Agnes Gereben Schaefer

Associate Director, International Security and Defense Policy Center; Senior Political Scientist

Pittsburgh Office

Education

Ph.D. in political science, Syracuse University; M.A. in political science, Florida International University; B.A. in international relations/environmental studies, Florida International University

Media Resources

This researcher is available for interviews.

To arrange an interview, contact the RAND Office of Media Relations at (310) 451-6913, or email media@rand.org.

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Overview

Agnes Gereben Schaefer is associate director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center, a RAND National Security Research Division program, and a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. Her research specializations include issues related to national security strategy, emerging threats, U.S. military personnel policy, reserve component issues, and homeland security/homeland defense issues. Since joining RAND in 2005, Schaefer has conducted more than 50 studies for senior civilian and military leaders, including: an assessment of the implications of allowing transgender military personnel to serve openly; integrating women into the USMC infantry and Special Operations Forces (SOF); assessments of the implications of allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. military; a Congressionally-mandated review of the provision of employment services for reserve component members; the development of a Defense Sector Assessment Rating Tool, as assessment of the security situation in Mexico and several other studies related to national security strategy. She has published articles in a range of journals, and has been interviewed by various media outlets including: the Associated Press, BBC, CBS News, CNN, The Economist, Fox News, The New York Times, PBS News Hour, Reuters, Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and USA Today. Schaefer received her Ph.D. from Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Before joining RAND, Schaefer was a postdoctoral research associate and lecturer at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Research Focus

Previous Positions

Lecturer and Postdoctoral Research Associate in Politics and Public Policy, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University

Recent Projects

Key Considerations in Assessing the Impact of Integrating Women into Marine Corps
Assessing the Implications of Allowing Transgender Personnel to Serve Openly
Officer Career Management: Steps Toward Modernization in the 2018 and 2019 National Defense Authorization Acts
The U.S. Army and the Battle for Baghdad: Lessons Learned-and Still to Be Learned

Selected Publications

Agnes Schaefer et al, Assessing the Implications of Allowing Transgender Personnel to Serve Openly, RAND Corporation (RR-1530-OSD), 2016

Thomas S. Szayna et al, Considerations for Integrating Women into Closed Occupations in the U.S. Special Operations Forces, RAND (RR-1058-OSD), 2015

Agnes Gereben Schaefer, Jennie Wenger, Jennifer Kavanagh, Jonathan Wong, Gillian Oak, Thomas Trail, Todd Nichols, Implications of Integrating Women into the Marine Corps Infantry, RAND Corporation (RR-1103-USMC), 2015

David E. Johnson, Agnes Gereben Schaefer, Brenna Allen, Raphael S. Cohen, Gian Gentile, James P, Hoobler, Michael Schwille, Jerry M. Sollinger, Sean M. Zeiger, The U.S. Army and the Battle for Baghdad: Lessons Learned-and Still to Be Learned, RAND Corporation (RR-3076-A), 2019

Agnes Gereben Schaefer, Andrew M. Naber, Darrell Jones, Thomas Goughnour, Nelson Lim, An Assessment of Options for Increasing Gender-Integrated Training in Air Force Basic Military Training, RAND Corporation (RR-1795-AF), 2018

Albert A. Robbert, Katherine L. Kidder, Caitlin Lee, Agnes Gereben Schaefer, William H. Waggy III, Officer Career Management: Steps Toward Modernization in the 2018 and 2019 National Defense Authorization Acts, RAND Corporation (RR-2875-OSD), 2019

Honors & Awards

2016 Silver Medal Award, RAND
2017 Silver Medal Award, RAND

Languages

Hungarian

Commentary

On RAND's Research Findings Regarding Transgender Military Personnel Policy
In September 2015, the Department of Defense asked RAND to initiate a study on the implications of allowing transgender personnel to serve openly. Since its publication, the research has been widely viewed as the most comprehensive and authoritative analysis on this topic. RAND stands by the study's research approach, analysis, and findings.
Mar 27, 2018 The RAND Blog
If U.S.-Mexico Get Security Right, Other Good Policy Will Follow
Obama and Peña Nieto emphasized economic cooperation at their summit not because security issues have gone away, but because the new rules of the game in this nascent relationship between the two leaders are evolving, writes Agnes Gereben Schaefer.
May 29, 2013 Houston Chronicle
Follow the Money
If the U.S. does not improve its ability to track federal spending and develop reliable measures of effectiveness, precious federal disaster aid will continue to be at risk of being squandered, writes Agnes Gereben Schaefer.
Jul 14, 2011 The Montgomery Advertiser
A Month After the Earthquake: Opportunities Slipping Away
Previous efforts by the international community to stabilize Haiti have met with little or only short-term success. This time, following the earthquake, the U.S. response could actually leverage the response and recovery opportunities into a broader international plan, write Agnes Gereben Schaefer and Anita Chandra.
Feb 24, 2010 RAND.org and GlobalSecurity.org
Assessing Mexico's Narco-Violence
Drug-related violence in Mexico has more than doubled over the past 18 months, with a sharp increase in crimes that can only be understood as atrocities. The executions, assassinations, and decapitations may all seem wanton and senseless. But this violence actually has a purpose, write Benjamin Bahney and Agnes Gereben Schaefer.
May 14, 2009 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Publications

