How Many Can Be Joint?

An analysis of joint officer management from the supply side (see MR-574-JS for the demand side) to assist in a response to a congressional directive to review joint billets and joint duty assignments. The goal of the supply-side research was to determine how many of the positions with joint content the services could support. The authors discuss the factors affecting "supportability," promotion measurements established by the Goldwater-Nichols legislation, and the services' ability to produce sufficient joint specialists to fulfill the legislation's 50 percent requirement. The problems the services have experienced in meeting the promotion policy objectives of the legislation are largely a result of the measurements and comparisons themselves. The analysis finds that the services can adequately support any of the potential Joint Duty Assignment List sizes discussed in MR-574-JS. Several recommendations emerge from the assessment.