Development of an Optimum Computerized Allocation System

Book excerpt: One objective of the FUTURE COMBAT Task, USAPRO is to develop a system of enlisted personnel allocation to maximize individual skills and preferences and at the same time meet Army staffing requirements. After determination that quality of manpower in the combat arms was perceptibly below that in the rest of the Army, computer based plans for allocating basic combat trainees to advanced training were developed and implemented experimentally on a trainee sample. The selection and testing of different allocation techniques, the mathematical bases for selected computerized systems, and results of comparison of three systems are reported. Two alternate plans, one of which takes into account individual training preference, proved more effective than the current procedure and were provided the Data Services and Administrative Systems Command.