An analysis of proposed changes to the U. S. Marine Corps permanent change of station policy : the fiscal and readiness impacts

• Main Author: Hunt, Thomas R.
• Other Authors: Henderson, David R.
• Language: en_US
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School 2013
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/27976

This thesis analyzes two U. S. Marine Corps permanent changes of station (PCS) policy alternatives that, if initiated, could save millions of dollars. The analysis examines the quantitative and qualitative effects of: (1) increasing tour lengths for billets within the Continental United States (CONUS) ; and, (2) increasing lengths of unaccompanied overseas a billet tours. Longer tours mean fewer PCS moves and less expense; however, until now, no formal analysis has gone beyond the 'back of the envelope' to find how much can be saved. A financial analysis of the proposed policy changes finds that an unconstrained implementation of the alternatives could reduce the U. S. Marine Corps personnel budget by: (1) $13 million for longer CONUS tours; and, (2) $34 million for longer unaccompanied overseas tours. A PCS movement simulation using the Markov Chain Model finds that extending the unaccompanied overseas billet tours is a superior alternative to both current policy and the proposed change to CONUS tours. However, statistical analysis of data obtained from the 1993 Marine Corps Quality of Life Survey infers that a longer unaccompanied overseas tour may harm readiness