Military Affairs

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Military affairs comprise a range of topics from military personnel and veterans to equipment and facilities—as well as the methods, doctrines, organizational concepts, and technologies that support the military's strategic or tactical goals. RAND provides objective policy recommendations in all of these areas and more.

  • U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov in a Ukraine Defence Contact group meeting in Brussels, Belgium, June 15, 2022, photo by Yves Herman/Pool/Reuters

    Report

    Potential Pathways to Russian Escalation Against NATO

    A Russia-NATO war is far from an inevitable outcome of the current conflict in Ukraine. U.S. and allied policymakers should be concerned with specific pathways and potential triggers, but they need not operate under the assumption that every action will entail acute escalation risks.

    Jul 26, 2022

  • An armoured vehicle of the Syrian Democratic Forces is seen along a road at the frontline in Raqqa, Syria, October 8, 2017, photo by Erik De Castro/Reuters

    Report

    Pentagon Processes on Civilian Casualties Inconsistent, in Need of Reform

    The Department of Defense has committed to civilian-harm policies and processes, but inconsistencies remain. The Pentagon is not adequately organized or resourced to sufficiently assess, reduce, and respond to civilian-harm incidents. Reform will require institutional, not just operational, changes.

    Jan 27, 2022

Explore Military Affairs

  • U.S. Army soldiers leave their base to patrol the area in Zormat, Afghanistan, October 4, 2004, photo by Reuters Photographer/Reuters

    Commentary

    America's Dangerous Short War Fixation

    Americans have long been fixated on the idea of the short, decisive war. And the United States' adversaries bank on Washington's strategic impatience. If the United States' objective is to win, the only thing worse than fighting a long war may be thinking it's possible to avoid one.

    Mar 31, 2023

  • RAND Weekly Recap

    Blog

    Violence in Schools, Neurodiversity and National Security, Drug Cartels: RAND Weekly Recap

    This weekly recap focuses on preventing school violence, dealing with drug cartels, the benefits of a neurodivergent national security workforce, and more.

    Mar 31, 2023

  • U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 10th Mountain Division stand security at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, August 15, 2021, photo by Sgt. Isaiah Campbell/U.S. Marines via Reuters

    Commentary

    Why U.S. Military Interventions Fail and What to Do About It

    There will always be situations in which military intervention is the best or only option for the United States. But policymakers must also recognize that in many cases, the best response to a crisis or potential threat is to take no military action at all and rely instead on diplomacy or sanctions—or simply learn to live with an elevated threat.

    Mar 30, 2023

  • Report

    Report

    Emerging Options for Field-Grade Officer Promotions in the U.S. Air Force

    The Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act established an alternative framework for promotion policies for military officers. The authors examine whether shifting to this framework would be beneficial and how it would be implemented.

    Mar 29, 2023

  • One person on an Army uniform and one in plain clothes hold papers while standing in front of a table at a job fair. Other people in a mix of Army uniforms and plain clothes are also attending the job fair in the background.

    Report

    Veterans' Employment During Recessions

    Veterans and nonveterans have different employment support needs and are affected differently by recessions. Understanding these differences can help veterans, employers, policymakers, and veteran-serving organizations prepare for economic shocks and uncertainty.

    Mar 29, 2023

  • Journal Article

    Journal Article

    Norway's Next Long-Term Defence Plan: An Allied Perspective

    As Norway contemplates the priorities for its next Long-Term Defence Plan (LTP), it finds itself in a Europe, a NATO, and a global environment that have all changed markedly since the last iteration of the Plan was released in 2020.

    Mar 28, 2023

  • Journal Article

    Journal Article

    Reflecting on One Year of War: The Role of Non-Military Levers

    One year after Russia's illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, this article examines the role of non-military levers (e.g., diplomatic, information, economic) in the conflict so far.

    Mar 28, 2023

  • Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden walk through the colonnade of the White House in Washington, D.C., January 13, 2023, photo by Mandel Ngan/Pool/Reuters

    Commentary

    Japan's New Security Policies: A Long Road to Full Implementation

    The historic ambition contained within Japan's new defense strategies is notable. But the reality is that an extraordinary alignment of political, economic, fiscal, and other stars will be necessary for Japan's government to fully implement their stated ambitions over the next five to ten years.

    Mar 27, 2023

  • Report

    Report

    Optimizing Portfolio-Level Modernization Investment: An Overview of the Aim Point Investment Model (APIM)

    This report introduces the Aim Point Investment Model, which helps decisionmakers allocate portfolio-level resources based on existing Army data sources, subject to constraints on the U.S. Army's ability to employ those resources productively.

    Mar 27, 2023

  • Report

    Neurodiversity and National Security: How to Tackle National Security Challenges with a Wider Range of Cognitive Talents

    This report provides research and analysis for national security managers and employees who seek to better understand neurodivergence and neurodiversity and desire simple steps to achieve neurodiverse inclusivity for national security workplaces.

