2003 IMTA Proceedings - International Military Testing Association

expects them to be committed, they are not having fun anymore, a perception of excessive
micro-management, they do not have a sense of control or self-determination in their career, and
they can no longer balance the needs of the Army with the needs of their families.
DISCUSSION
The following variables predicted captain intent to leave the Army: length of time in the
Army, source of commissioning, gender, benefits satisfaction, the perception of effectiveness of
counseling received, and having a mentor. Those captains who have been an officer longer are
less likely to consider leaving than those who have been an officer for a shorter period of time.
This finding is expected, for at least two reasons, according to Mackin, Hogan, and Mairs (1993).
First, the Army’s retirement system provides an increasingly greater incentive to stay for 20
years. Second, self-selection is occurring; Soldiers who are more suited for the Army life are
more likely to stay at each decision point. (Mackin, Hogan, & Mairs, 1993).
Captains whose source of commission was through a military academy are more likely to
plan to leave than those who were commissioned some other way. This may be due in part to a
disconnect between what is taught in the military academies and what actually goes on in the
field. Also, captains who have had a highly selective military academy education may have
more opportunities in the private sector. Those whose source of commission was Officer
Candidate School are less likely to plan to leave than others. These captains moved up through
the NCO ranks and therefore have a considerable amount of experience in the Army and a
realistic job preview. Furthermore, they most likely would not have attended OCS if they were
not intending to make the Army a career.
Gender is also a significant predictor of career intentions with men as less likely to plan
to leave than women. Work-family balance was one of the top reasons captains said they were
planning to leave. In a related study, time separated from family was the top reason officers
reported thinking about leaving or planning to leave before retirement (ARI, 2002). Familyrelated
issues are important to both men and women; however, women may find it harder to
balance the needs of their families with those at work. This issue needs more research.
Those who indicate that their expectations have been met with respect to benefits are less
likely to plan on leaving. This finding corresponds to the top reason for planning to leave, which
suggests that there is a perceived imbalance between the commitment of the individual to the
Army and the Army’s commitment to the individual. Improving benefits or better
communication of the value of the existing benefits may help to improve perceptions of benefits.
Also, those captains who have had effective mentors or mentoring experiences are less
likely to consider leaving as well as those captains who indicate their raters provide useful
mentoring and counseling. The significance of these variables may be that both mentoring and
counseling provide important feedback to the individual as well as guidance on professional
development and career advice. In addition, mentoring and counseling provide a one-on-one
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45 th Annual Conference of the International Military Testing Association
Pensacola, Florida, 3-6 November 2003