Wanting to Soldier: Enlistment Motivations of Army Reserve Recruits Before and After Operation Desert Storm

Abstract

Recently, the news media have been critical of military recruitment advertising for its purported emphasis on money for education, civilian job/career development, and personal growth and for its deemphasis of the potential for mobilization and deployment. To examine the implications of these asser- tions, we studied new Army Reserve entrants both before and after Operation Desert Storm (ODs). Specifically, our purposes were (a) to summarize enlistment motivations of new recruits; (b) to identify subpopulations that joined the Army Reserve for specific motivations and variations of those motivations; and (c) to examine the relationships between enlistment motiva- tions, expectations for mobilization, and willingness to report for mobiliza- tion. The study employed two samples of nonprior service, junior-ranking enlistees who had served 1 year or less in the unit. One sample was drawn in 1990 before ODs (n = 1,059) and the other was drawn in 1991 following ODs (n = 757). Both samples were part of a larger probability sample of reservists. Enlistment motivations both before and after ODs were best explained (in order of variance accounted for in factor analyses) by the following factors: Wanting to Experience the Military, Personal Development, Pay/Benefits, and Job/Career Development. Wanting to Experience the Military accounted for more variance after ODs than before, whereas the variance attributable to Personal Development decreased across the two time periods. After ODS, there was a notable absence of college students who joined due to the first three factors. In addition, junior enlistees who joined for Pay/Benefits after ODs were more likely to be married, of a lower educational level, and not attending high school than those who joined before ODs. Both before and after ODs, minorities were more likely than nonminorities to join for each of Requests for reprints should be sent to James Griffith, 24435 Cutsail Drive, Damascus, MD 20872. the enlistment motivations, especially to gain JobKareer Development. Two findings supported the contention that new entrants to the Army Reserve joined and planned to stay through the end of their obligation, mobilization or not. First, career intent (the intention to remain in or leave the Army Reserve) was most strongly related to nearly all enlistment motivations. Second, expectations for mobilization and willingness to report for mobiliza- tion were either significantly and positively or nonsignificantly related to enlistment motivations. Implications of findings for future directions in Army Reserve recruitment incentives are discussed.