Christopher M. Schnaubelt

Senior Political Scientist

Washington Office

Education

Ph.D. in political science, University of California Santa Barbara; M.S.S. in strategic studies, U.S. Army War College

Overview

Christopher M. Schnaubelt is a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. His primary research areas are disaster response and recovery, homeland security/homeland defense, security force assistance, and partner capacity development. Prior to joining RAND, he was deployed to Kabul as a U.S. Department of the Army Civilian serving as Senior Advisor to the Afghan Deputy Minister of Interior for Strategy and Policy as part of the U.S. Department of Defense Ministry of Defense Advisor (MoDA) program. He served as the Transformation Chair at the NATO Defense College in Rome, Italy, from 2008 to 2011. From 2006 to 2008, he worked for the State Department in U.S. Embassy Baghdad as the Deputy Director for National Security Affairs in the Joint Strategic Plans and Assessments (JSPA) office with projects that included writing the 2006 Joint Campaign Plan Assessment and working directly for Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus as a co-director of the Joint Strategic Assessment Team that drafted a joint campaign plan to implement “the surge” in 2007. He is a retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel with assignments that included brigade-level command of a Total Army School System training regiment, Chief of Policy for CJTF-7 in Iraq, command of two different tank battalions, and Director of Training and Director of Research and Analysis at the National Interagency Civil-Military Institute while serving in the California Army National Guard; and a deployment in Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina as Director of Logistics for Area Support Team-Balkans while serving in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Research Focus

Recent Projects

DoD’s CBRN Response Enterprise: Options for Improving the Identification and Communication of Civilian Requirements to DoD and the Army
Sustaining the Army’s Reserve Components as an Operational Force
Counternetwork: Countering the Expansion of Transnational Criminal Networks
The Army’s Local Economic Effects
Puerto Rico Economic & Disaster Recovery Plan: Integration & Analytic Support

Selected Publications

Schnaubelt, Christopher M.; Cohen, Raphael S.; Dunigan, Molly.; Gentile, Gian.; Hastings, Jaime L.; Klimas, Joshua.; Marquis, Jefferson P.; Schaefer, Agnes Gereben.; Triezenberg, Bonnie.; Ziegler, Michelle Darrah., Sustaining the Army's reserve components as an operational force, RAND (RR-1495-A)

Schnaubelt, Christopher M.; Bond, Craig.; Camm, Frank A.,; Klimas, Joshua.; Lachman, Beth E.,; McDonald, Laurie L.,; Mele, Judith D.; Ng, Paul.; Smith, Meagan L.; Sutera, Cole.; Skeels, Christopher., The Army's local economic effects, RAND (RR-1119-A)

Schnaubelt, Christopher M.; Larson, Eric V.; Boyer, Matthew E., Vulnerability assessment method pocket guide: a tool for Center of Gravity analysis, RAND (TL-129-A)

Watts, Stephen.; Schnaubelt, Christopher M.; Mann, Sean.; O'Mahony, Angela.; Schwille, Michael., Pacific engagement: forging tighter connections between tactical security cooperation activities and U.S. strategic goals in the Asia-Pacific region, RAND (RR-1920-A)

Pint, Ellen M.; Schnaubelt, Christopher M.; Dalzell, Stephen.; Hastings, Jaime L.; Speed, Penelope.; Shanley, Michael G.,, Review of Army Total Force Policy Implementation, RAND (RR-1958-A)

Rabasa, Angel.; Schnaubelt, Christopher M.; Chalk, Peter.; Farah, Douglas.; Midgette, Gregory.; Shatz, Howard J., Counternetwork: countering the expansion of transnational criminal networks, RAND (RR-1481-A)

McNerney, Michael J.; Schnaubelt, Christopher M.; Schaefer, Agnes Gereben.; Melliand, Martina.; Gelfeld, Bill., Improving DoD support to FEMA's all-hazards plans, RAND (RR-1301-OSD)

Long, Austin G.; Helmus, Todd C.; Zimmerman, S. Rebecca.; Schnaubelt, Christopher M.; Chalk, Peter., Building special operations partnerships in Afghanistan and beyond: challenges and best practices from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Colombia, RAND (RR-713-OSD)

