Reenlistment Behavior of First and Second Term Marine Corps Enlisted Personnel

摘要

This thesis investigates the reenlistment behavior of first-term and second-term enlisted Marines. The data set consists of Marines who have less than two years remaining on their enlistment contract and is divided into subsets to measure behavior differences between first and second term Marines and also between combat arms and non-combat arms occupational fields. Actual reenlistment behavior combined with survey data from the 1985 Survey of Officer and Enlisted Personnel are used to measure the importance of individual attitudes towards various aspects of military life on the reenlistment behavior. The analysis is completed by using a logit, maximum-likelihood estimation technique which calculates the probability that a Marine will reenlist given his set of specific characteristics. This thesis also measures the validity of using an individual's stated intention to reenlist as a surrogate for actual reenlistment behavior. The results confirm previous research in this area and identify potential changes in the reenlistment behavior of women. Theses. (SDW)