Optimal Army officer force profiles

Abstract

We explore the optimization of US Army officer force profiles. An officer force profile describes the distribution of rank and specialty as well as age and experience within the officer corps. There are two different force profiles, the one that dictates the requirements or targets for a given force structure and one that defines the current population. We explore and optimize a force profile that meets current and future force structure requirements while incorporating information from the current and historical officer population. We propose a new network structure that incorporates both rank and years in grade to combine cohort, rank, and specialty modeling without falling into the common pitfalls of small cell size and uncontrollable end effects. This research is the first to address specialty and experience modeling in a manpower and force development model for US Army officers, modeling the entire officer’s career and developing an optimal force profile.