A newly released RAND study concludes that long work hours and demanding schedules, rather than the number of deployments, are responsible for fueling intentions not to remain in the military. Researchers say that members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines value their participation in real world missions, but that rising stress levels created by things like uncertainty over deployment dates, separation from family, feelings of not being prepared, and long hours can counter the positive benefit of “meaningful operations.” The study is called “How Deployments Affect Service Members.”
A legislative standoff has led to a lapse in a $4.26 billion small business innovation contracting program widely used by the Air Force and could spell the end of it entirely, industry sources warned Air & Space Forces Magazine.
