Demand and Supply Integration for Air Force Enlisted Work Force Planning

Documents the final briefing on RAND research on improved methods for integrating demand and supply factors in planning future work forces for Air Force enlisted personnel. The objective of the project was to increase the operational capability and efficiency of the enlisted work force by improving the match between requirements for and actual supplies of enlisted personnel. The project developed a new strategy, one that goes beyond bending supplies to fit requirements. The new strategy determines how the requirements themselves can be changed to make the task of matching actual supplies more practicable. Achieving a required work force structure is somewhat like shooting at a moving target from a moving platform: changes continue both in the operational programs (hence in the manpower requirements) and in the manpower supply environment (for example, because of shifts in youth demographics or the national economy). This Note proposes that the Air Force coordinate the movement of the target (manpower requirements) with the movement of the platform (manpower supply) while maintaining the target's integrity (the required operational capability).