Military Force Deployment

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The successful deployment of a military force involves the movement of troops and materiel in response to a regional threat and the ability to sustain this force until the military objective is achieved. RAND has extensive experience evaluating and providing supportable recommendations to military decisionmakers to ensure rapid and sustainable deployments to counter regional threats.

  • Iraqi army force are seen in frontline to fight against Islamic State (IS) militants in Khrbadan village in the city of Qayyarah, 55 km south of Mosul, Iraq, on April 9, 2016, photo by Yaser Jawad/Xinhua/Alamy Live News

    Report

    Iraqi Army Will to Fight

    In summer 2014, the Iraqi Army imploded, breaking and scattering in the face of attacks from Islamic State fighters. How can U.S. advisors help strengthen Iraqi Army will to fight and overall combat effectiveness?

    Jan 11, 2022

  • At sea aboard USS Hue City, view of the guided missile cruiser USS Vicksburg and the guided missile destroyers USS Roosevelt, USS Carney, and USS The Sullivans during an exercise, December 2003, photo by U.S. Navy

    Report

    What Would a Strategy of Restraint Mean for U.S. Security Policy?

    If the United States adopted a grand strategy of restraint in the Asia-Pacific, how would its posture in the region change and how would it determine when to use force? What warfighting scenarios involving the defense of Japan could guide defense planning?

    Mar 31, 2022

Explore Military Force Deployment

  • A master resiliency trainer for the 374th Airlift Wing talks to Airmen about resiliency at the First Term Airmen Center.

    Report

    An Evaluation of the Implementation and Perceived Utility of the Airman Resilience Training Program

    RAND researchers assessed Airman Resilience Training, a psychoeducational Air Force program designed to improve airmen's reactions to stress during and after deployment and to increase the use of mental health services when needed.

    May 19, 2014

  • Infographic

    Infographic

    After Nearly a Decade of War, Servicemembers and Families Report Stress, Resilience

    The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have put America's all-volunteer force to its most severe test since its inception in 1973. Explore this infographic to learn more about how the troops and their families are faring.

    May 15, 2014

  • Report

    Report

    The Deployment Life Study: Methodological Overview and Baseline Sample Description

    The report provides a deeper understanding of military family readiness, describing the measures used in the baseline assessment, data-collection design and procedures, sampling and recruiting procedures, and the baseline sample of military families.

    Apr 28, 2014

  • Soldiers practice decontaminating themselves during training on Camp Casey, South Korea

    Commentary

    The U.S. Army Must Remain Prepared for Battle

    Converting the Army into a force suited only for homeland defense or humanitarian missions abroad, without the ability to fight sophisticated foes as part of a joint force, would result in an unprepared Army.

    Apr 18, 2014

  • Report

    Report

    Assessing Stop-Loss Policy Options Through Personnel Flow Modeling

    The Office of the Secretary of Defense identified several policy options for reducing or eliminating the use of stop-loss in the Army. This briefing documents the results of a quantitative study of these proposed alternative policies.

    Apr 7, 2014

  • Report

    Report

    Modeling, Simulation, and Operations Analysis in Afghanistan and Iraq: Operational Vignettes, Lessons Learned, and a Survey of Selected Efforts

    RAND conducted an examination of operations analysis, modeling, and simulation support to decisionmaking in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom to illustrate how these tools can support decisionmaking in irregular warfare.

    Feb 10, 2014

  • Research Brief

    Research Brief

    The Utility of Modeling and Analysis in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars

    RAND examined the utility of operations analysis, modeling, and simulation for supporting decisionmaking in counterinsurgency and irregular warfare, with the focus on Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

    Feb 10, 2014

  • Crew chiefs from the 5th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron perform checks on a B-52H Stratofortress during a recent Bomber Strategic Aircraft Regeneration Team (BSART) exercise here Jan. 28. The BSART involves more than 250 personnel who are forward deployed to an undisclosed location to set up an alternative deterrent base to service and refit aircraft for future strike missions.

    Report

    The Posture Triangle: A New Framework for U.S. Air Force Global Presence

    U.S. Air Force (USAF) global posture — its overseas forces, facilities, and arrangements with partner nations — faces a variety of fiscal, political, and military challenges. This report seeks to identify why the USAF needs a global posture, where it needs basing and access, the types of security partnerships that minimize peacetime access risk, and the amount of forward presence that the USAF requires.

