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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.

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
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

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Report
Reforming Military Health Care Costs: Issues for Future Research
The authors of this report describe emerging topics related to military health care costs and policy to provide policymakers and researchers with future research to pursue.
Mar 13, 2023
Report
Russia's Asymmetric Response to 21st Century Strategic Competition: Robotization of the Armed Forces
The authors explore Russian views on the military applications of robotics and artificial intelligence and how they differ from the United States' views on the matter. They assess whether Moscow has delivered -- or can deliver -- its robotization vision.
Mar 13, 2023
Commentary
Reducing Racial Disparities in VA Disability Compensation Decisions
Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough recently announced formation of an equity team to examine and address racial differences in disability compensation grant rates. This is encouraging progress, particularly after years of reluctance on the part of the department to acknowledge there might be a problem.
Mar 13, 2023
Commentary
Is Australia's Defense Strategy Based on a Mistaken Assumption?
The concept of “impactful projection” has become a topic of heightened interest in the Australian strategic discourse, as pundits wait on further information from the Defense Strategic Review. But is the concept underpinned by a fundamentally mistaken assumption?
Mar 10, 2023
Blog
U.S. Cooperation with China and Russia, Artificial Intelligence, War in Ukraine: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on U.S. security cooperation with China and Russia, artificial intelligence, consequences of Russia's war in Ukraine, and more.
Mar 10, 2023
Report
Unraveling Entanglement: Policy Implications of Using Non-Dedicated Systems for Nuclear Command and Control
Recent arguments have emphasized the increased risk of inadvertent escalation from integrating and comingling conventional and nuclear command and control (NC2) systems. In this report, the authors argue that these concerns are overstated. However, they also point out that certain risks associated with using non-dedicated systems for NC2 warrant more-focused attention.
Mar 9, 2023
Report
Proxy Warfare in Strategic Competition: State Motivations and Future Trends
The authors used quantitative analysis and case studies of China, Iran, and Russia to examine the causes and likely future trends in proxy wars: civil wars in which at least one local warring party receives material support from an external state.
Mar 9, 2023
Report
Proxy Warfare in Strategic Competition: Overarching Findings and Recommendations
This report synthesizes the findings and recommendations from two companion reports on intrastate proxy wars: civil wars in which at least one local warring party receives material support from an external state.
Mar 9, 2023
Report
Proxy Warfare in Strategic Competition: Military Implications
The authors examine the military implications of intrastate proxy wars (civil wars in which at least one local warring party receives material support from an external state) via a literature review and four case studies.
Mar 9, 2023
Commentary
What Will Putin Do Next?
Vladimir Putin faces no elections, no party or state institutions that threaten his rule, no domestic political opposition. He is not moved by humanitarian crises or overly concerned about international condemnation. The longer the war drags on, the more risks Putin might be willing to take to meet his objectives. What might he do next?
Mar 9, 2023
Report
Interventions for People Who Have Attempted Suicide and Their Family Members: A Systematic Review
A history of having attempted suicide is an important risk factor for suicide. In this report, the authors review the uptake, retention, and effectiveness of suicide aftercare interventions after an attempt.
Mar 8, 2023
Report
A Needs Assessment of Women Veterans in Western Pennsylvania: Final Report to Adagio Health
To identify opportunities to expand and enhance Adagio Health's efforts to support women veterans' health and wellness, the authors quantitatively and qualitatively assessed the needs of women veterans in the Adagio Health service area.
Mar 8, 2023
Research Brief
Opportunities to Improve Support for Western Pennsylvania’s Women Veterans
Despite their growing numbers, women who have served in the U.S. military continue to encounter challenges accessing the services and support they need. What national and local programs, services, and supports for veterans are available to meet those needs?
Mar 8, 2023
Commentary
Consequences of the War in Ukraine: The End and Beyond
We don't know yet know how the war in Ukraine may end. Despite heavy casualties, neither side is visibly falling apart or appears ready to back down. While no scenario can be excluded, the unequal strategic situation pushes future war scenarios toward variations of a stalemate.
Mar 8, 2023
Report
Understanding, Managing, and Reporting U.S. Space Force Readiness
As a branch of the U.S. military, the U.S. Space Force (USSF) must understand, manage, and report its readiness. The authors of this report have created a readiness framework for the USSF and instructions on how to implement it.
Mar 7, 2023
Report
Strengthening the Defense Innovation Ecosystem
The Department of Defense can more effectively harness commercially developed technologies through policies that incentivize and improve coordination and collaboration between defense innovation organizations and traditional acquisition stakeholders.
Mar 7, 2023
Report
The Impact of Army JROTC Participation on School and Career Outcomes
To understand the relationship between participating in the U.S. Army Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (AJROTC) program and longer-term outcomes, the authors analyzed longitudinal student data and Army service member records.
Mar 7, 2023
Research Brief
Fostering Innovation in Military Technology: Strengthening DoD's Commercial Technology Pipeline
RAND researchers examined how well the Department of Defense is identifying, developing, and transitioning innovative commercial technologies from the private sector to the military and how the defense ecosystem can better support this process.
Mar 7, 2023
Commentary
Consequences of the War in Ukraine: The Economic Fallout
Before Russia invaded Ukraine, projections estimated global economic growth in 2022 would be around 5 percent. But the war in Ukraine contributed to slowed economic growth in 2022 and a slowed recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. What are the broader consequences for the global economy?
Mar 7, 2023
Commentary
Ukraine Should Not Close Off Routes to the Negotiating Table
Ukraine and Russia will probably eventually return to the table—perhaps not this month or even this year—and therefore it is important to debate ideas for how to get there, not to dismiss them.
Mar 7, 2023

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Researcher Spotlight

Katherine Anania

Technical Analyst

Kate Nixon Anania is a technical analyst at RAND, and has multidisciplinary experience with the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Homeland Security, and in the environmental field. Anania has worked on a range of projects that include building cost and renewable resource models for the…
Matthew Sargent

Codirector, RAND Center for Applied Network Analysis

Matthew Sargent is a management scientist at RAND, codirector of the Center for Applied Network Analysis, and a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, where he teaches the core course in social network analysis. His research spans a variety of subject areas, often focusing on command and…

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