Bernard D. Rostker

Biography

Bernard Rostker is a senior fellow at the RAND Corporation, where he has served as associate director of the RAND Arroyo Center and director of the Defense Manpower Research Center in the RAND National Defense Research Institute. His recent RAND research has focused on managing the recruitment, retention, and performance of police officers in large city departments; managing the all-volunteer force; and reforming the military by lengthening military careers. He was formerly Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, the Secretary of Defense's senior policy advisor on recruitment, career development, pay, and benefits for 1.4 million active-duty military personnel, 1.3 million Guard and Reserve personnel, and 725,000 DoD civilians. He also had oversight responsibilities for the DoD health delivery system. Prior to that, he served as Under Secretary of the Army, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, and Director of Selective Service, where he formulated the Selective Service Revitalization Plan. Under his leadership, the first mass selective service registration since World War II was executed, and almost four million young men registered. Over his career, Rostker has been nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate four times and received a number of awards, including the Distinguished Service Medal from the Selective Service, the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Army, and the Department of Defense. Rostker is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.