Civilian personnel frequently support military troops in their national security missions and participate in stabilization and reconstruction efforts around the world. RAND research has provided policymakers with assessments and recommendations on how to utilize the civilian workforce effectively in areas of planning, development, performance, talent management, accountability, and personnel benefits.
REPORT
The U.S. Department of Defense Civilian Expeditionary Workforce (CEW) was established to deploy in support of combat and noncombat operations. Meanwhile, deployments of private military and security contractors have reached unprecedented levels in recent years. Building on prior RAND research on private security contractors in Operation Iraqi Freedom, this paper examines how these contractors may affect the CEW in ongoing operations.
RESEARCH BRIEF
To design a new naval submarine domestically, Australia's industry and Government will need about 1,000 skilled draftsmen and engineers. Cultivating this workforce could take 15-20 years; partnering with foreign designers could expedite the process.
NEWS RELEASE
When it comes to designing a new submarine, Australia has considerable expertise, but some gaps still exist.
REPORT
The Royal Australian Navy intends to acquire 12 new submarines to replace its Collins-class vessels. RAND assessed the domestic engineering and design skills that Australian industry and government will need to design the new submarine, identified the skills they currently possess, and evaluated how to fill any gaps between the two.
REPORT
Examines "reachback" -- the use of contracting capability outside of the theater of operations to accomplish contracting tasks for customers in-theater -- as a potential means for reducing the deployment burden on military contracting personnel. The authors find that reachback might improve performance in some areas and has the potential to reduce deployments, but other issues also need to be addressed to reduce stress on the contracting…
REPORT
The roles and responsibilities of defense acquisition officers and chief information officers are governed both by U.S. laws and by Department of Defense (DoD) policy. The authors identify policy governing the design, acquisition, and integration of information technology (IT) and national security systems (NSS) that could lead to potential conflicts among these executives when they exercise their duties in the defense acquisition system,…
REPORT
To help fulfill a congressional mandate that cost estimates for major defense acquisition programs be performed by properly qualified members of the armed forces or full-time employees of the Department of Defense, RAND researchers conducted a census of the cost-estimating staff in the Air Force's four product centers and three logistics centers. They also held focus groups with a sample of cost estimators. This report presents the…
MULTIMEDIA
In this Congressional Briefing held on November 9, 2009, senior economist David Loughran presents findings about whether reservists who served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer economic hardship in their post-deployment years because of lost civilian work experience, injury, and other difficulties adjusting to civilian work life.
REPORT
RAND Arroyo Center examined the question of how the Army can help make key civilian agencies more capable partners in stability, security, transition, and reconstruction operations. Even without much action at the national level, the Army can still improve civilian participation in these activities.
NEWS RELEASE
Recent stabilization and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq have underlined the need for the United States to shift the burden of these operations away from the Defense Department and onto other government agencies better suited to the work.
REPORT
Recent stabilization and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq have underlined the need for the United States to shift the burden of these operations away from the Defense Department and onto other government agencies better suited to the work.
REPORT
Provides a descriptive overview of the Department of the Navy's civilian acquisition workforce over the past decade and presents the results of preliminary analyses of data related to specific workforce management issues: retention, professional development, and leadership.
REPORT
In recent years, U.S. joint military activities have seen higher participation rates by reserve component general and flag officers, senior civilians, and senior noncommissioned officers. This report examines the preparation of these personnel for participation in joint military activities and recommends courses of action to better prepare them for joint positions
RESEARCH BRIEF
This research brief describes how the Department of Defense can best develop its civilian executives, reserve component general/flag officers, and senior noncommissioned officers for success in joint matters.
RESEARCH BRIEF
This research brief describes the initial steps that the Department of Defense should take in developing a department-wide strategic plan to achieve greater diversity within its active duty and civilian leadership.
REPORT
Discusses initial steps that the Department of Defense (DoD) should take in developing a department-wide strategic plan to achieve greater diversity within its active duty and civilian leadership. Key questions include how diversity will be defined, how progress toward diversity will be measured, and how DoD leaders will hold themselves and others accountable for such progress. Includes a summary of findings from the 2007 DoD Diversity…
REPORT
Recent U.S. experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq have shown that engaging in stability and reconstruction operations is a difficult and lengthy process that requires appropriate resources. A framework for improving U.S. civilian personnel and staffing programs for state-building efforts could help.
REPORT
This work presents a new method of estimating the cost of a military person-year that focuses on the actual cost of the retirement benefits that the federal government must provide to military personal, where previously available measures focused only on annual retirement-fund accrual costs. A major implication of this alternative calculus is that truly effective force management requires an increased focus on the cost of personnel.
REPORT
Previous studies have shown that military wives — women married to U.S. military service members — are more likely to be unemployed and earning less than their civilian counterparts. This study updates earlier analyses of military wives, analyzes trends over the last decade, and extends those analyses to include military husbands. Military spouses continue to be at a relative disadvantage in the labor market compared with…
REPORT
The Department of Defense is striving to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of its civilian workforce and to address impending personnel challenges. Planning could be improved by focusing on workforce demand, especially customer-demand projections.
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