The Quality of Personnel in the Enlisted Ranks

The military must attract, retain, and promote high-quality personnel. This monograph examines its ability to meet these goals. Using the quality index, we find that those who stay until midcareer and are promoted are significantly higher quality. The armed services must attract, retain, and promote high-quality personnel. This monograph examines their ability to meet these goals in the past. Using the quality index, we find that those who complete their first terms, who stay until year of service (YOS) 8 or YOS12, and those who are promoted to higher grades are significantly higher quality. Our conclusions differ from those drawn from traditional measures because our measure includes information that cannot be predicted at entry but is instead revealed on the job.