Cash Incentives and Military Enlistment, Attrition, and Reenlistment
Video: RAND Congressional Briefing Series
Presenters
- James Hosek Director, Forces and Resources Policy Center, RAND National Defense Research Institute
- Beth Asch Associate Director, Forces and Resources Policy Center, RAND National Defense Research Institute
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) budget for enlistment and reenlistment bonuses increased substantially between FY00 and FY08—from $266 million to $625 million (in 2008 dollars) for enlistment bonuses and from $872 million to $1.4 billion for reenlistment bonuses. Congress asked DoD to determine the effect of bonuses on wartime military recruitment and retention efforts and on attrition.
This briefing will describe, among other things
- the number and average amount of bonuses
- recruiting and retention in the absence of bonus increases
- targeting of bonuses to specific issues
- the cost-effectiveness of bonuses relative to other resources.
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