Draws on Department of Defense guidance, the economics and defense manpower literatures, interviews with personnel at the National Security Agency/Central Security Service, and an exploratory quantitative analysis to identify the factors that affect the most cost-effective mix of military personnel, government civilians, and contractors for providing language capability in the intelligence community.

This research extends the dynamic retention model to simulate the transition to the steady state, providing researchers with the ability to assess the effects of workforce management policies both in the steady state and in the transition to the steady state as well as to assess the effects of alternative implementation strategies. It helps policymakers better understand workforce dynamics and how they respond to policy change.