Force Readiness

For a half-century, CNA analysis has helped the Department of Defense recruit, train, retain and educate the optimal force. Dozens of CNA analysts specialize in personnel issues. Most have Ph.D.s in economics and deep experience working with sailors and Marines. We design and employ sophisticated tools, including our dynamic decision model of servicemember retention.

CNA data scientists employ machine learning algorithms and predictive analytics to address personnel issues as a component of the Navy’s Performance to Plan effort. We have applied big-data analyses to identify factors related to destructive behaviors like sexual assault. In addition, CNA’s experts in force readiness annually produced the congressionally mandated Population Representation in the Military Services report for more than two decades.

Related Capabilities

Economic Analysis

Data Analytics

Data Management

Modeling & Simulation

Gender Research and Analysis

Our gender research and analysis explore national and international security implications of gender for the United States military, our allies and partners, and competitors.

The All-Volunteer Force and the Need for Sustained Investment in Recruiting

This report investigates the benefits and challenges of consistent recruiting in the All-Volunteer Force (AVF). It also demonstrates the need for adequate and relatively stable recruiting budgets for recruiting success and the viability of the AVF.

CNA’s Dynamic Decision Model for Servicemember Retention

The Dynamic Decision Model offers new levels of flexibility to predict the impact of policy changes on the decisions of sailors to stay or leave.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Military Recruiting

Two analysts explore how military recruiters adapted when the pandemic hampered traditional face-to-face recruiting.

Creating an OSD Retention Dashboard

The retention dashboard CNA developed for the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness allows users to view enlistee retention trends in each of the services.

Identifying Contributions of DOD’s Civilian Workforce to Readiness

This study demonstrates the scope and magnitude of each civilian manpower type, a necessary prerequisite for optimizing the total force from an objective, data-driven perspective.

CNA Talks: Beyond Representation: Identifying Systemic Bias in the Military

Four CNA experts discuss what big data can and cannot tell us about systemic racism within our military and civilian institutions.

Estimating the Effect of a Single-Salary System on Marriage Rates and Retention

This report examines how a proposal to replace housing and subsistence allowances with a single-salary system could change servicemember retention, driven by changes in marriage.

Maternity Leave: More Weeks for Mothers Can Mean More Weeks Worked

CNA analysis found that increasing maternity leave can be a cost-effective way to retain female sailors. Extra weeks of leave given to new mothers is compensated by three times as many weeks of extra work from reenlistments.

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