Research Brief
Modernizing Officer Career Management: Analyzing Eleven Issues
The authors examine 11 issues related to modernizing officer career management; these involve statutory, policy, cultural, and fiscal constraints. They offer service perspectives on these constraints and present mitigation strategies.
Jan 19, 2021
Research Brief
"Muddling Through": The Revolutionary Potential of Evolutionary Officer Management Reform
The authors examine why the services embraced the fiscal year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act reforms after rejecting the Force of the Future reforms.
Jan 19, 2021
Report
Officer Career Management: Additional Steps Toward Modernization
The authors identify useful steps toward modernization of officer career management in the military, examine constraints on reforms, and propose mitigating strategies and ways forward.
Jan 19, 2021
Report
Approaches for Strengthening Total Force Culture and Facilitating Cross-Component Integration in the U.S. Military
This research identifies practices that contribute to improved integration and a stronger total force culture, focusing on approaches that could impart cross-component knowledge and provide rewards for service members to work across components.
May 28, 2020
Research Brief
The Battle for Baghdad: Institutionalizing Army Lessons for Urban Combat
This brief recounts the U.S. Army's efforts in the Iraq War, especially in Baghdad, and offers lessons learned and recommendations to enable leaders and soldiers to be better prepared in future conflicts.
Jul 3, 2019
Report
The U.S. Army and the Battle for Baghdad: Lessons Learned — And Still to Be Learned
To help the U.S. Army and U.S. Department of Defense retain institutional knowledge and fully prepare future leaders, RAND researchers recount the Army's efforts in the Iraq War, especially in Baghdad, and offer lessons learned and recommendations.
Jun 12, 2019
Report
Service Member Separation: Updating the DD Form 214
This report offers suggestions for updating DD Form 214, which is used to characterize separating servicemembers' service, military history, and the reasons for separation, for electronic delivery.
May 14, 2019
Report
Officer Career Management: Steps Toward Modernization in the 2018 and 2019 National Defense Authorization Acts
In this report, the authors summarize departmental views on the military officer career management policies examined in the two reports required by the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act and provide data to inform potential policy changes.
Mar 25, 2019
Report
Integrating Active and Reserve Component Staff Organizations: Improving the Chances of Success
A RAND Corporation study undertook a literature review and analysis of several case studies to examine factors that could increase the likelihood of success in integrating active and reserve component military staff organizations.
Feb 11, 2019
Report
An Assessment of Options for Increasing Gender Integration in Air Force Basic Military Training
This report explores options for the U.S. Air Force to increase gender-integrated training in Basic Military Training.
Mar 5, 2018
Report
Defense Planning in a Time of Conflict: A Comparative Analysis of the 2001–2014 Quadrennial Defense Reviews, and Implications for the Army — Executive Summary
This summary highlights findings from a comparative analysis of the four Quadrennial Defense Reviews conducted after 1997, identifying trends, implications, and recommendations for the Army and Defense Department to help improve future reviews.
Jan 31, 2018
Report
Defense Planning in a Time of Conflict: A Comparative Analysis of the 2001–2014 Quadrennial Defense Reviews, and Implications for the Army
This report presents a comparative historical analysis of the four Quadrennial Defense Reviews (QDRs) conducted after 1997 and identifies trends, implications, and recommendations for the Army and Defense Department to help improve future reviews.
Jan 31, 2018
Report
Sustaining the Army's Reserve Components as an Operational Force
This report identifies emerging policy lessons regarding the use of, and reforms to, the U.S. Army's Reserve Components (RCs) as an operational reserve derived from analyses of their contributions to recent contingency operations.
Jun 12, 2017
Report
Families Support to Transition: A Systematic Review of the Evidence
RAND Europe was commissioned by the Forces in Mind Trust to conduct a systematic review to develop a better understanding of the evidence base around four themes associated with the transition into civilian life for UK Service leaver families.
Sep 8, 2016
Research Brief
Supporting UK Service leavers and their families in the transition to civilian life
RAND Europe was commissioned by the Forces in Mind Trust to conduct a systematic review to develop a better understanding of the evidence base around four themes associated with the transition into civilian life for UK Service leaver families.
Sep 8, 2016
Research Brief
The Implications of Allowing Transgender Personnel to Serve Openly in the U.S. Military
