2003 IMTA Proceedings - International Military Testing Association

ABSTRACT
PREDICTORS OF U.S. ARMY CAPTAIN RETENTION DECISIONS
Debora Mitchell Ph.D., Heidi Keller-Glaze, Ph.D., and Annalisa Gramlich
Caliber Associates
Jon Fallesen, Ph.D.
Army Research Institute
In June 2000, at the direction of the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, the Army began the largest
assessment it has ever conducted on training and leader development. The research assessed
organizational culture, training and leader development, perceptions of advancement
opportunity, and the effect of these factors on retention. In all, approximately 13,500 leaders and
spouses provided their input during surveys, focus groups, and interviews. Data were collected
from lieutenants, captains, majors, lieutenant colonels, colonels, and NCOs.
To identify the variables that impact captains’ decision to leave the Army before
retirement, logistic regression was conducted with intent to stay or leave as the dependent
variable and demographic data and factors related to benefits, pay, self-development, mentoring,
performance evaluation, and training as independent variables. Results showed that length of
time as an officer, source of commissioning, gender of the respondent, benefits, mentoring, and
counseling were significant predictors of intent to leave. These results provide evidence of the
importance of professional development to retention.
INTRODUCTION
The Army Training and Leader Development Panel was initiated in June 2000, at the
direction of the U.S. Army Chief of Staff. The Panel’s charter was to review, assess, and provide
recommendations for the development and training of 21st Century leaders. The panel was made
up of Army researchers, subject matter experts, and officers who collected data on satisfaction
with training and leader development. They also collected data on a wide variety of related
topics, such as institutional and unit training, self-development, performance appraisal,
mentoring, selection and retention, satisfaction, commitment, and Army culture.
The panel’s major emphasis was on training and leader development. A meta-analysis by
Hom and Griffeth (1995) suggests that the quality of one’s management positively affects
satisfaction and retention (Hom & Griffeth, 1995). By targeting leader development, the Army
should be able to improve retention as well as improve Soldiers’ ability to meet mission
requirements.
The captain rank is a decision point for many Soldiers. Because of incentives provided
by the retirement system, if a Soldier decides to stay beyond the rank of captain, he or she
171
45 th Annual Conference of the International Military Testing Association
Pensacola, Florida, 3-6 November 2003