Constraints placed on Marine Corps ammunition requirements by the PPBS

Abstract

The purpose of this report is to determine whether the products of the Planning, Programming and Budgeting System (PPBS) are worthwhile, they must be measured against some form of output. The prepositioned War Reserve (PWR) of the Marine Corps is a measure of sustainability: a desired output of the PPBS. This thesis investigated the PPBS, the Marine Corps programming methodology and ammunition requirement generation to determine whether these processes artificially constrain ammunition purchases. This thesis suggests that the constraints placed on ammunition requirements are related to the lack of long-range strategic goals, inadequate planning in the PPBS and the inherent weaknesses of program budgeting. (sdw)

To determine whether the products of the Planning, Programming and Budgeting System (PPBS) are worthwhile, they must be measured against some form of output. The Prepositioned War Reserve (PWR) of the Marine Corps is a measure of sustainability: a desired output of the PPBS. This thesis investigated the PPBS, the Marine Corps programming methodology and ammunition requirement generation to determine whether these processes artificially constrain ammunition purchases. This thesis suggests that the constraints placed on ammunition requirements are related to the lack of longrange strategic goals, inadequate planning in the PPBS and the inherent weaknesses of program budgeting.