Ground-Breaking Study Confirms Army Morale, Recreation and Welfare Programs Directly Linked to Soldier Readiness and Retention.

摘要

The study found a statistically significant, positive, direct and indirect link between active duty Soldiers use of MWR Programs and their Desire to Stay in Army. Moreover, these links also held true for program use by the spouses of active duty Soldiers. The study successfully measured the strength of the links to morale, retention and readiness in terms of overall program use and, more precisely, by four distinct groups of MWR programs (Recreation, Tour & Travel, Library Programs and Services; Child and Youth Programs and Services; Sports and Fitness Programs; and Food and Beverage Operations). In addition, this research uncovered an indirect link between Soldier use of MWR and their emotional attachment to the Army and perceptions that MWR programs indicate that the Army cares about Soldiers and their Families. Of particular note is the finding that readiness and retention increase as MWR program use increases. The study focused on data from two Army-wide surveys of Soldiers and two of spouses, containing responses from more than 25,000 Soldiers and 23,000 spouses. The researchers determined whether statistical significance existed between program use and the readiness and retention outcomes and then measured the strength ( effect size ) of the associations.