An Analysis of "Brass Creep" in the Air Force
Abstract
Since the end of World War II, defense critics have censured the Department of Defense (DoD) from time to time for the slow decline in the ratio of officers to enlisted personnel. Senator John Glenn (D, Ohio), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, dubbed the phenomena "brass creep." It is generally assumed that a low proportion of officers is good, indicating a healthy and effective force structure, and that a high proportion of officers is bad. The purpose of this paper is to prove that the officer-enlisted ratio has limited usefulness, and if it is used to determine future manpower structure, it is likely to produce erroneous judgments about force composition. The paper explores the major causes of change in the officer-to-enlisted personnel ratio in the Air Force. Using officer-enlisted ratios to determine an appropriate manpower mix appears to be quite arbitrary. The number and type of personnel needed is determined by a complex process that clearly must be driven by the skill level needed to support wartime taskings. DoD must take a firm position with Congress to convince them that arbitrary officer-enlisted ratios are inappropriate for developing force structure.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA262219
Entities
People
- Neva J. Lynde
Organizations
- Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy