June 28, 2013
Right-Sizing the Force: Lessons for the Current Drawdown of American Military Personnel
Former Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and current RAND Corporation Senior Fellow Bernard Rostker argues in the new CNAS working paper Right-Sizing the Force: Lessons from the Current Drawdown of American Military Personnel that the U.S. military is poised to commit two mistakes as it enters this era of drawdown. The first is that overreliance on reserve forces will leave the military unable to meet the mobilization goals it sets for itself. The second is that force reductions could upset the balance between junior and senior service members and upset the deliberate pace at which officers advance through the ranks.
Authors
-
Bernard Rostker
More from CNAS
-
Kayla M. Williams Appears on DODReads Podcast
Podcast
In Episode 6 former Army Arabic Linguist Kayla Williams of the Center for a New American Security talks women in war, her own writing, and how to stay connected to service aft...
By Kayla M. Williams
-
Benefits for Survivors and Dependents
Commentary
In the post-9/11 era, a “sea of goodwill” made up of organizations in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors has formed to support veterans, service members, their familie...
By Zachary Jaynes
-
What the COVID-19 pandemic reveals about the US military's role in defending the nation
Commentary
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is a stark reminder that America’s defense requires more than the Department of Defense. This was awkwardly clear earlier this month,...
By Lt Col Stewart Parker
-
Banning COVID-19 survivors from military service is a recruiting mess waiting to happen
Commentary
A recent memo from Military Entrance and Processing Command (MEPCOM) added to previously issued start-stop guidance from the Department of Defense relating to COVID-19. U...
By Nathalie Grogan & Emma Moore
