War and Commitment to Military Service: Deployment and Combat Experiences Associated With Retention Among Army National Guard Soldiers

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X211017281
• Published date: 01 October 2022
• Date: 01 October 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X211017281

Armed Forces & Society

2022, Vol. 48(4) 735 –759

© The Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/0095327X211017281

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Article

War and Commitment to

Military Service:

Deployment and Combat

Experiences Associated

With Retention Among Army

National Guard Soldiers

James Griffith

1

Abstract

The present study examined career intentions in two samples—home-based or

garrison (N¼12,583 soldiers in 180 companies) and deployed and recently returned

soldiers (N¼4,551 in 50 companies). Proportionally, fewer deployed soldiers than

home-based garrison soldiers intended to stay in reserve military service. Among

deployed soldiers, those who reported having experienced combat trauma, having

had wounded or killed someone, and having had a friend killed in combat were less

likely to plan to continue military service; reservists more likely to continue military

service had returned to the same civilian job after deployment. Among deployed and

garrison soldiers, fewer financial difficulties were associated with higher likelihood of

continuing reserve military service. Examples from the social constructionist per-

spective of reserve military service are used to elaborate on mechanisms in these

associations.

Keywords

retention, deployment, combat exposure, Army National Guard

1

National Center for Veterans Studies, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

Corresponding Author:

James Griffith, 229 N. Forest Dune Drive, St. Augustine, FL 32080, USA.

Email: jhgriffith@comcast.net

736 Armed Forces & Society 48(4)

For a decade, the U.S. military has had sustained military operations in the Middle

East. Over 1.9 million U.S. military personnel have been deployed in 3 million tours

of duty as part of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom

(OIF). About 16%of deployed U.S. Army personnel (305,000 of 1,900,000) were

members of the Army National Guard (ARNG; Nationa l Academy of Sciences,

2010)—the focus of this article. For an all-volunteer force, the prolonged engage-

ment posed significant challenges—both in recruiting and retaining sufficient

military personnel. The realities of staffing units were evident. Difficulties for the

ARNG began in 2003 when the ARNG fell short of its recruiting goal by 62,000 and

then again in 2004 by 56,000 (summarized in Kapp, 2013). In 2005, both the ARNG

and U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) missed staffing goals by 20%and 16%, respec-

tively. Staffing for the ARNG and USAR improved starting in 2006. From 2006 to

2009, the ARNG met recruiting goals. From 2006 to 2012, the USAR likewise met

its recruitment goals. However, in 2010–2012, both the ARNG and USAR fell short

of staffing goals. At the time of this writing (2020), both the ARNG and U.S. Army

Reserve (USAR) have had few problems in meeting mandated end-strengths (Soucy,

2020).

Regarding retention, rates—either lower or higher than expected—cause prob-

lems for the military personnel system. On the one hand, too many personnel

continuing military service can create fewer promotion opportunities and result in

measures to separate personnel involuntarily. From 2000 to 2003, the Reserve and

Guard components experienced increased retention (summarized in Hansen et al.,

2004). Continuation rates in 2003 for the ARNG was 86%and for the USAR was

83%. Reenlistment rates were 65%for the ARNG and 63%for the USAR, and

attrition was 9%and 15%, respectively. Lower retention rates (below 80%) were

observed for junior ranking enlisted who comprised over 40%of all enlisted per-

sonnel. On the other hand, too few personnel continuing military service can create

shortages in personnel and can jeopardize military effectiveness. This occurred

during combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010. To meet

shortfalls, several methods were used, such as “stop-loss” and bonus money for

continued military service (Armor & Gilroy, 2010). During OIF/OEF, stop-loss was

initiated in late 2002. The policy involuntarily extended the service member’s enlist-

ment contract in order to retain the service me mber beyond the end of term of

service. By early 2008, stop-loss affected 43%of the military personnel (Vanden

Brook, 2008). Its use decreased in mid-2010 (Tyson, 2009). Given these fluctua-

tions, the emerging question is, to what extent are deployments associated with the

retention of military personnel?

Past Studies of Reservists’ Military Service Commitment

Several past studies of reservists’ attitudes concerning military service provide a

preliminary framework in this inquiry, specifically, adaptations to military life under

varied missions, training, and international contexts. Phelps and Farr (1996)

2Armed Forces & Society XX(X)