To inform a potential change in policy, a RAND study examined the health care needs of transgender military personnel, costs of gender transition-related care and potential readiness implications of allowing transgender personnel to serve openly.
Jun 30, 2016
Report
Assessing the Implications of Allowing Transgender Personnel to Serve Openly
To inform a potential change in policy, a RAND study examined the health care needs of transgender military personnel, costs of gender transition-related care, and potential readiness implications of allowing transgender personnel to serve openly.
Jun 30, 2016
Report
Water Management, Partnerships, Rights, and Market Trends: An Overview for Army Installation Managers
This report assesses water management, partnerships, rights, and market trends and opportunities, and how Army installations can potentially use them to improve programs and investments in water and wastewater systems.
Apr 5, 2016
Research Brief
Employment Assistance for Reserve Component Members
RAND researchers reviewed previous research, conducted informational discussions with employment program managers, and identified ways to improve efforts to provide federal job placement and related employment services for reserve component members.
Mar 24, 2016
Report
Review of the Provision of Job Placement Assistance and Related Employment Services to Members of the Reserve Components
This study identifies the current U.S. employment programs and resources available to reserve component members, assesses the gaps and overlaps in those programs and resources, and recommends improvements to services.
Mar 24, 2016
Report
Considerations for Integrating Women into Closed Occupations in U.S. Special Operations Forces
This report assesses challenges for unit cohesion from integrating women into special operations forces and provides analytical support for validating occupational standards for positions controlled by U.S. Special Operations Command.
Dec 16, 2015
Report
Implications of Integrating Women into the Marine Corps Infantry
This study for the U.S. Marine Corps reviews the history of the integration of women into the U.S. military and explores the role of cohesion, the gender integration of foreign militaries and domestic police and fire departments, and potential costs.
Dec 3, 2015
Research Brief
Implications of Integrating Women into USMC Infantry
The Marine Corps Combat Development Command asked RAND to study the integration of women into infantry combat roles. Researchers reviewed the literature, conducted interviews, estimated costs, and developed an approach for monitoring integration.
Dec 3, 2015
Report
Improving DoD Support to FEMA's All-Hazards Plans
Reviews and analyzes how the U.S. Department of Defense and the Federal Emergency Management Agency work together to plan and execute disaster response activities, and recommends areas for improvement.
Nov 30, 2015
Report
An Assessment of Fiscal Year 2013 Beyond Yellow Ribbon Programs
RAND researchers conducted a formal review of 13 programs that received Beyond Yellow Ribbon appropriations in fiscal year 2013, helping to identify programs with strong records of success and develop a nationwide set of promising practices.
May 4, 2015
Report
Enhanced Army Airborne Forces: A New Joint Operational Capability
RAND examined options to increase the mobility, protection, and firepower of U.S. Army airborne forces, given likely future missions and threats, and identified a concept for enhancing today's forces by adding a light armored infantry capability. The near-term focus also meant that the current Air Force airlift fleet was an important consideration, since Army airborne forces rely on Air Force transport aircraft to deploy.
Jan 23, 2015
Report
The U.S. Military Response to the 2010 Haiti Earthquake: Considerations for Army Leaders
This report describes how the U.S. military responded to the 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti, and it presents recommendations for improving military foreign humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Oct 29, 2013
Research Brief
Reintegration After Deployment: Supporting Citizen Warriors and Their Families
A RAND study of the challenges that reserve component service members and their families face after deployment and the factors that contribute to successful reintegration led to a series of recommendations for the U.S. Department of Defense.
Sep 17, 2013
Report
Support for the 21st-Century Reserve Force: Insights to Facilitate Successful Reintegration for Citizen Warriors and Their Families
This RAND study examined the challenges that reserve component service members and their families face after deployment and identified the factors and support resources that may contribute to their successful reintegration.
Aug 28, 2013
Report
Key Trends That Will Shape Army Installations of Tomorrow
Assesses how future trends external to Army installations may affect the Army's ability to provide quality installation services and infrastructure.
Jun 6, 2013
Report
