Feasibility Considerations in the Allocation of Resources to Military Programs

In an earlier article (Kaechere, Alvin, Francis P. Hoeber. 1953. J. Opns. Res. Soc. Am. 1 , 286), the authors suggested an adaptation of some elementary economic theory to the development of criteria for answering three questions: Given a combat situation, what weapon systems should be used? In what proportions? How many? The suggested criteria provided for equating the marginal cost-effect ratios of two or more weapon systems. Suboptimization criteria for approaching this ideal were suggested. In this first approximation, it was assumed that the alternative weapons systems could be delivered within the period under consideration. The present paper treats the case in which it is not possible, in the time specified by the program, to obtain the quantity of a weapon system required by the optimum solution given by the static equilibrium analysis. This situation arises when some resource cannot be made available in the stated time, regardless of cost. Criteria for allocating resources under this constraint are suggested, using a model based on experience in past periods of mobilization, and one believed to be consistent with what may be expected to occur in a future mobilization. Operations Research , ISSN 0030-364X, was published as Journal of the Operations Research Society of America from 1952 to 1955 under ISSN 0096-3984.