OFFICER SELECTION (RTO HFM 023 – RSG 31) Contents Abstract............................................................................................................................................................ 1 Executive summary .......................................................................................................................................... 2 Chapter 1: Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 2: Current practice in the RSG countries............................................................................................... 5 Current practice of officer selection in Belgium...................................................................................... 6 Current practice of officer selection in Canada ......................................................................................10 Current practice of officer selection in Denmark....................................................................................15 Current practice of officer selection in France........................................................................................19 Current practice of officer selection in Germany....................................................................................21 Current practice of officer selection in The Netherlands.........................................................................25 Current practice of officer selection in the United Kingdom...................................................................28 Current practice of officer selection in the United States........................................................................36 Chapter 3: Summary of the RSG 31 Selection of officers..................................................................................42 Chapter 4: NATO RSG31 Survey.....................................................................................................................45 Chapter 4 B: reproduction of the actual questionnaire.......................................................................................64 Chapter 5: In search of the ideal system (remarks on inconsistencies) ...............................................................79 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................79 Points of view and priorities..................................................................................................................79 Central aspects of the selection system ..................................................................................................80 Summary..............................................................................................................................................84 Chapter 6: A conceptual approach to officer selection ......................................................................................85 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................85 Fundamentals .......................................................................................................................................85 Setting up a selection system.................................................................................................................92 Quality assessment of a selection system ...............................................................................................92 The fairness of a selection system..........................................................................................................92 Cost & benefit concerns........................................................................................................................93 Conclusions..........................................................................................................................................94 Chapter 7: The qualities of an officer ...............................................................................................................95 What is leadership?. .............................................................................................................................95 Leaders and managers...........................................................................................................................96 The assessment of leadership qualities for selection...............................................................................97 Officer qualities for the generic candidate..............................................................................................99 Aptitudes............................................................................................................................................100 Medical requirements..........................................................................................................................102 Conclusions........................................................................................................................................103 Chapter 8: Personnel selection primer ............................................................................................................104 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................104 Identifying job requirements ...............................................................................................................105 Methods of assessment........................................................................................................................105 Designing the selection process...........................................................................................................109 Evaluating the assessment methods .....................................................................................................111 Administration/Implementations issues ...............................................................................................113 Conclusions........................................................................................................................................114 Chapter 9: International guidelines for test use (ITC)......................................................................................116 OFFICER SELECTION (RTO HFM 023 – RSG 31) Abstract From the end of 1997 till mid 2000, members of the Research and Study Group 31 (RSG 31) from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States, focused on the topic of Officer Selection. In order to share information and foster a scientific and professional approach to Officer Selection, two major products were delivered. The first was a workshop on Officer Selection held in November 1999 from which the proceedings were published (Report RTO-MP-55 AC/323(HFM) TP/27). The final report on ‘Officer Selection’ is the second achievement of the RSG. After the introduction, an overview is given of the current officer selection practice. A detailed review of the systems used in the countries participating to the research and study group is given and a summary is provided. Then the main results of a survey on officer selection are presented. This survey covers the current practice in nineteen NATO and non- NATO countries. The actual questionnaire is also included. Following the description of the current practice, the search for an ideal system is commented, a conceptual approach is developed, the qualities of an officer are discussed, a personnel selection primer is given and guidelines for test-use are highlighted. The RSG is convinced that a re-examination of any national system in the light of the practice in other countries together with the scientific and professional guidelines developed in this report and reported at the RSG workshop, can significantly improve the outcome of the current officer selection practice. 1 OFFICER SELECTION (RTO HFM 023 – RSG 31) Executive summary Theme In the course of history, different criteria have been used to determine who would command and lead troops: physical power, military skills, nobility and wealth, political power, academic knowledge, personality traits, etc. In modern militaries, commanders are officers; therefore, the primary selection of officer applicants determines who will be available to serve command functions in the future. Therefore, it is important to examine how officer-candidates are selected. This was the central theme of this NATO research and study group (RSG). Considering that the challenge of officer selection has persisted for many decades and recognizing that current practices are embedded in national culture and tradition, one may question the value of a research group on officer selection. The value of this research, at this time, is that many things have indeed changed: • New missions have emerged since the end of the Cold War: humanitarian, peace keeping, and peace making missions. The focus has moved from massive, high intensity conflicts to smaller actions in which new tasks are required and new behavior is expected from officers (e.g., to foster cohesion in a multicultural, multilingual, ad hoc force). • In a number of NATO countries, conscription recently has been or is in the process of being abolished. Commanding