Suchergebnisse

This report examines and explores what potential challenges arise as a result of setting up a national security council (NSC) and what the most effective means are for overcoming these challenges. It should be of use as a reference to the government of Mali as it considers establishing such a body for itself. Through a review of open source literature and interviews with subject matter experts, the author creates a theoretical framework by which to measure the effectiveness of NSCs in terms of overcoming these potential challenges. The author then applies this framework to three case studies: Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, and Mozambique. The author finds that the features that allow an NSC to most effectively overcome potential challenges include (1) having legally defined roles and authority and the backing of the country's chief executive; (2) being predominantly civilian in membership but with relevant noncivilian input, a relatively compact size, and meaningful accountability; and (3) having adequate resources to support its work, whether in terms of funding, personnel, or expertise. Although an NSC may be effective at overcoming these potential challenges and ultimately may be a well-functioning body, this is not a cure-all for challenges in the broader security environment, such as ensuring stability or effective implementation of security sector reforms. Other factors, such as the state of the economy and the status of former combatants, will also have a major impact on these broader challenges. Therefore, a government should construct an effective, well-functioning NSC in conjunction with reforms elsewhere.--Publisher's description

"The Air Force is committed to eliminating sexual assault in the service. It is therefore considering how it may adjust its policies and procedures for screening at enlistment to better address an applicant's potential for sexual assault perpetration. This report reviews the current recruitment and enlistment policies and procedures of the Air Force and assesses how these may address sexual assault perpetration, both a history of it and the propensity to commit it in the future. The report also reviews the strengths and limitations of self-report tests that may be used to predict counterproductive workplace behaviors and considers the applicability of these and other assessments, including background checks and personality-based assessments, to sexual assault prevention. The report concludes with recommendations for the Air Force to consider as part of its efforts to prevent sexual assault in the service."--Publisher's description

The study indexed each of 12 research goals according to rankings of importance, effectiveness, cultural acceptability, cost, and learning potential provided by experts who participated in a multistep elicitation exercise. The results revealed that research funding is overwhelmingly allocated to prevention goals already considered by experts to be effective. Other goals considered by experts to be important and appropriate for the military context receive relatively little funding and have been the subject of relatively few studies, meaning that there is still much to learn about these strategies. Furthermore, DoD, like other organizations, suffers from a research-to-practice gap. The most promising results from studies funded by DoD and other entities do not always find their way to those responsible for implementing suicide prevention programs that serve military personnel

The relative costs of operating and supporting Air Force active- and reserve-component units are an important consideration in programming the mix of forces for various missions. Unfortunately, there are no generally accepted or well-documented methodologies for compiling the costs and output measures to be included in these comparisons. This report describes the development of one such methodology and applies it to an exploration of force mix alternatives in several weapon systems. Using data from the Air Force Total Ownership Cost decision support system from fiscal years 2006 through 2010, the author estimates the cost of operating the C-130 tactical airlifter, KC-135 aerial refueler, and F-16 multirole fighter fleets in Air Force active and reserve components. The author highlights the ways in which cost considerations favor the active and reserve components differently and discusses how this can help determine a cost-minimizing active/reserve mix