Decision Analysis with Value Focused Thinking as a Methodology to Assess Air Force Officer Retention Alternatives

Many countries realize the importance of the retention of qualified military personnel, and have tried to solve this problem using various methods. Nevertheless, the effects of those methods have not been determined or proven yet. The military retention problem is closely related to each individual's separation decision from the military. The characteristics of this decision are multi-objective and highly subjective. Accordingly, the effectiveness of various methods is heavily dependant on the value set of each individual. Decision Analysis (DA) using Value Focused Thinking (VFT) can be an excellent process to deal with this decision. Also, the data can reflect the value trends of different officer groups. The intent of this research is to provide better understanding of the Air Force officer retention problem. This thesis effort involves building a VFT model to find out more effective alternatives in retaining pilots and non-pilots.