A Markov Model for Marine Corps Acquisition Force Planning

Abstract

This research is in response to a request by the Marine Aviation Detachment at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD. Currently, no manpower planning tools exist for force shaping of the Marine Corps Acquisition Community. This thesis creates a force shaping and forecasting tool for Marine Corps manpower planners. The tool assists planners in forecasting inventory levels across rank and Military Occupational Specialty combinations and in determining the most robust force structure for the acquisition officer community. Validation of the model reveals the usefulness of the planning tool for forecasting inventory levels, but it also indicates weakness in force structure analysis. This weakness is due to the small size and nascency of the current community, further data collection is required to validate the model for future use in force structure development.