Military Recruitment

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Attracting qualified recruits and the costs associated with essential skills training make military recruitment an ongoing challenge; low recruitment affects, among other things, enlistee counts, unit readiness, and morale. RAND has provided objective evaluations and recommendations that support decisionmakers' efforts to monitor and manage military recruiting, including examinations of demographic groups and communities where recruiting could be more successful.

  • A soldier is waiting for the train, photo by MivPiv/Getty Images/iStockphoto

    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?

  • Lt. Col. Scott Morley, commander of the Phoenix Recruiting Battalion, administers the oath of enlistment to 40 future soldiers, August 26, 2018, at Chase Field, photo by Mike Scheck/U.S. Army

    Essay

    Army Enlistment Waivers in the Age of Legal Marijuana

    Oct 27, 2021

    Army recruits with a history of marijuana use can ask for a waiver like those who have diabetes or insomnia. They are just as likely as others to complete their first term and make sergeant, and are less likely to leave the Army for health or performance reasons.

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