Nancy R Kirk

Air Force Core Identity and Its Impact on Retention Nancy R Kirk

Over the past few years, retention has been an ongoing challenge to all military services and the United States Air Force is no exception. Many have posited a strong economy as a reason for people exiting the Air Force. Others have asserted that it is because of the personnel drawdown along with an ever-increasing operations tempo. Still others have pointed to a lack of core organizational identity that decreases the cohesiveness of the Air Force. This study describes the concepts of organizational identity and organizational culture, their importance, and their relevance to the USAF. This study also analyzes the foundations of Air Force core identity; defines current Air Force identity and pinpoints current threats to that identity. This paper reviews retention trends and current retention challenges in an attempt to draw a relationship between Air Force core identity and retention rates.