Navy officer manpower optimization revisited

Abstract

This work develops and tests RCMOP-2, an extension of the Requirements-Driven, Cost-Based, Manpower Optimization (RCMOP) model introduced by Clark. Like its predecessor, RCMOP-2 simultaneously guides monthly values for U.S. Navy officer manpower variables, including inventory, promotions, accessions, designator transfers, and forced and natural losses, in order to minimize a "gap index" reflecting the lack of fit between a given personnel inventory and a set of billet requirements. RCMOP-2 enhances RCMOP with added resolution to input data and the inclusion of non-linear penalties for vacant billet requirements. Specifically, RCMOP-2 details individual flow of personnel in Intelligence, Supply Corps, Civil Engineering and Other Restricted Line communities to avoid unsuited job assignments due to aggregation. Also, by increasing the planning horizon from two to four years, RCMOP-2 can narrow the initial inventory shortfalls at lower ranks. The utilization of non-linear penalties ensures a balanced dispersion of unfilled jobs across multiple billet categories, which is consistent with current practice. Finally, a comparison of several natural loss rate scenarios yields minor differences in our gap index and number of unfilled jobs, which indicates RCMOP-2 can accommodate specific loss information without severely impacting the outcome.