Emily K Chen

In 2014, the RAND Arroyo Center conducted a formal needs assessment survey of active component soldiers and described the broad landscape of needs and resource use. Installations vary in several ways that can affect service delivery. This project analyzed existing survey data at the garrison level and gathered qualitative focus group data to provide unique information, enabling garrisons to see where they do well and where they have challenges.

This report describes results of a unique survey approach to understanding the most-pressing problems that soldiers and their families face, the needs those problems generate, soldiers' use of Army and non-Army resources to address their needs, and barriers to using those resources. It also reports soldiers' perceptions of the effectiveness of the resources used and the implications of unmet needs for soldiers' attitudes toward military service.