An analysis of the factors affecting Marine Corps officer retention

This thesis examines factors which influence the retention of male, company-grade Marine Corps officers (grades O-1 to O-3) who are within their initial period of obligated service. Data used combined responses from the 1985 DoD Survey of Officer and Enlisted Personnel and the respondents' 1989 status from the officer master fine maintained by the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC). Logit regression was used to measure the relative importance of a broad range of factors for retention. These included: biographic and demographic characteristics, tenure data, perception of external job opportunities, and satisfaction with various aspects of military life. Results indicated that the individual's maritaldependent status, commissioning source, military occupational specialty, race, and satisfaction with specific intrinsic and extrinsic aspects of the military job are most important in predicting the retention behavior of junior Marine Corp officers with no less than 12 months of service and no more than seven and one-half years of active service. These findings can provide manpower planners with information to project and manage future retention levels of company-grade officers and to identify possible shortfalls in critical occupational specialties.