An Assessment of Factors That Affect the Performance of Air Force O-3 (Captain) Logisticians Working in a Joint Operations Environment.
Abstract
Joint operations will likely continue to become more prevalent in the future due to defense spending cuts and the nature of modem warfare. Currently, Air Force O-3 (Captain) logisticians, working in the joint operations environment, receive little if any initial training. Exploratory research, by the authors, indicated that these members felt uncertain about their jobs and how they related to the organization, which has been described in the literature as role ambiguity. Consequently, this research project was designed to determine if AF O-3 logisticians serving in the joint operations environment experience more role ambiguity than their counterparts serving in the single service AF environment. With this aim in mind, a mail survey was administered to all Air Force Captains in the Supply, Transportation and Logistics Plans career fields. Of the 695 surveys distributed, 380 were returned (resulting in a 55% return rate), including 332 non-joint and 48 joint responses. Data analysis of joint returns revealed that role ambiguity responses exhibited a bimodal distribution, based on previous joint operations exercise experience. Those members with no exercise experience exhibited statistically higher levels of role ambiguity than their single service counterparts, while those with exercise experience exhibited significantly lower levels.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA354237
Entities
People
- Jeffrey C. Bergdolt
- Ty K. Sills
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology