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Military Personnel Retention

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The retention of qualified military personnel—enlisted forces as well as officers—is essential to preserving morale and unit readiness and to avoiding the costs associated with training replacement personnel in essential skills. By examining issues from PERSTEMPO and the effects of multiple deployments to family readiness and child care, RAND research supports military leaders' efforts to monitor and successfully maintain an optimal force structure.

Report

Maintaining a Demographically Diverse Air Force Civilian Workforce

Sep 3, 2020

The Air Force experiences challenges in maintaining a demographically diverse civilian workforce. How can changes to policies and practices help it grow and retain civilian talent from across all demographics?
Report

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

Apr 28, 2020

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?

Explore Military Personnel Retention

Report

Improving Gender Diversity in the U.S. Coast Guard: Identifying Barriers to Female Retention

This report documents the results of a study designed to help identify the root causes of female attrition in the active-duty Coast Guard and develop recommendations to help mitigate identified barriers to Coast Guard female retention.

Mar 29, 2019
Report

Is It More Cost-Effective to Retain Pilots or Train New Ones?

Instead of relying on retaining its current pilots, the U.S. Air Force could hypothetically find and train new ones. But expanding the pilot training pipeline is costly. What is the best way for the Air Force to allocate its resources and sustain its number of pilots?

Mar 27, 2019
Multimedia

Military Compensation to Support Retention, Performance, and Talent Management

An overview of testimony by Beth J. Asch presented before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel on March 12, 2019.

Mar 12, 2019
Testimony

Military Compensation to Support Retention, Performance, and Talent Management

Military compensation is a critical strategic human resource tool. It helps attract and retain personnel with the necessary skills and qualifications to meet service requirements. The compensation system has performed well over time, but there are elements that could potentially be improved.

Mar 12, 2019
Report

The Relationship Between Disability Evaluation and Accession Medical Standards

If accession medical policies are changed, does the probability of medical discharge change? If so, how does the change in the probability of medical discharge alter postservice costs to the department? This report answers these questions.

Mar 11, 2019
Report

Assessing Retention and Special and Incentive Pays for Army and Navy Commissioned Officers in the Special Operations Forces

This report focuses on the effectiveness of monetary incentives, known as special and incentive pays, for U.S. Special Operations Forces commissioned officer retention.

Feb 18, 2019
Report

A Wage Differential Approach to Managing Special and Incentive Pay

Special and incentive pays allow the DoD to address personnel fluctuations, differences between external and military pay, and retention. A review of such pays finds that those with an incentive to select a longer obligation are more cost-effective and may be more beneficial than pays without such incentive, as would be the case under a wage differential.

Jan 7, 2019
Blog

Most Popular RAND Blog Commentary of 2018

RAND experts publish hundreds of pieces of RAND Blog commentary every year, weighing in on pressing policy questions, breaking down current events, and untangling complex trends. To look back on some of the policy stories that defined the year, we've rounded up the RAND Blog pieces that resonated most with rand.org visitors.

Dec 20, 2018
Research Brief

Scholarships Improve Work Prospects for Military Spouses

MyCAA Scholarships are reaching the intended population—military spouses who want or need work, who are early in their careers, and who face military moves and deployments. Findings regarding work and earnings are promising, and personnel married to MyCAA users are more likely to still be on active duty three years after the scholarship is awarded.

Nov 29, 2018
Report

Scholarships Associated with Employment and Higher Earnings for Military Spouses

MyCAA Scholarships aim to help military spouses obtain associate's degrees, occupational certificates, or licenses in high-demand portable career fields. They are associated with employment and higher earnings, and service members married to MyCAA users are more likely to be on active duty three years later.

Nov 29, 2018
Commentary

Building a Pipeline of Wargaming Talent: A Two-Track Solution

How does the Department of Defense imagine the future of war and make long-term investments to confront the challenges ahead? On issues ranging from potential conflicts with Russia to the future of transportation and logistics, senior leaders have increasingly turned to wargames to imagine potential futures.

Nov 15, 2018
Essay

An Inside Look at Life in the Army's Junior Ranks

History records the names of generals, not of the privates filling out supply forms, cleaning out trucks, or huffing through another training exercise. But those privates keep the U.S. Army running. RAND research provides their unfiltered take on life in the ranks.

Oct 31, 2018
Report

Frequent Moves Affect Military Family Stability

About one-third of military service members experience a permanent change of station every year. Sometimes the moves have a positive effect, such as moving to a more desirable location, but they can also disrupt family stability. The DoD offers programs, policies, and services to address the disruptions.

Oct 18, 2018
Commentary

Just Let Them Compete: Raising the Next Generation of Wargamers

Wargames are games that simulate aspects of warfare at varying levels, aimed at analyzing human decisionmaking. To develop the next generation of avid wargamers, the first step is both radical and simple: Let them compete.

Oct 9, 2018
Report

How Do Senior Enlisted Leaders Influence Junior Soldiers?

The primary mission of U.S. Army noncommissioned officers is to lead and mentor soldiers. But research has placed little emphasis on how to value their experience. Knowing how NCOs influence soldiers can help the Army maintain or improve leadership quality and soldier performance and reduce personnel costs.

Oct 4, 2018
Report

Evaluating the Impact of a Total Force Service Commitment Policy on Air Force Pilot Manning: An Exploratory Application of Inventory Modeling

The authors examine whether a Total Force (rather than component-specific) service commitment with increased service commitment lengths could reduce or eliminate projected pilot shortages in the Air Force.

Sep 18, 2018
Report

Supplemental Career Paths for Air Force Pilots: A Warrant Officer Component or an Aviation Technical Track?

This report documents analyses of two ways to supplement the traditional Air Force pilot career path to enhance force sustainment: a warrant officer component to fill pilot requirements or an aviation technical track for commissioned officers.

Aug 14, 2018
Commentary

The U.S. Air Force Is Working Harder to Retain Female Officers, and Here's How

Women are underrepresented among the U.S. Air Force's senior leadership. This could be robbing the service of the potential to improve innovation, agility, and performance. The Air Force is working to address diversity in the service, and it continues to work to improve representation of women within its ranks.

Aug 6, 2018
Report

Prospective Outcome Assessment for Alternative Recruit Selection Policies

To help the Army select recruits more likely to complete their first term and avoid adverse outcomes, this report describes a tool that estimates how changes in a variety of recruit characteristics affect first-term outcomes and costs to the Army.

Jul 6, 2018
Report

Who Joins the Army, and Why?

The U.S. Army wants to improve its understanding of soldiers' motivations to enlist, and how the reality of Army life matches up with expectations. Interviews with soldiers ranked E-1 to E-4 offer a rich portrayal of life as a private.

May 14, 2018

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