GRADUATE SCHOOL EDUCATION AS A RETENTION AND READINESS TOOL

The U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) recently identified a retention problem among Special Forces Captains. A USASOC-sponsored survey sent to all active duty Special Forces Captains highlighted that many are considering leaving the Army at a crucial point, leaving the force depleted in terms of both quantity and quality of field grade officers; the same survey, however, also revealed the solution. Of the 163 respondents, there was a significant interest for increased civilian graduate school opportunities. While previous analysts provided broad suggestions to increase retention, this thesis specifically examines the solution of increased civilian graduate school opportunities. By analyzing the survey results as well as the recent Army directive regarding Command General Staff College attendance, this thesis finds that, to retain the most talented officers and ensure the continued readiness of the members of the 1st Special Forces Command, USASOC must improve its talent management by leveraging the most recent National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to offer graduate school education as a means of retaining its top-performing Captains. Doing so aligns with the 2018 National Defense Strategy guidance to ensure strong critical thinkers and problem solvers.http://archive.org/details/graduateschooled1094564140Major, United States ArmyMajor, United States ArmyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited