Evolution of the Marine Corps Officer Promotion System: A Re-evaluation of the Current Marine Corps Officer Promotion System

摘要

Skill shortages are inherent to the current Marine Corps officer promotion system, which selects unrestricted officers regardless of Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). A system that would select either by functional areas or by MOS would be more successful in providing the most well-balanced force, while still maintaining Marine Corps ethos. In an attempt to alleviate skill shortages, manpower planners have cycled through various force- structuring tools over the years to provide a 'quick-fix' to skills that have become critically short, while others exceeded their limits. Yet, these tools have not been very successful in sustaining a well-balanced force. The biggest concern in changing the current system is loss of Marine ethos and the production of a 'techno-geek' Marine Corps. Skill shortages and a perceived career path will exist as long as there are promotion boards selecting officers from each grade, regardless of their MOS. Selection by MOS or by functional areas are the best options to alleviate critical skill shortages. This paper will discuss possible courses of action within the officer promotion selection system to resolve these manpower issues of critically short MOSs of the unrestricted field grade officer corps. Specifically, the paper will provide a historical review of the Marine Corps officer promotion system, the process of the current officer promotion system, and a better understanding of how skill shortages develop and protract. It also will provide some background on force- structuring tools and address why they are inadequate in solving skill shortages. Following an analysis of the Marine Corps restricted officer boards, enlisted boards, and the officer promotion systems of the sister services, recommendations will be made and discussed in an order based on importance determined by the author.