Modern propulsion and weapons are useless without educated, experienced people to operate them. In 1979-80, the Navy recruited its highest number of ratings for several years, 30 more than in 1978-79, while officer recruitment rose by almost 20 percent. Retention indicators also improved: ratings giving notice fell by 25 percent, and applications for premature retirement among officers fell by about 40 percent. An 18-month notice period delayed the recovery of trained strength despite those gains. Aggregate totals concealed serious shortages among junior officers, junior engineers, and nearly 1,000 artificers, about 12 percent of the requirement for that group. The number of 16-to-19-year-olds, then the Navy's main recruiting pool, was expected to decline from the mid-1980s. Ships and weapons could not restore readiness without enough trained people to operate them.
Chapter · 23:17-25:50
Recruitment, retention, and the demographic trough
Improved recruiting could not erase shortages of trained specialists or the approaching decline in the Navy's main pool of young recruits.