Suchergebnisse

Although the U.S. government spends billions of dollars annually on foreign assistance, there is no comprehensive tool to assist policymakers in assessing the state of a country's defense sector, to provide them with a systematic way of determining a country's capabilities to achieve various internal security goals, or to monitor the success of defense sector reform programs over time. In response, a RAND team developed the Defense Sector Assessment Rating Tool (DSART), which consists of six assessments to qualitatively and quantitatively determine the state of a country's defense sector, its institutions and processes, and its capacity to carry out operations for counterterrorism and counterinsurgency, counternarcotics, border and maritime security, counterpiracy, and postconflict stabilization. The DSART could be used to assess a country's current capabilities and then, over time, its progress. In addition, it could be used by countries other than the United States to assess their own defense sector capabilities or those of countries to which they are providing assistance. While the DSART is now ready for use, U.S. goals for defense sector reform may evolve, so the DSART is designed with a flexible architecture that can be adapted to a changing security environment

A RAND team conducted a Delphi expert elicitation exercise, the results of which offer an assessment of the contemporary security situation in Mexico through the lens of existing RAND research on urban instability and unrest, historical insurgencies, and defense-sector reform. Assessment scorecards from these projects were used to obtain input from the expert panel and to guide the resulting discussion.

"Recent U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) policy banned transgender personnel from serving openly in the military. Potential changes to this policy raised questions regarding access to gender transition--related health care, the range of transition-related treatments that DoD will need to provide, the potential costs associated with these treatments, and the impact of these health care needs on force readiness and the deployability of transgender service members. A RAND study identified the health care needs of the transgender population and transgender service members in particular. It also examined the costs of covering transition-related treatments, assessed the potential readiness implications of a policy change, and reviewed the experiences of foreign militaries that permit transgender personnel to serve openly"--Publisher's description

At the request of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, a RAND research team examined options to increase the mobility, protection, and firepower of the Army's airborne forces, given likely future missions and threats, identifying a concept for enhancing today's forces by adding a light armored infantry capability. Because the Army requested near-term options, the new concept incorporates equipment and platforms that are already available within the U.S. Department of Defense. The near-term focus also meant that the current Air Force airlift fleet was an important consideration, since Army airborne forces rely on Air Force transport aircraft to deploy. The research team examined notional future brigade- and battalion-sized airborne units, including the numbers and types of vehicles that would be needed to create an airborne light armored force that could be airdropped or air-landed from Air Force transport planes. The primary light armored vehicle possibilities studied were the Stryker (currently used by the Army) and the Light Armored Vehicle, second generation (LAV-II, used by the Marine Corps and the militaries of several other nations). Each family of vehicles would have advantages and disadvantages for the Army's airborne force, with the LAV-II provisionally identified as the preferred candidate. A tabletop exercise with subject-matter experts, using scenarios developed through a review of historical Army missions, identified how the addition of light armor could enhance the performance of airborne units

With military departments becoming increasingly interested in modernizing officer career management, the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) requested a study concerning legislative, policy, fiscal, and financial limits on various reforms. These reforms fall into three broad categories: promotions, tenure, and other issues. Promotions involve such issues as alternatives for technical-track career paths, possibilities for different competitive categories to have different promotion rates and frequency, policies to ensure that officers who opt out of promotion consideration are not adversely affected at future statutory boards, the pros and cons of a return to permanent and temporary promotions, and guidance regarding deployability. Tenure issues concern stagnant officers, removal of age limits for accessions, and contractual arrangements for officers. Other issues include providing for a continuum of service among active and reserve personnel, the use of warrant officers and limited duty officers in all the services, and the selective use of "officers without rank." In all cases, another important consideration concerns limits on the scale and timing of reforms to ensure that desired outcomes, measures of effectiveness, and results of the changes can be clearly identified, documented, and leveraged over time. In general, the authors find that an incremental approach that scales the reforms to small populations (at least initially) and avoids implementation of more than one reform at a time could eventually add considerable flexibility to the officer career management structure

"This study for the U.S. Marine Corps consisted of four tasks: (1) review the literature on the integration of women in ground combat and other physically demanding occupations, (2) conduct interviews with representatives of organizations that have integrated women into physically demanding occupations, (3) estimate the costs of potential initiatives to promote successful gender integration, and (4) develop an approach for monitoring implementation of gender integration of the infantry. RAND researchers present a historical overview of the integration of women into the U.S. military and explore the importance of cohesion and what influences it. The gender integration experiences of foreign militaries, as well as those of domestic police and fire departments, are examined for insights on effective policies. The potential one-time and recurring costs associated with integration are estimated as well. The report culminates in a summary of previous monitoring efforts and broad strategic monitoring issues, as well as recommendations to the Marine Corps for implementation."--[back cover]

History, challenges, and concerns -- The integration of women and other excluded groups into the U.S. military the historical experience -- Physical ability and stress response differences between men and women -- The potential implications of women's integration on unit cohesion -- The expectations of SOF personnel regarding potentially integrating women into SOF units -- The women in SOF survey -- Insights from the focus groups -- Potential future pathways -- A framework for establishing gender-neutral standards for special operations forces -- Observations and implications.