The Army doesn’t know why junior officers are leaving

[rangerrebew]

The Army doesn’t know why junior officers are leaving
By Capt. Lindsay Gabow
 Friday, Feb 24

 
Does the Army know why junior officers leave? The discrepancy between two relevant studies suggests not.

Col. Everett Spain’s groundbreaking 2021 study, “The Battalion Commander Effect,” found that battalion commanders play a major role in determining whether lieutenants stay or leave the Army. Strangely, though, leadership did not even make the top-five reasons junior officers leave the Army in the Department of the Army Career Engagement Survey.


Implemented in 2020, the career engagement survey found that servicemembers, including junior officers, leave the Army primarily for family concerns. The survey identified the most important reasons for leaving the Army as: “Effects of deployments on my family/personal relationships,” “Impact of Army life on my significant other’s career plans/goals,” “Impact of Army life on family plans for children,” “The degree of stability/predictability of Army life,” and “Impact of military service on my family’s well-being.”

Struck by the disparity between “The Battalion Commander Effect” and the career engagement survey, I conducted an independent survey.

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2023/02/24/the-army-doesnt-know-why-junior-officers-are-leaving/#:~:text=Does%20the%20Army%20know%20why%20junior%20officers%20leave%3F,determining%20whether%20lieutenants%20stay%20or%20leave%20the%20Army.

[Smokin Joe]

Interesting that declining standards factored in some 33-40% of those who answered the survey, and poor leadership is of concern to more, up to 50%.

A traditionally 'macho' (yes, "toxically masculine") profession has become something less, because of leadership.

[GtHawk]

  just a thought but perhaps the reasons why they are leaving may be some of the same reasons for the suicide issue the leadership doesn't understand.