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Military Recruitment

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.

Report

Predicting 36-Month Attrition in the U.S. Military: A Comparison Across Service Branches

The author analyzes first-term attrition, using administrative data for all accessions across four military service branches in fiscal years 2002 through 2013 to show what characteristics predict attrition across the first 36 months of service.

Apr 28, 2020
Research Brief

Understanding skills gaps in the European defence sector

This study developed an overview of the existing and future defence-skills landscape in the EU, identifying and analysing the skills gaps and assessing the causes of these gaps.

Jan 30, 2020
Dissertation

Dissertation

People First: Improving Equitability of Air Force Recruiting Operations

Explores concerns at the Air Force Recruiting Service regarding an imbalance in workloads among their enlisted accessions recruiters, which could negatively influence both recruiter morale and aggregate production of high-quality recruits.

Dec 24, 2019
Report

Report

Setting Military Compensation to Support Recruitment, Retention, and Performance

Drawing on a large body of research, this RAND Arroyo Center report describes military compensation as a strategic human resource tool. The author also reviews how well compensation works in this capacity and how it could be improved.

Dec 18, 2019
Brochure

Brochure

RAND Arroyo Center Annual Report 2018-2019

This Annual Report illustrates the depth and breadth of the research conducted for the Army in fiscal year 2019.

Dec 4, 2019
Report

Report

Navigating Current and Emerging Army Recruiting Challenges: What Can Research Tell Us?

The author draws on a large body of research on recruiting and examines tools and resources—including recruiters and recruiting management, eligibility criteria, and pay and bonuses—that can help the Army meet recruiting challenges.

Dec 3, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Vision on Defence-Related Skills for Europe Today and Tomorrow

A study examining the skills requirements of the European defence sector, defence-related skills gaps and shortages, the challenges with different sets of skills, and the general features of the European defence industrial skills supply.

Oct 30, 2019
Report

Big Data Could Improve Military Recruiting

DoD and the U.S. military services have had some success with data-enabled outreach and recruiting. But they could benefit from expanding their adoption of private-sector approaches. For example, recruiters could better target prospects through the use of personally identifiable information and third-party data.

Oct 22, 2019
Report

Manpower Alternatives to Enhance Total Force Capabilities: Could New Forms of Reserve Service Help Alleviate Military Shortfalls?

Changes in employment stability, family structure, and economic pressures have created challenges for the U.S. military reserve component. Modifying assumptions about Reserve duty can improve recruitment, performance, development, and retention.

Sep 11, 2019
Multimedia

Improving Gender Diversity in the U.S. Coast Guard

For active-duty women, many complex factors influence the decision to stay in or separate from the Coast Guard. In this video, RAND's Kimberly Curry Hall summarizes research on these factors and makes recommendations for improving female retention in the Coast Guard.

Aug 31, 2019
Report

Social Media Helps the Army Connect with Potential Recruits

Social media can be used to raise awareness of the Army among the public, but it's especially important for potential recruits and the adults who might influence them. An analysis of how people are engaging with GoArmy.com and the Army's Facebook and Twitter accounts suggests ways the Army could improve its outreach strategy.

Jun 3, 2019
Commentary

Why Women Belong in Coast Guard Crews

The Coast Guard benefits from the heightened respect that colleagues show each other in mixed-gender units, allowing personnel to focus and excel at their tasks at hand. When the Coast Guard zeroes in on evidence-based and appropriate accommodations for women and their physical capacities, as well as with parenting and family life, it will benefit everyone in uniform.

Apr 18, 2019
News Release

News Release

Women Leave U.S. Coast Guard at Higher Rates Than Men; More Equitable Personnel Policies Could Help Narrow Gap

As at other military services, women leave the active-duty Coast Guard at higher rates than men. To retain a diverse workforce the Coast Guard should continue to pursue more inclusive personnel policies, such as augmenting workforce gaps during parental leave, minimizing the impact parental leave has on evaluations and promotion, and expanding opportunities for leadership development training.

Mar 29, 2019
Research Brief

Why Do Women Leave the Coast Guard, and What Could Encourage Them to Stay?

Women leave the Coast Guard at higher rates than men. Focus groups raised concerns about work environment, career issues, and personal life matters. More inclusive personnel policies could help the Coast Guard address these concerns and retain more women.

Mar 29, 2019
Report

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

Report

Developing a National Recruiting Difficulty Index

The U.S. Army recognizes that the recruiting environment has a significant impact on its ability to recruit. This report presents a forecasting model that measures recruiting difficulty to forecast a difficult or easy recruiting environment.

Mar 13, 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

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

Life as an Army Private: Six Soldiers Tell Their Stories

In their own words, six junior soldiers describe why they joined the U.S. Army, their joys and frustrations, and what they hope the future brings. These stories offer lessons for policymakers, Army leaders and recruiters, and anyone considering a career in the Army.

Mar 6, 2019

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RAND Topic:
Military Recruitment

Topic Synonyms:
Enlistment

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