Do the Best and Brightest West Point Officers Stay in or Leave the Army?
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| Title: | Do the Best and Brightest West Point Officers Stay in or Leave the Army? |
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| Authors: | Spain, Everett S. P. (AUTHOR), Lin, Eric (AUTHOR), Farina, Andrew G. (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Armed Forces & Society (Sage Publications Inc.). Jul2025, Vol. 51 Issue 3, p883-913. 31p. |
| Subjects: | United States armed forces, United States Military Academy, Management turnover, Talent management, Military education, United States. Army, Survival analysis (Biometry) |
| Abstract: | Studying archival data from 16 West Point cohorts (classes of 1992–2007, N = 13,309), this article operationalizes the concept of "best and brightest" and then investigates whether the best and brightest West Point cadets depart the Army at a higher rate than their average-performing peers. A combination of multi-variable regression and survival analysis indicates that the best and brightest West Pointers are as likely to stay in the Army past year 6 (to serve as a company commander) and are more likely to stay in the Army past year 10 (to serve as a field grade officer) as compared with their average- and lower-performing peers. In addition, among the best and brightest West Pointers, both female and minority officers are as likely to stay in the Army past year 6 as their male and Caucasian officer peers, respectively, although minority officers are much less likely to stay past year 10 than their Caucasian male peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Armed Forces & Society (Sage Publications Inc.) is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | Studying archival data from 16 West Point cohorts (classes of 1992–2007, N = 13,309), this article operationalizes the concept of "best and brightest" and then investigates whether the best and brightest West Point cadets depart the Army at a higher rate than their average-performing peers. A combination of multi-variable regression and survival analysis indicates that the best and brightest West Pointers are as likely to stay in the Army past year 6 (to serve as a company commander) and are more likely to stay in the Army past year 10 (to serve as a field grade officer) as compared with their average- and lower-performing peers. In addition, among the best and brightest West Pointers, both female and minority officers are as likely to stay in the Army past year 6 as their male and Caucasian officer peers, respectively, although minority officers are much less likely to stay past year 10 than their Caucasian male peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 0095327X |
| DOI: | 10.1177/0095327X231194238 |
