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A Study of the Motivations and Experiences of Junior Enlisted Personnel in the U.S

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A Study of the Motivations and Experiences of Junior Enlisted Personnel in the U.S LIFE AS A C O R P O R A T I O N Private A Study of the Motivations and Experiences of Junior Enlisted Personnel in the U.S. Army TODD C. HELMUS, S. REBECCA ZIMMERMAN, MAREK N. POSARD, JASMINE L. WHEELER, CORDAYE OGLETREE, QUINTON STROUD, MARGARET C. HARRELL For more information on this publication, visit www.rand.org/t/RR2252 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this publication. ISBN: 978-0-8330-9969-3 Published by the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif. © Copyright 2018 RAND Corporation R® is a registered trademark. Cover photo by Sgt. Kelly Gary/DVIDS; cover design by Eileen Delson La Russo. 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 The Army and other services face challenges in recruiting and retaining high-quality individuals. This report documents research and analysis conducted on a project entitled Life as a Private: The Army Value Propo- sition, sponsored by the United States Army Recruiting Command and conducted within the RAND Arroyo Center’s Personnel, Training, and Health Program. Its purpose is to characterize the attitudes, expe- riences, and motivators of soldiers assigned to their first operational unit in the Army and to use these findings to inform Army leadership on how to attract and retain the best talent. This report presents the results of in-depth interviews with 81 first-term soldiers. These soldiers, most commonly ranked Private First Class, participated in interviews that asked about the experience of joining the Army; their perceptions of their work and unit lives; their social, physical, and financial health; and their overall satisfac- tion with Army life. RAND operates under a “Federal-Wide Assur- ance” (FWA00003425) and complies with the Code of Federal Regu- lations for the Protection of Human Subjects Under United States Law (45 CFR 46), also known as “the Common Rule,” as well as with the implementation 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 Commit- tee) 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 DoD or the U.S. Government. iii iv Life as a Private RAND Arroyo Center, part of the RAND Corporation, is a fed- erally funded research and development center (FFRDC) sponsored by the United States Army. This publication was privately produced and is not the product of an official of the United States Army acting in an official capacity. The contents of this publication, including words and opinions, are unofficial and not to be considered as the official views of the United States Army or Department of Defense. The study’s findings should be of interest to those designing recruiting and retention programs for the Army, as well as commis- sioned and noncommissioned officers charged with leading U.S. Army privates in peace and war and senior leaders who develop policies that influence soldier welfare and recruitment and retention. This report will also be of interest to aspiring young Army recruits and their fami- lies who wish to better understand what life would be like as a young soldier in the United States Army. The Project Unique Identification Code (PUIC) for the project that produced this document is ASA167159. Contents Preface ............................................................................. iii Figures .............................................................................vii Tables .............................................................................. ix Summary .......................................................................... xi Acknowledgments .............................................................. xix Abbreviations .................................................................... xxi CHAPTER ONE Introduction ....................................................................... 1 Background ......................................................................... 1 Objectives ........................................................................... 3 Approach ............................................................................ 6 Organization of This Report .....................................................15 CHAPTER TWO Recruitment: Joining the Army ...............................................17 Civilian Background of Men and Women Who Join the Army ............17 Motivations to Join the Army ...................................................25 Summary ...........................................................................32 CHAPTER THREE Working in the Army ...........................................................35 How and Why Soldiers Choose Their MOSs ................................. 36 Soldier Expectations Versus Reality .............................................39 Sources of Information That Led to Soldier Expectations .................. 48 Soldier Considerations in Changing Their MOS .............................55 Summary ...........................................................................59 v vi Life as a Private CHAPTER FOUR Life in the Unit ...................................................................61 Soldiers’ Early Perceptions About Their Installations .........................62 What Soldiers Like the Most and Least About Unit Life ....................65 Social Dynamics in the Unit ....................................................73 Summary .......................................................................... 77 CHAPTER FIVE Financial, Health, and Social Lives of Soldiers ............................79 Financial, Health, and Social Well-Being of Junior Enlisted ............... 80 Sources of Support ................................................................91 Summary .......................................................................... 98 CHAPTER SIX Satisfaction with the Army Experience ..................................... 99 Satisfaction with the Army ..................................................... 100 Positive and Negative Aspects of Army Life ................................. 105 Soldiers’ Future Plans ........................................................... 110 Summary ......................................................................... 117 CHAPTER SEVEN Conclusions and Implications .............................................. 119 Conclusions ...................................................................... 119 Implications ..................................................................... 120 Recommendations .............................................................. 122 Summary ......................................................................... 128 APPENDIXES A. Interview Protocol ......................................................... 129 B. Data Coding................................................................. 135 References ....................................................................... 139 Figures 1.1. Number of Soldiers Ranked Private First Class and Below, by CMF Category .................................................... 7 1.2. Number of Soldiers Ranked Private First Class and Below, by Installation ......................................................... 8 2.1. Age When First Considered Enlisting in the Army .............18 2.2. When and at What Age Decided to Enlist in the Army ........19 2.3. Where Soldiers Come From ........................................19 2.4. Feelings About Hometowns ....................................... 20 2.5. Relatives Who Served in the Military ............................ 22 2.6. Family Reactions to Enlistment ................................... 23 2.7. Influences on Soldiers’ Decision to Join .......................... 24 2.8. Institutional and Occupational Motivations for Joining the Army ............................................................. 27 2.9. Soldiers Reporting Other Service Interest ........................31 3.1. Reasons for Choosing MOSs: Combat CMFs ...................37 3.2. Reasons for Choosing MOSs: Noncombat CMFs .............. 38 3.3. Differences Between Expectations and Reality for MOS .......41 3.4. Differences Between Expectations and Reality for Army Life ........................................................... 46 3.5. Sources of MOS Expectations ......................................49 3.6. Sources of Expectations for Army Life ............................53
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