Summary: Concerns have been raised about the Defense Department's (DOD) ability to retain members of the armed forces and to maintain the overall quality of life in the military. More than half of the 1,000 officers and enlisted military personnel GAO surveyed said that they were dissatisfied and intended to leave the military after their current obligation or term of enlistment. Many were unhappy with work circumstances, including a lack of equipment and materials with which to complete daily work assignments, the undermanning of units, the frequency of deployments, and the lack of personal time for family. The nature of military compensation as well as military benefits were also sources of dissatisfaction. The quality-of-life factors that are the top sources of satisfaction for military personnel were traditional morale, welfare, and recreation services, such as fitness and sport activities, as well as commissaries and exchanges and chaplain services. One factor associated with work circumstances that both officers and enlisted personnel were satisfied with was their immediate supervisors. The survey findings suggest that efforts to retain military personnel in critical specialties and to effectively and reliably assess the quality of military life should focus on military service members' work circumstances.
