An Assessment of U.S. Navy Junior Officer Retention from 1998-2000

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the primary causes of U.S. Navy retention problems with its junior officers from 1998 to 2000. An analysis of data on operational tempo and retention was conducted which revealed no direct correlation between increased optempo and decreased retention. The study focuses on the four sea-going officer communities, Surface Warfare Officers, Aviators, Naval Flight Officers, and Submariners. After the demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the Department of Defense began a downsizing effort across all services. From 1990 to 1997, the Navy's officer corps shrank from 77,000 to 53,000 officers as a result of Department of Defense downsizing mandates At the time, Navy leaders were not concerned with retention because they had to meet their new end strength goals, but in 1997, officer manning dropped to dangerous levels, The Navy realized that it had a serious retention problem; Too many junior officers were getting out, Navy leaders had to do something to stem the exodus, or the Navy would be in serious jeopardy of not being able to man its ships, aircraft, and submarines at the mid-grade officer, department head level. Without these officers to fill the critical sea-going billets, the Navy could find that it may not be able to fulfill its commitments around the world. If increased optempo was not causing the Navy's junior officers to get out, what was behind their decisions to leave? In the course of research, several surveys and interviews were uncovered which revealed a significant number of reasons that officer retention suffered in the Navy. From a comparison of these surveys and interviews, the five most common reasons junior officers stated for leaving the Navy was determined. Further study revealed that the Navy is aware of these reasons and is actively responding to keep positively address them to retain its junior officers.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2002
Accession Number
ADA407142

Entities

People

  • Kerwin J. Lefrere

Organizations

  • Air University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Business Administration
  • Department Of Defense
  • Employment
  • Governments
  • Management Personnel
  • Naval Operations
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • Organizational Structure
  • Quality Of Life
  • Training
  • Turbines
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • Universities
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.
  • Naval Personnel Management
  • Strategic Security Studies