Determinants of nonparticipation in the United States Army Reserve
By: Aimee L. Kominiak
Contributors: Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.) 
Publisher: Naval Postgraduate School; Available from National Technical Information Service
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Monterey, Calif; Springfield, Va
Language: eng
Number of pages: 105
Description: The end of the Cold War generated military budget constraints and downsizing that resulted in the active force      having to rely on Reserve component support. Enlisted losses in the USAR, however, have been increasing. For      FY 97, approximately 23% of enlisted losses were due to unsatisfactory participation. These losses equate to lost      training dollars and decreased force readiness. The objectives of this thesis are to identify the factors that lead to      unsatisfactory participation within U.S. Army Reserve units, and recommend changes which should lead to      increased participation and force readiness. This study has used a methodology that involved talking to reservists,      who left their units, to discuss the reasons and timing of their decisions to depart. An integrated model has been      developed as a framework to study the Reserve organizational socialization process. Many identified unmet      expectations in training and leadership areas, and many exited because they were unable to resolve these      dissatisfactions. Unit leadership exacerbated these problems through little or ineffective attempts to rectify the      reservists' problems, as well as inadequate efforts to influence the reservist to return to the unit. Recommendations      include: providing new reservists realistic job previews; emphasizing the importance of the first training weekend      and the sponsorship program leadership training; expanding the unit retention sergeant's duties to cover the entire      scope of the retention process; and publicizing and rewarding "best practices."
Notes: "December 1997."

Thesis advisor(s): Bob Barrios-Choplin.

Thesis (M.S. in Management) Naval Postgraduate School, December 1997.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 103-104)

Approved for public release; distribution unlimited.

Also available online.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

System requirements: Adobe Acrobat reader.

US Army (USA) author.

dk/dk cc:9116 05/21/98.