Surface Warfare Junior Officer Retention; Spouses' Influence on Career Decisions

Information obtained from a questionnaire to which 312 male surface warfare junior Officers (JOs) responded was used to determine how JOs felt their wives influenced their intent to pursue a Navy career, and how their wives felt about separations, relocations, pay, and benefits of Navy life. Officers, in general, felt their wives were supportive of their Navy careers. Separation was considered the worst aspect of Navy life and had the most pronounced influence against a Navy career. Wives who were most supportive of a Navy career were most socially and emotionally involved in the career. Wives who worked outside the home were less supportive of a Navy career than were those who worked within the home. Wives who were teachers or Navy officers found relations more difficult to accommodate and were more reluctant for their husbands to remain in the Navy than were wives in other types of jobs. Few Navy wives attended detailer field trip meetings, but those who did were more supportive of a Navy career than those who did not. The assistance of superior officers in helping wives adjust to new duty stations was rated most helpful, and Navy Family Services least helpful, indicating that COs and XOs should recognize their influence on officer retention, and that officers and their wives should be educated on the value and use of Navy Family Services to alleviate stresses of relocation and separation. See also Rept. no. NPRDC-TR-79-29, AD-A073 463 and NPRDC-TR- 80-13, AD-A081 794.