An Analysis of the Manpower Costs Associated with the Helicopter Air Wing Commander Concept

This thesis presents an analysis and comparison of manpower costs of three options for the United States Navy Helicopter force structure through the year 2020. The first option, the basic plan, leaves the force structure as it is today. The second option assumes the mission to support the Military Sealift Command (MSC) is outsourced and combines the Helicopter Combat Support (HC) and Helicopter Antisubmarine Warfare (HS) communities into a community referred to as HSC. The third option realigns the force along missions performed by the SH-60Bs and CH-60 under a Helicopter Air Wing Commander (HAWC). All three options support the requirements set forth in the Helo Master Plan (HMP) and are based on the acquisition of the CH-60 helicopter along with the upgrade of all SH-6OBs and SH-6OFs to SH-6ORs. The analysis involved developing manning levels, by pay grade, for the three options and deterniining the differences in those manning levels. Manpower costs were allocated to the total personnel requirements, and differences in costs among the options were calculated. The manpower cost associated with the basic plan set forth in the HMP is projected to be $575 million per year. Because the HSC option does not support the MSC mission, it has the lowest annual projected manpower cost of $531 million. When a factor accounting for the MSC requirement is added to compare the three manning structures on a consistent basis, the annual HSC option cost is $579 million. The HAWC concept manpower cost is $568 million per year.