Why do so many people leave the military after their first contact?

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 13:27:32 -0400

I know a lot of soliders who will be ETSing after their first contact and soliders from different states and units so dont assume it just certain units. What do you is causing so many soliders to get out the military. I know a lot of people will say they cant handle the military but we all know that's not true.

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made Jul 25 at 2019 1:44 PM

SGM Bill Frazer — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 13:44:47 -0400

Look- 1. Its not for everyone. 2, Lots of hard work, damn little glory. 3. We use to joke that when you added all the hours we worked, it was like $0.35/hr. 4. You never get rich in the service period. And last be not least- Your Family gets tired to watching CNN to find out where the hell you are currently.

Response by SFC Marc W. made Jul 25 at 2019 2:06 PM

SFC Marc W. — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 14:06:05 -0400

I think for mid-career soldiers who get out between 6-14 years, fact is the Army super sucks at talent management. HRC is a joke.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 25 at 2019 2:22 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 14:22:55 -0400

Discovered that the military is not their cup of tea.......promised to do only one stint......bad leaders.....bad units.......got in trouble......possibilities are endless.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jul 25 at 2019 2:35 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 14:35:46 -0400

How they were treated. All my soldiers reenlisted.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 25 at 2019 3:20 PM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 15:20:48 -0400

In addition to people who can't handle the military there is a much larger number who discover that it is just not what they want. The is nothing wrong with that, As said by others it is not for everyone.

Response by CSM Darieus ZaGara made Jul 25 at 2019 4:22 PM

CSM Darieus ZaGara — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 16:22:32 -0400

The service is not for everyone. Also, to feed the ranks you need fresh boots to glean qualifies candidates. For everyone who gets out of service because it is not for them, there are two or three who cannot not, and will not get promoted to the NCO ranks. Their are as many reasons as there are Soldiers. Thank you for your service.

Response by SPC Samantha Stapley made Jul 25 at 2019 4:35 PM

SPC Samantha Stapley — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 16:35:46 -0400

I can tell you why I got out. I enlisted as a reservist in Western PA. My very first drill (two months before I left for basic training) my motor sergeant's first words to me were "You are not going to file sexual harassment charges on me are you?" Then my recruiter literally forgot to pick me up on my ship date. ( I did not stay at the "hotel" because I lived less than 10 min from MEPS). Then I was sexually assaulted in AIT and subsequently received a Company grade Artc. 15 for it. I was deployed with my reserve unit and my squad leader pulled me aside to tell me he didn't think women should be allowed in the military and that he would do everything in his power to get me kicked out. He tried, but luckily I had a really great Platoon Sergeant and Company Commander. After coming home, I went active duty. Both units (Active and Reserve) were Engineer Units (I was attached as a 63B Light Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic) and was literally the ONLY female in my company in the Reserves and there were only 4 females in my company on Active Duty. We were treated poorly, and forced into administrative jobs regardless of our actual MOS. I worked in the Operations room for the entirety of my time in Active Duty. There is more. And I am also a loud, vocal person who doesn't take crap from people, which as a lower enlisted person, didn't bode well for me. So, it was a combination of me not fitting in with the military life, and the military life not fitting in with me.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 25 at 2019 5:23 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 17:23:00 -0400

SPC Matrone Plight, people have different reasons why they get out of the military after their first term. I had NCOs in my platoon at Bragg who got out because of bad leaders. I almost got out because of discrimination and bad leaders. But I had resolved before I came in that I was not going to let anybody influence my decision whether to stay in or get out so I stayed.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 25 at 2019 5:36 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 17:36:27 -0400

That's not as true as it sounds. While you may know many Soldiers who say they're getting out after their first contract, many of them end up reenlisting. In fact, I'd say 90% of Soldiers when initially counseled, say they're getting out. But the numbers don't lie. The Army retains record number of Soldiers every year. We usually meet and exceed our retention goals every year, that's the Active and RC.

Why do they say that? A lot of initial term Soldiers are young and immature. They base their decisions on emotions. If they have a bad day, they say they're getting out. If they see something shiny they reenlist to stay in. I can't begin to explain the number of Soldiers who have flipped back and forth between happy/staying in and angry/getting out over the course of pre and post reenlistment.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jul 25 at 2019 5:56 PM

CAPT Kevin B. — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 17:56:36 -0400

I'd take a look at the rate of attrition. It's high during unpopular wars with a draft. It's lower when not much is going on. Other factors are pushing the number higher with some being related to generational perceptions. The work hard every day ethic isn't near as prevalent in recruits vs. the past. More have no idea what they want, do some time, get out, and still don't know what they want.
Fewer are inclined to "embrace the suck". The services are getting smarter on encouraging people to get out vs. having a longer financial tail. Saw a comment that HRC is a joke. Some ways it's a joke by design. More are critical of the HR system but a good hunk of that group have unrealistic expectations. The system isn't a babysitter. If you want examples of that disconnect, you only need look at some of the questions that get posted on RP. BTW, the Services have policies, resources (or designed lack of), etc. to hit a sweet spot on body count and skills. That sweet spot isn't necessarily driven by mission and OPTEMPO. It's driven by politically driven manning caps, non warfighting initiatives that makes the SM less likely to survive in the badlands, and the list goes on. Promotion is ever more based on the easy stuff IGs do their so called inspections on. Do a great MIL job, bring all your people home alive, but dip in some Candy A administrative thing, your career is over. Do an OK MIL job, get a few people killed, but cover all the Candy A's, you're promoted.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 25 at 2019 7:41 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 19:41:31 -0400

