Recruiting and Retention: An Overview of FY2005 and FY2006 Results for Active and Reserve Component Enlisted Personnel

Publication Date: January 2006

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Military and defense

Type:

Abstract:

This report provides a brief overview of the recruiting and retention rates for Active and Reserve Component enlisted personnel during FY2005 and the first three months of FY2006. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the United States has launched several major military operations which have dramatically increased the operations tempo of the military services, required the large scale mobilization of reservists, and resulted in significant battle casualties. These factors have been particularly applicable to the Army, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard, which have shouldered the bulk of the manpower burden associated with the occupation of Iraq. The Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserve have also been heavily involved in Iraq. Many observers have expressed concern that these factors might lead to lower recruiting and retention rates, thereby jeopardizing the vitality of today's all-volunteer military. Recruiting and retention results for FY2005 and FY2006 to date are summarized below. This report will be updated as necessary.

FY2005 -- Active Components. Concerns about the strength of Army recruiting grew in FY2005, as the Army missed its goal for shipping new recruits to basic training by a significant margin and failed to meet one of DOD's key quality benchmarks. The Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force met their quantity goals, and their recruit quality remained well above DOD standards. Retention remained generally strong for the Active Components. Although the Navy failed to met two of its retention goals, this should be interpreted in the light of the Navy's force reduction plans.

FY2005 -- Reserve Components. The Army National Guard, Army Reserve, Air National Guard and Navy Reserve all failed to meet their recruit quantity goals for FY2005. The Army National Guard, Army Reserve, and Air Force Reserve all failed to meet one or both of the DOD quality benchmarks. Attrition rates for the Reserve Components have generally remained at acceptable levels, although the Army National Guard slightly exceeded its attrition ceiling and four of the Reserve Components saw modest increases in the rate of people leaving compared with FY2004.

FY2006 -- Active Components. All of the Services achieved their quantity goals for the first three months of FY2006, but concerns about Army recruit quality continue. Retention remained generally strong, although the Army fell short with respect to mid-career personnel.

FY2006 -- Reserve Components. Most of the Reserve Components -- including the Army National Guard and Army Reserve -- met their quantity goals for the first three months of FY2006, although the Navy Reserve and Air National Guard fell well short. Enlisted attrition rates appear to be at acceptable levels for all the Reserve Components, with the Army National Guard, Army Reserve, and Air Force Reserve showing improvement compared to the first three months of FY2005.