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U.S. Military Forces and Operations

CNAS examines the force structure, roles, missions, and overall health and wellness of America's military in order to help ensure our forces are prepared for the demands of 21st century conflict.

In September 2010, CNAS published An Indispensable Force: Investing in America’s National Guard and Reserves. The report concluded that despite commendable progress in recent years, the U.S. government still is not investing sufficiently in the policies, laws, and budgets required for the National Guard and Reserves to fulfill their current and future role in U.S. national security. In February 2010, CNAS released a report on military officer education. Titled Keeping the Edge: Revitalizing America's Military Officer Corps, the report provided recommendations for how the United States can keep its edge in the officer corps amidst an ever-increasing array of challenges.

In 2011, CNAS will undertake work on such vital topics as the future of the all-volunteer force, defense acquisition reform, military planning and budgeting, and the future of America’s “hard power.”

For other work related to U.S. Military Forces and Operations, see the CNAS projects on Military Wellness, Special Operations Forces, and Contracting in Conflicts.

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    General Barno, a highly decorated military officer with over 30 years of service, has served in a variety of command and staff positions in the United States and around the world, to include command at every level. He served many of his early years in special operations forces with Army Ranger battalions, to include combat in both the Grenada and Panama invasions. In 2003, he was selected to establish a new three-star operational headquarters in Afghanistan and take command of the 20,000 U.S. and Coalition Forces in Operation Enduring Freedom. For 19 months in this position, he was responsible for the overall military leadership of this complex political-military mission, devising a highly innovative counterinsurgency strategy in close partnership with the U.S. embassy and coalition allies.

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  • Nancy Berglass
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    Non-Resident Senior Fellow

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    Dr. John A. Nagl
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    Director of Research and Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution

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  • Thomas E. Ricks
    Senior Fellow

    Thomas E. Ricks is a Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Concurrently with his duties at CNAS, Mr. Ricks writes an online blog for ForeignPolicy.com called, “The Best Defense," for which he won the 2010 National Magazine Award as the best blog of the year, and serves as a contributing editor for Foreign Policy.  

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  • Travis Sharp
    Travis Sharp
    Non-Resident Fellow

    Travis Sharp is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and was previously the Bacevich Fellow. He is currently a Master's candidate at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Prior to joining CNAS, he served as Military Policy Analyst at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, where he started as a Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellow.

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