Nurse retention is paramount to the success of healthcare organizations and optimal patient outcomes, and especially important among the US Armed Forces. However, the nation has seen a dramatic turnover in the nursing workforce since COVID-19 and the military nursing workforce has been impacted by additional retention challenges resulting from voluntary resignations and growing demands. A shortage of military nurses would impede medical support during military missions and may negatively impact national security. The problem is the factors influencing the retention of active-duty Army nurses are largely unknown from a qualitative perspective. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the experiences that influence nurse retention and to extract meaning within the context of the military setting. This interpretive, descriptive qualitative study used targeted social media recruitment and purposeful sampling to reach 24 active-duty Army nurses from across the globe. Between September 2023 and January 2024, data were collected from virtual semi-structured interviews, field notes, and the researcher’s reflexivity journal. Data analysis was guided by the Reflective Thematic Analysis method to develop themes related to retention within the context of the Military Nurse Ecosystem. Several themes were co-created based on the identified concepts influencing the retention of active-duty Army nurses within the military nursing profession. These concepts were conceptualized as an overarching theme of the Retention Spectrum with two main themes: 1) “It’s the People” and 2) “I’m Not Only a Nurse.” “It’s the People” theme highlights interpersonal relationships with others as influencing military nurse retention, to include leaders, mentors and mentees, the community of Army nurses, and the military beneficiary patient population. “I’m Not Only a Nurse” describes the professional and non-professional roles of Army nurses as influencing retention. Personal preferences and system-driven factors influence the ability to juggle the professional dual role of nurse and soldier. Meanwhile, non-professional roles focus on family roles and the individual’s personality, beliefs, and values. Finally, retention is re-discovered as a multidimensional and time-sensitive concept unique to each participant, then described within a dynamic spectrum. These inductively created findings encompass interpersonal relationships, the balance of professional and non-professional roles, and degrees of certainty. These findings add to the growing body of literature on nurse retention and may aid current and future strategies to improve the retention of Army nurses. Future research should consider secondary data analysis, instrument development, and experimental studies to further understand and improve military nurse retention.