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National Security Organizations

Commentary

Pandemics and the U.S. Military: Lessons from 1918

Military leaders today face a more benign security environment than their predecessors did during the 1918 Spanish flu. The U.S. military is engaged in operations abroad, but it's not fighting a great-power war. The Pentagon has every reason to focus on stemming the COVID-19 pandemic even if it has to absorb some downgrade in readiness.

Apr 1, 2020
Commentary

Force Planning in the New Era of Strategic Competition

If the United States means to take a return to strategic competition seriously, force planning must evolve beyond the post–Cold War approach of designing forces and capabilities. A new framework would enable users to test their intuition and identify areas of advantage while avoiding the risk of persisting in competitions that would impose onerous costs on the United States.

Mar 28, 2020
Commentary

Indications of Institutional Inertia: The FY2021 USMC Budget

There is a precipice at Camp Pendleton that looms large in the minds of Marines. The Grim Reaper is a 700 foot tall series of hills that recruits must summit to graduate from boot camp. As the Marine Corps attempts to transform itself from a second land army and counterinsurgency force to operate within contested maritime spaces, the recently released FY2021 budget request suggests that it will need to climb its own Grim Reaper to get there.

Mar 26, 2020
Report

Report

Optimizing the Contributions of Air Force Civilian STEM Workforce

RAND researchers reviewed existing academic and professional literature to gain insights into how organizations such as the Air Force should manage, support, and organize their civilian STEM workforce to best leverage talent and maximize performance.

Mar 23, 2020
Report

Report

U.S. Coast Guard Emergency Response and Disaster Operations: Using Social Media for Situational Awareness

Researchers are helping the U.S. Department of Homeland Security understand whether and how social media might be better leveraged for situational awareness in U.S. Coast Guard response operations.

Mar 17, 2020
Research Brief

How the U.S. Coast Guard Can Leverage Social Media and Enhanced Cell Phone Data to Improve Emergency Response

Researchers are helping the U.S. Department of Homeland Security understand how social media might be better leveraged for situational awareness—particularly location information—in U.S. Coast Guard response operations.

Mar 17, 2020
Blog

COVID-19, Out-of-Network Hospital Payments, Russia's Economy: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on COVID-19, limiting out-of-network hospital payments, Russia's sluggish economy, RAND's largest-ever fundraising campaign, and more.

Mar 13, 2020
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
News Release

News Release

RAND Report Examines Ways to Compare the U.S. Army's Suicide Rate with the General U.S. Population

The U.S. Army should use an expanded set of demographic factors when comparing suicide rates to those in the general population to get a more accurate comparison.

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

U.S. Army North in the Hurricane Maria Response

This report addresses questions from U.S. Army North about the assistance it provided to civilian disaster-response operations in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 1997.

Mar 10, 2020
Report

Comparing the Army's Suicide Rate to the General Population's

The U.S. Army has typically compared its suicide rate with that of the general population while adjusting for age, gender, and yearly differences. But there are additional factors related to suicide that should be considered: race/ethnicity, educational attainment, and marital status.

Mar 10, 2020
Report

Naval Aviation Maintenance System: Analysis of Alternatives

This report presents the results of an analysis of alternatives for fielding the Naval Aviation Maintenance System, which is intended to help modernize the U.S. Navy's afloat and ashore maintenance capabilities.

Mar 9, 2020
Blog

National Security Commission on AI Requests New Ideas; RAND Responds

The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence put out an open call for submissions about emerging technology's role in the global order. RAND researchers stepped up to the challenge and submitted a wide range of ideas.

Feb 21, 2020
Report

Report

Physical Task Simulations: Performance Measures for the Validation of Physical Tests and Standards for Battlefield Airmen

This report describes RAND's assistance to the Air Force in designing physical task simulations to evaluate the physical capabilities required to perform critical physical tasks in six battlefield airmen occupational specialties.

Feb 20, 2020
News Release

News Release

Autonomous Vehicle Technology May Improve Safety for U.S. Army Convoys

The technology to make a U.S. Army convoy fully autonomous doesn't exist yet. But Army convoys could be made safer for soldiers by implementing autonomous vehicle technology to reduce the number of service members needed to operate the vehicles.

Feb 12, 2020
Report

Seizing the 'Golden Hour' of Stability Operations

The early phases of stability operations are critical for improving the odds of success and reducing the costs of achieving an acceptable outcome. Both diplomatic and military actions to provide security in the postconflict country are essential and should be integrated. Past U.S. interventions offer valuable lessons.

Feb 11, 2020
Report

Do Civilians Receive the Support They Need After Deployment?

As more U.S. government civilians have been deployed over the past two decades, increasing numbers have been exposed to high-threat environments. Combat exposure and related stressors correlate with significant levels of health conditions. How are these civilians reintegrated when they return?

Feb 11, 2020
Report

Issues with Access to Acquisition Information in the Department of Defense: A Series on Considerations for Managing Program Data in the Emerging Acquisition Environment

This research identifies and describes some of the issues related to managing acquisition program information in the emerging acquisition environment resulting from statutory changes within the Department of Defense acquisition community.

Feb 6, 2020

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