25,000 enlisted personnel are being separated from the services in their first 6 months, during or shortly after they complete basic training. This report analyzes historical attrition rates for enlisted personnel who serve at least 6 months, but leave military service before completing their first contract terms. It determines (1) the rate and timing of attrition during enlistees' first terms; (2) the extent of DoD's investment in recruiting and training first-term enlistees; (3) reasons for first-term attrition after training; (4) servicemembers' perceptions of quality-of-life factors that contribute to attrition; and (5) actions the services are taking to reduce enlistees' attrition.