    Dec 5, 2013

  • Afghan President Hamid Karzai attends the last day of the Loya Jirga, in Kabul November 24, 2013

    Commentary

    Just Ignore Karzai and Press On

    As important as a bilateral security agreement is to formalize America's long-term presence in Afghanistan. The current draft doesn't spell out the details of a U.S. military presence after 2014, including the size, composition, and strategy of U.S. forces. Those details are what matter most.

    Nov 26, 2013

  • Airmen perform warehouse location checks at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., June 25, 2013

    Solution

    Dispersing War Reserve Materiel

    Prepositioning of war reserve materiel is essential to rapid deployment of U.S. forces, but the existing centralized storage posture is not well suited to unpredictable deployments. Would dispersed storage be a better option?

    Nov 3, 2013

  • commander of JTF-Haiti asks a few Haitians about the living conditions at the internally displaced persons camp

    Report

    The U.S. Military Response to the 2010 Haiti Earthquake

    Luck, serendipity, and longtime relationships fostered success in Haiti relief efforts, though actual performance is impossible to measure because metrics and plans were not in place before the earthquake hit. U.S. Department of Defense policy on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief needs to be updated.

    Oct 29, 2013

  • Sailors aboard the USS San Jacinto pray for suicide victims during a suicide prevention and awareness event called Walk Out of Darkness

    Solution

    Addressing the Invisible Wounds of War

    Before 2007, little was known about how the availability of behavioral health services compared with the need among returning troops—or about the consequences to the nation if these needs were not met.

    Oct 10, 2013

  • Soldiers quickly walk to the ramp of the CH-47 Chinook cargo helicopter that will return them to Kandahar Army Air Field.

    Report

    Improving Readiness Reporting for an Adaptive Army

    The Army has developed an impressive capacity to adapt to emerging requirements by providing units with new capabilities rapidly and flexibly. While the readiness reporting system still works as originally intended, however, the current readiness reporting system captures only a portion of the adaptations readily seen in recent years.

    Oct 10, 2013

  • IEA

    Report

    Developing and Assessing Options for the Global SOF Network

    U.S. Special Operations Command's Global SOF Network vision calls for a distributed overseas posture for Special Operations Forces (SOF) as part of a new approach to respond to and deter threats. RAND researchers developed implementation options by creating and applying an analytically rigorous methodology.

    Sep 27, 2013

  • military woman and man in uniforms

    News Release

    Lengthy Military Deployments Increase Divorce Risk for U.S. Enlisted Service Members

    The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been hard on military marriages, with the risk of divorce rising directly in relation to the length of time enlisted service members have been deployed to combat zones. The negative effects of deployment were largest among female military members.

    Sep 3, 2013

  • U.S. helicopter squadron in the Persian Gulf launches an MK-105 Mod 4 Sled

    Commentary

    By Land and by Sea

    There are good reasons for the United States to rethink how it counterbalances Iran, reassures local allies, and projects power with fewer resources. However, tying down large numbers of fighter aircraft in the Gulf is likely only to exacerbate old problems and create new ones.

    Jul 22, 2013

  • Paratroopers exit a C-130 aircraft at Al Asad Airbase, Iraq, as part of an airborne training exercise

    Solution

    Measuring Troop Deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan

    How

    Jul 10, 2013

  • Research Brief

    Research Brief

    Do U.S. Military Interventions Occur in Clusters?

    This research challenges the assumption that the timing of deployments and their distribution over time are serially independent, arguing that military interventions occur in temporal clusters driven by the number of interventions in the recent past.

    Jun 25, 2013

  • Report

    Report

    Crisis Stability and Long-Range Strike: A Comparative Analysis of Fighters, Bombers, and Missiles

    In an international crisis, the United States must balance its threats with restraint while limiting its vulnerability. A RAND study sought to identify which long-range strike assets offer capabilities most conducive to stabilizing such crises.

    Jun 19, 2013

  • Report

    Report

    The Army's Role in Overcoming Anti-Access and Area Denial Challenges

    The U.S. armed forces must be prepared to confront a wide range of anti-access and area denial challenges in future operations. This report makes the case for and proposes a joint response to the most serious of these threats posed by adversaries.

    Jun 17, 2013

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