Military Force Planning

Military Personnel Retention
commentary
How the Military Might Expand Its Cyber Skills
James Ryseff
Apr 22, 2021
The RAND Blog
The U.S. military will need to improve its software fluency if it wants to be dominant on the battlefields of the future. Ensuring that future leaders in the military develop cyber skills and the ability to interface with technical experts may be increasingly important.
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Sexual Assault
commentary
Sexual Assault in the Military Is Unacceptable. Here's How to Fix It
Matthew Chinman, Joie D. Acosta
Feb 26, 2021
Newsweek
Despite some steps taken by the Department of Defense, sexual assault and harassment prevention within the services and at individual installations could be substantially improved. The services could address the problem more systematically and comprehensively.
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Philippines
commentary
Are Military Purchases in SE Asia for Political Balancing a Good Use of National Defense Resources?
Chandler Sachs, John V. Parachini
May 7, 2020
Asian Military Review
The Philippines has embarked upon a multi-phase, multi-year modernization of its armed forces, but some of the acquisition decisions appear to be driven by political symbolism rather than responsible military decisions. Using military procurement for political symbolism and paying a high price for it takes resources away from other pressing national security and domestic needs.
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Military Force Planning
commentary
Force Planning in the New Era of Strategic Competition
Jacob L. Heim
Mar 28, 2020
InkStick
If the United States means to take a return to strategic competition seriously, then force planning must evolve beyond the post–Cold War approach. A new framework would let users test their intuition and identify areas of advantage while avoiding the risk of persisting in competitions that impose onerous costs.
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Artificial Intelligence
commentary
How to Train Your AI Soldier Robots (and the Humans Who Command Them)
Thomas Hamilton
Feb 21, 2020
War on the Rocks
While AI-enabled robots will have human-like characteristics, they will likely develop distinct personalities of their own. The military will need an extensive training program to inform new doctrines and concepts to manage this powerful, but unprecedented, capability.
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Military Doctrine
commentary
Anticipating a New Russian Military Doctrine in 2020: What It Might Contain and Why It Matters
Dara Massicot @MassDara
Sep 9, 2019
War on the Rocks
The United States and its allies should anticipate the possibility of an updated Russian military doctrine as early as 2020. Evaluating this document closely is important for understanding Russian threat perceptions and the leadership's methods to address those threats.
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United States Coast Guard
commentary
Why Women Belong in Coast Guard Crews
Robert C. Parker
Apr 18, 2019
Boston Herald
The Coast Guard benefits from the heightened respect that colleagues show each other in mixed-gender units, allowing personnel to focus and excel at their tasks at hand. When the Coast Guard zeroes in on evidence-based and appropriate accommodations for women and their physical capacities, as well as with parenting and family life, it will benefit everyone in uniform.
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Forecasting Methodology
commentary
How Horizon Scanning Can Give the Military a Technological Edge
Sarah Grand-Clement
Feb 8, 2019
UK MOD Guide to Defence and Security
Horizon scanning could promote innovative practices and innovation uptake, through the adoption of new ideas, equipment, and methods, with benefits that could positively affect the UK economy as a whole. But a wider mechanism for processing and assessing the selected developments would be needed.
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Military Strategy
commentary
An Army Caught in the Middle Between Luddites, Luminaries, and the Occasional Looney
David E. Johnson @DaveJohnsonDC
Dec 20, 2018
War on the Rocks
The creation of the Army Futures Command is an important and necessary move for the U.S. Army. For the first time since the 1970s, the Army has a major command focused on preparing it for future war with a peer competitor.
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Globalization
blog
Most Popular RAND Blog Commentary of 2018
Dec 20, 2018
RAND experts publish hundreds of pieces of RAND Blog commentary every year, weighing in on pressing policy questions, breaking down current events, and untangling complex trends. To look back on some of the policy stories that defined the year, we've rounded up the RAND Blog pieces that resonated most with rand.org visitors.
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Japan
commentary
Is Japan's New Defense Plan Ambitious Enough?
Michael J. Green, Jeffrey W. Hornung
Dec 6, 2018
War on the Rocks
Under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan has significantly increased capabilities to meet increasing regional security challenges. But Tokyo may need to do more to manage the complex security environment surrounding Japan.
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Border and Port Security
commentary
The U.S. Military's Border Enforcement Role
Christine Wormuth
Nov 19, 2018
The Cipher Brief
The Trump administration announced a deployment of at least 5,200 active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. Is a military response of this size needed to address the situation on the southern border?
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Wargaming
commentary
Building a Pipeline of Wargaming Talent: A Two-Track Solution
Elizabeth M. Bartels @elliebartels
Nov 15, 2018
War on the Rocks
How does the Department of Defense imagine the future of war and make long-term investments to confront the challenges ahead? On issues ranging from potential conflicts with Russia to the future of transportation and logistics, senior leaders have increasingly turned to wargames to imagine potential futures.
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Enlisted Personnel
essay
An Inside Look at Life in the Army's Junior Ranks
Oct 31, 2018
History records the names of generals, not of the privates filling out supply forms, cleaning out trucks, or huffing through another training exercise. But those privates keep the U.S. Army running. RAND research provides their unfiltered take on life in the ranks.
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Wargaming
commentary
Just Let Them Compete: Raising the Next Generation of Wargamers
Sebastian Joon Bae
Oct 9, 2018
War on the Rocks
Wargames are games that simulate aspects of warfare at varying levels, aimed at analyzing human decisionmaking. To develop the next generation of avid wargamers, the first step is both radical and simple: Let them compete.
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Operational Readiness
commentary
Are We Truly Prepared for a War with Russia or China?
Michael Spirtas
Oct 9, 2018
The Hill
The U.S. Department of Defense will likely need a strategy to overcome a war with either Russia or China. As threats from these two countries grow, what can the United States do now to prepare for major conflict?
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Page 1 of 6

