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Military Professions

For decades, RAND has conducted extensive research to help U.S. and allied decisionmakers design training and career development programs that will attract and retain military professionals capable of meeting a nation's national security and defense goals.

Dissertation
I Hear What You Are Saying: Analysis of USAF Rated Officer Comments from the 2015 Military Career Decisions Survey
Using data from the USAF 2015 Active Duty Career Decisions Survey, this dissertation employs a range of qualitative data analysis techniques to examine the open-ended response questions related to a pilot's decision to remain or depart the service.
Nov 20, 2017
Report
Review of Army Total Force Policy Implementation
This report reviews the implementation of the Army's Total Force Policy. The Army has made progress in integrating the Regular Army, Army National Guard, and U.S. Army Reserve, but budget constraints have limited implementation.
Oct 24, 2017
Report
Air Force Officer Management Flexibilities: Modeling Potential Policies
This report assesses the effect that proposed military human resource management flexibilities could have on Air Force officer accessions, promotions, separations, and other force management outcomes.
Oct 11, 2017
Research Brief
Air Force Senior Leader Representation in the Joint Community
Airmen are underrepresented in senior joint positions critical to shaping U.S. national security strategy and warfighting capability. Increasing competitiveness for senior joint positions may entail risks and will require cultural transformation.
Oct 3, 2017
Report
Rare Birds: Understanding and Addressing Air Force Underrepresentation in Senior Joint Positions in the Post–Goldwater-Nichols Era
To help the Air Force increase representation in the most-senior joint positions, this report quantifies Air Force representation in those positions and recommends how the Air Force might control factors shaping joint leader selection.
Oct 3, 2017
Report
Human Capital Needs for the Department of Defense Operational Contract Support Planning and Integration Workforce
This comprehensive review of the U.S. Department of Defense operational contract support (OCS) planning and integration workforce identifies gaps between doctrine and practice, recommending several options to address these shortfalls.
Oct 2, 2017
Report
How the Army Can Retain Its Cyber Expertise
Projected earnings for information security analysts with characteristics similar to those of enlisted soldiers are comparable with military pay. But retention efforts may be hampered by soldiers' perceptions of civilian opportunities.
Sep 18, 2017
Report
Assessing Competencies and Proficiency of Army Intelligence Analysts Across the Career Life Cycle
This report describes the development and implementation of a process to assess key analytic competencies and proficiency of the U.S. Army's analysts in the 35F military occupational specialty and the design of a protocol for ongoing evaluation.
Jul 27, 2017
Report
Air Force Institutional Requirements: Opportunities for Improving the Efficiency of Sourcing, Managing, and Manning Corporate Requirements
This report documents how the Air Force could reduce the impact of institutional requirements on manpower in traditional career fields while ensuring that the organizations that depend on them are staffed with the qualified personnel they need.
Jul 10, 2017
Report
Using RAND's Military Career Model to Evaluate the Impact of Institutional Requirements on the Air Force Space Officer Career Field
This report models the impact of changes to Air Force institutional requirements (IRs) on the space officer career field. It examines how IRs affect the ability to fill core requirements, operational development, career experience, and career paths.
Jul 10, 2017
Report
Cyber Power Potential of the Army's Reserve Component
Describes the availability of personnel with cyber skills in the private sector and the number of Army reserve component soldiers available to support the Army's cyber mission needs.
Jun 15, 2017
Report
Are Battlefield Airmen Fit for Duty?
Military occupations can be physically demanding, yet few attempts have been made to determine the physical readiness of today's airmen to perform their jobs. A methodology for establishing physical fitness standards for four Air Force occupational specialties can help the Air Force measure the physical readiness of airmen.
May 9, 2017
Report
Stress and Dissatisfaction in the Air Force's Remotely Piloted Aircraft Community
The demand for the Air Force's remotely piloted aircraft has spiked in the past few years. Crews feel stressed due to heavy workloads, understaffing, and other factors. What can the Air Force do to mitigate these stressors?
Apr 27, 2017
Tool
User's Guide for the Total Force Blue-Line (TFBL) Model
This user's guide contains detailed instructions for running the Total Force Blue-Line model, including steps to follow, the inputs to use, how the inputs can be generated, and a list of steps for generating red-line/blue-line charts.
Apr 21, 2017
Report
Enhancing Professionalism in the U.S. Air Force
This report considers the U.S. Air Force definition of professionalism as a starting point to address the question: What can the Air Force do to increase the professionalism of its personnel?
Apr 14, 2017
Report
The Role of Special and Incentive Pays in Retaining Military Mental Health Care Providers
Describes a methodology, based on RAND's dynamic retention model, for assessing how alternative special and incentive pay adjustments affect the retention of mental health care officers.
Mar 9, 2017
Report
Helping Soldiers Use Army Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities in Civilian Jobs
Some veterans struggle to find jobs after they leave the Army. To help, the Army could share a broader range of higher-quality military-civilian job matches with both veterans and employers.
Jan 23, 2017
Research Brief
Improving Employment Prospects for Soldiers Leaving the Regular Army
Discusses the results of a new approach to develop an improved crosswalk between Army military occupational specialties (MOSs) and civilian occupations, highlighting ten of the Army's most populous combat and noncombat MOSs.
Jan 23, 2017
Research Brief
Reserve Component General and Flag Officer Requirements
RAND researchers assessed whether the system, management, and number of reserve component general and flag officers were appropriate.
Oct 14, 2016
Report
Promotion Benchmarks for Senior Officers with Joint and Acquisition Service
This report examines ways to improve reporting on promotion objectives for officers who have served on the Joint Staff or in the Office of the Secretary of Defense staff or are joint-qualified officers or Acquisition Corps members.
Sep 14, 2016

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Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Henry A. Leonard

Senior International/Defense Researcher

Henry "Chip" Leonard is a senior international/defense researcher at the RAND Corporation who served for more than 27 years as an Army officer; half of that time was with tactical units, including seven years of direct command experience. In addition, he served in key operational staff positions…
Chaitra M. Hardison

Senior Behavioral Scientist

Chaitra M. Hardison (she/her) is a senior behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation and a member of the Pardee RAND Graduate School faculty. Her research focuses on the knowledge, skills, and abilities required in the workplace and identifying how best to select, train, and educate personnel…

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