Effectiveness of the U.S. Navy's Basic Skills Enhancement Program entitled Functional Applied Skills Training (FAST)

This thesis explores the effectiveness of the U.S. Navy's basic skills enhancement program entitled Functional Applied Skills Training (FAST) in providing the basic reading skills necessary for enlisted personnel to more ably perform their jobs in the U.S. Navy fleet during the first three years of their enlistment. Current FAST program mission, FAST's impact on fleet job performance, and future U.S. Navy enlisted manpower requirements are examined to identify mission areas where program improvements can be made. Enlisted advancement probabilities, which reflect enlisted job performance, for FAST program participants and non-participants were calculated using a statistical regression model. Results of these calculations indicate that a recruit's participation in the FAST program significantly increases his or her probability of advancing to grade E-4 within the first three years of his or her enlistment. However, considering the anticipated defense drawdown and the need to enlist a cadre of high-quality service members, the mission of the FAST program will require redefinition to avoid the ax that will be used to accomplish future budget cutbacks.

Department dc:contributor.department

Department of Administrative Sciences

Grantor dc:publisher

Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School

Year dc:date.issued

1990

Author dc:creator

• Spendley, John K.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Suchan, James

Statement dc:rights

• This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10945/27677

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:calhoun.nps.edu:10945/27677