[5] On October 13, 1970, General William Westmoreland announced his intentions to appoint an officer to oversee an Army program to move towards an all-volunteer force.
The project also needed to focus on the shifting cultural patterns of American youth, and determine precisely how their values intersected with the potential for their military enlistment.
[10] This program included nicer living conditions - specifically barracks with more privacy – and replaced soldiers with civilians to do menial tasks, such as kitchen duty.
[6] At Fort Benning, the study found that the most significant "impact items"[3] for enlistees included kitchen duty, individuality, dining hours, and policies concerning beer and hats.
[3] At Fort Carson, a questionnaire distributed throughout 1971 to officers had several findings; most notably that there was lack of agreement that Project VOLAR was meeting its goals of improving military quality.
The questionnaire also found that the most important items considered necessary to achieve the project's goals were satisfaction with job position, promotions based on merit, adequate equipment, and less emphasis on tedious work.
Factors that were of major influence for retention in the army were: consideration for the individual, personal security, interesting and satisfying work, and the conditions of reenlistment.
[6] Factors of major influence for leaving the army were: red tape, overtime work, the risk of physical danger, the reaction of the general public to the military, and the state of the then-present Vietnam War.