Stephen A. Tisdale Graduate Award, September 2000

Optimization of United States Marine Corps Officer Career Path Selection, Peter B. Baumgarten, Major, USMC

The Marine Corps Manpower System is responsible for managing the Marine officer inventory. The system’s primary objective is to maximize the Marine Corps’ operational readiness through the assignment of officers to billets. While striving to fulfill billet requirements, the manpower system simultaneously develops the professional skills, or core competencies, that each officer must possess to be assigned to billets requiring more authority and responsibility. Therefore, officer careers (or career paths) must reflect a balance between fulfilling billet requirements and developing core competencies. Currently, Marine Corps manpower planners lack rigorous methods to assist them in understanding the effects of various personnel policy decisions on the average officer career path or the system’s ability to meet future billet requirements.

To assist these planners, this thesis presents an integer program, the Officer Career Path Selection (OCPS) model. The goal of OCPS is to assign officers to acceptable career paths in order to best meet billet requirements while satisfying, among others, core competency and tour length restraints. This thesis uses data from the Infantry Marine Occupational Specialty (MOS) to illustrate that outputs from OCPS provide useful information regarding the number of annual Infantry officer accessions and the effects of potential manpower policy decisions.

On 16 January 2001, Major Baumgarten presented his thesis to Lt Gen Jack W. Klimp, Deputy Commandant for Manpower & Reserve Affairs, and other members of the General’s staff at Marine Corps Base Quantico. MORS President Roy Rice, President-Elect Tom Allen, and Executive Vice President Brian Engler had the distinct pleasure of attending and of meeting the General, Major Baumgarten, and the Major’s wife, Denise. Following the briefing, Roy personally presented Major Baumgarten with the Stephen A. Tisdale Award at a ceremony in Lt Gen Klimp’s office.

Biography

Major Peter B. Baumgarten was born on 27 April 1966 in Glendale, California. After graduating from high school in El Paso, Texas in June 1984, he attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He graduated with distinction in May 1988 and received a Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering. After attending the Marine Officers Basic School and Infantry Officers Course, 2nd Lieutenant Baumgarten reported to 3rd Battalion, 13th Marines in Camp Pendleton, California. Assigned to the small boat raid company (India Company), he served in a number of positions, including, rifle platoon commander, weapons platoon commander, forward air controller, and chief maritime navigator. In December 1990, 1st Lieutenant Baumgarten deployed with India Company to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Shield. Returning to the United States in August 1991, 1st Lieutenant Baumgarten was assigned to the 1st Marines Regimental Enhanced Training Section where he served for the next year as a special operations instructor. 1st Lieutenant Baumgarten was promoted to captain in October 1992 and reported to Landing Force Training Command Pacific in Coronado, California to serve as the Officer-in Charge, Amphibious Raid Branch. In July 1995, Captain Baumgarten attended the Amphibious Warfare School in Quantico, Virginia where he was selected as the course Honor Graduate and received the General R.S. Geiger Award, for Professional Military Leadership. Following graduation in May 1996, Captain Baumgarten reported to 1st Battalion, 1st Marines and was assigned as the Commanding Officer of Bravo Company. During his two years in command of Bravo Company, Captain Baumgarten deployed to the Persian Gulf for a second time in August 1997. Subsequent to his promotion in June 1998, Major Baumgarten reported to the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California where he enrolled in the Operations Analysis curriculum. In addition to completing his studies and thesis, Major Baumgarten served as a Graduate Assistant to Professor Siriphong Lawphongpanich for the OS4701 Operations Research Techniques in Manpower Modeling course. Following graduation in September 2000, he reported to Headquarters Marine Corps ¾ Manpower and Reserve Affairs where he is serving in the Analysis Section of Manpower Plans Division.

Major Baumgarten's personal decorations include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Gold Star in lieu of Third Award, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Gold Star in lieu of Second Award, and the Combat Action Ribbon.

Major Baumgarten married the former Denise Montagnari in May 1996. They have one child and are expecting a second.