Military Recruiting; DoD Could Improve Its Recruiter Selection and IncentiveSystems

摘要

Through extensive recruiting efforts, the military services send more than167,000 men and women each year to basic training. However, about one-third of the enlisted personnel recruited since fiscal year 1987 left the military before completing their initial service obligations. In response to concerns of the Chairman and former Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on Personnel, Senate Committee on Armed Services, about this attrition and the cost of recruiting and training personnel who do not complete their initial military obligations, GAO reviewed the services' recruiting processes to: (1) screen, select, and train recruiters; (2) screen, select, and prepare recruits for basic training; and (3) measure and reward recruiter performance. Specifically, GAO identified practices in each service that enhance recruiter performance and recruit retention and could be expanded to other services.