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Military Career Field Management

Effective military leaders help nations meet their strategic goals, and the retention of these leaders is essential to preserving morale and unit readiness. RAND has conducted extensive research on training and career development programs that are designed to attract and retain personnel with the most promising mix of knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience.

News Release

News Release

New Space Force Will Need Resources, Clear Definition of Warfighting Mission

To meet the goals of the U.S. Space Force most space activities in the Department of Defense should be moved into the new service. Moreover, it will be critical that the Space Force clearly define and clarify its space warfighting mission.

Mar 13, 2020
Report

A Separate Space: Creating a Military Service for Space

As the United States creates the Space Force as a service within the Department of the Air Force, RAND assessed which units to bring into the Space Force, analyzed career field sustainability and drew lessons from other defense organizations.

Mar 13, 2020
Research Brief

How to Build an Effective, Efficient, and Independent Space Force

To increase its likelihood of developing into a successful organization, the new U.S. Space Force should define and clarify its space warfighting missions. And most space activities in the Department of Defense should be moved into the new service.

Mar 13, 2020
Report

Report

Army Expeditionary Civilian Demand: Forecasting Future Requirements for Civilian Deployments

As the largest provider of government civilians to support U.S. military operations, the Army stands to benefit to a great extent from a more robust process for forecasting future demand for its civilian workforce.

Oct 24, 2019
Report

Report

Projecting Air Force Rated Officer Inventory Across the Total Force: Total Force Blue Line Model for Rated Officer Management

Managing the flow of Air Force rated officers has become more challenging. In this report, the authors document their efforts to develop a long-term career field planning model for all rated officers across the Total Force.

Sep 4, 2019
Report

Balancing Quality of Life with Mission Requirements: An Analysis of Personnel Tempo on U.S. Coast Guard Major Cutters

The authors analyze how U.S. Coast Guard servicemembers serving on major cutters respond to various levels of personnel tempo, as well as the effects of working conditions on these responses.

Jul 29, 2019
Report

Report

Attracting, Recruiting, and Retaining Successful Cyberspace Operations Officers: Cyber Workforce Interview Findings

Recruiting and retaining military cyberspace officers is critical to national security. Through interviews, the authors examine potential drivers of retention and recruiting among cyberspace operations officers, making recommendations for the future.

Jul 26, 2019
Report

Report

Independent Review and Assessment of the Air Force Ready Aircrew Program: A Description of the Model Used for Sensitivity Analysis

This report outlines a computational model to measure whether flying units can feasibly meet U.S. Air Force continuation training requirements, presents the model's specifications, and describes how it was used to assess the Ready Aircrew Program.

Jul 15, 2019
Testimony

Fostering Skills and Creating New Pipelines for Military Service

The latest National Defense Authorization Act provides seven new authorities enabling the services to access, retain, and promote competitive officers. What are some considerations for using them to address compensation, performance data collection, and the civil-military divide?

May 16, 2019
Report

Officer Career Management: Steps Toward Modernization in the 2018 and 2019 National Defense Authorization Acts

In this report, the authors summarize departmental views on the military officer career management policies examined in the two reports required by the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act and provide data to inform potential policy changes.

Mar 25, 2019
Report

Life as an Army Private: Six Soldiers Tell Their Stories

In their own words, six junior soldiers describe why they joined the U.S. Army, their joys and frustrations, and what they hope the future brings. These stories offer lessons for policymakers, Army leaders and recruiters, and anyone considering a career in the Army.

Mar 6, 2019
Report

Report

Organizational Dynamics Between the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Manpower and Reserve Affairs (SAF/MR) and the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel, and Services (AF/A1)

This Perspective offers recommendations on how the relationship between the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Manpower and Reserve Affairs and the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel, and Services might be further refined.

Jan 4, 2019
Essay

An Inside Look at Life in the Army's Junior Ranks

History records the names of generals, not of the privates filling out supply forms, cleaning out trucks, or huffing through another training exercise. But those privates keep the U.S. Army running. RAND research provides their unfiltered take on life in the ranks.

Oct 31, 2018
Report

Report

Career Paths in the Army Civilian Workforce: Identifying Common Patterns Based on Statistical Clustering

This report examines what the career of a "typical" Army civilian looks like. It identifies seven common career patterns among individuals who entered the Army civilian workforce between 1981 and 2000 as General Schedule employees.

Oct 31, 2018
Report

Report

Realigning the Stars: A Methodology for Reviewing Active Component General and Flag Officer Requirements

The authors developed and employed a methodology to review general and flag officer requirements in the U.S. military, used results to identify opportunities to eliminate or downgrade positions, and explored the implications of reductions.

Oct 22, 2018
Report

How Do Senior Enlisted Leaders Influence Junior Soldiers?

The primary mission of U.S. Army noncommissioned officers is to lead and mentor soldiers. But research has placed little emphasis on how to value their experience. Knowing how NCOs influence soldiers can help the Army maintain or improve leadership quality and soldier performance and reduce personnel costs.

Oct 4, 2018
Report

Report

Evaluating the Impact of a Total Force Service Commitment Policy on Air Force Pilot Manning: An Exploratory Application of Inventory Modeling

The authors examine whether a Total Force (rather than component-specific) service commitment with increased service commitment lengths could reduce or eliminate projected pilot shortages in the Air Force.

Sep 18, 2018
Report

Report

Supplemental Career Paths for Air Force Pilots: A Warrant Officer Component or an Aviation Technical Track?

This report documents analyses of two ways to supplement the traditional Air Force pilot career path to enhance force sustainment: a warrant officer component to fill pilot requirements or an aviation technical track for commissioned officers.

Aug 14, 2018
Report

Evaluation of the Strength Aptitude Test and Other Fitness Tests to Qualify Air Force Recruits for Physically Demanding Specialties

This report evaluates the Strength Aptitude Test and related fitness tests to identify strategies for ensuring airmen can meet job-related physical requirements.

Aug 10, 2018
Commentary

To Produce Strategists, Focus on Staffing Senior Leaders

To reinvigorate graduate-level professional military education, the military could carve out a unique educational niche by focusing on intense, quality staff officer education that is more relevant to understanding the demands placed on top defense leaders.

Jul 20, 2018

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