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Enlisted Personnel

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Members of the military with a rank below that of commissioned officer constitute a vital portion of the overall strength and mobility of an armed force. RAND research on enlisted military personnel provides objective analysis and recommendations to military leaders and civilian policymakers regarding such issues as health care, diversity and quality of recruits, reenlistment behavior, personnel management, family issues, and the effects of multiple deployments.

Research Brief

Preventing Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault in the U.S. Army

Aug 2, 2021

Groups of soldiers, and particularly women, in different commands, bases, and career fields experience substantially different rates of sexual harassment and sexual assault. A better understanding of the characteristics and context of these incidents can inform and improve prevention efforts.
Report

Forecasting Religious Affiliation in the United States Army

Nov 29, 2021

Changes in the religious composition of the United States could affect the religious composition of recruits into the U.S. Army. This, in turn, could significantly alter the religious needs of the Army population. How has the religious composition of enlisted soldiers and of officers changed over time?

Explore Enlisted Personnel

Report

Assessing the Association Between Airmen Participation in Force Support Squadron Programs and Unit Cohesion: An Evaluation of the UNITE Initiative

The UNITE Initiative aims to promote readiness and resilience in the Air Force through events that focus on unit cohesion. The authors describe the results of their evaluation of UNITE and the program's association with unit cohesion.

May 20, 2022
Report

Assessing the Association Between Airmen Participation in Force Support Squadron Programs and Unit Cohesion: Executive Summary

This executive summary encapsulates the findings in Assessing the Association Between Airmen Participation in Force Support Squadron Programs and Unit Cohesion: An Evaluation of the UNITE Initiative (RR-A554-1) 2022.

May 20, 2022
Report

U.S. Air Force Enlisted Classification and Reclassification: Potential Improvements Using Machine Learning and Optimization Models

The authors review options for improving processes for classifying and reclassifying enlisted active-duty, non–prior service airmen for initial skills training in the United States Air Force.

Mar 14, 2022
Report

How the Pandemic Affected Military Recruitment and Retention

Military recruiting and retention activities are typically conducted in person, but with COVID-19–related stay-at-home orders and social distancing requirements, the armed services had to quickly adapt their policies and procedures or risk missing their end strength objectives.

Jan 18, 2022
Report

Retention of Enlisted Maintenance, Logistics, and Munitions Personnel: Analysis and Results

In this report, the authors explore whether individual characteristics, economic and geographic factors, and the new Blended Retirement System can provide new insights into what predicts retention of maintenance, logistics, and munitions personnel.

Jan 5, 2022
Report

Soldier Preferences and Retention Effects of Changes in Army Reserve Training Requirements

Soldiers in the U.S. Army Reserve have traditionally been required to attend 39 days of training per year. However, across the readiness cycle, units may have their requirements changed with minimal notice. How do changes in training requirements affect a soldier's interest in staying in the Reserves?

Nov 16, 2021
Report

A Big Transition: Military Service Members' Earnings and Employment After Active Duty

After leaving the service, many veterans earn less money than they did while in active duty. This emphasizes the importance of helping service members build marketable skills and supporting their transitions into the civilian workforce.

Nov 10, 2021
Report

Increasing Efficiency and Incentives for Performance in the Army's Selective Reenlistment Bonus (SRB) Program

This report documents research and analysis whose purpose was to help the Army determine how to best increase incentives for higher performance among enlisted members and to more efficiently achieve Army retention objectives.

Oct 5, 2021
Report

Organizational and Cultural Causes of Army First-Term Attrition

The U.S. Army invests significant resources in new soldiers. When a soldier does not complete a full contract term, the Army views this as a net loss. This report assesses the organizational mechanisms that could be driving attrition.

Oct 5, 2021
Report

Stress Control for Military, Law Enforcement, and First Responders: A Systematic Review

This report presents a systematic review of studies of interventions designed to prevent, identify, and manage acute occupational stress among military, law enforcement, and first responders.

Aug 16, 2021
News Release

Sexual Harassment, Gender Discrimination Look Different for Men and Women in Army, but Experiences Similar Across ...

Sexual harassment and discrimination in the active-duty U.S. Army look different and occur more often for women than men, but the settings where harassment occurs and characteristics of perpetrators are similar.

Aug 2, 2021
Report

Sexual Harassment and Gender Discrimination in the Active-Component Army: Variation in Most Serious Event Characteristics by Gender and Installation Risk

This report describes the most common types of behaviors that occur during active-component soldiers' most serious sexual harassment and gender discrimination experiences, characteristics of (alleged) perpetrators, and times and places in which these occur.

Aug 2, 2021
Report

Streamlining Cost Estimation for Large Department of Defense Organizations

Researchers created a prototype tool using data from the Full Cost of Manpower model to help manpower decisionmakers produce consistent and repeatable cost estimations to understand the budget implications of alternative total force mixes.

Mar 31, 2021
Report

Cost-Benefit Analysis of Special and Incentive Pays for Career Enlisted Aviators

The authors develop a capability to calculate the efficient amount of special and incentive pays for Air Force career enlisted aviators (CEAs). They also estimate the trade-offs between retaining CEAs and increasing accessions for a given force size.

Jan 7, 2021
Report

Characteristics and Duty Limitations of Service Members Transferring Between the Active and Reserve Components

The authors analyze characteristics and duty limitations of service members who transfer between active and reserve components and make recommendations to reduce the number of personnel who transfer with medical conditions that limit deployability.

Dec 15, 2020
Report

Modeling Career Enlisted Aviator Retention in the U.S. Air Force

The career trajectories and retention profiles of certain U.S. Air Force career enlisted aviators (CEAs) vary across the different Air Force Specialty Codes. Is there a model that would estimate CEA retention?

Aug 5, 2020
Report

An Updated Look at Military and Civilian Pay Levels and Recruit Quality

Comparing military pay with civilian pay, the authors find that military pay in 2017 was above the 70th percentile of civilian pay. It was at the 85th percentile for enlisted personnel and the 77th percentile for officers.

Jul 30, 2020
Report

Predicting 36-Month Attrition in the U.S. Military

First-term attrition—in which a new enlisted recruit does not complete his or her first contract—is a costly and ongoing issue across all military service branches. Who accesses to the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps?

Apr 28, 2020

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RAND Topic:
Enlisted Personnel

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