Strengthening Prior Service–Civil Life Gains and Continuum of Service Accessions into the Army’s Reserve Components

"Many service members join (affiliate with) the Reserve Component (RC) after leaving the Regular Army (RA). Attracting prior service personnel to the RC allows the Army to retain valuable experience. This report combines quantitative and qualitative methods to understand service member decisions upon exiting the RA: to join the RC or not; to join the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) versus the Army National Guard; and the timing of their affiliation. Personal characteristics, experiences in the RA, availability of positions in the RC, and economic conditions all are correlated with these decisions. Our results suggest that service members generally choose a geographic location without explicitly considering availability of jobs in the RC. Also, service members who leave the RA when civilian unemployment is high are less likely than others to join the RC. Service members seem to form an impression of overall RC job availability based on the RC jobs available near their last Active Component installation; service members who leave the Army in areas with fewer RC jobs are less likely to join the RC. Finally, those who join the USAR after a break in service spend fewer months serving in the RC than other prior-service recruits. Overall, our findings suggest that focusing recruiting resources on soldiers who are preparing to leave the RA is likely to be cost effective; also, to the extent possible, working to ensure more positions are available in geographic areas that appeal to personnel is likely to pay dividends"--Publisher's description.