Thinking About America's Defense

An Analytical Memoir

Glenn A. Kent, David A. Ochmanek, Michael Spirtas, Bruce R. Pirnie

ResearchPublished Sep 29, 2008

Cover: Thinking About America's Defense
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Lieutenant General Glenn A. Kent was a uniquely acute analyst and developer of American defense policy in the second half of the twentieth century. His 33-year career in the Air Force was followed by more than 20 years as one of the leading analysts at RAND. This volume is not a memoir in the normal sense but rather a summary of the dozens of national security issues in which Glenn was personally engaged over the course of his career. These issues included creating the single integrated operational plan (SIOP), leading DoD's official assessment of strategic defenses in the 1960s, developing and analyzing strategic nuclear arms control agreements, helping to bring new weapon systems to life, and many others. Each vignette describes the analytical frameworks and, where appropriate, the mathematical formulas and charts that Glenn developed and applied to gain insights into the issue at hand. The author also relates his roles in much of the bureaucratic pulling and hauling that occurred as issues were addressed within the government.

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  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 2008
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 282
  • Paperback Price: $34.50
  • Paperback ISBN/EAN: 978-0-8330-4452-5
  • Document Number: OP-223-AF

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RAND Style Manual
Kent, Glenn A., David A. Ochmanek, Michael Spirtas, and Bruce R. Pirnie, Thinking About America's Defense: An Analytical Memoir, RAND Corporation, OP-223-AF, 2008. As of September 23, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/OP223.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Kent, Glenn A., David A. Ochmanek, Michael Spirtas, and Bruce R. Pirnie, Thinking About America's Defense: An Analytical Memoir. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2008. https://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/OP223.html. Also available in print form.
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This publication was sponsored by the United States Air Force and conducted by RAND Project AIR FORCE.

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