Abstract
This research paper reviews the effects of recruiting, retention and attrition on manpower in the Navy and alludes to the overall effect on warfighting capability. It further explains that regardless of outside factors such as political agenda and restraints on the defense budget that there are in fact internal methods that senior leadership can deploy at the local level to better control these factors affecting manpower.

Naval Manpower’s Effect on Warfighting Capabilities
The number one issue in the Navy is and will most likely always be manpower. Manpower is one of the hardest things to control and predict. The key factors in manpower are recruiting, retention, and attrition. After the last drawdown that went from 2003 to 2011, the Navy cut its workforce from 380,000 to 317,000 (Faram, 2017). The Navy had no experience in such an undertaking and as a result is short 5,000 people today (Faram, 2017). Recruitment is essential in a voluntary workforce, especially when we have been engaged in a prolonged conflict. Recruiters face a tough challenge with competition in the civilian workforce, as well as finding Americans that want to grow, develop, contribute, and serve. Attrition is a major factor affecting manpower. Far too many Sailors are leaving the Navy and the only way to stop it is from the deck plates. Frontline leaders need to get evolved early and often to ensure that our Sailors start out on the right path. While it is possible to manage manpower effectively, leaders should manage attrition, retention, and recruitment because future requirements are not always translated in current end strength numbers, miss management of attrition practices have had negative impacts on readiness, and these three fronts directly affect each other and warfighting capabilities as a whole.
Attrition by its definition relating to manpower is a reduction in the workforce when workers leave, retire, resign, or get kicked out. While ...