Computer simulation of U.S. Army officer professional development

On January 1, 1992 the grandfather period ended for waiving the legal prerequisites for promoting Army officers to the rank of brigadier general that were imposed by Title IV of the Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. Title IV requires, among other things, that military officers in the armed services serve a minimum of three years in a "joint" duty assignment prior to promotion to general officer. We present a computer simulation for analyzing (1) the impact of Title IV on officer professional development and (2) the impact of the law on officer inventory needed to meet Army personnel requirements. The simulation model permits Army personnel managers to evaluate potential changes to law, policy, and force structure affecting officer professional development.