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RAND monographs present major research findings that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND mono- graphs undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity. Peter Schirmer, Harry J. ie, Margaret C. Harrell, Michael S. Tseng Challenging Time in DOPMA Flexible and Contemporary Military Officer Management Prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense Approved for public release; distribution unlimited The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R ® is a registered trademark. © Copyright 2006 RAND Corporation All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from RAND. Published 2006 by the RAND Corporation 1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 1200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202-5050 4570 Fifth Avenue, Suite 600, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 RAND URL: http://www.rand.org/ To order RAND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution Services: Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Email: order@rand.org The research described in this report was prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). The research was conducted in the RAND National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the OSD, the Joint Staff, the Unified Combatant Commands, the Department of the Navy, the Marine Corps, the defense agencies, and the defense Intelligence Community under Contract DASW01-01-C-0004. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Challenging time in DOPMA : flexible and contemporary military officer management / Peter Schirmer [et al.]. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-13: 978-0-8330-3948-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. United States—Armed Forces—Officers—Management. 2. United States— Armed Forces—Personnel management. I. Schirmer, Peter, 1970– . UB413.C53 2006 355.3'320973—dc22 2006020173 iii Preface e U.S. military is far better trained, better educated, more compe- tent, and more professional than any current or potential rival, which provides an asymmetric advantage in military operations. To maxi- mize this advantage, military and civilian leaders in the Department of Defense (DoD) are examining new policies that would generate higher returns on investment in military personnel and enhance professional development. ose policies would enable officers to serve longer in certain assignments, to have longer careers, and to have more-diverse career paths. e Defense Officer Personnel Management Act of 1980 (DOPMA) that codified military officer management is based on fixed career- and promotion-time parameters that make change challenging. Recent initiatives reflect the growing recognition that the laws, policies, and practices governing military personnel management today will not meet the needs of the future operating environment. e United States no longer has a cold war enemy but still has a cold war–era personnel system designed largely to develop and apply mili- tary personnel to meet a known and relatively unchanging threat. A shift to a more flexible approach to personnel management is under way, led by the creation in 2005 of the National Security Personnel System for DoD civilians. e 2004 National Defense Authorization Act directed the Secretary of Defense to create a system that is “flexible” and “contemporary.” at legislation was the culmi- nation of two decades of demonstration projects that tested alternative management policies for civilian DoD personnel. iv Challenging Time in DOPMA is monograph focuses on changes to law, policy, and prac- tice that govern promotions for military officers to achieve similar objectives. Closely related assignment and retirement policies are also addressed. As such, it should be of interest to decisionmakers, military personnel managers, and officers themselves. is research was sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and was conducted within the Forces and Resources Policy Center of the RAND National Defense Research Institute, a feder- ally funded research and development center sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the Unified Combatant Commands, the Department of the Navy, the Marine Corps, the defense agencies, and the defense Intelligence Community. e princi- pal investigators are Harry ie and Margaret Harrell. Comments are welcome and may be addressed to Harry ie at harry_thie@rand.org or to Margaret Harrell at margaret_harrell@rand.org or to the princi- pal author at pete_schirmer@rand.org. For more information on RAND’s Forces and Resources Policy Center, contact the Director, James Hosek. He can be reached by e-mail at James_Hosek@rand.org; by phone at 310-393-0411, exten- sion 7183; or by mail at the RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138. More information about RAND is available at www.rand.org. Contents vv Preface iii Figures ix Tables xi Summary xiii Acknowledgments xxi Acronyms and Abbreviations xxiii CHAPTER ONE Introduction 1 A Competency-Based Career-Management System 5 Terms Used in is Monograph 6 Organization of is Monograph 8 CHAPTER TWO DOPMA and the Time-Based Management System 9 Defining DOPMA 9 Changing Career Paths Within a Time-Based System 13 CHAPTER THREE Effects of Extending Assignment and Career Tenures 17 Brief Model Description 17 Model Scenarios 19 Longer Assignments (Greater Depth) Result in Fewer Assignments (Less Breadth) 20 vi vi Challenging Time in DOPMA Longer Careers Enable Officers to Have Additional Assignments Only in the Grade from Which ey Retire 24 Delayed Promotion Timing Allows for Some Additional Assignments