Prior-Service Reserve Affiliation and Continuation Behavior. Volume 2 - Continuation

Abstract : The continued reliance on reserve forces over the past decade has brought attention to the challenges in recruiting and retaining prior-service (PS) Marines to the Selected Reserve (SelRes).1 Although the Marine Corps has information on basic trends in affiliation and continuation, it does not know what is influencing Marines reserve affiliation and retention behavior. To develop an understanding of who affiliates with the SelRes, the Deputy Commandant, Manpower and Reserve Affairs (DC, M&RA) asked CNA to examine these issues for both Marine officers and enlisted Marines.2 We provide our study results in two reports. In our first report [1], we analyze affiliation trends among PS Marines. In this second report, we focus on PS SelRes continuation trends. Combined, these reports present an analysis of Marines who transition from active to reserve status and their decisions to affiliate with and continue in the SelRes as a member of a Selected Marine Corps Reserve (SMCR) unit or as an individual mobilization augmentee (IMA).