I got out the first time as a SSG when HRC wouldn’t budge on me being DA select for recruiting duty. I wanted to be an MOS instructor. So I signed a dec and got out. Went back to school, got commissioned, got graduate level funded education, retiring as O-4 with 20 active, found a great high paying job in civilian sector. It worked out good for me.

Response by CPL Gary Pifer made Jul 25 at 2019 10:58 PM

CPL Gary Pifer — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 22:58:43 -0400

Various reasons. Spouse complaints. Good economy. Disability , Don't like it..
School....Adventure over. ...Reserves... Bad habits...drinking.. drugs. But many bitch when they hit retirement age.

Response by SGT Chris Stephens made Jul 25 at 2019 11:58 PM

SGT Chris Stephens — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 23:58:14 -0400

I did one 5- year contract for active duty and then did my last 6 in reserves and guard. The reason I got active duty because I realized how much I wanted to just be back home after spending 24 months overseas. The army couldn't give me anything in the southeast so I went into the reserves and moved back to my hometown and went to college.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 26 at 2019 3:14 AM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 03:14:36 -0400

This is a very broad question, and not everyone can re-enlist due to factors out of their control. Some have medical issues, some have hit their retention cap and can't get promoted, and some have royally screwed up their careers. The list of reasons is long, but for a lot of vets and retirees I have found it is usually the people they work with (or going to work with) that is the deciding factor. Any job (military or civilian) has a way of changing (or challenging) your perspective. It's not always about better pay, or better leadership, sometimes it just a matter of priorities or what you think is important for you (or your family) at that moment.
I left because there were more bad times than good, and I hit 8 years as a specialist which I think is the reason why none of the retention NCOs wanted to talk to me. I have no proof just speculation.

Response by SGT Dave Tracy made Jul 26 at 2019 10:24 AM

SGT Dave Tracy — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 10:24:21 -0400

I can only speak for myself. I had a plan and I stuck with my plan, though with some occasional hesitation. I enlisted at an age many are looking at retiring from the military. I wanted to do my AD time and transition into the Reserves; both of which I did. I rode out the remainder of my contract in the Reserves and didn't reup, which at that point was partly because I needed to focus on grad school. But that wasn't the only reason.

Do I miss the Reserves? I do. I even inquired recently about my eligibility to reenlist in either the Guard or Reserves...then I hear about my old Reserve unit doing a 28 day AT instead of a typical 21 (2 weeks a year, LOL!! Never!) and find myself not missing it quite as much! ;-)

Do I miss Active Duty? Sure. The job embraced all sorts of suck, but it still had purpose and meaning, and I often think I should have enlisted after high school instead of when I did.

When all is said and done though, I think I first left AD and then the Reserves because I felt it was time. I contributed to the mission, served my country, and learned much along the way. It wasn't sexy, it wasn't glamorous; but I'll never forget it.

Response by SGT Mike Bemis made Jul 27 at 2019 1:48 PM

SGT Mike Bemis — Sat, 27 Jul 2019 13:48:44 -0400

I've been out for just over a decade now and I'm sure things have changed (hopefully), but for us it was the back to back to back deployments with a stop loss to boot.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 11 at 2019 12:51 AM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 00:51:56 -0400

The army life truly isnt for everyone, we may get used to the army life like waking up early, doing PT, rock marches,etc. But alot of soldiers on their first contract dont enjoy that at all. Another reason is physical or psychological harm the army has done to them. Pay could be another reason, depending on the unit the restrictions on living life or work. The last reason I can think of is it's just not what them expected and wanted more but never got it, So they are left with that hole in them that never got satisfied.

Response by 1SG John Millan made Feb 24 at 2024 12:40 AM

1SG John Millan — Sat, 24 Feb 2024 00:40:43 -0500

Woke, DEI, CRT, non warrior emphasis, pronoun madness, on and on.

Response by SPC James Neidig made Feb 24 at 2024 2:17 AM

SPC James Neidig — Sat, 24 Feb 2024 02:17:36 -0500

A lot Of The SMs That I Know Of That Left After Their First Contract , Myself Included Was Due To Lack Of Promotion And Poor Treatment By Leadership.
In My Case After 6 Years In The Marines I Wanted To Reenlist But The Chance For Promotion Was Almost Zero Within 2 Years In What Was My MOS And The MOSs I Got Offered For Reclass , I Didn’t Want To Do.So I Got Out And A Few Years Later Joined The Army Guard And Then Active Army Until I Got A LOD Injury And Medical Discharge Just Before I Was To Pin Sgt .
I Would Have Stayed In The Army Because Promotion Chances Were Better Than In The Marines.