Retaining Army Engineer Officers

Policy and doctrine require the U.S. Army to provide certain capabilities during the conduct of stability operations. The Department of Defense now considers stability operations as critical to success as offensive and defensive operations. Operations that require technical engineer capabilities, specifically infrastructure reconstruction operations, require a portion of the engineer officer corps to possess a technical engineering education. Trends in officer accessions and retention indicate a shortfall in technical engineering education among the engineer officer corps, casting doubt in the ability of the Engineer Regiment to meet anticipated future requirements. Senior engineer leaders identified these conditions and initiated a campaign to increase technical competence within the regiment. This monograph contributes to this effort by identifying factors that affect the retention of engineer officers who possess engineering degrees. The results of a survey of engineer officers at Fort Leavenworth reveal these officers possess lower job satisfaction than officers who possess non-engineering degrees and officers across the Army. These officers are more likely to believe their experiences in the Army did not match their pre-commissioning expectations contributing to perceived "psychological contract violations." The monograph suggests leaders conduct a series of studies over time to assess the effects of initiatives to increase technical competence within the Engineer Regiment.