In this report, the authors explore whether individual characteristics, economic and geographic factors, and the new Blended Retirement System can provide new insights into what predicts retention of maintenance, logistics, and munitions personnel.

"This monograph provides an empirical analysis of the enlistment, attrition, and reenlistment effects of bonuses, applying statistical models that control for such other factors as recruiting resources, in the case of enlistment and deployments in the case of reenlistment, and demographics. Enlistment and attrition models are estimated for the Army and our reenlistment model approach is twofold. The Army has greatly increased its use of reenlistment bonuses since FY 2004, and we begin by providing an in-depth history of the many changes in its reenlistment bonus program during this decade. We follow this with two independent analyses of the effect of bonuses on Army reenlistment. As we show, the results from the models are consistent, lending credence to the robustness of the estimates. One approach is extended to the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Air Force, to obtain estimates of the effect of bonuses on reenlistment for all services. We also estimate an enlistment model for the Navy. The estimated models are used to address questions about the cost-effectiveness of bonuses and their effects in offsetting other factors that might adversely affect recruiting and retention, such as changes in the civilian economy and frequent deployments"--P. iii.

This book surveys the entire field of body composition as it relates to performance. It includes a clear definition of terminology and a discussion of the various methods for measuring body composition. The authored papers represent a state-of-the-art review of this controversial field and address questions such as: What is a better measure of body compositionâ€"body fat or lean body mass? Does being overweight for one's height really affect performance? The book also addresses the issue of physical appearance as it relates to body fatness and performance. It includes an in-depth discussion of many of the topics of interest to those involved in sports medicine and exercise physiology.