An exploratory study of persuasive influences on midshipman service selection a the United States Naval Academy comparing service selection for the submarine force and the United States Marine Corps

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to identify relevant characteristics associated with service choice at the United States Naval Academy (USNA). Specifically, this study compared male midshipmen from the classes of 2000 - 2006 who chose the United States Marine Corps as a first choice and male midshipmen who chose the submarine force upon graduation as a first choice, and measured the predictability of these service choices using appropriate independent variables. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Pearson Chisquare goodness-of-fit tests measured the independent variables before including them in the binary logistic regressions used to measure predictability. The data were collected from the Office of Institutional Research. This study concludes that there are differences between the midshipmen who chose USMC and the midshipmen who chose the submarine force in terms of personality, family experience, academic performance, military performance, physicality and prior experience.