USMC Squadron Command Climate and Marine Aviator Separations

Abstract

"A large body of literature studies the effects of economic factors on military aviator retention, yet it does not estimate the effects of individual career experiences on retention. In this paper, I estimate the association between Marine aviators’ separation rates and squadron command climate using restricted-access data from Defense Organizational Climate Surveys (DEOCS) administered from 2014 to 2017. Using a squadron level fixed-effect methodology to control for service level and economy level characteristics, I find that squadron command climate does not have a significant effect on Marine aviator separation rates before nine or twelve years of commissioned time-in-service (TIS) for Marine aviators commissioned between Fiscal Years (FY) 2007 and 2012. In the observed population, I did find a significant correlation between Marine aviator lateral moves and squadron command climate, suggesting it does influence Marine aviator career decisions. However, the null result for separations suggests that Marine aviator separations from active duty are not affected by command climate at the squadron level, and that Marine aviator retention policy should focus on service-level nonmonetary and monetary policy across all aviator communities."