Identifying Civilian Labor Market Realities for Army Officers Making Stay/Leave Decisions.

摘要

Despite relatively high levels of officer retention overall, Army personnel management officials have noted that junior officer retention is lowest for the individuals in whom the Army has made the largest investment, i.e., U.S. Military Academy (USMA) graduates or Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship graduates. As the figure shows, by the eighth year of service, USMA graduates have the lowest continuation rates of any accession source, at about 44 percent, while ROTC scholarship graduates have the second lowest rates, at about 51 percent. Officials are concerned that these officers may not have a full and accurate picture of the socioeconomic environment facing them if they leave active-duty service. A RAND Arroyo Center report describes the socioeconomic environment that officers will encounter if they leave active-duty service and analyzes the potential impact of these factors on Army retention. The study also considers how major differences between military and civilian employment can be effectively communicated to officers making stay/leave decisions.