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Abstract:
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In the Global War on Terror (GWOT), the United States armed forces are struggling to recruit and retain the men and women they need to keep America safe for generations to come. Intensive combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have constrained both manpower and equipment resources, and the uncertainty of the future direction of American foreign policy makes manpower sustainability and retention a formidable issue. To thoroughly assess the true impact of the GWOT on military manpower quality, this study employs a series of multivariate, difference-in-difference regression models to isolate what effect the GWOT has had on the quality and social diversity of the nation's non-prior service (NPS), active duty enlisted accessions. The regression results demonstrate that the GWOT has had no significant impact on the military services' ability to access the competent recruits needed to serve the nation. High quality recruits continue to be accessed at pre-GWOT rates, and the services also access the same levels of married individuals as before, despite growing concern over longer deployments. Finally, the representativeness of the military remains unchanged -- while the evidence suggests a slight change in the regional representation of the enlisted accessions, the overall cohort still resembles a complete, diverse sample of the national populace. |