Commentary

The National Guard Can Do It, but That Doesn't Mean It's a Good Idea
Should the National Guard provide an enduring quick reaction force for Washington, D.C., as apparently recommended in a recent report to Congress? Policymakers might ask themselves whether using the National Guard for this mission is actually the best solution.
Mar 19, 2021 Military Times
Life After Brexit Need Not Be a Disaster for the UK
Leaving the European Union without a deal will be costly for Britain. But there are actions that could be taken now to help improve the economic prospects of a fully independent UK.
Mar 18, 2019 The Hill
Making BRAC Politically Palatable
Taxpayer dollars have been used for decades to maintain bases that should have been realigned or closed. If policymakers would like more efficient use of defense dollars, they might consider allowing new rounds of Base Realignment and Closure.
Mar 16, 2017 The Hill

Publications

Report
The Army's Local Economic Effects: Appendix B, Volume 1: Alabama Through Minnesota; 2nd Edition
This appendix to the second edition of The Army's Local Economic Effects describes overall economic effects by state, details by fiscal year from 2014 to 2017, and a parsing of data by congressional district for Alabama through Minnesota.
Mar 8, 2021
Report
The Army's Local Economic Effects: Appendix B, Volume 2: Mississippi Through Wyoming; 2nd Edition
This appendix to the second edition of The Army's Local Economic Effects describes overall economic effects by state, details by fiscal year from 2014 to 2017, and a parsing of data by congressional district for Mississippi through Wyoming.
Mar 8, 2021
Report
The Army's Local Economic Effects: 2nd Edition
This report updates a previous report with findings on the economic activity supported by national-level Army spending in each of the 435 congressional districts for fiscal years 2014 through 2017.
Mar 8, 2021
Report
Main Command Post-Operational Detachments (MCP-ODs) and Division Headquarters Readiness
Researchers identify the effects of Focus Area Review Group II headquarters design and its new unit type -- the Main Command Post--Operational Detachment -- on division headquarters readiness.
Jun 3, 2019
Report
Pacific Engagement: Forging Tighter Connections Between Tactical Security Cooperation Activities and U.S. Strategic Goals in the Asia-Pacific Region
This report examines U.S. Army security cooperation (SC) processes in the Pacific Command area of responsibility to forge stronger links between strategic and tactical levels in the planning and execution of SC activities.
Oct 23, 2018
Report
Review of Army Total Force Policy Implementation
This report reviews the implementation of the Army's Total Force Policy. The Army has made progress in integrating the Regular Army, Army National Guard, and U.S. Army Reserve, but budget constraints have limited implementation.
Oct 24, 2017
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
Counternetwork: Countering the Expansion of Transnational Criminal Networks
This report presents operational characteristics of transnational criminal networks originating in South America, identifies U.S. government policies and programs to counter these networks, and examines the military's role in that context.
Jan 27, 2017
Journal Article
The Military Aspects of the US Rebalance to the Asia-Pacific
The contributions made in this volume point to the ongoing challenge of understanding the substance and direction of the relationship between NATO and four Asia-Pacific partners (Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea).
Apr 11, 2016
Tool
Interactive Database of the Army's Local Economic Effects
This interactive, web-based tool accompanies The Army's Local Economic Effects, and maps the economic effects of national-level U.S. Army spending for each state broken down by fiscal year (2012-2014) and congressional district.
Jan 4, 2016
Report
The Army's Local Economic Effects: Appendix B, Volume I: Alabama Through Minnesota
This appendix to The Army's Local Economic Effects provides descriptions of the overall economic effects for each state, details by fiscal year from 2012-2014, and a parsing of the data by congressional district for Alabama through Minnesota.
Dec 10, 2015
Report
The Army's Local Economic Effects
This report presents findings on the economic activity supported by national-level Army spending in each of the 435 congressional districts for fiscal years 2012-2014.
Dec 10, 2015
Report
The Army's Local Economic Effects: Appendix B, Volume II: Mississippi Through Wyoming
This appendix to The Army's Local Economic Effects provides descriptions of the overall economic effects for each state, details by fiscal year from 2012-2014, and a parsing of the data by congressional district for Mississippi through Wyoming.
Dec 10, 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
Building Special Operations Partnerships in Afghanistan and Beyond: Challenges and Best Practices from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Colombia
This report summarizes key special operations forces (SOF) partnering practices and presents findings from case studies in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Colombia. It also identifies best practices to benefit development of SOF in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Jul 31, 2015
Tool
Vulnerability Assessment Method Pocket Guide: A Tool for Center of Gravity Analysis
This pocket guide describes a process for identifying adversary, friendly, and other key stakeholder centers of gravity to support the development of plans that will exploit adversary vulnerabilities while protecting friendly ones.
Aug 14, 2014