Real Property Maintenance Activity (RPMA) Programs: Analysis of Navy Manpower Requirements

Abstract : The problem of forecasting the manpower resources required to support planned force levels has received increasing visibility throughout the Navy's planning and programming organizations. The problem is heightened with the movement toward a 600-ship/15-battle-group Navy: The emphasis on procurement for new ships, aircraft, and weapon systems, in conjunction with the President's otherwise austere budget policies, has led to a reduction in resources allocated to support programs. Cognizant Navy planners feel that these reductions have occurred because of the inability to project support requirements systematically as a function of future force levels during the programming phase of the Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System (PPBS). These planners have voiced a clear need for improved analytical methods, models, and data bases to support long-range planning. Of special interest are models that quantify the relationship between support manpower requirements and the size, complexity, and operation of the fleet. Forecasting base operating support (BOS) manpower requirements has been especially difficult because of the diverse functions and indirect fleet support missions of BOS activities. In addition, when regional support activities (e.g., public work centers (PWCs) and naval supply centers (NSCs)) support various fleet operations in a given geographical area, it is difficult to determine the relationship between BOS providers and recipients.