VSO/ALP: Comparing Past and Current Challenges to Afghan Local Defense 2012
Describes the Village Stability Operations/Afghan Local Police program within the Afghan context.
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Describes the Village Stability Operations/Afghan Local Police program within the Afghan context.
The U.S. Navy requires an agile and adaptable acquisition process that can field new information technology capabilities and services in relatively short and responsive time frames. A RAND study sought to identify ways to accelerate or bypass the traditional acquisition process in response to the unique demands of information technology and cyber programs.
Every uniformed service member must complete general military training requirements prescribed by his or her service and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). DoD wants to reduce cyclic mandatory training requirements, reducing the training burden on the services and making the most of available training time. This report examines mandatory training requirements and options to standardize requirements and reduce the training burden.
Participants in the federal 8(a) Business Development Program can receive low-value procurement contracts without competitive bidding; certain firms can receive contracts of any size. Concern over these firms' advantage led Congress to require a justification and approval process for contracts over $20 million. The effect is still emerging, but it may delay large contracts more than reduce the number awarded because the underlying need remains.
Recent advances in GPS data processing have demonstrated that ground-based GPS receivers are capable of detecting ionospheric TEC perturbations caused by surface-generated Rayleigh, acoustic and gravity waves.
Since military operations began in Afghanistan and Iraq, lengthy deployments have led to concerns about the vulnerability of military marriages.
This study is the first to systematically analyze global images of the density structure of the inner plasmasphere by using data from the EUV imager on the IMAGE satellite.
RAND evaluated a terrorism risk modeling tool developed by the Transportation Security Administration and Boeing to help guide program planning for aviation security. This tool — the Risk Management Analysis Tool, or RMAT — is used by TSA to estimate the terrorism risk-reduction benefits attributable to new and existing security programs, technologies, and procedures.
Testimony presented before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on November 15, 2012.
The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) recently adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). This paper draws on prior literature on the implementation of large-scale educational reforms to frame CCSS implementation in terms of eight core tasks, each tailored to the DoDEA context. These tasks are based on a synthesis of scale-up efforts from 15 diverse, large-scale reforms.
Policymakers need to understand whether military spouses succeed at finding jobs and how veterans fare economically after they leave military service. But these groups differ from the civilian population in important ways, making comparisons difficult. Researchers must adjust comparisons to account for demographic differences across these populations to provide useful information to policymakers.
As large numbers of service members and veterans, many with serious injuries, return from Iraq and Afghanistan, it is critical to examine the effectiveness of the return-to-work resources available to help them obtain and retain gainful employment. RAND researchers examined existing policies and programs and conducted an initial review of the available literature on return-to-work resources.
Even as cultural property faces immediate peril today in conflict zones like Syria and Mali, there is anecdotal evidence that some nations are awakening to the diplomatic and foreign policy benefits that can flow from the repatriation of cultural patrimony.
A year after Qaddafi's death, the light-footprint approach adopted for Libya's postwar transition is facing its most serious test. Security, the political transition, and economic development all present challenges. But if Libya's transitional authorities and the international community handle this issue set adroitly, Libya could still emerge as a positive force for democratic stability in North Africa and a valuable partner against al-Qaeda.
RAND analysts posit that the ongoing pressure to reduce the federal budget deficit may result in further reductions in the Defense Department budget and suggest starting from a strategy basis in determining the reductions, prioritizing challenges, and identifying where to accept more risk. The report demonstrates this approach using three illustrative strategic directions.