Assessment Of Combined Active Reserve Recruiting Programs PDF Download

This report presents preliminary results on the long-term effects of an experimental Army program that links active and reserve tours. The program, called the 2+2+4 recruiting option, requires new entrants to serve two years in the active component (AC) followed by two years in a selected reserve component (RC) unit, and then four years in the Individual Ready Reserve. It is offered to high-quality recruits who serve in selected skills, and it provides Army College Fund benefits for post-service education to those participants who fulfill their reserve obligation. The 2+2+4 program serves dual purposes: It helps the AC attract high-quality personnel during difficult recruiting periods, and it channels trained, experienced personnel into the RC as they leave the AC. The RC relies on many such "prior-service" personnel, but the pool is shrinking as the AC drawdown continues. The 2+2+4 option was originally tested in a congressionally mandated, controlled experiment conducted from July 1989 through September 1990. Previous RAND analyses of the experiment showed that the program significantly increased high-quality enlistments into the AC and also increased enlistments into hard-to-fill occupations. However, longer term effects could not be estimated until the test cohort had completed active service. This study shows that 2+2+4 participants are more likely to complete their AC tour and join a RC unit than are other high-quality recruits. Program participants had lower first-term attrition and reenlistment rates than other high-quality recruits, so the program increased the pool of soldiers separating from the AC and available to the RC. In addition, the RC affiliation rate was 80 percent for the 2+2+4 participants, as compared with only 43 percent for other recruits. The study concludes that the program helps the AC achieve its recruiting objectives and that it channels trained, experienced personnel into the RC. (14 figures, 9 refs.).