Research for Costs

This is a summary report of a CNO-directed study of factors that affect the costs of training Navy personnel. It focuses on the relationship between retention and specialized skill training for enlisted personnel on the expectation that increased retention could be expected to reduce training requirements and costs. Other detailed findings of the study are contained in several earlier CNA documents; this memorandum summarizes those findings, highlighting the more important patterns and trends.

The specialized skill training load in A-, C-, and F-schools for Navy enlisted personnel from 1979 through 1985 is described. The training load for each of these types of schools is broken down by instructional and supernumerary time, by first-termers and careerists, and, in some case, by rating. Changes in definition, such as F-schools becoming C-schools, are documented. From 1979 through 1985, almost 70 percent of the increase in the total specialized skill training load came from the C-schools. Moreover, although the C-school training load increased over 50 percent in the period, increased efficiencies in use of time for instruction meant an even sharper increase in the instructional load.

The research reported here examines overall training effectiveness for U.S. Naval personnel; the measure of effectiveness comes from the survey responses of the supervisors of first-term enlisted Naval personnel. These supervisors were asked about the productivity of 'typical' first-term personnel who were schooled in the classroom or trained on the job for 12 Navy occupational categories. Overall, these specialties characterize a broad cross-section of Navy jobs that vary considerably in technical complexity and formal school length. Comparisons are drawn between the two training methods. Finally, the usefulness of research on training effectivenes in other areas of military manpower research is discussed.

The Merchant Ship Naval Augmentation Program (MSNAP) is a research and development program. It supports a procurement plan whereby merchant ships will be modified to allow rapid installation of modular or standardized Underway Replenishment (UNREP) equipment such as the Standard Tensioned Replenishment Alongside Method (STREAM) gear delivery system or fuel transfer station gear. MSNAP gear enables merchant ships to operate as naval auxiliary UNREP ships to conduct consolidation operations and limited direct replenishment of combatant ships. This memorandum describes the MSNAP demonstrations that were performed in 1981 and 1985 and discusses the status of MSNAP funding, planned ship modifications, and ship manning issues.