Leadership Change In RAND Project AIR FORCE

Andrew Hoehn will become a RAND Corporation vice president and director of RAND Project AIR FORCE (PAF) on Oct. 1, RAND President and CEO James A. Thomson announced today.

Hoehn has been director of PAF's Strategy and Doctrine Program since late 2004, and previously served in the U.S. Department of Defense for 15 years, including six years as deputy assistant secretary for strategy.

Hoehn succeeds Natalie Crawford, who has been PAF director since 1997 and who has been with RAND since 1964. She will become a senior advisor to Thomson and also work with Hoehn in PAF.

PAF's mission is to conduct an integrated program of objective analysis on issues of enduring concern to U.S. Air Force leaders. PAF (formerly Project RAND) has been serving the Air Force since 1946.

“Andy Hoehn's familiarity with the Department of Defense, and his appreciation for the strategic challenges facing RAND and Project AIR FORCE, will provide him with a strong foundation as he takes over his new leadership role,” Thomson said.

“I am very grateful to Natalie Crawford for her loyalty to RAND and for the limitless hours she has spent in cultivating and strengthening RAND's relationship with the Air Force,” Thomson added. “She is truly a RAND treasure. We're fortunate to have her as a colleague into the future. Andy and his team are beginning their tenure with an exceptionally strong base from which to start.”

At the Department of Defense, Hoehn was the architect of the Global Defense Posture Review, which is now being implemented. The extensive review addresses the U.S. global military basing structure and serves as a key component of U.S. defense policy.

Hoehn joined the Defense Department following the receipt of a B.A. in political science from Baldwin-Wallace College and a master's degree in public and international affairs from the University of Pittsburgh. He was assistant editor of the Marine Corps Gazette prior to joining the Defense Department.