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Management of the total military force requires a determination of the proper role of the Selected Reserve. Both the executive and legislative branches of the government have increasingly looked to an expansion of the reserves as a potentially cost-effective way of maintaining the capability requirements of the total force. This trend has created the need for a cost methodology capable of supporting active/reserve force-mix decisions. This report presents a methodology for assessing the cost consequences of changing the mix of active and reserve units in the total force. The authors argue that the key to the usefulness of active/reserve force structure cost studies lies in a proper specification of the problem. Toward that end, they developed a structured accounting methodology for identifying and costing the resource, activity, and mission consequences of force structure change.

United States --- Armed Forces --- Organization. --- Reserves. --- Costs.

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The "balance (or imbalance) of conventional forces" is an expression of the degree to which the capabilities of the conventional military forces deployed by two sides are in some way equal. This balance is a central factor in determining the degree to which a given situation is stable. "Conventional stability" is a broader concept than balance; it also encompasses perceptions of the balance, differences in the nature of the operational tasks imposed on the forces of both sides, and other factors. Conventional stability rests on the degree to which both sides believe they could achieve their military objectives in wartime. The author suggests a new analytic framework relating measurements of military capabilities, balance assessment methodologies, and defense objectives to conventional stability. Application of the framework to the conventional balance in Europe suggests some tentative conclusions regarding the potential role of arms control in stabilizing the balance: the most productive use of arms control seems to be to decrease the offensive potential of the two sides' forces.

Arms control --- Europe --- Armed Forces. --- Defenses.

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From April 30 to May 2, 1990, RAND, the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, the Institute Francais des Relations Internationales, and the Royal Institute of International Affairs jointly sponsored a conference in Williamsburg, Virginia, on The Role of Military Power and Arms Control in Western Security in the 1990s. This report summarizes some of the key conference discussions related to the climactic changes taking place in Eastern Europe; the subsequent redefinition of the threats, risks, and dangers to the West; NATO's role in an evolving European security system; future conventional and nuclear force requirements and the impact of arms control; and the likely future course of Western security policy over the near term. The discussion showed that dramatically changing threat perceptions should continue to affect NATO security policies. In particular, public perceptions of a diminished threat will pressure alliance leaders attempting to restructure NATO. There was unanimous agreement on the continued need for NATO and general agreement that the West must enhance the political conditions for NATO's acceptance

National security --- Arms control --- North Atlantic Treaty Organization --- Armed Forces

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The Navy's pool of potential 17- to 21-year-old recruits is expected to diminish. A strategy for aiding the Navy's future recruiting effort is to alter its recruiter management techniques, particularly its incentive program, the Freeman Plan. Data from Chicago in 1986 were examined to analyze the Freeman Plan's effects on productivity. The study found that recruiting behavior is consistent with the Plan's incentives but may not be consistent with the Navy's goals. The author suggests several ways to change recruiter behavior, including increasing the point differential between high- and low-quality recruits, thereby motivating recruiters to enlist more of them; and shortening the production cycle, thereby givig recruiters less time between cycles.

United States. --- Recruiting, enlistment, etc.

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Studies of space transportation in recent years have spanned a wide range of issues, from the pressing problems of recovering from specific failures and meeting budget limits to how the U.S. space program might develop over the next 50 years. However, there have been few studies that compare both means and ends. This report evaluates launch vehicle combinations capable of meeting a range of U.S. space traffic needs between 1990 and 2010. The evaluation aims to clarify alternatives available to the United States in pursuing potential national goals and to increase understanding of the implications of those alternatives. The study methodology involved six steps: (1) review the space transportation planning process, current issues, and political factors; (2) define alternative levels of U.S. space traffic demand for 1990-2010; (3) create various combinations of existing and proposed launch vehicles to fulfill each demand level; (4) calculate costs and uncertainties; (5) interview space transportation planners on institutional criteria for evaluating launch vehicle mixes; and (6) evaluate launch vehicle options and recommend preferred U.S. actions in space transportation planning and procurement.

Launch vehicles (Astronautics) --- Space flight --- Government policy