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United States Department of Defense

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Exploring the Civil-Military Divide over Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is anticipated to be a key capability for enabling the U.S. military to maintain its dominance. How do software engineers and other technical staff in the industry view the defense community? Are they willing to contribute to AI-related projects for military use?
May 11, 2022
Report
Improving Defense Acquisition
Informed by 35 years of RAND research on defense acquisition, a new analysis describes overarching trends that affect DoD's acquisition system, outlines challenges in the acquisition process, and suggests improvements that might help address those challenges.
Jun 16, 2022

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Report
Examining New Approaches for Implementing Vaccine Mandates Within the Department of Defense: How Lessons Learned from COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates Could Improve Future Vaccination Campaigns
The authors examine how the Department of Defense (DoD) COVID-19 vaccination program was implemented, determine how previous DoD vaccination programs influenced those decisions, and identify opportunities to strengthen DoD's vaccination program.
May 30, 2023
Commentary
Making the Most of JROTC
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) units in U.S. schools have drawn intensive scrutiny of late, and some districts might consider dropping JROTC. But they should take stock of what they'll lose. Students who choose to enroll in JROTC and stick with it do better in school than their peers.
May 26, 2023
Report
How Can DoD Compare Damage Costs Against Resilience Investment Costs for Climate-Driven Natural Hazards? Overview of an Analytic Approach, Its Advantages, and Its Limitations
This report assesses methods to compare the damage costs from climate change-related extreme weather events against the costs of investing in U.S. Department of Defense installation resilience.
Apr 28, 2023
Report
Demographic Diversity of the DoD STEM Workforce
Within the Department of Defense's STEM workforce, which demographic groups are subject to the greatest compensation disparity when compared with white men? What measures can the Pentagon take to address these discrepancies?
Apr 27, 2023
Report
Characterizing the Uncrewed Systems Industrial Base
The Department of Defense has hypothesized that future demand for uncrewed systems (UxS) will strain the capacity of the defense industrial base (DIB). This report contains an analysis of UxS demand and recommendations on strengthening the DIB.
Apr 26, 2023
Report
A History of the Strategic Implications of the Great Recession and Its Aftermath on U.S. National Defense
The authors discuss the Great Recession's reverberations, and especially the emergence of a focus on deficit reduction, on the Department of Defense as leaders worked to shift focus amid a dynamic threat environment and budgetary uncertainty.
Apr 25, 2023
Report
Improving Transition Assistance for Reserve Component Members
The authors identify unmet needs for transitioning reserve component members, assess the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), and recommend ways to improve TAP's effectiveness in addressing reserve component members' transition needs.
Apr 12, 2023
Commentary
Maximizing the Potential of American Irregular Warfare in Strategic Competition
It is time that the United States develop the concepts and associated doctrine, commands, field operating agencies, and personnel to maximize the potential of American irregular warfare in strategic competition.
Apr 3, 2023
Report
Opportunities and Risks of 5G Military Use in Europe
The authors consider U.S. military uses of the fifth-generation technology standard for cellular communications in a notional 2030 time frame, concentrating on a future smart logistics mission in the Baltics and surrounding countries.
Mar 23, 2023
Commentary
Venture Capital Gives America a Strategic Edge in the Age of Technology Wars
U.S. early-stage hardware startups are seriously disadvantaged by a persistent lack of financing. Congress authorized the U.S. Department of Defense to spend $75 million to invest in dual-use hardware startups. But the Pentagon has proven reticent to embrace a venture capital–style approach, even though research has demonstrated it is optimal for driving innovation.
Mar 20, 2023
Commentary
Reducing Racial Disparities in VA Disability Compensation Decisions
Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough recently announced formation of an equity team to examine and address racial differences in disability compensation grant rates. This is encouraging progress, particularly after years of reluctance on the part of the department to acknowledge there might be a problem.
Mar 13, 2023
Report
Strengthening the Defense Innovation Ecosystem
The Department of Defense can more effectively harness commercially developed technologies through policies that incentivize and improve coordination and collaboration between defense innovation organizations and traditional acquisition stakeholders.
Mar 7, 2023
Research Brief
Fostering Innovation in Military Technology: Strengthening DoD's Commercial Technology Pipeline
RAND researchers examined how well the Department of Defense is identifying, developing, and transitioning innovative commercial technologies from the private sector to the military and how the defense ecosystem can better support this process.
Mar 7, 2023
Commentary
Bad Idea: Looking for Easy Solutions for PPBE Reform
The means by which the Department of Defense decides how to spend its budget has long been criticized as needlessly complex and incapable of helping policymakers choose among investments to meet strategic goals. Seeking solutions, Congress created the Commission on PPBE Reform in the 2022 defense policy bill. But the reforms the system needs may not be as obvious as they seem.
Mar 2, 2023
Report
Comparison of Public and Private Sector Cybersecurity and IT Workforces
The authors develop a common taxonomy based on work roles, key tasks, and responsibilities to examine the proportion of cybersecurity and information technology work roles, workers' salaries, and demand across private and public sectors.
Feb 7, 2023
Commentary
The Need for Irregular Warfare Professional Military Education
The Department of Defense does not provide the irregular warfare professional military education necessary for success in competition and conflict in the 21st century. This is not a new problem, but it is one that may deserve new attention from Congress and the Pentagon.
Feb 1, 2023
Report
The Technology Promotion and Protection Decision Tool: Introduction and User Manual
The authors of this report describe a tool designed to help U.S. Department of Defense decisionmakers select from the many available approaches to promote and protect critical technologies and their associated industrial base.
Jan 31, 2023
Report
International Basic Research Collaboration at DoD
Research is becoming increasingly global. But concerns are growing that the research strength and practices of China and other U.S. competitors may threaten America's position. With this in mind, how does the U.S. Department of Defense approach international basic research collaboration? And how could DoD improve how it uses IBRC?
Jan 23, 2023
Commentary
Mastering Irregular Warfare
The U.S. military has failed to master irregular warfare above the tactical level. This is not a new problem, and it is one that has been recognized by leaders at the most senior echelons of government. There are several steps that the DoD and U.S. Congress might consider to develop the mastery of irregular warfare that the United States needs.
Dec 14, 2022
Commentary
Nonlethal Weapons Can Play a Growing Role in U.S. Defense
Overcoming the web of factors inhibiting the use of nonlethal weapons will take sustained effort over time. But it can have a powerful impact on America's ability to achieve U.S. national security goals while avoiding unnecessary conflict.
Dec 12, 2022

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RAND Topic:
United States Department of Defense

Topic Synonyms:
Department of Defense

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Monika Cooper

Senior Technical Analyst

Monika Cooper (she/her) is a senior technical advisor at RAND Corporation in Arlington, VA, and previously served on the International Staff as a Communications, Command, Control, and Surveillance (C3S) life cycle expert for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels, Belgium from…
Barry Pavel

Vice President, RAND National Security Research Division

Barry Pavel is vice president of the RAND National Security Research Division (NSRD). He directs the National Defense Research Institute (NDRI),a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) whose sponsors include the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the Unified…

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