Author: Beulah I. Henderson

Publisher:

Published: 1999-03-01

Total Pages: 121

ISBN-13: 9781423544913

In fiscal year 1998, the Navy missed its recruiting goal by about 7, 000 people and the Army fell short by 800. The Delayed Entry Program (DEP) allows new recruits to delay their entry into active military service; and, when individuals already recruited drop out of the DEP, the manpower planning process becomes even more difficult. High school seniors account for a relatively large proportion of individuals who leave the DEP. The primary purpose of this research was to identify factors that explain why high school seniors drop out of the DEP in such large numbers. Multivariate data analysis was used on archival data files from the Defense Manpower Data Center for fiscal years 1990 through 1996 to identify factors that explain the high attrition rate of high school seniors. A data set from Commander, Navy Recruiting Command was also used to conduct multivariate analysis. Additionally, descriptive data analysis examined high school seniors who left the DEP by their race, gender, service, and other characteristics. The results show that high school seniors who are older, female, and in the lower enlistment test categories have a comparatively high probability of dropping out of the DEP. Recommendations are offered for further research in this area.