Quoted

As shown in Afghanistan, the United States faces a tradeoff between incorporating allied views into U.S. decisions and compromising allies' support for U.S. policy. If the United States is serious about strengthening alliances and burden-sharing, this may require finding ways to better incorporate allied concerns into U.S. decisionmaking.

Andrew Radin

Political Scientist

Source: War on the Rocks

The nuclear weapons the United States already has should be adequate to counter the threat posed by new Chinese missiles even under very pessimistic assumptions. And if U.S. officials eventually decide they have to target the Chinese silos, nonnuclear weapons and sensors would provide a more credible deterrent than building additional nuclear weapons would.

Edward Geist

Policy Researcher

Source: The Washington Post

ExpertLens: An Online Modified-Delphi Approach to Stakeholder Engagement and Expert Elicitation

How Could the U.S. Military Counter Extremism in Its Ranks?

Reconsidering U.S. Decisionmaking Within NATO After the Fall of Kabul

Russia's Neighbors Have More Leverage Than They Think

Afghanistan’s Refugee Crisis: Forty Years in the Making

The Policy Currents Podcast

Developing Strategies for Summer Learning

Improving Psychological Wellbeing and Work Outcomes in the UK

Helping Coastal Communities Plan for Climate Change

Getting to Know Military Caregivers and Their Needs

Military Force Planning

How the Military Might Expand Its Cyber Skills

Sexual Assault in the Military Is Unacceptable. Here's How to Fix It

Are Military Purchases in SE Asia for Political Balancing a Good Use of National Defense Resources?

Force Planning in the New Era of Strategic Competition

How to Train Your AI Soldier Robots (and the Humans Who Command Them)

Anticipating a New Russian Military Doctrine in 2020: What It Might Contain and Why It Matters

Why Women Belong in Coast Guard Crews

How Horizon Scanning Can Give the Military a Technological Edge

An Army Caught in the Middle Between Luddites, Luminaries, and the Occasional Looney

Most Popular RAND Blog Commentary of 2018

Is Japan's New Defense Plan Ambitious Enough?

The U.S. Military's Border Enforcement Role

Building a Pipeline of Wargaming Talent: A Two-Track Solution

An Inside Look at Life in the Army's Junior Ranks

Just Let Them Compete: Raising the Next Generation of Wargamers

Are We Truly Prepared for a War with Russia or China?

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