Summary: Personnel costs represent the largest part of the Department of Defense's budget, with over half of the personnel serving in support rather than combat functions in fiscal year 1977. The military services use a variety of management tools and techniques such as manpower surveys, staffing guides, criteria manuals, and staffing standards in determining support personnel requirements.
With the exception of the Air Force, the services have made little progress in developing and using these techniques. The Office of the Secretary of Defense has not provided adequate leadership in the development and use of staffing standards which would eliminate ambiguity. This ambiguity has led to vast differences in the services' approaches to staffing standards and has limited the Office's ability to evaluate personnel budget requests. Differences exist within and among the services in: policies for and control of staffing standards and programs; assignment and training of personnel for standards development; personnel covered by standards; and use of standards in determining staffing requirements. Unlike the other services, the Air Force has saved money and gathered more accurate work force figures by extensive use of standards for determining staffing requirements. Work measurement is considered to be the most reliable basis for staffing standards.
