The Army Research Institute is working to develop a tool that will help guide recruits toward their most compatible military occupation specialty in a push to help soldiers enjoy their work and stay in service beyond one enlistment.
The U.S. Army said Monday Cristina Kirkendall, an Army Research Institute psychologist, and Christopher Nye, an assistant professor at Michigan State University, will use data gathered from 1,000 basic combat training soldiers surveyed in October to develop the Adaptive Vocational Interest Diagnostic.
“A lot of soldiers don’t have information about a job before they enlist… They pick a job based on either the bonuses or what the recruiter said they should choose, or whatever it may be. And, that might just not be the best place for them,” said Kirkendall.
Kirkendall noted that it will take three to four years to implement AVID and it will not replace current testing methods such as the cognitive Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, which is used to determine soldiers’ job eligibility.
Nye added that researchers have also started to develop the Tailored Adaptive Personality Assessment System to gather information on non-cognitive characteristics.
