This research creates Marine Corps Reserve Optimizer (MCRO), an optimization tool to aid Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES) in the task of geographically situating their subordinate units with respect to demographics. It implements an integer linear program that selects optimal locations for all candidate moving units based on the projected availability of qualified recruits in candidate areas. MCRO optimizes to (a) minimize a penalty function that measures stress with respect to demographics, and (b) minimize unit movement. Two base cases are demonstrated, one illustrating the total demographic stress with 2011 population data without allowing unit movements, and another with the projected 2036 population under the same conditions. We then allow MCRO to recommend movements, and find that (i) the relocation of 10 units reduces the number of areas experiencing the highest penalty from nine to three, and (ii) all stress can be relieved in 56 movements. Finally, we use MCRO to evaluate and quantify the demographic impact of four possible unit movements MARFORRES is currently considering.
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