Army leaders are beginning to question whether the decades-old expectation for soldiers and their families to relocate every two to three years aligns with the priorities of the younger generation of service members shaped by economic uncertainty and rapid technological change.

Over the last few years, the Army, along with its sister services, has put significant emphasis on the quality of life issues — the service has secured a total 15% increase in base salary, expanded paid parental leave to 12 weeks, improved childcare access and invested in housing. 

While the changes are impactful, service leaders need to consider whether these efforts are enough to meet the expectations of younger generations who increasingly prioritize stability, meaningful engagement with their leaders and financial compensation over traditional job satisfaction, said Army Secretary Christine Wormuth during the Association of the United States Army conference on Monday. 

“I worry the answer to this question is no,” said Wormuth. “Many of the soldiers entering the force today weren’t even born when 9/11 happened. In many respects, their most formative influences have been the hardships caused by the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 pandemic – coupled with the omnipresence of smartphones, Snapchat, and TikTok.”

“Meanwhile, the lifestyle the Army offers hasn’t changed significantly since before the Internet was invented. We still expect our soldiers to move every two to three years, uprooting children from schools and friends, and upending the aspirations of spouses who want careers of their own.  We continue to rely on spouses and partners as a de-facto unpaid Army labor force, available to organize PCS moves and lead soldier-family readiness groups but often at the expense of work outside the home and the earnings that come with it.”

In 2020, the Army talent management task force, in collaboration with the office of the assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs launched the first-ever Army career engagement survey as part of a broader effort to address retention challenges and better understand why soldiers choose to leave or stay in the service. 

In its first year, the survey received over 50,000 voluntary responses. The participation has decreased since – over 45,000 soldiers completed the survey in 2022, and over 37,000 soldiers participated in the survey in 2023.

Overall, five of the top six “extremely important” reasons for leaving the Army relate to family, such as the impact of deployments on family relationships, significant other’s career plans and plans for children, the impact of Army life on family well-being, and the degree of stability of Army life.

“Our own Army career engagement survey shows that most officers leaving the service are seeking more stability, predictability, and a better family life,” said Wormuth.

“Now, I am not suggesting we can telework to war. Don’t misunderstand me. What I am suggesting is that we need to take a hard look at what can be done to provide greater career flexibility, stability, and predictability for soldiers and families.”

The topic of whether military families truly need to move so often has been debated over the years, given that so many challenges service members and their families face are linked to frequent relocations.

Wormuth floated several ambitious ideas on how the Army could provide greater stability for soldiers and their families. 

“Should we restructure the force to reduce PCS moves to every five years instead of every three? Could we increase the options for [military occupational specialty] and branch transfers within the Army, making it easier to pursue a new career path without departing active military service?” said Wormuth.

“Should we find ways to better match financial compensation with responsibilities, qualifications and job performance instead of strictly basing it on rank and time-in-grade?”

Easing the burden

Over the last three years, the Army has introduced several policies aimed at easing the transition to a new location for soldiers and their families, including extending temporary lodging expenses (TLE) from 14 to 21 days, reimbursing up to $2,000 for pet relocation costs, and offering rental car reimbursements if personal vehicles are delayed in transit. 

“I’ve certainly gotten a lot of feedback from families around the country who have needed that and who have appreciated the fact that that’s available,” said Wormuth.

While the policies address those frequent challenges during relocation, delays to military orders — particularly for overseas assignments and families in the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) — are still a big area of concern for service members and their families. 

“Oftentimes, it’s more the timeliness of getting everything so that I could figure out where I was going, where I’m going to live, and all of those things,” Amy Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George said.

Long-term solutions

Wormuth acknowledged that more systemic changes are needed to address the root causes of dissatisfaction, especially with younger generations opting for careers that offer greater predictability and work-life balance.

And institutional change would require buy-in from Congress and a willingness on the part of the Army leadership to take risks without immediate payoffs, said Wormuth.

“If the Army does not seriously explore these questions soon, I worry that in ten to fifteen years we could see our recruiting challenges deepen and our historically high retention start dropping,” said Wormuth.

“As I have observed over many years in the Pentagon, there are few incentives for leaders to take big risks in the present when the results may not bear dividends until sometime in the future. But with the stakes this high, we need Army leaders at all levels to embrace the challenge, make data-driven decisions, and be willing to try new things.”

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