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Operational Readiness

Organizing, training, and equipping armed forces for combat is essential to ensure their success in the field. RAND research provides military decisionmakers with information and analyses to implement effective support, training, and acquisition policies that ensure the highest level of operational readiness, even in the face of increasingly fluid combat environments.

Commentary

History Shows Danger of Arbitrary Defense Cuts

As America embarks on a tough strategic journey in the aftermath of Iraq, and contends with an ailing economy, it is wise to be mindful of the difference between hope and fact, writes Paula G. Thornhill.

Nov 23, 2011
Report

Analysis of the Air Force Logistics Enterprise: Evaluation of Global Repair Network Options for Supporting the C-130

Reallocating C-130 maintenance workloads between mission-generation units and centralized repair facilities offers efficiency and effectiveness benefits to the Air Force, and integrated maintenance concepts may offer additional benefits.

Sep 29, 2011
Report

An Organizational Design Assessment of U.S. Marine Corps Intelligence

Over the past decade, U.S. Marine Corps intelligence has had to tailor its organization to meet the evolving demands of the operational environment. A broad review of its design examined how to align it efficiently and effectively with current and future missions and functions.

Jul 13, 2011
Report

Preserving Range and Airspace Access for the Air Force Mission: Striving for a Strategic Vantage Point

Air Force range managers schedule the infrastructure and airspace needed for realistic testing and training activities, which requires adequate information about the proposed maneuvers, the acceptable context, and understanding of the goals.

May 17, 2011
Research Brief

Sexual Orientation and U.S. Personnel Policy Revisited

Summarizes results of a RAND Corporation study on sexual orientation and U.S. military policy requested by the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Secretary of Defense in order to weigh repeal of the law known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Dec 23, 2010
Report

Options for Filling Vacant Officer Positions

There may be opportunities to better leverage enlisted personnel, warrant officers, and limited-duty officers in some billets designated for officers.

Dec 20, 2010
Report

Sexual Orientation and U.S. Military Personnel Policy Revisited

In advance of the repeal of the law known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Secretary of Defense requested that RAND update its 1993 study and analysis of sexual orientation among U.S. military personnel.

Nov 18, 2010
Report

Navy Network Dependability: Models, Metrics, and Tools

Develops a framework for measuring the dependability of naval networks and describes a software tool for modeling the impact that individual network components have on overall mission operational availability.

Aug 6, 2010
Commentary

Managing Catastrophic North Korea Risks

In recent years, U.S. commanders of the ROK/U.S. Combined Forces Command have been unanimous in stating that CFC could defeat a North Korean invasion. Nevertheless, they have also expressed concern about the catastrophic damage that North Korea could do to the ROK before losing, writes Bruce Bennett.

Jan 21, 2010
Report

Preparing and Training for the Full Spectrum of Military Challenges

The U.S. military training system is the envy of many countries around the world, but the militaries of China, France, the UK, India, and Israel can help the U.S. identify different approaches to readiness, adaptability, and operational issues.

Dec 14, 2009
Report

Ways to Improve U.S. Stability and Reconstruction Missions Are Outlined

Recent stabilization and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq have underlined the need for the United States to shift the burden of these operations away from the Defense Department and onto other government agencies better suited to the work.

Mar 18, 2009
Report

An Examination of Options to Reduce Underway Training Days Through the Use of Simulation

The U.S. Navy is looking for ways to reduce the annual operating costs of the fleet. RAND examines whether and how an increased use of simulators could reduce costly underway training days for DDG-51-class ships while sustaining readiness.

Aug 6, 2008
Report

Supporting Air and Space Expeditionary Forces: Capabilities and Sustainability of Air and Space Expeditionary Forces

Presents a method for assessing Air and Space Expeditionary Force manpower and materiel deployment capabilities and a detailed description of software tools developed by RAND for quantifying deployment capabilities.

Feb 17, 2006
Journal Article

Why No Trade-Off Between Guns and Butter? Armed Forces and Social Spending in the Advanced Industrial Democracies, 1960-1993

Argues that the standard measure of military efforts-defense spending-inadequately captures the social and political impact of military preparedness.

Dec 31, 2005
Report

Improving Sustainment of U.S. Army Forces

While the major combat operations of Operation Iraqi Freedom were successful, logistical problems still hampered materiel sustainment. Supply chain improvements could help better prepare the U.S. Army for future operations.

Dec 13, 2005
Report

Rethinking How the Air Force Views Sustainment Surge

Analyzes the interpretation, transformation, and future of the U.S. Air Force's ongoing surge requirements.

Nov 23, 2005
Report

Military Actions Have Stretched U.S. Army Thin

The Iraq debate is focused on whether to legislate the time that soldiers must be at home between overseas deployments. Stretched Thin discusses how to assess the tradeoffs among the number of combat units, the level of Iraq deployments, and the time that soldiers have at home.

Jul 7, 2005
Report

Assessing the Impact of Future Operations on Trainer Aircraft Requirements

Addresses the impact of changing skills required of fighter, mobility, bomber, and Special Operations Forces pilots on decisions about replacing or extending service lives of trainer aircraft

Jun 29, 2005
Report

How Should the Army Use Contractors on the Battlefield? Assessing Comparative Risk in Sourcing Decisions

What is the best and most cost-effective way for the Army to use contractors on the battlefield?

Apr 7, 2005
Report

The Air Force Chief of Staff Logistics Review: Improving Wing-Level Logistics

Describes a review conducted as a joint effort by the U.S. Air Force and the RAND Corporation (acting as analytic advisor) to develop improvement options for mitigating wing-level logistics problems that began in the 1990s.

Feb 28, 2005

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RAND Topic:
Operational Readiness

Topic Synonyms:
Combat Readiness

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