A household decision model examines the role of family economic and noneconomic factors in the reenlistment intentions of army personnel. Although spouse employment is important to such intentions (see The White Paper 1983: The Army Family and The Army Family Action Plan I), an empirical relationship has not been established. The author’s model examines the influence of both spouse employment status and spouse support on reenlistment. The findings show that the spouse’s propensity to be unemployed and several army policy variables, such as spouse accompaniment and member wages, are significant factors. In addition, the spouse’s labor market experience is hurt by the army’s rotation policies, and this hurts retention. This issue is not at all unique to the military. For two-wage-earner families, earnings, employment status, and noneconomic factors influence the career choices of both spouses.
