An analysis of factors affecting the retention plans of junior US navy Officers

This thesis investigates the factors that influence the retention intentions of 373 junior male Navy officers who are serving within their initial obligated service. To estimate the models, data for this thesis were drawn from responses to the 1999 DoD Survey of Active Duty Personnel. The survey includes data on retention intentions of service members. Past research has shown that a member's intention is a good predictor of retention behavior. Logistic regression analysis is used to identify demographic, tenure, economic, and other characteristics that significantly affect the intention to stay or to quit the military and to assess their relative importance. The SAS software package is used to analyze the data. The model developed for this thesis is successful in identifying several factors influencing the retention intentions of junior male Navy officers. Nine of the seventeen variables included in the model have a significant impact upon retention. Officers' decision to remain on active duty were significantly influenced by the demographic characteristics of family status; the tenure characteristics of military rank (03) and military life expectation; the economic characteristics of the transferability of skills gained in the navy over to a good civilian job, and the satisfaction with military work values, and military allocation of time.