Research for Statistics

In order to investigate which duty stations and ratings are at a high risk for hearing loss, this study looked at the Defense Occupational and Environmental Health Readiness System (DOEHRS) medical hearing test records of nearly 251,000 enlisted sailors and officers over the twenty-five year period 1979 to 2004. The study found that enlisted sailors who spend most of a 24 year Navy career assigned to a Naval Surface Warship1 as opposed to being assigned to ashore duty stations or a Naval Support ship, had a much higher probability of leaving the Service with a reduction in their ability to hear. Since many individuals lose some hearing as they age, the study controlled for aging along with other factors such as gender and race to properly test if there are differences associated with ship assignments. To accomplish this task, we merged Navy medical records of hearing tests with information on each individual sailor's duty stations.

Some activities performed by government employees are similar to those performed in the private sector. Government policy -- outlined in Office of Management Budget circular A-76 -- is to allow private sector companies to compete with government organizations for this work. The goal is to use competition to encourage efficiency -- whether the function is contracted out or not. The Navy's Commercial Activities (CA) program is responsible for implementing this competition program within the Navy. Over the last decade, the Navy has studied about 1,000 activities -- covering about 29,000 billets (both civilian and military). Due to changes in legislation, the Navy is not doing any CA studies at this time. In this research memorandum, we examine: (a) the savings achieved as a result of CA studies; (b) whether the initial savings diminished over time; and (c) the prospect for future studies. Full documentation of this work appears in CRM 92-226.10, 'Analysis of the Navy's Commercial Activities Program.'

This research memorandum examines first-term attrition for female recruits accessed in the FY 1983 through FY 1985 period. Female first-term attrition probabilities are modeled as a function of background characteristics at entry into the Navy.

The Marine Corps provides Professional Military Education (PME) for its noncommissioned officers. Each level of training is designed to provide the leadership skills necessary for advancement in rank. This research memorandum shows that prior performance, time in grade, length to end of active service, and operational commitments affect the selection of eligible Marines into some of the resident courses.