Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

The U.S. Army Officer-To-Unit Assignment Problem, Andrea L. Phillips

Theses and Dissertations

Every two to three years, U.S. Army officers must change duty stations, which entails a selection process based on preferences. Currently, officers are assigned to units using a stable-marriage algorithm. Two impracticalities occur within this process. First, officers are required to submit strictly ranked preferences, not allowing indifference among units. Second, the stable-marriage algorithm does not give flexibility to alternative priorities. This research focuses on two modifications to the current model. First, a mixed integer program is created that allows the user, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, to consider other priorities: unit preferences and maximum officer disappointment. Second, generated data …