Submarine Base , Groton , Conn . REPORT

The objectives of this study were to identify the major motives underlying an officer's decision to volunteer for the Submarine Service. Responses to the open-ended question "Why are you interested in submarines?" were obtained from two samples of officer candidates for Basic Submarine School (Ns were 59 and 60). Categorization and Q-sorting of this array of responses produced 9 motivation categories: A Concrete Positive Benefits; B Adventure, Challenge, and Excitement; C Characteristics of Crew; D Service to Country; E Career and Educational Opportunities; F Prior Experience with Submarines and Submariners; G Best Duty in the Navy; H Pride in a Responsible Job; and I Oceanographic Interests. Some of the major trends in the data were: (1) Characteristics of the men making up the submarine crew were most significant (indicated by 70%), while B, D and E (above) were equally indicated (45%) and the remainder of the categories given less frequently; (2) Married officers as compared to single gave "concrete benefits, pay, etc." more often as a reason for volunteering, but at the same time indicated "educational opportunities" less frequently than their single peers; and (3) Those officers making the highest grades in Submarine School had volunteered because of the "kind of crew" (C above), and because of the "adventure" (B) involved more often than did the poorer performers. The results, while tentative since the officer samples were small, nevertheless suggest that any incentive measures which serve to enhance the status and prestige of the submariner will in turn result in greater quantities and higher quality of officer volunteers for the Submarine Service.