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  • The Patrick Air Force Base Honor Guard waits for the open ranks inspection portion of the 2004 Air Force Space Command honor guard competition here March 23, photo by Tech. Sgt. Ken Bergmann/U.S. Air Force

    Report

    Can Artificial Intelligence Help Improve Air Force Talent Management?

    Jan 19, 2021

    An AI-enabled performance-scoring system could enable the U.S. Air Force to leverage existing data for improved human resource management policies and practices. How could this help senior leaders take full advantage of performance records when making talent management decisions?

  • Sign that says Fort Bragg, Home of the Airborne and Special Operations Forces, photo by U.S. Army

    Report

    How to Protect Army Installations from Emerging Threats

    Nov 10, 2020

    Emerging technologies such as drones, 5G communications, smart city systems, and the use of social media disinformation by adversaries all pose potential threats to U.S. Army bases. A new framework can help assess possible solutions and the resources required to defend against these threats.

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  • U.S. President Barack Obama stands with Bob Bergdahl and Jami Bergdahl as he delivers a statement about the release of their son, prisoner of war U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington May 31, 2014

    Blog

    The Bergdahl-Taliban Prisoner Exchange Isn't New, but Presents Unique Questions

    While it's been many years since the United States secured the release of a POW via prisoner exchange, RAND's Jonah Blank, a former Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff member, says that such deals are nothing new.

    Jun 4, 2014

  • Paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade training with NATO allies in Poland

    Commentary

    Rethinking U.S. Force Planning

    While the renewed interest in crisis response forces by the military services is welcome in these times of uncertainty, forces that are permanently assigned to a geographic combatant command and based in a region continue to offer distinct benefits. RAND research has shown that an overseas presence enhances contingency responsiveness in most cases.

    May 16, 2014

  • ballistic missile submarine USS Louisiana returns home to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor

    Commentary

    Quality Sleep at Sea

    The Navy's own science now recognizes that tampering with natural sleep cycles can result in a fatigued crew. Applying scientific research on the biological underpinnings of sleep has resulted in a re-examination of a decades-old workday scheduling protocol.

    May 8, 2014

  • News Release

    News Release

    'Cloud' System Could Help Navy Analysts Consume Expanding Ocean of Data

    The Navy has a growing demand for intelligence to help Navy vessels avoid collisions, pinpoint targets, and perform other vital tasks. But the amount of data it may collect in the future is more than it can process today. Cloud strategies offer promising options.

    May 5, 2014

  • News Release

    News Release

    Increasing Numbers of U.S. Army Recruits Enlist Some Years After High School

    More than half of all U.S. Army recruits are choosing to join later in life instead of immediately after high school graduation, but these older recruits tend to reenlist and be promoted at greater rates than their younger peers.

    Apr 22, 2014

  • Soldiers practice decontaminating themselves during training on Camp Casey, South Korea

    Commentary

    The U.S. Army Must Remain Prepared for Battle

    Converting the Army into a force suited only for homeland defense or humanitarian missions abroad, without the ability to fight sophisticated foes as part of a joint force, would result in an unprepared Army.

    Apr 18, 2014

  • Airmen show support to reservists deploying to Afghanistan

    Commentary

    Don't Chop the Air Force — Look to the Reserves

    The Air Force's latest budget plan proposes to cut 25,000 airmen. The recommendations made by the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force (NCSAF) offer an alternative — and less risky — way forward.

    Apr 11, 2014

  • The Joint Multinational Training Command regularly trains U.S. and multi-national soldiers, during sophisticated and complex mission rehearsal exercises throughout Europe

    Commentary

    Pentagon's Reliance on Europe Is 'Wishful Thinking'

    There needs to be more frank and precise thinking about the kind of support allies are able and willing to provide. Counting on Europeans even just to pull as much weight as they have in the past is an increasingly doubtful proposition.

    Apr 9, 2014

  • Virginia Senators George Allen and John Warner, Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner, and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen testifying to the Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission in 2005

    Commentary

    Why the Pentagon Can't Bypass BRAC

    By trying to cut Congress out of the loop and bypass the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC), the Pentagon is more likely to antagonize Capitol Hill and undermine its efforts to make sensible cuts in defense spending.

