U.S. Marine Corps enlisted retention: an analysis of stakeholder incentives for the retention of tier 1 first-term Marines

Abstract

This study analyzes the Marine Corps reenlistment process and the relationship between a Marine's expiration of active service (EAS), reenlistment request submission month, and submission timeline on the quality of first-term Marines. In 2011, a computed tier was added to reenlistment requests and added an objective component to an otherwise subjective request. This study also looks at the influence of stakeholders in identifying and retaining quality under both reenlistment measures. Graphical trend analysis, cross tabulation, and linear regression models were used to analyze Total Force Retention System and Total Force Data Warehouse data with quality identified using a computed submitted tier, commander's recommended tier, and modified tier score. The findings indicate that reenlistment requests submitted within 30 days of a Marine's EAS have had negative effects on quality and outside of this window there is no observable effect on quality. Additionally, over the course of the reenlistment period, lower quality is associated with months following the start of the reenlistment period in July. The graphical analysis also suggests that the computed tier provides an objective anchor for commanders' recommendations.