Kimberly Curry Hall

The Department of the Air Force (DAF) promulgates directives, memorandums of instructions, and other guidance embracing the importance of diversity. Although demographic data have been masked for most boards making decisions about career development and promotions, the 2021 Central Professional Military Education Program Boards provided an opportunity to test the effects of unmasking the data.

This report provides an overview of data sources that contain information on the harmful behaviors of domestic abuse, prohibited discrimination, sexual assault and sexual harassment, substance use, and suicide, as well as their risk factors and protective factors. The report also provides recommendations for addressing key data gaps and limitations.

The U.S. Army provides many resources to help soldiers and their families cope with major life events associated with Army service. Through survey data and qualitative interviews, the authors explore Army spouses' experiences in navigating available resources, finding that the Army could do more to get the word out about available assistance and highlight the one-stop shopping features of existing but underutilized resources.

Researchers sought to identify the root causes of underrepresentation for women and members of racial/ethnic minority groups in the U.S. Coast Guard; factors shaping representation at each phase of the career life cycle; and facilitators of and barriers to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

This report documents the results of a study examining challenges that Air Force civilian women, racial/ethnic minorities, and individuals with disabilities may face in advancing to higher pay grades as well as factors influencing retention decisions. The study analyzed demographic differences in advancement and retention patterns and conducted focus groups and interviews with close to 300 participants.

This report looks at demographic differences in U.S. Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training completion. It presents potential challenges that women and racial and ethnic minorities might face in entering and completing the training, as well as demographic differences in attrition rates, reasons for attrition, and an analysis of whether certain individual characteristics account for differential rates of attrition.

This report documents the results of a qualitative study designed to better understand the factors that female Air Force officers consider when deciding whether to remain in the active duty Air Force. It describes the key retention factors identified through focus groups and provides recommendations for improving Air Force policies and programs to help address potential barriers and improve female officer retention.

A RAND study examined programs to address sexual harassment, sexual assault, unlawful discrimination, substance abuse, suicide, and hazing. This report discusses findings, then makes recommendations for the Office of the Secretary of Defense to better understand the relationships among these problematic behaviors and its oversight and coordination of programs to address those behaviors.

In January 2012, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced plans for a large-scale reduction or drawdown of its military force, which could have unintended consequences for demographic diversity. The Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity (ODMEO) in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness) asked RAND to analyze how force reductions could affect the demographic diversity of the DoD workforce."

This report documents research focused on helping the Department of Defense build a more-systematic approach to hazing prevention and response. The report documents theory and research on the root causes of hazing and findings and recommendations regarding how best to define hazing, practices to prevent and respond to incidents of hazing, and how the armed forces can improve the tracking of hazing incidents.

Eleven companies cofounded the 100,000 Jobs Mission in 2011 to promote veteran employment. The coalition has grown to more than 175 member companies, representing almost every U.S. industry. These companies have hired more than 190,000 veterans as of September 2014, already far exceeding the original goal. RAND interviewed member companies to capture lessons and experiences and to identify further improvements to veteran employment opportunities.

Use of the Reserve Component has steadily increased since the 1990s, but little research has focused on how deployment affects guard and reserve families. This monograph presents the results of interviews with reserve component personnel and spouses, focusing on their deployment experiences and military career intentions. The authors conclude with suggestions on how the Department of Defense can better support guard and reserve families.