    Apr 1, 2014

  • Blog

    Blog

    Conaton Named Head of International Security and Defense Policy Center at RAND

    Erin C. Conaton joined RAND this week as director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center. She has 15 years of experience in defense policy, programs and budgeting; military strategy; and military personnel policy and readiness.

    Apr 1, 2014

  • Retiring U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates at his farewell ceremony on June 30, 2011

    Commentary

    Gates Unhinged

    In former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' new memoir, criticisms of the bureaucracy raise questions about the manageability of the American military establishment—indeed, of the American government. An individual human being can effectively manage only so many relationships at once.

    Mar 14, 2014

  • Hercules aircraft parked on the tarmac at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan on Okinawa

    Commentary

    Should the U.S. Move the Marines to Guam?

    The option to permanently base Marines on Guam should hinge on the benefits of the location and the costs. Guam scores poorly on both counts and better options exist. However, previous guidance provided to the Marine Corps constrains consideration of such options.

    Feb 28, 2014

  • Soldiers move to secure a helicopter landing zone in Paktika Province

    Commentary

    Failure to Learn: Reflections on a Career in the Post-Vietnam Army

    In the aftermath of a decade of war, the Army must have an objective, serious debate — one that it never engaged in after Vietnam — to understand its experiences, both good and bad.

    Jan 27, 2014

  • F/A-18C Hornets fly from Andersen Air Base, Guam, during exercise Forger Fury II, 5 December, 2013

    Commentary

    Do Joint Fighter Programs Save Money?

    Joint aircraft programs have not historically saved overall life cycle cost. On average, such programs experienced substantially higher cost growth in acquisition (research, development, test, evaluation, and procurement) than single-service programs.

    Dec 24, 2013

  • preflight checks inside an F-35A Lightning II

    Commentary

    Innovation and America's 21st Century Air Force

    Lost in the US defense budget debates are deeper issues about the relationship between the military and American society. In many ways, these issues are especially stark for the Air Force. Can the US Air Force improve this connection?

    Nov 26, 2013

  • Natalie Crawford stands with U.S. Air Force Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Michelle D. Johnson in Arnold Hall, Nov. 1

    Blog

    U.S. Air Force Academy Presents Natalie Crawford with Thomas D. White National Defense Award

    RAND Senior Fellow Natalie Crawford received the U.S. Air Force Academy's 2012 Thomas D. White National Defense Award for her significant contributions to national security. Previous award winners include the Air Force's first chief of staff, General Carl Spaatz, and actor Bob Hope.

    Nov 19, 2013

  • A protester during a rally against mass surveillance near the U.S. Capitol

    Commentary

    After NSA Spying Revelations, US Must Reform Rules on Secrecy and Data

    The U.S. should make two key reforms. First, the over-designation of material as classified makes it is harder to protect the few real secrets; this must be change. Second, the FISA court must become a gatekeeper for NSA access to communications data.

    Nov 14, 2013

  • U.S. Marines help displaced Philippine nationals from the back of a KC-130J Super Hercules at Vilamor Air Base, Manila, Republic of the Philippines

    Commentary

    How Philippines Typhoon Aid Helps USA

    In the wake of Haiyan there is no substitute for the capabilities of the U.S. military. At the level of national interest, however, does the case for tasking the U.S. military to international natural disasters hold up — particularly in a time when the Pentagon has seen its budget slashed?

    Nov 12, 2013

  • A U.S. Marine and a Philippine airman assist an injured Filipino woman off a KC-130J Super Hercules at Vilamore Air Base, Manila, Republic of the Philippines

    Commentary

    Responding in Typhoon Haiyan's Wake

    Prior responses to other recent disasters offer important lessons. Improved preparedness and efficient coordination mechanisms can help ensure that, when time is of the essence, the United States provides the most effective response.

    Nov 12, 2013

  • A soldier with the Army's intelligence community demonstrated use of a portion of the Army's Distributed Common Ground System

    Commentary

    Calling for a Time-Out in the Army Intelligence Software Debate

    The Army's Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) program has been getting much attention from Congress, and its future was the subject of a heated exchange between the Army's Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno and Representative Duncan Hunter in May.

    Aug 21, 2013

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