RAND Arroyo Center Publications - Reprints
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REPRINTS
The publications below are sorted by year and title.
Stockage Determination Made Easy – 2007
Kenneth J. Girardini, Arthur Lackey, Eric Peltz
This article explains how the Army has been able to achieve historically high levels of performance in its tactical inventories of repair parts by applying a series of RAND-developed process and algorithm improvements.
Cleaning Up Unexploded Ordnance - 2001
J. A. MacDonald [Reprinted from Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 35, No. 17, pp. 372A-376A, September 1, 2001.]
This paper critically examines issues that have hindered the cleanup and transfer of closed military ranges that are contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO) and munitions constituents. The DoD has responsibility for cleaning up from 1,500 to 7,500 such sites at a cost that is projected to total tens to hundreds of billions of dollars. Based on a literature review and interviews with involved personnel, this paper discusses technical and political issues that have hindered the cleanup effort. The author concludes that high-level guidance from Congress or the executive branch is needed before adequate progress can be made. Issues that need to be resolved include which agency has regulatory authority over the sites and what the end goals of UXO clearance should be.
Maintaining the Government's Ability to Buy Smart - 2000
C. Wong, K. Horn, E. Axelband, P. Steinberg [Reprinted from Acquisition Review Quarterly, Vol. 7, No. 3, Summer 2000, pp. 259-274.]
Today, the Department of Defense (DoD) possesses a competent "smart buyer" (SB) capability. But unless corrective measures are soon taken, the effect of downsizing the federal government workforce may undermine the future SB capability. Three measures will prevent this from happening: the DoD must establish and maintain collaborative research environments; it must try to ensure that work environments encourage direct and open communications among the players; and it must maintain a talented technical staff of scientists and engineers by exploiting the full range of recruiting tools and implementing career development opportunities.
Thinking Small: Technologies That Can Reduce Logistics Demand - 2000
C. Shipbaugh [Reprinted from Army Logistician, Vol. 32, Issue 2, 2000.]
In support of the Logistics Integration Agency's efforts to identify the most important technological innovations contributing to the Revolution in Military Logistics (RML), this paper describes three areas of emerging miniaturization technologies that could support a dramatic reduction in logistical demands and improve the performance of logistics processes. As the Army fields future weapon systems, miniaturization technologies will permit design and support options that reduce logistics demands while offering additional opportunities for logistics process improvement. Near-term applications of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) devices will lead to a range of improvements such as enhanced efficiency of weapon and transportation systems, reduced waste and spoilage of materiel, and lower rates of system failure. As the use of MEMS microsensors and microprocessors spreads, the U.S. military could become an integrated information network of individual Web sites in a netted theater. Longer-term military applications of molecular nanotechnologies are expected to further improve related performance areas such as power sources, biomedicine, and virtual manufacturing. By planning for, supporting, and exploiting these technologically driven synergies between demand reduction and logistics process improvement, the Army will be well-positioned to achieve a full RML.
Seeking Preparedness for Military Urban Operations - 1999
R. W. Glenn [Reprinted from Armed Forces Journal International, May 1999, pp. 46-49.]
The recent awakening of the U.S. armed forces to the difficulties inherent in conducting urban operations has precipitated improvements, but initiatives lack the urgency and coherency essential to timely and sufficient force-wide enhancement. There is as yet no central oversight guiding consideration of joint training, mid- and long-term technological development, or simulations to support such efforts; no one in the community has assumed the mantle of the fox to mark the road to progress and guide all-service efforts. Further, the inherent complexity of urban operations works against their being attractive to big-ticket contractors; no single weapon system or set of weapons systems will provide a solution to the challenges of operating in cities. In the short term, solid doctrine and quality training are the keys. Complementing these with innovative technologies can move the services toward the desirable objective of minimizing the numbers of soldiers and marines committed to city streets in the longer term.
Velocity Management and the Revolution in Military Logistics - 1999
T. J. Edwards, R. Eden [Reprinted from Army Logistician. PB 700-99-1, Vol. 31, Issue 1, January-February 1999.]
When Army Chief of Staff General Dennis Reimer identified the Revolution in Military Affairs (RML) as a necessary precondition of the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA), he issued a challenge to the Army logistics community. Yet recent studies of the RMA express little hope for delivering an RML, at least in the near term. This study suggests that the Army can deliver an RML quickly and affordably by focusing on dramatic and continuous improvement in today's key logistics processes, which in turn help reduce the need for massive logistics resources. This inprovement effort, called the Velocity Management Initiative, has been under way since January 1995, with remarkable success.
Information Superiority and Game Theory: The Value of Information in Four Games - 1998
R. Darilek, J. Bracken [Reprinted from PHALANX, Vol. 31, No. 4, December 1998, pp. 6-7, 33-34.]
The paper focuses on the concept of information superiority, exploring its dimensions, to assist in the understanding of how different types of information affect the outcome of an adversary process. The paper draws on game theory to obtain insight into the problem. Four games are postulated: (1) Side 1 and Side 2 have correct information; (2) Side 1 has correct information and Side 2 has incorrect information; (3) Side 1 and Side 2 have correct information and Side 1 knows Side 2's choice of strategy; and (4) Side 1 has correct information, Side 2 has incorrect information, and Side 1 knows Side 2's choice of strategy. The number of strategies available to both sides is varied. The result is that the value of the various types of information differs substantially, allowing both quantitative and qualitative insights about the value of possessing correct information, denying correct information to the opponent, and knowing the opponent's chosen strategy.
An Approach for Efficiently Managing DoD Research and Development Portfolios - 1998
C. Wong, P. Steinberg, K. Horn, E. Axelband [Reprinted from Acquisition Review, Vol. 5, No. 4, Fall 1998, pp. 339?356.]
Managing Department of Defense (DoD) research and development (R&D) portfolios is a challenging task today. Not only do defense R&D managers have limited resources to spend on pursuing new technologies, but there is also an active civil and commercial market for some technologies in which the DoD is interested. How can the DoD better understand what areas it must pursue on its own and what areas it might be better off collaborating with non-DoD organizations? This paper presents a straighforward approach for managing DoD R&D protfolios that can help DoD managers understand how their R&D efforts are allocated, and how they might more effectively manage them to take advantage of scarce resources and technological capabilities elsewhere. After describing the approach, it is illustrated using the example of the basic research technologies part of the U.S. Army's R&D portfolio.
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