Delayed Entry Program Attrition: Survey Results

Abstract

The Navy's Delayed Entry Program (DEP) allows individuals to delay their entry into the Navy for up to one year after signing an enlistment contract. However, the DEP loses approximately 18 percent of its contracts before they ever reach initial recruit training. In the past, it has been argued that attrition from the DEP is better than attrition from initial training, when more time and money have been invested. The underlying assumption is that individuals who attrite from the DEP would not have been successful in recruit training anyway and are therefore less costly than training losses. This leads to a management policy of allowing DEP attrition to continue at relatively high levels. However, there is no evidence to support the assumption that all DEP attrition is "wanted" attrition of recruits who would fail to be successful in training or, subsequently, in the Fleet. To date, very little knowledge exists concerning the reasons why an individual chooses to leave the DEP. The current project was undertaken to more fully understand the reasons behind DEP attrition, and the factors that might affect the propensity to attrite, which could lead to the development of programs or services to reduce attrition.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2006
Accession Number
ADA454229

Entities

People

  • Charles W. Johns
  • Marian E. Lane
  • Michael A. White
  • Naina C. Eshwar

Organizations

  • Navy Personnel Research, Studies, and Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Attrition
  • Basic Training
  • Contracts
  • Department Of Defense
  • Education
  • Employment
  • Losses
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Research
  • Naval Personnel
  • Personnel Management
  • Recruiting
  • Recruits
  • Students
  • Training
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Naval Personnel Management