    Mar 27, 2023

  • Concept of neurodiversity, people's varied talents and skills associated with different brains, illustration by Iryna Spodarenko/Getty Images

    Research Brief

    Why National Security Needs Neurodiversity

    Neurodiversity, like other forms of diversity, can strengthen an organization. Members of the neurodivergent population have skills that can be beneficial in many fields of interest to national security. These include pattern recognition, problem-solving, visualization, and memory.

    Mar 27, 2023

  • RAND Weekly Recap

    Blog

    20 Years After the Iraq War, China-Russia Ties, Correctional Education: RAND Weekly Recap

    This weekly recap focuses on reflecting on the Iraq War, the pandemic and prison education, North Korea’s latest threats, and more.

    Mar 24, 2023

  • Visitors stand in front of a screen displaying Chinese President Xi Jinping next to a flag of the Communist Party at a military museum in Beijing, China, October 8, 2022, photo by Florence Lo/Reuters

    Commentary

    Why Is China Strengthening Its Military? It's Not All About War

    China's military modernization goals serve a variety of political and military purposes, none of which imply any intent to actually start a war. A grasp of the myriad drivers could help observers more accurately assess the danger posed by the PLA's modernization.

    Mar 24, 2023

  • U.S. Marines take cover from Iraqi fire as British artillery rounds explode behind them during the early stage of the push into southern Iraq, March 21, 2003, photo by Desmond Boylan/Reuters

    Commentary

    The Ripples of War Are Only Beginning to Spread. Is America Ready?

    There are now more than 1.9 million U.S. veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 50,000 were physically injured and around 15 percent have experienced PTSD. Perhaps all were exposed to burn pits and other toxins. What are the long-term impacts of the wars on those who fought them?

    Mar 23, 2023

  • A Polish Air Force MiG 29 Fulcrum fighter aircraft takes off from Malbork military airfield in Malbork, Poland, March 20, 2023, photo by IMAGO/BjÃ⁋rn Trotzki via Reuters Connect

    Commentary

    What Difference Will Polish and Slovakian Fighter Jets Make to Ukraine?

    The news that Poland and Slovakia are to deliver MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine signals a departure from the longstanding stance of the international community, which had hitherto resisted Kyiv's calls for more combat aircraft. While this donation will be welcomed in Ukraine, it could raise political and practical issues the West must address to maximize the benefits and mitigate the risks.

    Mar 23, 2023

  • A light-map of Europe with graph-like extensions rising up

    Report

    Opportunities and Risks of 5G Military Use in Europe

    The authors consider U.S. military uses of the fifth-generation technology standard for cellular communications in a notional 2030 time frame, concentrating on a future smart logistics mission in the Baltics and surrounding countries.

    Mar 23, 2023

  • Report

    Report

    Data-Enabled Approaches for Enhancing the Air Force Transformational Capability Pipeline

    To aid the Air Force Transformational Capabilities Office, the authors of the report developed a data science tool to extract information from free-text descriptions. They demonstrate the tool and foresight methods in three case studies.

    Mar 23, 2023

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd L), Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (L), and Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov (2nd R) watch the Zapad-2017 war games held by Russian and Belarussian servicemen, in the Leningrad region, Russia, September 18, 2017, photo by Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/Kremlin via Reuters

    Report

    Understanding the Russian General Staff

    The Russian General Staff is unlike any single organization in the U.S. military or government. Understanding its role and capacity to influence national security decisionmaking is important. Two case studies—Russia's 2014 war in Ukraine and 2015 intervention in Syria—observe the responsibilities and authorities of the General Staff in practice.

    Mar 22, 2023

  • A statue of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein remains in front of a destroyed communication center in Baghdad, Iraq, March 28, 2003, photo by Reuters Photographer/Reuters

    Q&A

    Twenty Years After the Iraq War, a Q&A with RAND Experts

    On the 20th anniversary of the war in Iraq, RAND experts discussed what the war means for the people of Iraq and the veterans who fought there, what lessons the U.S. military learned (or did not learn), and what effect it has had on the balance of power in the Middle East and the global reputation of the United States.

    Mar 21, 2023

  • An Air Force pararescue jump expert loads a simulated injured survivor into Kitty Hawk’s Heaviside vehicle at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, May, 2021, photo courtesy of Kitty Hawk

    Commentary

    Venture Capital Gives America a Strategic Edge in the Age of Technology Wars

    U.S. early-stage hardware startups are seriously disadvantaged by a persistent lack of financing. Congress authorized the U.S. Department of Defense to spend $75 million to invest in dual-use hardware startups. But the Pentagon has proven reticent to embrace a venture capital–style approach, even though research has demonstrated it is optimal for driving innovation.

    Mar 20, 2023

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