Workforce Readiness under Constraints: Personnel Policy, Family Frictions, and Military Outcomes

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Effective national defense depends not only on strategy and technology, but also on whether the military can effectively recruit, retain, and deploy a stable workforce. This panel examines how personnel policies and family-related constraints jointly shape workforce outcomes across the U.S. armed forces. Across promotion systems, childcare markets, and spouse labor supply, the four papers show how the evaluation and support of military members and their families shape retention and long-run readiness. Using administrative data and policy-relevant variation, the panel brings new evidence to questions of promotion, retention, and labor market adjustment. In doing so, the panel advances a more comprehensive understanding of workforce dynamics in national security contexts.

The first paper studies repeated changes in whether U.S. Air Force promotion boards could observe advanced degree information in selection decisions. It asks how changing credential visibility and competitive structures affects the returns to education, promotion outcomes, and officer retention. The findings speak to core questions in personnel policy design: how information environments shape selection and incentives, and whether reforms improve the alignment between human capital and leadership roles.

The second and third papers focus on childcare as a critical yet often underappreciated determinant of military workforce stability. The second paper evaluates how childcare availability and costs influence separation decisions among Army and Navy personnel, identifying childcare market frictions as a key driver of talent loss. The third paper examines whether minimum wage increases for childcare workers in Army Child Development Centers improve childcare staffing, retention, and quality. Together, these papers demonstrate how investments in support infrastructure can mitigate attrition and improve workforce effectiveness.

The final paper expands the lens to military families by analyzing the labor market trajectories of veteran spouses. It investigates whether and how spouses recover economically once geographic mobility constraints imposed by active-duty service are lifted. This perspective underscores the long-term consequences of military service on household labor supply and economic well-being, with implications for recruitment, retention, and veteran transition policy.

Collectively, the panel reveals that workforce readiness depends not only on recruiting talent, but also on how institutions evaluate, support, and retain service members and their families. The research offers actionable guidance for policymakers aiming to strengthen national security by improving workforce readiness and retaining existing talent.

Policy Area

• National and Homeland Security and Crisis Management

Chair

• Joseph J. Sabia, San Diego State University

Discussants

• Michael Stephens Kofoed, University of Tennessee (Knoxville)

• Cary Balser, United States Air Force Academy

Organizer

• Olivia Healy, Elon University

Individual Presentations

• We Don’t Need No Education: Degree Visibility and Promotion in the U.S. Air Force - Presenting Author: Katie Albright, University of Michigan Ann Arbor

• How Variation in Childcare Access Shapes Workforce Retention in the U.S. Military - Presenting Author: Olivia Healy, Elon University

• Voluntary Minimum Wages in the Public Childcare Sector - Presenting Author: E. Anna Weber, United States Military Academy

• Duty Calls, Careers Wait: Do Veteran Spouses Recover? An Analysis of Veteran Spouse Employment Outcomes - Presenting Author: Casey Leek, University of New Mexico