have beenfirstborn; the examples of the first U.S. astronauts on spacemissions and the Navy pilots of the 1970 study verify that point.Leadership and positions of authority have an over-representationof firstborn: Franklin Roosevelt, George Washington, John F.Kennedy (a second-born who was treated and responded as afirstborn after his older brother died), Winston Churchill,Josepf Stalin, and Ronald Reagan (15:111-120). You may not likeeverybody in that list, but they are among the most powerfulleaders that the past two centuries have seen.

These conclusions need to be tested for their currentvalidity and applicability to the military services. To thispoint, some generalizations have been stated and some indirectconclusions advanced. The specific data that was associated withmilitary aviation is over 15 years old, that of the astronauts isnow more than 20. The data needs to be updated to see if thosepast conditions still exist. Clearly what is required to pursuethis is a systematic survey of both the Air Force and Navyaviation communities.

DATA ANALYSIS

The data gathered could be used to support a possiblemodification of the initial selection system for aviationtraining candidates if a strong relationship to birth order isfound to exist. Based on the data presented in this report, nochanges to the current process could be recommended. But,descriptive and/or explanatory research could be conducted toeither support or invalidate the hypothesis that birth order hasa significant effect on the successful completion of aviationtraining for military aviators in both the Navy and the AirForce.

A study could be established to determine the relativeimportance that birth order has on the Navy and Air Forceaviation training programs. Specific items to be addressedshould include: (1) successful completion of the trainingsyllabus based upon the vazidble of birth order; (2) comparisonof nonsuccessful completion of the training syllabus to birthorder; (3) correlation of aircraft/mission type to birth order;and (4) correlation of superior graduates of the trainingsyllabus to birth order. If a significant correlation of data isfound to link birth order to successful completion of aviationtraining, then further study could be undertaken to facilitatepossible revisions in the selection process for aviationcandidates. These revisions might include, but are not limitedto: (1) active recruitment of those individuals who meet the

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parameters of successful birth order patterns, and (2) include anadditional category in the selection process for birth order.Use this category in an additional capacity for those birthorders shown to have a more favorable success rate in aviationtraining.

A second and somewhat related area that could be easilystudied for birth order correlation is that of command selectionand significant leadership positions. In both the Navy and theAir Force, it would be relatively easy and inexpensive to comparethe selection for command and/or i ssignment to major leadershippositions to birth order. The comparison could be furtherrefined by breaking down the type of command, operationalsquadron or not, support organization, aircraft carrier, etc.This may provide more theoretical value than practical. I do notknow if the respective personnel commands would agree to usebirth order in their command selection process. However, if thenumber are significant enough, some changes and variations to thesystem could be considered.

A third area that should have a high degree of interest, butis not a function of aviation, is the special forces. Eliteunits, such as the Navy's SEALs, would make excellent studycandidates. These individuals are certainly more than just a cutabove the average military man. The psychological makeup andtoughness that are necessities to these individuals may havestrong correlation to birth order. The same goals formodifications to selection criteria for training could beconsidered as have been recommended for the aviation trainingprograms.

Those interested in conducting in-depth research on birthpatterns would do well to familiarize themselves with chapter 16of Walter Toman's Family Constellation. Procedures forconducting this type of research are discussed and a list ofquestions for obtaining all the data for initial and follow-upresearch is provided.

More detailed research in the area of birth order could bevaluable if a way can be found to improve the process ofselecting candidates for aviation training. Dollars would besaved by a lower attrition rate and/or a lower drop-on-requestrate. Also, a true comparison between the Navy and the Air Forcecould be done. Are birth order patterns among aviators similarbetween the two services, or is there a difference?

Birth orders are a remarkable tool to assist in viewing andanalyzing an individual. The point of this paper has been toshow the relationship between birth order and possible influenceon aviation training. There is another, perhaps equally valuableand certainly more universal, aspect to it. Leaders and managerscan use an understanding of birth order as a tool for utilizing

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their personnel to the fullest potential. Understanding what anindividual's strong points and weak points are can only make fora better effort and organization. 'Perhaps most important in thisarea is the value that an understanding or birth order can ply inthe analysis and counselling of a service member experiencingproblems. Many psychotherapists and counsellors make use ofbirth order in their work (14:252).

The study of birth order in the military can be beneficialin a variety of ways. It is a fundamental part of the behavioralmakeup of the human animal. The time certainly seems right totake advantage of this tool and use it to our advantage.

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