Changing the VP reserve readiness system to match the crew-coordination requirements of reserve aircrews

72 Pages·1.3 MB·English

by  Woods, William H

NPS ARCHIVE
1997*03
WOODS, W.
NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL
MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA
THESIS
CHANGING THE VP RESERVE READINESS
SYSTEM TO MATCH THE CREW-
COORDINATION REQUIREMENTS OF
RESERVE AIRCREWS
by
William H. Woods
March 1997
Principal Advisor: George W. Conner
Thesis
W843563
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1. AGENCY USEONLY (Leaveblank) 2. REPORTDATE 3. REPORTTYPEANDDATES COVERED
March 1997 Master's Thesis
CHANGING THE VP RESERVE FUNDINGNUMBERS
4. title ofthesis 5.
READINESS SYSTEM TO MATCH THE CREW-
COORDINATION REQUIREMENTS OF RESERVE
AIRCREWS
AUTHOR William H. Woods
7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATIONNAME(S)ANDADDRESS(ES) PERFORMING
Naval Postgraduate School ORGANIZATION
Monterey CA 93943-5000 REPORTNUMBER
SPONSORING/MONITORINGAGENCYNAME(S)ANDADDRESS(ES) SPONSOPJNG/MOMTORTNG
1 .
AGENCYREPORTNUMBER
11. SUPPLEMENTARYNOTES The views expressed in this thesis arethose ofthe author and do notreflectthe
official policy orposition ofthe Department ofDefense orthe U.S. Government.
12a. DISTRmunON/AVAILABILITYSTATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTIONCODE
Approved forpublicrelease; distribution is unlimited.
13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200words)
Recently, the VP community has been identified as a force areawherereserves couldbeused more in
peacetime contributory support. The subsequent increased interactionbetweenreserve and activeVP forces has led
to a similarreadiness system.
The current VP readiness system promotes long-term, fixed crews with TACNUC rules. Adheringto these
crew composition rules can cause considerable scheduling difficulties forreserve squadrons. Squadron readiness
officers are often forced to change events, pick different crews, orturnthe eventinto a practice session dueto last
minute civilian commitments ofSELRES crewmembers.
This thesis examines currentcrew-coordination research to determine the value ofkeeping crews together. The
TACNUC SME
study proposes alternatives to the current rules and analyzes theirperceived impact according to
interviews.
This study recommends discardingthe TACNUC rules in favorofareadiness systembased on individual
qualifications. The desired crew-coordination training can be accomplished through the ongoing TPC and ACT
programs. Standardization ofcrewcommunicationpatterns andpositional task expectancies should continue so
thateach individual crewmembercan performwell on any crew.
14 SUBJECTTERMS VP, Readiness, crew-coordination, TPC, ACT, reserve, aircrew. 15. NUMBER OF
PAGES 69
16. PRICECODE
17. SECURITYCLASSIFICA- SECURITYCLASSIFI- 19. SECURITYCLASSIFICA- 20. LIMITATIONOF
HONOF REPORT CAHONOFTHISPAGE TIONOFABSTRACT ABSTRACT
UL
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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
CHANGING THE VP RESERVE READINESS SYSTEM TO MATCH
THE CREW-COORDINATION REQUIREMENTS OF RESERVE
AIRCREWS
William H. Woods
Lieutenant, United States Navy
B.S., U. S. Naval Academy, 1989
Submitted in partial fulfillment
ofthe requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT
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ABSTRACT
Recently, the VP community has been identified as a force area where reserves could
be used more in peacetime contributory support. The subsequent increased interaction
between reserve and active VP forces has led to a similar readiness system.
The current VP readiness system promotes long-term, fixed crews with TACNUC
rules. Adheringto these crew composition rules can cause considerable scheduling difficulties
for reserve squadrons. Squadron readiness officers are often forced to change events, pick
different crews, or turn the event into a practice session due to last minute civilian
commitments ofSELRES crewmembers.
This thesis examines current crew-coordination research to determine the value of
keeping crewstogether. The study proposes alternatives to the current TACNUC rules and
SME
analyzes their perceived impact according to interviews.
This study recommends discarding the TACNUC rules in favor ofa readiness system
based on individual qualifications. The desired crew-coordination training can be
accomplished through the ongoing TPC and ACT programs. Standardization of crew
communication patterns and positional task expectancies should continue so that each
individual crewmember can perform well on any crew.
VI
..
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
I 1
A. INCREASED USE OF RESERVE FORCES 4
1 Force-wide increase 4
2. Increased use ofVP Reserve Forces 7
a. Flexible drilling 7
b. Increase in VP contributory support 8
B. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 8
C. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS 9
D. RESEARCH QUESTIONS 9
METHODOLOGY
E. 10
ORGANIZATION
F. 11
LITERATURE REVIEW
II. 13
A. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF CREW COORDINATION 13
B. CREW COMPOSITION STUDIES 15
III. VP FORCE INTRODUCTION 21
A. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF VP FORCES 21
B. VP CREWMEMBER PROFILES 24
1 Differences between active/reserve crewmembers 26
vn
.
2. Crew profile comparisons 27
VP READINESS SYSTEM
IV. 31
OVERVIEW OF CURRENT SYSTEM
A. 31
B. TACTICAL PROFICIENCY COURSE 35
ALTERNATIVES
C. 35
1. Alternative One - Relaxed TACNUC Rules 36
2. Alternative Two -- Discarded TACNUC Rules 36
V. ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES 39
A ANTICIPATED INCREASE IN SQUADRON READINESS 39
B POSSIBLE IMPACT ON CREW COORDINATION 40
New Emphasis on TPC and ACT Programs 40
1
2. Real World Operations 41
3. Crew Attribute Differences 42
4. Current Research 43
C POLITICAL FEASIBILITY 43
VI CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 45
A. FURTHER RESEARCH 46
APPENDIX A ARMY POLICY CHANGE 47
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