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Military Logistics

Logistics—the transfer of personnel and materiel from one location to another, as well as the maintenance of that materiel—is essential for a military to be able to support an ongoing deployment or respond effectively to emergent threats. RAND has long provided guidance and effective solutions to military supply and logistics decisionmakers, resulting in significant savings, improved readiness and combat support, and unit flexibility.

Report

Frequent Moves Affect Military Family Stability

About one-third of military service members experience a permanent change of station every year. Sometimes the moves have a positive effect, such as moving to a more desirable location, but they can also disrupt family stability. The DoD offers programs, policies, and services to address the disruptions.

Oct 18, 2018
Report

Report

Naval Operational Supply System: Analysis of Alternatives

The Department of the Navy asked the RAND Corporation to assist with the Analysis of Alternatives for modernization of its future operational supply, food service, and retail operations capability, the Naval Operational Supply System.

Oct 11, 2018
Commentary

Does Japan Need an Aircraft Carrier?

Japan has not possessed an aircraft carrier in more than 70 years. But that may soon change as the Japanese government is debating retrofitting a class of destroyers to turn them into aircraft carriers. Considering both operational needs and resources limitations, does an aircraft carrier for Japan make sense?

Oct 5, 2018
Report

Report

An Approach to Life-Cycle Management of Shipboard Equipment

The authors analyze trends in the life-cycle management of common shipboard equipment on U.S. Navy surface ships and recommend steps to improve the readiness of this equipment, increase its efficiency, and reduce sustainment costs.

Oct 1, 2018
Report

Report

Expanding Operating and Support Cost Analysis for Major Programs During the DoD Acquisition Process: Legal Requirements, Current Practices, and Recommendations

The Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation is required to perform a broad set of cost analysis duties related to major defense acquisition programs but does not always have the resources to fulfill its duties.

Sep 17, 2018
Commentary

Lives on the Line: The A2AD Challenge to Combat Casualty Care

Countries such as Russia and China continue to develop and expand the ability to integrate long-range strike, anti-ship, anti-air, space and cyber abilities. Provision of medical support could be a worthy priority for NATO planners when considering deterrence of and defense against near-peer or peer adversaries.

Jul 31, 2018
Commentary

Military Mobility Returns to the Forefront in Europe

The importance of military mobility has returned only recently to the international high-level agenda, specifically NATO and the European Union. The EU is expected to tackle the issue of military mobility during a European Council meeting in late June, and NATO will convene a summit in July.

Jun 25, 2018
Report

Report

Enhancing Air Force Materiel Command Support to the Warfighter

This analysis recommends ways the Air Force Materiel Command and its centers, specifically the Air Force Sustainment Center (AFSC) and the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center (AFIMSC), can adapt and improve support to the warfighter.

Jun 7, 2018
Report

Report

Force Presentation in U.S. Air Force History and Airpower Narratives

USAF leaders are concerned that their force presentation construct is lacking. This report presents historical analysis and recommendations to inform USAF deliberations regarding future force presentation constructs.

May 7, 2018
Commentary

Toward One Understanding of Multiple Domains

The U.S. defense community can and should do what it can to get the most benefit from operating across domains. It just needs to remember to proceed carefully to discern between actual benefits and falsehoods that may do more harm than good.

May 2, 2018
Report

Report

Increasing Cost-Effective Readiness for the U.S. Air Force by Reducing Supply Chain Variance: Technical Analysis of Flying Hour Program Variance

Seeking to reduce the $4 billion that it spends annually on spare parts, the Air Force asked RAND researchers to identify the causes and gauge the effects of flying hour variance (the difference between predicted and actual numbers of flying hours).

Apr 10, 2018
Report

Report

Addressing Ballistic Glass Delamination in the Marine Corps Tactical Vehicle Fleet: Implications for Resourcing and Readiness

Delamination of ballistic glass impairs driver visibility and affects the readiness of Marine Corps tactical vehicles. To address this issue, RAND researchers estimate costs and vehicle availability under various repair and replacement scenarios.

Feb 27, 2018
Commentary

Why Military Mobility Should Be at the Top of NATO's Agenda

Improving military mobility in Europe has recently gathered momentum. But due to the complexity of the issue, it remains to be seen what specific progress will be made by the NATO summit in July. The same goes for how new EU initiatives will complement NATO requirements.

Feb 26, 2018
Report

Army Installation Rail Operations: Implications of Increased Outsourcing

In this report, we evaluate the three business models that the Army relies on for its on-post rail operations and determine whether greater reliance on commercial rail assets could meet Army rail needs at a lower cost.

Jan 8, 2018
Report

Report

Robust and Resilient Logistics Operations in a Degraded Information Environment

The U.S. Air Force asked RAND Project AIR FORCE to examine how tactics, techniques, and procedures should change to improve an airman's ability to detect, evaluate, and mitigate significant corruption of logistics data.

Nov 22, 2017
Report

Report

A Strategic Assessment of the Future of U.S. Navy Ship Maintenance: Challenges and Opportunities

This report assesses possible supply and demand capabilities in the ship maintenance workload for the U.S. Navy and notes long-term challenges facing mitigation efforts.

Sep 18, 2017
Report

Report

Conflict Trends and Conflict Drivers: An Empirical Assessment of Historical Conflict Patterns and Future Conflict Projections

Based on conflict projections through 2040, this report concludes that despite the generally declining incidence of armed conflict, the Army must prepare for conventional wars against other states as well as irregular warfare against nonstate actors.

Sep 12, 2017
Report

Report

Understanding Conflict Trends: A Review of the Social Science Literature on the Causes of Conflict

This report explores, through an extensive literature review, whether the extreme rarity of interstate war and reduced incidence of intrastate war represent permanent shifts in world politics or are a temporary aberration.

Sep 12, 2017
Report

Report

Army Stock Positioning: How Can Distribution Performance Be Improved?

This report analyzes how the U.S. Army can improve its distribution of heavy secondary items that account for a small proportion of the overall number of items the Army must ship to users but comprise a large proportion of the weight it ships.

Aug 14, 2017
Report

Report

Program Characteristics That Contribute to Cost Growth: A Comparison of Air Force Major Defense Acquisition Programs

This report evaluates four recent Air Force Major Defense Acquisition Programs with low cost growth and compares and contrasts their key characteristics to the six programs evaluated with extreme cost growth from a companion RAND Corporation report.

Jun 30, 2017

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RAND Topic:
Military Logistics

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