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Major Combat Operations

Report
Organizing and Training Airfield Operations Capabilities for Emerging Expeditionary Operations: Potential Courses of Action
The authors identify ways to enable the airfield operations (AO) career fields to respond to the needs created by the Dynamic Force Employment concept and the USAF implementation of Agile Combat Employment.
Mar 16, 2023
Report
Russian Military Strategy: Organizing Operations for the Initial Period of War
The authors of this report identify and examine several factors to assess the orientation of Russian military strategy, including the balance of power, Russian diplomacy with China, views on future war, and trends in force readiness and mobilization.
Nov 22, 2022
Report
Enhancing the Mission Command Training of Army Functional and Multifunctional Brigade Headquarters for Large-Scale Combat Operations
The authors examine the effectiveness of mission command training conducted by different types of functional and multifunctional brigade headquarters in preparation for large-scale combat operations.
Apr 26, 2022
Commentary
The Will to Fight in the Age of Social Media
Social media messaging has played a decisive role in strengthening Ukraine's will to fight—arguably the single most important factor in war—against Russia.
Mar 22, 2022
Commentary
Russia's Problems with Military Professionalization
Even if Russia manages to take control of the territory of Ukraine, the Russian military's underlying problems with professionalization may handicap these occupiers in their efforts to maintain control over that country for the long-term.
Mar 21, 2022
Report
Prioritizing Security Cooperation with Highly Capable U.S. Allies: Framing Army-to-Army Partnerships
In this report, researchers present recommendations for enabling the U.S. Army to better prioritize and coordinate its security cooperation activities with its allies for coalition operations and engagements in third countries.
Mar 1, 2022
Blog
Stress Among U.S. Teachers, Russia's Global Interests, Investing in Equity: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on job-related stress among U.S. public school teachers, Russia's global interests, promoting social equity through infrastructure investments, and more.
Jun 18, 2021
Report
Could France Support a U.S.-Led War in Eastern Europe?
France has a greater range of capabilities than most other European militaries. It has remained strongly committed to NATO and bilateral defense cooperation with the United States. What capabilities might France bring to a hypothetical high-intensity conventional war against Russia?
Jun 16, 2021
Report
How Does North Korean Leadership Make Decisions?
With talks between the United States and North Korea at a standstill, U.S. policymakers must consider what the regime might do next and know what signs or decisions to look for. Will Kim open the DPRK economy? What if conventional deterrence fails on the Korean Peninsula? And what could lead to the use of nuclear weapons?
Aug 20, 2020
Report
Army Fires Capabilities for 2025 and Beyond
To assist the Army in its reorientation toward conventional combat operations, the authors of this report identify capability gaps in the field artillery and actions that the Army should consider taking from today to roughly 2030.
Dec 3, 2019
Research Brief
Why Understanding 'Will to Fight' Is Crucial
Arguably, will to fight is the most important factor in war. The best technology in the world is useless without the force of will to use it and to keep using it even as casualties mount and unexpected calamities arise. Ignoring will to fight can contribute to tactical or even strategic defeat.
Sep 13, 2019
Report
Distributed Operations in a Contested Environment: Implications for USAF Force Presentation
This report's authors identify capabilities the Air Force needs to carry out distributed operations in a contested environment. They then assess whether the current force presentation model can provide such capabilities.
Jul 17, 2019
Report
What Makes U.S. Military Interventions Successful?
An analysis of 145 U.S. military interventions identifies the factors that have made them more or less successful at achieving their political objectives. They were successful 63 percent of the time, but levels of success have declined over time as the United States has pursued more ambitious goals. Before intervening, planners should carefully match strategy with political objectives.
Apr 1, 2019
Tool
Four Problems on the Korean Peninsula
North Korean provocations and threats have created an unstable environment on the Korean Peninsula. The United States and its allies must attend to four interconnected problems. Failure to prepare will increase the chance of miscalculation and constrain options to reduce the likelihood or gravity of future conflicts.
Jan 11, 2019
Report
The Past, Present, and Future of U.S. Ground Interventions: Identifying Trends, Characteristics, and Signposts
This report uses an original data set of U.S. ground interventions to identify factors that determine where and when the United States is most likely to intervene militarily.
Oct 12, 2017
Report
Assessing Tracked and Wheeled Vehicles for Australian Mounted Close Combat Operations: Lessons Learned in Recent Conflicts, Impact of Advanced Technologies, and System-Level Implications
We assess trade-offs between tracked and wheeled combat vehicles by exploring lessons learned from conflict in various parts of the world, the implications of advanced technologies, and system-level implications of the different classes of vehicles.
Apr 5, 2017
Commentary
A Brief History of the Assault Rifle
The assault rifle is a class of weapon that emerged in the middle of the last century to meet the needs of combat soldiers on the modern battlefield, where the level of violence had reached such heights that an entirely new way of fighting had emerged.
Jun 30, 2016
Commentary
The Tension Between What the Army Is and What It Does
Cooperation and integration of the Army's three components is important, but what's most important is effectiveness in war and the key to that is trained, properly organized, and ready forces.
Mar 3, 2016
Testimony
PLA Joint Training and Implications for Future Expeditionary Capabilities
Effective joint operation capability is a centerpiece of the PLA. Joint training efforts have resulted in successes, but also have highlighted long-standing problems that military leaders recognize as obstacles to future expeditionary capabilities.
Jan 21, 2016
Commentary
Ground Combat
The U.S. Army needs to pay attention to state-sponsored irregular forces, whose numbers are growing. Such groups represent the type of adversary U.S. ground forces are likely to face.
Dec 23, 2015

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Researcher Spotlight

Abby Doll

Codirector, Center for Gaming

Abby Doll is codirector of the RAND Center for Gaming and a policy analyst at the RAND Corporation, where she focuses on military capabilities assessment and military strategy. In particular, she focuses on competition, multi-domain operations, and logistics and deployment challenges for future…
Karl P. Mueller

Senior Political Scientist

Karl P. Mueller is a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. He specializes in research related to military and national security strategy, particularly coercion, deterrence, and escalation.

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