The Navy's "Moment of Truth" : an analysis of recruit experiences and outcomes

Abstract

Each year, thousands of recruits reveal one or more questionable events in their past during the "Moment of Truth," which occurs on the first full day of boot camp at the Navy's Recruit Training Center, Great Lakes, Illinois. This thesis examines the nature of these revelations and their outcomes. The records of 8,076 "Moment of Truth" recruits from Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999 are analyzed with respect to demographics, nature of admission (legal, medical, etc.), and disposition of the recruit (retained, waivered, discharged, etc.). The data for retained "Moment of Truth" recruits were matched with the Defense Manpower Data Center's Enlisted Master File to determine whether these recruits subsequently became early losses and, if so, under what discharge code. Discharge rates and loss categories were then compared with those of all recruits during the same years. The results indicate that "Moment of Truth" recruits have a higher rate of discharge than do other Navy recruits after two and six months of service.