Navy Recruiting and Retention: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Abstract
Following the end of the Gulf War in 1992, the United States Navy started a massive reduction of active duty personnel. Force reduction efforts spanned throughout the early to mid-90's and were pursued through a number of programs, including early out incentives, early retirement boards, limitations on time in service for specific pay-grade levels, mandatory retirement boards, and a more liberal administrative separation policy. As the Navy embarked on its big force reduction initiative, operational commitments for individual units did not decrease. In fact, the United State's increased its focus in smaller scale contingencies, which served to increase operational commitments and time away from home for sailors. During the same period, the economy experienced unprecedented growth and prosperity. Additionally, unemployment rates were at all time lows and continue to remain consistently low. Concurrently, the United States Navy is experiencing its worst recruiting and retention performance since the advent of the all volunteer force. The force reduction efforts, increased deployments, the state of the economy, and other key factors have combined to negatively affect the Navy's recruiting and retention performance. An examination of the cause and effects of these significant factors provides many lessons to learn. Recognizing and understanding the potential affect of these factors can go a long way toward improving the Navy's current state of recruiting and retention.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA398884
Entities
People
- James R. Wyatt
Organizations
- Air Command and Staff College