Controlling the Cost of C4I Upgrades on Naval Ships — 2009

Command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) systems — the lifeblood of naval ships — have evolved at a rapid pace over the last few decades. To keep up with technological advances and to take advantage of improvements nurtured in the civilian marketplace, the U.S. Navy extensively uses commercial hardware and software for its C4I systems. However, the cost of keeping these products up-to-date is high.

In their search for factors that influence the cost of upgrading C4I systems, the authors considered both new-ship construction and installations aboard in-service ships, identifying such issues as design margins, access to C4I spaces, and challenges associated with configuration, integration, and testing. Looking across a specific set of completed C4I upgrades, the authors searched for factors (such as hull type and ship age) that may have influenced the labor cost to install the upgrades. They also attempted to identify biases and other influences that may have led to misestimates.

Overall, the authors found some evidence that costs decreased across certain successive upgrades, but they were unable to identify consistent cost trends associated with the upgrade factors they studied. The analysis uncovered both a high level of variability in costs and a trend toward overestimating the installation-labor costs of upgrades, particularly for certain hull types.

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Integrating Civilian Agencies in Stability Operations – 2009

In a project entitled “Integrating the Interagency in Planning for Army Stability Operations,” RAND Arroyo Center examined the question of how the Army can help make key civilian agencies more capable partners in the planning and execution of stability, security, transition, and reconstruction (SSTR) operations. The authors identify the primary and secondary civilian agencies that should be involved in strategic-level planning and implementation of SSTR operations. Then, relying on available information on Provincial Reconstruction Teams and using a variety of federal databases, the authors identify the skill sets needed for the envisioned Field Advance Civilian Teams and where these skills reside in the federal government. The authors then assess the capacity of the main civilian agencies to participate in SSTR operations and analyze the recurring structural problems that have plagued their attempts to do so. The authors suggest a series of options that are worth considering in order to improve the current situation. Even without much action at the national level, the Army can still improve the situation by improving Army Civil Affairs and by executing a well-thought-out strategy of liaison officers assigned to the civilian agencies most important for SSTR operations.

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A Strategic Approach to Joint Officer Management: Analysis and Modeling Results— 2009

In 2003, the Department of Defense (DoD) asked the RAND National Defense Research Institute to undertake an analysis that would provide overarching guidance on officer education and development in joint matters. As part of that effort, the authors of this volume use complex modeling and analysis of data from the 2005 Joint Officer Management Census survey to identify billets that provide and/or require experience in joint matters and therefore might be recommended for inclusion on the Joint Duty Assignment List. They also examine whether there are sufficient numbers of officers with joint experience to meet DoD needs. Many of the recommendations in this document have been incorporated into the new joint officer qualification system implemented in October 2007.

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