Research for Research Memoranda

Two policies for achieving Selected Reserve manning goals are to increase Reserve pay and to increase recruiting efforts. This paper discusses methods of estimating the effect of these policies on enlisted Selected Reserve supply.

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 value of aircraft simulators as measures of training readiness are studied. Simulator evaluations are analyzed for reserve enlisted crewmen on Navy patrol aircraft. Part-time reservists are found to have very little skill loss over time and perform as well as their full-time counterparts. Experience in the simulator produces substantial increases in subsequent evaluation scores. Simulated flights appear to be useful measures of readiness and valuable training experience.

The major roles of wargames, exercises, and analysis are outlined in this memorandum. Their interrelationships are examined and some of the ways they can complement each other in the study of the Navy's warfighting capabilities are also defined.