Reassessing Enlisted Reserve Attrition: A Total Force Perspective
Abstract
The Selected Reserve components take in over 70,000 nonprior service recruits every year. A substantial training investment is required to teach these individuals basic military skills and military occupations. The longer the recruits stay in service (provided performance is satisfactory), the better the return on the training investment. However, our earlier analysis of attrition behavior has shown that the attrition rate for nonprior service recruits is extremely high-35-40 percent two years after entry. A recent General Accounting Office report stated that four out of five nonprior service enlistees fail to complete their six-year term of service and that although nonprior service enlistees constitute about 41 percent of all gains into the Selected Reserve, they accounted for over 60 percent of all losses. This study extends previous work in several ways: We have data on more recent cohorts (FY82-FY88), we have longer time periods over which the entrants have been observed (ranging from one to six years), and because we have quarterly data, we are able to track returns and transfers to other components, whether reserve or active, in a more systematic fashion.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA282293
Entities
People
- David W. Grissmer
- Sheila N. Kirby
Organizations
- RAND Corporation