Recruiting and Retention: An Overview of FY2011 and FY2012 Results for Active and Reserve Component Enlisted Personnel

Congress has historically been quite interested in recruiting and retention of personnel in the nation's Armed Forces, since maintaining a fully manned and capable workforce is a key component of military readiness. This report provides a brief overview of the recruiting and retention results for Active and Reserve Component enlisted personnel during FY2011 and FY2012. Both years were considered very strong for recruiting and retention in the Active and Reserve Components. Recruiting performance for enlisted personnel is principally measured in terms of meeting quantity and quality goals. Quantity goals are based on the projected need for new personnel each service must bring in over the course of the year to meet its congressionally authorized end-strength. There are two principal quality goals: at least 90% of new recruits be high school diploma graduates and at least 60% score above average on the Armed Forces Qualification Test. Quality goals are only for recruits without any previous military service (" non-prior service "). Retention performance for enlisted personnel is principally measured by meeting one or more quantity goals. For the Active Components, quantity goals are based on career phase (for example, initial term, mid-career, and career) and are stated in numerical terms. For the Reserve Components, retention is tracked via overall attrition rates, which measure the ratio of people who leave in a given year. Reserve Component retention goals establish a maximum attrition rate or " ceiling " which should not be exceeded. They are stated in percentage terms and are not broken out by career phase. In FY2011 and FY2012, all of the Active Components achieved their recruit quantity goals and recruit quality was very strong. Virtually all new recruits had high school diplomas, and nearly three-quarters scored above average on the Armed Forces Qualification Test. The Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force experienced the highest recruit quality levels achieved since the beginning of the All-Volunteer Force in 1973. Retention also remained strong, with all of the Services close to or exceeding their goals. Nearly all of the Reserve Components met or exceeded their quantity goals, while quality remained high. The Army National Guard and the Army Reserve fell slightly short of their quantity goals in FY2011 and FY2012, respectively. All of the Reserve Components remained below their targeted attrition ceilings in FY2011 and FY2012. Despite generally strong recruiting and retention metrics, the Navy and Army Reserve were about 2% below their …