I conducted the poll out of interest to my self to judge the demographic of civilians outside DDM involved in Deer Stalking based on the users of this web site. This was so I could draw parallels against what DDM do. I am only really interested in age groups 15 ¾ -55 for the purpose of this study because that is broadly the age range of soldiers and officers. 40-55 age bracket predominantly represents officers due to terms of service of soldiers with some exceptions. So from the poll I am working on a pool of 177 people within that age range (percentages amended accordingly).
Soldiers 15 ¾ -20 Total 4 which is equal to 2.25% are too busy with training and establishing them selves as soldiers to be investing there time in stalking although I recognise it is not beyond the realms of possibility but from the survey only 2.25% of stalkers fall in to this bracket.
20-25 Total 4 which is equal to 2.25% most soldiers in this bracket will be JNCOs and Officers Subalterns and Captains note the small percentage in civilian life who would be involved in stalking. Soldiers and officers in this age bracket tend to be living a much more high octane life style and will be busy forging the foundation of their career which can be all consuming and in many cases they will have little time for stalking.
25-30 Total 19 which is equal to 10.7% Soldiers in this bracket will be Cpls or JNCOs and Officers will be Captains or relatively newly promoted Majors.
30-35 Total 22 which is equal to 12.4% Most Serving Soldiers will be SNCOs and most Officers will be Majors
· 35-40 Total 34 which is equal to 19.2% The majority of Soldiers will be Senior NCOs or Warrant Officers, most Officers will be Majors or above.
· 40-45 Total 50 which is equal to 28.2% Most members will be Officers; Major and above with some exceptions, Soldiers will be mostly Senior NCOs or Warrant Officers.
· 45-50 Total 22 which is equal to 12.4% Most members will be Officers; Major and above with some exceptions, Soldiers will be minimal but almost exclusively Warrant Officers.
· 50-55 Total 22 which is equal to 12.4% Most members will be Officers; Major and above with some exceptions, Soldiers will be minimal but almost exclusively Warrant Officers.
The age range 30-55 makes up 80% all stalkers, from the Information above most DDM Members in that age range will be at least a SNCO or a Captain or above.
The age range 35-55 makes up 68% of DDM Members, again from the information above all will be SNCOs tending towards Warrant Officers and Major or above.
From this Data it could be easy to see purely based on the average age of stalkers why most civilians who come in to contact with DDM members may perceive a SNCO Warrant Officer or Captain/Major or above to be a high ranking individual. The truth is it is open to all who are eligible and who have the ability (dictated by work and operational taskings) or commitment to put the effort in.
Disclaimer: There will be a number of anomalies e.g. 30-35 category I have known both Pte Soldiers and Warrant Officers in this bracket but the figures above are based on the majority and have excluded exceptions.
Dave