An analysis of the relative productivity of officers from different accesion [sic] sources

Abstract

This thesis compares the relative productivity of Naval Officers from the U.S. Naval Academy, Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC), and Officer Candidate School (OCS). This is accomplished by creating a performance index for each individual based on officer fitness reports. The effects of commissioning source on performance are evaluated using multivariate analytical techniques. The results of the empirical analysis support the conclusion that Naval Academy graduates outperform NROTC or OCS graduates based on the measures used in this thesis. However, the magnitude of performance differences across commissioning source were small. Differences in performance were also found between year groups and for those officers who held warfare or engineering qualifications versus those who did not. It is recommended that further research be conducted on the marginal costs of each officer commissioning source to assist the Navy in making informed decisions concerning the future of commissioning programs.