Jonathan P. Wong

@jonpwong on Twitter

Associate Director, Strategy, Doctrine, and Resources Program, RAND Arroyo Center; Policy Researcher; Professor, Pardee RAND Graduate School

Santa Monica Office

Education

Ph.D. in policy analysis, Pardee RAND Graduate School; M.Phil in policy analysis, Pardee RAND Graduate School; M.A. in security studies, Georgetown University; B.A in poltical science, University of California San Diego

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.

More Experts

Overview

Jonathan Wong (he/him) is associate director of the Strategy, Doctrine, and Resources Program of the RAND Arroyo Center, a policy researcher at RAND Corporation, and a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. His research focuses on the role of new technologies and operational concepts, and processes in shaping how militaries fight. He also contributes to other force design and development research and RAND's military logistics, manpower, intelligence policy, and strategy portfolios.

Previously, Wong was a consultant at Boston Consulting Group, providing strategic advice for clients in industrial goods and and nonprofit sectors. He also served in the U.S. Marine Corps as an enlisted infantryman and infantry officer from 2001–11, deploying multiple times to Iraq and the Western Pacific.

Wong holds a Ph.D. and M.Phil. in policy analysis from the Pardee RAND Graduate School, an M.A. in security studies from Georgetown University, and a B.A. in political science from the University of California, San Diego.

Research Focus

Concurrent Non-RAND Positions

Non-Resident Fellow, Krulak Center for Innovation & Future Warfare

Recent Projects

Alternative Concepts for Land Forces in the Indo-Pacific
Strengthening the Defense Innovation Ecosystem
Understanding the Performance of the Adaptive Acquisition Framework Pathway through Metrics
Accelerating Modernization and Innovation: Use of Other Transactions for Prototype Projects Authority
Digital Engineering’s Impact on Air Force Weapon System Cost Estimates

Selected Publications

Wong, Jonathan P., Obaid Younossi, Christine Kistler LaCoste, Philip S. Anton, Alan J. Vick, Guy Weichenberg, and Thomas C. Whitmore, Improving Defense Acquisition: Insights from Three Decades of RAND Research, RAND Corporation (RR-A1670-1), 2022

Fleming, Joslyn, Jonathan P. Wong, Matthew W. Lewis, Duncan Long, Angelena Bohman, Kathryn Connor, Rick Eden, and Michael J. Gaines, Equipping the 21st Century Marine Corps: Alternative Equipping Strategies for Task-Organized Units, RAND Corporation (RR-2822-USMC), 2021

Mayer, Lauren A., Mark V. Arena, Frank Camm, Jonathan P. Wong, Gabriel Lesnick, Sarah Lovell, Edward Fernandez, Phillip Carter, and Gordon T. Lee, Prototyping Using Other Transactions: Case Studies for the Acquisition Community, RAND Corporation (RR-4417-AF), 2020

Jonathan P. Wong, "Bad Idea: Overly Focusing on Development and Acquisition Speed," CSIS Defense 360, 2020

Honors & Awards

Hogaboom Leadership Writing Award, Marine Corps Association

Recent Media Appearances

Interviews: Aerospace International, UK; NPR News; Sea Control

Commentary

Iraq

Twenty Years After the Iraq War, a Q&A with RAND Experts
On the 20th anniversary of the war in Iraq, RAND experts discussed what the war means for the people of Iraq and the veterans who fought there, what lessons the U.S. military learned (or did not learn), and what effect it has had on the balance of power in the Middle East and the global reputation of the United States.
Mar 21, 2023
The RAND Blog
Military Budgets and Defense Spending

Bad Idea: Looking for Easy Solutions for PPBE Reform
The means by which the Department of Defense decides how to spend its budget has long been criticized as needlessly complex and incapable of helping policymakers choose among investments to meet strategic goals. Seeking solutions, Congress created the Commission on PPBE Reform in the 2022 defense policy bill. But the reforms the system needs may not be as obvious as they seem.
Mar 2, 2023
Defense360
United States Marine Corps

A Tradition of Service: Q&A with Two Veterans
Before they became RAND researchers, Jonathan Wong and Joslyn Fleming served as U.S. Marines. In this interview, they discuss what made them want to join the service, what led them to research, and how their military experience guides the work they do at RAND.
Nov 7, 2021
September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks

