Cost and benefit analysis of alternatives to the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) flight physical screening process

Abstract

Questions have arisen concerning the efficiency of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) flight physical screening process. This study analyzed two alternative means to aeronautically assess these individuals: restructuring the pre-commissioning flight physical and opening the Aviation Certification Evaluation and Screening (ACES) program to all NROTC aviation candidates. A detailed description of the current NROTC aviation screening system, quantification and analysis of flight physical attrition rates, and recommendations for streamlining the overall process are also provided. This thesis determined the optimal pre-commissioning flight physical site for every NROTC unit and used derived attrition information to estimate the cost of the current screening system, as well as the two selected alternatives. Further, all three screening options were compared against each other utilizing a cost- benefit analysis.