The Determinants of Attrition from the Army Selected Reserves
Abstract
This paper addresses concerns expressed by the Sixth Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation about the relatively high attrition rates that characterize the reverses. Data from the 1982 New Recruit Survey were matched with data from the Defense Manpower Data Center, and an econometric analysis was done to determine the principal characteristics of soldiers who attrited from the reserves between 1982 and 1987. Some of the results support the conventional wisdom: higher quality soldiers had lower attrition rates than lower quality soldiers. Other results were more surprising: about one third of reservists in 1982 listed unemployment as a major reason for enlisting, and they had higher- than-average attrition rates. Soldiers who said they planned to leave the Army had above-average attrition rates, but soldiers who said that they planned to stay in the Army after their initial enlistment had the same attrition rates as soldiers who said that they simply didn't know their future plans. Keywords: Reserves; Attrition; Compensation; Bonuses; Enlistment; Reenlistment.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA207981
Entities
People
- Charles Dale
Organizations
- U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences