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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.

News Release
U.S. Military Drawdown Could Affect Gains in Service Member Diversity
Planned, large-scale personnel reductions in the U.S. military could inadvertently reduce gains made in the racial and gender diversity of the force since the 1990s.
Oct 26, 2015
Report
U.S. Military Drawdown Could Affect Gains in Service Member Diversity
Planned, large-scale personnel reductions in the U.S. military could inadvertently reduce gains made in the racial and gender diversity of the force since the 1990s. Conducting adverse impact analyses prior to making drawdown decisions could allow the services to identify interventions earlier in service members' military careers.
Oct 26, 2015
Research Brief
Implications of Force Drawdowns for Demographic Diversity
The Department of Defense (DoD) has been conducting a large reduction of its military force. DoD drawdown policies that target certain groups (by experience, specialty, or aptitude) could have adverse effects on demographic diversity.
Oct 26, 2015
Report
Key Skills and Competences for Defence: Annex E
This is Annex E of the non-public final report of a study commissioned by the European Defence Agency (EDA) with the aim of defining and identifying the key skills for defence; Annex E provides the case studies investigated during the study.
Jul 30, 2015
Report
Key Skills and Competences for Defence: Annex B
This is Annex B of the non-public final report of a study commissioned by the European Defence Agency (EDA); the annex details current and prospective European equipment programmes.
Jul 30, 2015
Report
Key Skills and Competences for Defence: Annex C
This is Annex C of the non-public final report of a study commissioned by the European Defence Agency (EDA); Annex C details education courses for key skills and competences for defence,
Jul 30, 2015
Report
Key Skills and Competences for Defence: Annex D
This is Annex D of the non-public final report of a study commissioned by the European Defence Agency (EDA) with the aim of defining and identifying the key skills for defence ; Annex D provides the taxonomy of key skills and competences.
Jul 30, 2015
Report
Key Skills and Competences for Defence: Executive Summary
This is the executive summary of the non-public final report of a study commissioned by the European Defence Agency (EDA)
Jul 30, 2015
Commentary
Military Security Contractors Get PTSD, Too
Largely absent from the conversation about the use of military security contractors are the parallel issues of mental health and the deployment-related stress contractors can face.
Jun 12, 2015
Dissertation
Air Transport Pilot Supply and Demand: Current State and Effects of Recent Legislation
Provides a comprehensive Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) supply and demand model and then assesses the current and future ATP supply and demand pipeline, to include the impact on the U.S. military pilot population.
Apr 15, 2015
Report
Admissions Process at West Point Proves Effective at Predicting Student Outcomes
Given the limited information that is known about high school graduates, the application scores used by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point do a good job of predicting graduation outcomes. Some scores are also significantly associated with higher probability of officer promotion.
Mar 12, 2015
Report
Strength Testing in the Air Force: Current Processes and Suggestions for Improvements
Examines the usefulness, validity, and fairness of the Air Force's Strength Aptitude Test, with a focus on its implementation at military entrance processing stations and the process for setting strength requirements for career fields.
Dec 5, 2014
Report
Promoting Airmen with the Potential to Lead: A Study of the Air Force Master Sergeant Promotion System
Despite an evolving operational environment, the system for promoting airmen into the rank of master sergeant has not changed since it was developed more than 40 years ago. RAND researchers assessed the system and explored areas for improvement.
Nov 14, 2014
Report
Air Force-Wide Needs for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Academic Degrees
RAND researchers asked Air Force senior functional authorities which STEM degrees are and will be needed to maintain vital technical skills. The results suggest areas the Air Force should review for emerging demand.
Oct 6, 2014
Report
The Other Quiet Professionals: Lessons for Future Cyber Forces from the Evolution of Special Forces
Both special operations forces and cyber forces are small teams of highly skilled specialists, and both communities value skilled personnel above all else. What lessons can be drawn from a review of the commonalities, similarities, and differences between U.S. cyber forces and early U.S. special forces?
Oct 3, 2014
Report
Improving Demographic Diversity in the U.S. Air Force Officer Corps
To what extent does the representation of women and racial and ethnic minorities in the Air Force match the make-up of the general population? Despite the Air Force's efforts, minority groups and women are underrepresented in the active-duty line officer population, particularly among senior leaders.
May 20, 2014
Commentary
America's New Missile Gap
With the end of the Cold War, the U.S. military refocused on the non-nuclear realm. In most cases, military professionals moved seamlessly into this realm, but the land-based missileers lacked the option to shift their focus.
Feb 25, 2014
Report
The Future of the U.S. Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Force
Assesses alternatives for a next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) across a broad set of potential characteristics and situations and weighs them against the costs of those alternatives.
Feb 4, 2014
Report
A Methodology for Determining Air Force Education Requirements Board (AFERB) Advanced Academic Degree (AAD) Requirements
Failing to predict the number of Air Force billet vacancies that will require an advanced academic degree can be difficult, and can lead to shortfalls or an oversupplies of officers with specific degrees and academic specialties.
Jan 3, 2014
News Release
New Modeling Tool Will Help Military Improve Retention and Manage Its Compensation System
A new modeling tool will allow the U.S. military to understand the workforce effects of permanent compensation and other workforce policies during a transition period, as well the effects of temporary policies such as pay freezes and furloughs.
Aug 26, 2013

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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 RAND and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Her research focuses on the knowledge, skills, and abilities required in the workplace and identifying how best to select, train, and educate personnel to…

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