Stories of Service from the Junior Ranks of Today's Army
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C O R P O R A T I O N LIFE AS A Private Stories of Service from the Junior Ranks of Today’s Army S. REBECCA ZIMMERMAN, TODD C. HELMUS, CORDAYE OGLETREE, MAREK N. POSARD For more information on this publication, visit www.rand.org/t/RR2749 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this publication. ISBN: 978-1-9774-0192-2 Published by the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif. © Copyright 2019 RAND Corporation R® is a registered trademark. Cover design by Eileen Delson La Russo; photo by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Micky M. Bazaldua. Limited Print and Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited. Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions. The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. Support RAND Make a tax-deductible charitable contribution at www.rand.org/giving/contribute www.rand.org Preface This report documents research and analysis conducted as part of a project entitled Life as a Private: The Army Value Proposition, sponsored by the U.S. Army Recruiting Command. The purpose of the proj- ect was to characterize the attitudes, experiences, intrinsic and extrin- sic motivators of soldiers assigned to their first unit to inform Army leadership how to attract and retain the best talent. The project’s first report was Life as a Private: A Study of the Motivations and Experi- ences of Junior Enlisted Personnel in the U.S. Army, by Todd C. Helmus, S. Rebecca Zimmerman, Marek N. Posard, Jasmine L. Wheeler, Cor- daye Ogletree, Quinton Stroud, and Margaret C. Harrell. The Project Unique Identification Code (PUIC) for the project that produced this document is ASA167159. This research was conducted within RAND Arroyo Center’s Per- sonnel, Training, and Health Program. RAND Arroyo Center, part of the RAND Corporation, is a federally funded research and develop- ment center (FFRDC) sponsored by the United States Army. RAND operates under a “Federal-Wide Assurance” (FWA00003425) and complies with the Code of Federal Regulations for the Protection of Human Subjects Under United States Law (45 CFR 46), also known as “the Common Rule,” as well as with the implementa- tion guidance set forth in DoD Instruction 3216.02. As applicable, this compliance includes reviews and approvals by RAND’s Institutional Review Board (the Human Subjects Protection Committee) and by the U.S. Army. The views of sources utilized in this study are solely their own and do not represent the official policy or position of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) or the U.S. Government. iii Contents Preface ............................................................................. iii Summary .......................................................................... xi Acknowledgments ..............................................................xiii Abbreviations .....................................................................xv CHAPTER ONE Introduction: Serving in Today’s Army ...................................... 1 Background of the Research ...................................................... 2 Organization of This Report ..................................................... 5 CHAPTER TWO Nick ................................................................................. 9 Background: I would follow him around in his old jump boots................. 9 Joining the Army: They gave me a sticker .......................................11 Initial Entry Training: You were there to be a warrior ........................14 Life in the Army: We’re going to get it done .................................... 23 Personal Life: I got great people to hang out with ...............................31 My Army Experience: Be someone people can look up to .......................37 CHAPTER THREE Meg .................................................................................41 Background: I wanted more ......................................................41 Joining the Army: I wanted to get away from badness ........................ 43 Initial Entry Training: Now I have a lot more respect..........................47 Personal Life: I miss the barracks .................................................51 Life in the Army: Deep down, our job is not easy ...............................63 My Army Experience: I’m not ending up like my brothers.....................70 v vi Life as a Private: Stories of Service from the Junior Ranks of Today’s Army CHAPTER FOUR Randy ..............................................................................73 Background: I asked my parents if I could go to a military “academy” ........73 Joining the Army: My dad had the biggest influence ..........................74 Initial Entry Training: I was smart enough to see past the mind games ...... 77 Life in the Army: Being an infantryman is not a job ..........................82 Personal Life: I slowly started going and hanging out less and less ............ 92 My Army Experience: I’m more mature; I work harder ...................... 97 CHAPTER FIVE Michael .......................................................................... 101 Background: I wanted to teach ever since I was in high school ............... 101 Joining the Army: Don’t go. Please don’t go. .................................. 102 Initial Entry Training: I shouldn’t give up on this ............................ 103 Life in the Army: It’s not as strict as I thought it would be .................. 108 Personal Life: Why don’t you just come home? It’s where you belong ........ 114 My Army Experience: It’s not for me .......................................... 120 CHAPTER SIX Cassandra ....................................................................... 121 Background: Sometimes we couldn’t find a place to live ..................... 121 Joining the Army: To give myself a better lifestyle ............................ 123 Initial Entry Training: They broke us down and then built us right back up ................................................................. 128 Life in the Army: They can always depend on me ............................ 134 Personal Life: For me, being single is a plus ................................... 141 My Army Experience: The Army has really improved a lot of personal things for me ................................................................. 146 CHAPTER SEVEN Jim ................................................................................ 149 Background: I signed up when I was 17 ....................................... 149 Joining the Army: He didn’t have to convince me ............................ 151 Initial Entry Training: There was a lot of yelling going on ................... 154 Life in the Army: I actually have some downtime ............................ 160 Personal Life: I’m fine with just hanging out and relaxing ................... 169 My Army Experience: I’m more laid-back now, relaxed ..................... 175 Contents vii CHAPTER EIGHT Conclusion ...................................................................... 177 Lessons for Leaders .............................................................. 177 Background ...................................................................... 181 Joining the Army ................................................................ 182 Initial Entry Training ........................................................... 183 Life in the Army ................................................................. 184 Personal Life ..................................................................... 185 Summing Up the Army Experience .......................................... 186 Junior Enlisted Service ......................................................... 188 References ....................................................................... 191 Summary Army enlisted service is an enduring American tradition. Men and women, often recent high school graduates, leave home to serve their country and experience the challenges of Basic Combat Training and the camaraderie of life on a military base. But there is much more to Army service than the outlines with which most Americans are famil- iar. A separate RAND Arroyo Center report details the service expe- riences of 81 junior enlisted soldiers across many similar topics.1 The objective of this current report is to provide deep insight into the junior enlisted experience in a way that is accessible to policymakers and senior Army leaders, junior leaders, recruiters, and individuals consid- ering an Army career. This volume goes beyond the archetypes and bumper stickers to tell the stories of six soldiers in their own words. In these chapters, readers learn about their decisions to join the Army, the joys and frus- trations of their jobs, and their considerations for the future.