"The Air Force faces both internal and external challenges to move toward greater flexibility in managing its active-duty military workforce. The research underlying this report assessed the impact that proposed military human resource management flexibilities could have on Air Force officer accessions, promotions, separations, and other force management outcomes. The assessments identified flexibilities that would benefit the Air Force and characterized subsets of the military workforce to which they could be advantageously applied. Research included interviews with Air Force career field managers and developing and exercising optimization models to estimate the impacts of new flexibilities. The research examined policies, such as moving away from up-or-out separations following promotion nonselection, extending maximum career lengths from 30 to 40 years, and increasing the midcareer entries to the active officer force from either civilian or reserve status. The authors also estimated declines in promotion opportunity or, alternatively, additional grade ceilings required to avoid these impacts."--Publisher's description.

"Prepared for the United States Air Force."--Title page.

1. Introduction : Background -- Methodologies -- Organization of the Report -- 2. Career Field Managers' Perspectives : Findings : Pilot -- Acquisition Manager -- Personnel Officer -- Cyberspace Operations Officer -- Public Affairs Officer -- Assignments Director -- Conclusions -- 3. Modeling Policy Alternatives : Three Scenarios : Baseline Scenario -- The Human Resource-Management Flexibility Scenario -- Conceptual and Modeling Issues : Promotion Flexibilities -- Promotion Metrics -- Promoting to Requirements -- Inventory and Retention Outcomes : The Baseline and Human Resource-Management Flexibility Scenarios -- Restoring Promotion Opportunity -- Force and Accession Costs -- Sorting Individuals into Promotion Tracks -- Retention of Lower-Aptitude Officers -- Noisy Measures of Aptitude -- Lost Opportunities : Comparing Technical-Track and Nonpromoted Officers -- Discussion -- 4. Conclusions and Recommendations : The Alternatives Considered : Technical Tracks for Promotion -- Replace Up-or-Out Provisions -- Milestone-Based Promotion Eligibility -- Increased Use of Lateral Entries -- Increased Use of Reserve Component Entries -- 40-Year Careers -- Talent-Management System -- Net Impacts -- Recommendations -- A Related Observation -- Appendix A. Model Specifications -- Appendix B. Statutory Issues Regarding Technical-Track Promotions -- Appendix C. Promotion Metrics -- Appendix D. Promoting to Requirements -- References.