Research for Personnel Attrition

This research memorandum briefly reviews trends in Marine Corps first-term attrition and then analyzes recruit background characteristics and Marine Corps environment variables associated with successful adaptation to Marine Corps life. Three measures of success are examined: completion of the first term of service, completion of the first term of service at the rank of corporal, and retention beyond the initial service obligation.

This research memorandum examines the feasibility of realigning the weight standards of the Marine Corps to make them more equitable between genders without reducing quality standards. The tradeoffs between equity and recruit quality are summarized to assist policymakers in selecting the appropriate weight standards.

One possible contributor to Navy Medicine's current manpower problem is the low retention rates of physicians. This research memorandum examines the retention of Navy physicians between FY 1984 and FY 1988 in the aggregate, by career phase, and by specialty.

This research memorandum analyzes the probability that surface combatants, specifically frigates and destroyers, begin deployment fully combat ready in training. Full combat readiness in training is defined as C1 status in the Status of Reference and Training System (SORTS). The analysis examines the relationships between deploying C1 in training and various measures of the ship's operating tempo before deployment, enlisted crew turnover, and the material condition of the ship in the months before deployment.