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Air Force Officer Specialty Structure Reviewing the Fundamentals Raymond E. Conley, Albert A. Robbert Prepared for the United States Air Force Approved for public release; distribution unlimited PROJECT AIR FORCE The research described in this report was sponsored by the United States Air Force under Contract FA7014-06-C-0001. Further information may be obtained from the Strategic Planning Division, Directorate of Plans, Hq USAF. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Conley, Raymond E. Air Force officer specialty structure : reviewing the fundamentals / Raymond E. Conley, Albert A. Robbert. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-8330-4619-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. United States. Air Force—Officers. 2. United States. Air Force—Occupational specialties. 3. United States. Air Force—Job descriptions. 4. United States. Air Force—Personnel management. I. Robbert, Albert A., 1944– II. Title. UG793.C66 2009 358.4'13320973—dc22 2009023866 The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R® is a registered trademark. © Copyright 2009 RAND Corporation Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Copies may not be duplicated for commercial purposes. Unauthorized posting of RAND documents to a non-RAND Web site is prohibited. RAND documents are protected under copyright law. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit the RAND permissions page (http://www.rand.org/publications/ permissions.html). Published 2009 by the RAND Corporation 1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 1200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202-5050 4570 Fifth Avenue, Suite 600, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2665 RAND URL: http://www.rand.org To order RAND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution Services: Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Email: [email protected] Preface U.S. Air Force specialty codes, similar to Army and Marine Corps military occupational spe- cialties and Navy officer designators and enlisted ratings, establish personnel-classification boundaries according to the work performed and the required skills, education, and training. The specialties combine duties and tasks into cohesive job clusters that may be matched to people possessing the essential aptitudes, attributes, and qualifications. Given the Air Force’s evolving missions, changing nature of work, and changing workforce, several senior Air Force leaders have asked whether the existing specialty codes still provide the appropriate clustering of specialties. This technical report examines the current officer-classification structure while seeking to determine whether more fundamental changes are needed. It provides a brief primer on the specialty-classification system, encapsulates major changes that are in progress and planned, and offers additional changes based on interviews and comparative analyses. Although the research focused primarily on the officer structure, many of the observations have correlates in the enlisted-specialty structure. The research was sponsored by the Deputy Chief of Staff, Manpower, Personnel, and Ser- vices, Headquarters United States Air Force (USAF) (AF/A1). The work was conducted within the Manpower, Personnel, and Training program of RAND Project AIR FORCE for a fiscal year (FY) 2007 study, “USAF Specialty Code Restructuring.” This report should interest Air Force human resource managers and planners, as well as those in the other military services. RAND Project AIR FORCE RAND Project AIR FORCE (PAF), a division of the RAND Corporation, is the U.S. Air Force’s federally funded research and development center for studies and analyses. PAF pro- vides the Air Force with independent analyses of policy alternatives affecting the development, employment, combat readiness, and support of current and future aerospace forces. Research is conducted in four programs: Force Modernization and Employment; Manpower, Personnel, and Training; Resource Management; and Strategy and Doctrine. Additional information about PAF is available on our Web site: http://www.rand.org/paf/ iii Contents Preface ........................................................................................................... iii Figures and Tables .............................................................................................vii Summary ........................................................................................................ ix Acknowledgments ............................................................................................. xi Abbreviations ..................................................................................................xiii CHAPTER ONE Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 Purpose of This Report .......................................................................................... 1 Research Methodology .......................................................................................... 2 Organization of the Report ..................................................................................... 2 CHAPTER TWO The Air Force Specialty Classification Structure ......................................................... 3 Concepts and Tenets ............................................................................................. 3 Fundamental Concepts........................................................................................ 3 Basic Tenets ..................................................................................................... 4 Air Force Specialty Code Schema .............................................................................. 5 Prefixes and Suffixes ........................................................................................... 8 Special-Duty Identifiers ....................................................................................... 9 Reporting Identifiers ........................................................................................... 9 Special-Experience Identifiers ................................................................................ 9 Illustrative Uses ..................................................................................................10 Manpower .....................................................................................................10 Personnel .......................................................................................................10 Training ........................................................................................................11 CHAPTER THREE Past and Future Changes .....................................................................................13 Two Prominent Comprehensive Studies .....................................................................13 Breaking from the Army .....................................................................................13 The 1993 Specialty Classification Restructuring ..........................................................14 The System Rarely Pauses ......................................................................................14 Changes Within Communities .............................................................................14 Total Number of