The Challenge of Violent Drug-Trafficking Organizations: An Assessment of Mexican Security Based on Existing RAND Research on Urban Unrest, Insurgency, and Defense-Sector Reform
A RAND team conducted a Delphi expert elicitation exercise to assess the security situation in Mexico using assessment scorecards developed in prior RAND research on urban instability and unrest, historical insurgencies, and defense-sector reform.
Oct 21, 2011
Research Brief
Sexual Orientation and U.S. Personnel Policy Revisited
Summarizes results of a RAND Corporation study on sexual orientation and U.S. military policy requested by the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Secretary of Defense in order to weigh repeal of the law known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
Dec 23, 2010
Report
Sexual Orientation and U.S. Military Personnel Policy: An Update of RAND's 1993 Study
Shares results of a study on sexual orientation and U.S. military policy, requested by the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Secretary of Defense in order to weigh the repeal of the law known as ''Don't Ask, Don't Tell.''
Nov 18, 2010
Report
Developing a Defense Sector Assessment Rating Tool
The lack of a comprehensive tool to assess a country's defense sector and its ability to counter a range of internal security threats led to the development of the Defense Sector Assessment Rating Tool, which can be customized for a variety of goals.
Sep 17, 2010
Journal Article
The Pennsylvania Certified Safety Committee Program: An Evaluation of Participation and Effects on Work Injury Rates
Since 1994, Pennsylvania, has provided a 5% discount on workers' compensation premiums for firms with a certified joint labor-management safety committee. This study found that injury rates at participating firms with good compliance records dropped more than at other firms.
2010
Research Brief
What Are U.S. Policy Options for Dealing with Security in Mexico?
A RAND study identified three U.S. policy options for dealing with Mexico's deteriorating security situation, assessing their impact in terms of four priority areas and likely Mexican responses.
Apr 23, 2009
Report
Security in Mexico: Implications for U.S. Policy Options
The security situation in Mexico has deteriorated in recent years. To help inform debate on the future of U.S.-Mexico relations, this study examined a set of U.S. policy options and potential policy priorities that hold promise for Mexico's security.
Apr 20, 2009
Report
The Challenge of Domestic Intelligence in a Free Society: A Multidisciplinary Look at the Creation of a U.S. Domestic Counterterrorism Intelligence Agency
Does the United States need a dedicated domestic counterterrorism intelligence agency? This book examines such an agency's creation, possible capability, and approaches for assessing its effectiveness and acceptability to the public.
Jan 19, 2009
Draft
The Pennsylvania Certified Safety Committee Program: An Evaluation of Participation and Effects on Work Injury Rates
This evaluation of the voluntary Pennsylvania Certified Safety Committee program found that although compliance did reduce injuries, most participants did not comply and injury rates did not decline more at participating firms.
Sep 18, 2008
Journal Article
Measuring the Performance of Telephone-Based Disease Surveillance Systems in Local Health Departments
Health departments can achieve optimal performance by consistently connecting a caller with an action officer in 30 minutes or less and may improve performance by using a disease surveillance phone system in which a live person answers at all times.
2008
Draft
Lessons Learned from the State and Local Public Health Response to Hurricane Katrina
Collects and synthesizes the public health lessons learned from the response to Hurricane Katrina so that public health agencies can learn from the experience and improve their preparedness.
Sep 16, 2007
Research Brief
Learning the Lessons of Hurricane Katrina for the U.S. Army
This research brief highlights the efforts undertaken by civilian and military organizations in response to Hurricane Katrina and discusses a number of steps can be taken to enhance future Army and National Guard disaster-response efforts.
May 17, 2007
Draft
Improving Global Influenza Surveillance: Strategies for the U.S. Government
Identifies strategies for improving global influenza surveillance and suggests practical steps that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services might consider for implementing them.
May 3, 2007
Report
Hurricane Katrina: Lessons for Army Planning and Operations
The efforts undertaken by civilian and military organizations in response to Hurricane Katrina were historically unprecedented, but a number of steps can be taken to enhance future Army and National Guard disaster-response efforts.
Apr 28, 2007
Draft
Improving and Enhancing Telephone-based Disease Surveillance Systems in Local Health Departments
This report presents the findings of a project designed to identify system-level characteristics associated with consistently timely responses in telephone-based disease surveillance systems in local health departments.
Apr 11, 2007