Mid-Career 28 Conclusions About Extending Assignment Lengths 29 CHAPTER FOUR Outcomes and Characteristics of a Competency-Based Management System 31 A Competency-Based System Makes Officers Eligible for Promotion Based on Education and Work Experience 31 Specific Criteria for Promotion Eligibility Vary by Service Community 34 A Competency-Based System Has Broader Promotion Zones 37 Outcomes of a Competency-Based System Might Not Significantly Differ from ose of a Time-Based System 40 A Competency-Based System Accommodates Additional Mid-Career Assignments 42 A Competency-Based System Accommodates Longer Time in Assignments 44 A Compentency-Based System Makes Better Use of Longer Careers 45 A Competency-Based System Allows Services and Service Communities Greater Control over Outcomes 47 General Characteristics and Outcomes of a Competency-Based System 49 CHAPTER FIVE Implementing a Competency-Based Career-Management System 51 Changes in Law 51 Changes in DoD Policy 53 Changes in Service Policy and Practice 53 Concerns About Changing the Officer Career-Management System 55 e “Deal” 58 CHAPTER SIX Conclusions and Recommendations 61 Conclusions 61 Recommendations 63 APPENDIX Career Path Model 65 Bibliography 73 Contents vii [...]... skills, and abilities (KSAs) that are conferred and required by each job, school, and training event This is not a one -time effort, particularly on the demand side Changes in the geopolitical environment, in technology, and in society have a continual in uence on individual competencies that generate the capabilities of military xviii Challenging Time in DOPMA organizations Although we modeled a system in. .. Management Act, or DOPMA, was passed in 1980 and is codified in Titles 10 and 37 of the U.S Code Although the basic framework remains in place today, many of its sections have been amended or repealed during the past 25 years Moreover, earlier versions of DOPMA (it also passed in the House in 1976 and 1978) contained some precepts that were not in the 1980 law but ended up in 9 10 Challenging Time in. .. observations and conclusions CHAPTER TWO DOPMA and the Time- Based Management System In this chapter, we explain how current laws and policies (commonly, if somewhat inaccurately, referred to as DOPMA) create a time- based officer management system We also show how that system limits the services’ ability to establish less prescriptive, longer, or more-varied careers In the following chapters, our baseline modeling... Personnel Management Act was more evolutionary than revolutionary It built upon legislation from the 1940s and 1950s, and some of 1 Margaret C Harrell, Harry J Thie, Peter Schirmer, and Kevin Brancato, Aligning the Stars: Improvements to General and Flag Officer Management, Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation, MR-1712-OSD, 2004 xiii xiv Challenging Time in DOPMA its key sections incorporated ideas and policies... G-3 plans officer GNA Goldwater-Nichols Act HQ headquarters xxiii xxiv Challenging Time in DOPMA HQMC Marine Corps Headquarters IT information technology KSA knowledge, skills, and ability KSAO knowledge, skills, abilities, and other KSAT knowledge, skills, abilities, and tools MAJCOM Major Command MEF Marine Expeditionary Force MEU Marine Expeditionary Unit MOS Military Occupational Specialty MRD mandatory... baseline, and then we examined various scenarios that extend assignments and careers for specific communities within the military services: surface warfare officers in the Navy, infantry officers in the Army, space and missile officers in the Air Force, and Marine officers who are not aviators For each of these communities, we produced baseline results using a set of inputs specific to each community and the laws and. .. MOS Officer Promotion Timing in a Competency-Based System, Scenario 4 39 Army Infantry Officer Assignments and Education as O-4 and O-5 upon Promotion to O-6 43 Air Force Space and Missile Operations Officer Promotion Timing to O-6 with Different Assignment Lengths, Scenarios 4 and 5 45 Marine Corps Ground MOS Promotion Timing to O-6 with Different Assignment Lengths and Promotion Eligibility... modeling We also wish to thank our colleagues at RAND who provided model inputs, shared insights, and reviewed this monograph They include Kevin Brancato, Gary Massey, Major Brian Maue, USAF, Samantha Merck, Craig Moore, Al Robbert, Michael Schiefer, Georges xxi xxii Challenging Time in DOPMA Vernez, and Roland Yardley We are especially thankful for the excellent reviews of an earlier version of this document... Tracey and by Bill Thomas of RAND Acronyms and Abbreviations Bde brigade Bn battalion BTZ below the zone BZ below-zone (promotions) CC commander CGSC Command and General Staff College CO commander CONUS continental United States CTC combat training center DO director of operations DoD Department of Defense DoDI Department of Defense Instruction DOPMA Defense Officer Personnel Management Act FMF Fleet Marine... Breadth and Depth Trade-Offs with Longer Assignments, Longer Careers, and Longer Time to Promotion 29 Army Infantry Officer Promotion Timing in a CompetencyBased System, Scenario 4 37 Navy Surface Warfare Officer Promotion Timing in a Competency-Based System, Scenario 4 38 Air Force Space and Missile Operations Officer Promotion Timing in a Competency-Based System, Scenario 4 38 Marine . agencies, and the defense Intelligence Community under Contract DASW0 1-0 1-C-0004. Library of Congress Cataloging -in- Publication Data Challenging time in DOPMA. TWO DOPMA and the Time- Based Management System 9 Defining DOPMA 9 Changing Career Paths Within a Time- Based System 13 CHAPTER THREE Effects of Extending