Our readiness posture is wholly dependent on attracting and retaining high quality, motivated, and trained Sailors, even as the Nation s strong economy continues to pose significant challenges in recruiting and retention. The Navy met its FY99 recruiting goal and as a result, our at-sea manning is improving. Nonetheless, the propensity to join the military has stabilized at a historically low level. Unemployment is at record low levels, the youth population remains stable, and college attendance is increasing. All the services, facing the same extraordinary recruitment challenges, are having to compete with each other for the same candidate pool.
Retention continues to be problematic.
Although we are beginning to see some signs of improvement, retention rates in all categories remain below our steady state targets. In particular, retention of enlisted members and unrestricted line officers is below what is needed and remains a significant concern. Although Navy met end strength requirements, FY99 ended with the lowest enlisted retention in twenty years. These first steps will be key toward addressing our recruiting and retention problems. The Senate also authorized a thrift savings plan for our military members, with implementation contingent upon offsets in the mandatory spending side of the budget to compensate for the lost tax revenues that would result.