The Guilt I Carry Over 9/11 Drives Me to Help Others
RAND policy researcher and U.S. military veteran Jonathan Wong reflects on how the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks have influenced how he has lived his life since that day.
Sep 13, 2021
San Diego Union-Tribune
Military Acquisition and Procurement

Bad Idea: Overly Focusing on Development and Acquisition Speed
The Pentagon has in recent years turned its attention to the need for speed in weapons system development and acquisition. While shortening the timeline for program development and fielding is important for Defense Department acquisition leaders, overly prioritizing speed can lead to issues with program management, sustainment, and other areas.
Dec 16, 2020
Defense360
Military Technology

Book Review: 'The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare' by Christian Brose
As the Pentagon and commercial technologists continue to explore the potential of commercial technologies for the military and work towards greater adoption, they may wish to focus not only on lowering bureaucratic barriers but also on managing expectations about what technologies will be most beneficial and how they will be used.
Jul 2, 2020
War on the Rocks
Military Equipment

Indications of Institutional Inertia: The FY2021 USMC Budget
The Grim Reaper is a 700-foot-tall series of hills that Marine Corps recruits must summit to graduate from boot camp. As the Marine Corps attempts to transform from a second land army and counterinsurgency force to operate within contested maritime spaces, its recent budget request suggests that it will need to climb its own Grim Reaper to get there.
Mar 26, 2020
The RAND Blog
United States Department of Defense

Book Review: 'The Heart of War—Misadventures in the Pentagon' by Kathleen McInnis
Both Washington insiders and the general public may be inspired by Kathleen McCinnis's The Heart of War. The novel prompts readers to think more realistically about the Pentagon and its role in policymaking.
Jan 8, 2019
War on the Rocks
United States Department of Defense

The Pentagon's New Chief Innovation Officer Should Tread Lightly
The innovation efforts taking place in the Department of Defense are exciting and have much potential. But installing a chief innovation officer with centralized authority who may become just another bureaucratic player among many could spoil those efforts.
Nov 3, 2016
War on the Rocks
Military Budgets and Defense Spending

In Defense of Defense Analysis
Rather than characterize Robert McNamara's legacy as one of inefficiency, his economic, quantitative analysis of military problems should be portrayed as an innovative, if flawed, first adoption of more sophisticated methods for defense analysis.
Sep 2, 2016
War on the Rocks
Military Acquisition and Procurement

Don't Learn the Wrong Lessons from Rapid Acquisition
Rapid acquisition practices that worked during recent wars may not easily translate to peacetime endeavors. Enthusiasm for rapid acquisition must be tempered by an understanding of the circumstances that made it work and the downsides that were accepted in wartime.
Jun 23, 2016
Defense One
Military Force Planning

Rethinking U.S. Force Planning
While the renewed interest in crisis response forces by the military services is welcome in these times of uncertainty, forces that are permanently assigned to a geographic combatant command and based in a region continue to offer distinct benefits. RAND research has shown that an overseas presence enhances contingency responsiveness in most cases.
May 16, 2014
The RAND Blog

