How can leaders effectively retain 1st enlistment personnels before their 4 years mark?

Seeing this strip got me remembering my enlistment. Before I got out, my Staff Sergeant sat me down and explored all my options before my enlistment is done. He really wanted me to stay in and talked for a while on it. When checking out from PACS in Camp Lejeune and doing my final career retention paperwork, another Marine asked me if I wanted to stay in. Again, no; but it got me thinking about what my Staff Sergeant said to me. I may be mopping, but kinda wished Career Retention officers were more persuasive.

Maybe I have an advantage of using my five-year break in service experience to pursued them to stay in, but in all reality, leaders can only do so much. Whether it be personal or professional reasons for leaving the military, the decision is ultimately up to the service member. BUT.......they all come back eventually, muahahahahahahahaha.

As leaders, it is our job to make sure that personnel approaching milestones during their first enlistment are aware of, and fully understand, any and all options available to them. They also need to understand what they are walking away from. At that point our job is done.

I never considered myself a salesman for the military. Some people really enjoy the military, some tolerate it, and some despise it. The decision to remain in MUST come from within the individual. I just made sure that that person had the information needed to make the decision themselves.