I__. - International Military Testing Association

THE USE OF INCENTIVES IN LIGHT INFANTRY UNITS'
Twila J. Lindsay and Guy L. Siebold
U.S. Army Research Institute for the
Behavioral and Social Sciences
The research described in this paper is part of a larger
project to examine the home station determinants of subsequent
small unit performance at U.S. Army Combat Training Centers.
This paper focuses on describing the patterns of utilization of
standard incentives in units and the extent to which these
patterns were associated with other organizational variables ,and
small unit performance. The incentives examined were llPublic
recognition for a job well done", "Passes", "Awards",
I'Specialized training coursesIt, "Letters of appreciation or
commendationl', and ttPromotions.lV
METHOD AND SAMPLE
Data were collected by questionnaire from soldiers within
five light infantry battalions (N = 60 platoons) at three points
in time. The first point in time (base) was 4-6 months before
each battalion was scheduled to go through a training rotation at
either the U.S. Army National Training Center (NTC), Fort Irwin,
CA or the U.S. Army Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC), Fort
Chaffee, AR. The second point in time (pre-rotation) was 2-4
weeks before the rotation; the third point (post-rotation) was
about 2-4 weeks after the training rotation. There were two
other sources of data : a) platoon mission performance ratings at
JRTC by the platoon level observer/controllers (O/Cs) on 23 of
the. platoons, and b) company commanders' ratings of the mission
performance of their subordinate combat platoons at NTC/JRTC.
Base and pre-rotation questionnaires were given typically to
all soldiers (squad members through platoon leader) in one
company at one time in a classroom or dayroom setting. The
soldiers responded on machine-readable answer sheets. The
questionnaires consisted of about 160 items and took the average
soldier about 30 minutes to complete after instructions. Postrotation
questionnaires were short (21 items plus some unit and
position identification questions) and took soldiers less than 10
minutes to complete; responses were made on the questionnaire
itself. Post-rotation questionnaires were given at the start of
group interviews to four separate groups of soldiers in a company
(platoon leaders, platoon sergeants, squad leaders, and members
of one intact squad). Post-rotation questionnaires, along with
the subsequent group interviews, were usually given in an office
or dayroom setting.
The base and pre-rotation questionnaires contained items or!
'The views expressed in this paper are those of the aUthOrS i-zne
do not necessarily reflect the views of the L:,S. Arm'; Research
Institute or the Department of the Army
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