Publications

Research Brief
Fostering Innovation in Military Technology: Strengthening DoD's Commercial Technology Pipeline
RAND researchers examined how well the Department of Defense is identifying, developing, and transitioning innovative commercial technologies from the private sector to the military and how the defense ecosystem can better support this process.
Mar 7, 2023
Report
Strengthening the Defense Innovation Ecosystem
The Department of Defense can more effectively harness commercially developed technologies through policies that incentivize and improve coordination and collaboration between defense innovation organizations and traditional acquisition stakeholders.
Mar 7, 2023
Report
New Directions for Projecting Land Power in the Indo-Pacific: Contexts, Constraints, and Concepts
This report seeks to address how the U.S. Army can most effectively project and employ land power in the Indo-Pacific, during competition and conflict, with a focus on scenarios involving China.
Dec 20, 2022
Report
Using Metrics to Understand the Performance of the Adaptive Acquisition Framework
The authors of this report identify initial metrics that the U.S. Department of Defense can use to assess whether pathways in the Adaptive Acquisition Framework are achieving their goals.
Oct 5, 2022
Research Brief
Evaluating the Use of Non-Lethal Weapons in Operational Environments
This brief summarizes a RAND-developed methodology to evaluate the impact of non-lethal weapons in a way that better informs Department of Defense decisions about their development, integration into military forces, and use in diverse contexts.
Aug 5, 2022
Report
Improving Defense Acquisition: Insights from Three Decades of RAND Research
In this report, RAND researchers describe overarching trends that affect the defense acquisition system, outline challenges in the defense acquisition process, and suggest improvements that might help address those challenges.
Jun 16, 2022
Report
How to Effectively Assess the Impact of Non-Lethal Weapons as Intermediate Force Capabilities
This report describes how to evaluate the impact of non-lethal weapons (NLWs). Characterizing the contribution of NLWs to strategic goals provides insights into their effective integration throughout U.S. Department of Defense operations.
Jan 18, 2022
Report
Equipping the 21st Century Marine Corps: Alternative Equipping Strategies for Task-Organized Units
Provisional unit equipping differs from the traditional way the Marine Corps equips forces, which places a burden on the logistics enterprise. The totality of the problem demands a multipronged approach as the best course of action.
Feb 18, 2021
Report
Prototyping Using Other Transactions: Case Studies for the Acquisition Community
Through literature reviews, interviews, and case studies, researchers reviewed recent U.S. Air Force experience in using other transactions for prototype projects (OTs), identifying lessons for acquisition professionals and improvements for use.
Aug 31, 2020
Report
Designing a Capability Development Framework for Home Affairs
Australia's Department of Home Affairs is seeking to establish an auditable, transparent and evidence-based approach to capability lifecycle management. The authors of this report describe a principles-based model to meet the department's needs.
Jun 24, 2019
Report
Methodology for Translating Enlisted Veterans' Nontechnical Skills into Civilian Employers' Terms
Describes a methodology for describing the nontechnical skills developed through military training, education, and on-the-job experiences in ways that can help veterans explain to civilian employers the full value they bring to organizations.
Dec 4, 2017
Tool
What Veterans Bring to Civilian Workplaces: A Prototype Toolkit for Helping Veterans Communicate to Private-Sector Employers About the Nontechnical Skills Developed in the Military
Presents a prototype toolkit that describes the nontechnical skills developed through military training, education, and on-the-job experiences, to help veterans communicate about the value they can bring to civilian workplaces.
Dec 4, 2017
Tool
What Veterans Bring to Civilian Workplaces: A Prototype Toolkit for Helping Private-Sector Employers Understand the Nontechnical Skills Developed in the Military
Presents a prototype toolkit that describes the nontechnical skills developed through military training, education, and on-the-job experiences, to help civilian employers understand the full value veterans can bring to their organizations.
Dec 4, 2017
Report
Enabling the Global Response Force: Access Strategies for the 82nd Airborne Division
The Global Response Force is built for rapid response to unforeseen operations. This study recommends specific GRF access strategies for each geographic combatant command given constraints in aircraft, intermediate staging bases, and other factors.
Jul 28, 2016
Dissertation
Balancing Immediate and Long-Term Defense Investments
Examines how the US Department of Defense acquisition bureaucracy responds to unforeseen conflicts and adversaries by making immediate procurement investments.
Jul 18, 2016
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
Infographic
Translating Veterans' Training into Civilian Job Skills
Military forces are trained in both technical specialties and "soft" skills that are vital to success in the civilian sector. This infographic translates examples of soft skills taught in the military into essential civilian workforce competencies.
Oct 12, 2015
Report
Active Component Responsibility in Reserve Component Pre- and Postmobilization Training
This report examines historical readiness problems for the Army reserve component and ways in which Congress and the Army have addressed these, including active component support to RC units, and recommends changes to support future RC training.
Apr 29, 2015
Report
Assessing Conventional Army Demands and Requirements for Ultra-Light Tactical Mobility
The Army often uses vehicles informally classified as ultra-light tactical mobility (UTM). This report assesses the demands, requirements, current ad hoc capabilities, and key considerations for developing and sustaining established Army UTM fleets.
Apr 2, 2015