Thomas Light

The U.S. Air Force has a goal of reducing the life cycle operating and support (O&S) costs of the F-35A. Maintenance manpower is a significant driver of O&S costs, and consolidation and reorganization of career fields could reduce manpower and training costs. The authors of this report evaluate the costs and benefits of six F-35A maintenance manpower force structures in the U.S. Air Force that merge maintenance career fields in different ways.

Nuclear power is receiving renewed interest because of its low greenhouse gas emissions. However, if nuclear power is to be sustainable option for the United States, methods for managing spent fuel that meet stringent safety and environmental standards must be implemented. This report examines technical and institutional approaches to spent fuel management and highlights policy implications of pursuing alternative strategies.

This report summarizes the results of an industry survey designed to assess the progress of digital engineering (DE) implementation and to identify (1) implementation challenges and opportunities and (2) possible metrics for tracking DE implementation. Although the benefits of DE might not be immediately apparent in terms of cost savings or schedule reduction, it has the potential to provide significant long-term benefits to defense acquisition.

RAND researchers worked to understand the costs and benefits of digital engineering in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and develop a decision support framework for digital engineering activities in weapon system programs. The authors reviewed existing literature and developed decision support frameworks incorporating (1) established DoD cost-benefit analysis approaches and (2) established systems engineering decision methodologies.

This report summarizes research on how top-down risk analysis models could help inform the staffing, systems, and strategies for the U.S. Air Force Security Forces. Although existing security planning supports bottom-up, asset-based security planning, such processes do not fully explore the risk trade-offs, nor do they identify opportunities for SF strategies to manage multiple risks simultaneously.

To ensure a ready workforce without undercutting modernization and sustainment efforts, the U.S. Air Force must explore options to limit military personnel costs while considering the nonmonetary trade-offs and risks that these options entail. RAND Project AIR FORCE conducted a workforce futures policy game that simulates the monetary and nonmonetary effects of workforce and personnel policies in real time.

Since 2000, spending on military personnel has grown at an average annual rate of 3.3 percent. This increase in spending threatens to undermine readiness and crowd out future efforts to modernize key military capabilities. A new tool simulates how various Department of the Air Force personnel policy changes could affect spending, allowing users to view cost variances when adjusting such factors as personnel count, rank, and experience levels.

Are you interested in the world around you? Are you fascinated by other countries, their capitals, flags and other information? This book is a great place to learn all about them The world is an incredibly diverse and interesting place to live. With nearly 200 independent countries and a whole host of dependent territories it's no wonder that they maintain a source of interest for many. And with so much to learn about each country it is a good idea to have all the information you need in one handy place. This new and updated book, All countries, capitals and flags of the world: The Complete Handbook, is ideal for anyone who has an interest in the wider world and contains: Up-to-date and informative data on countries A logical and simple to use format Flags of every nation Simple language which is perfect for children Population sizes Capital cities Transcontinental countries Unrecognized and partially recognized countries And lots more... Designed with younger readers in mind, All countries, capitals and flags of the world: The Complete Handbook makes a great addition to their schoolbooks but may also be of interest to adults who want to know more about a specific country as well.Beautifully designed throughout, it makes a great gift as well as a great addition to any library. Scroll up and click Add to Cart for your copy NOW

To help the Air Force better anticipate cost and schedule challenges and manage programs, this study developed a methodology to evaluate the likelihood of cost growth and schedule slip for major defense acquisition projects (MDAPs). The authors apply this methodology to programs currently in the Air Force's MDAP portfolio to assess future risk of cost growth and schedule slip.

NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate is working to expand flight research in order to advance the maturation and demonstrate the application of new aeronautics concepts and technologies over the next ten years. It therefore asked RAND to assess flight research capabilities and needs, identify any gaps, and develop management options that would facilitate increased and improved flight research.

This report provides select results from a RAND Project AIR FORCE (PAF) project titled Reducing Operating and Support Costs for the Mobility Air Forces sponsored by AMC/A5/8 and AMC/A4. This report examines the cost and readiness implications of consolidating maintenance occupational specialties for new and legacy mobility fleets. Implications are derived from an assessment conducted for the KC-135 fleet.

In consideration of the many challenges associated with Qatar's continued growth and demographic changes, the government of Qatar is interested in updating its school transportation system (STS). This volume assesses parents' and school administrators' perspectives on Qatar's STS, identifies a vision and goals for the STS, and discusses strategies to achieve the vision and better align Qatar's STS with international norms.

What aeronautics research should be supported by the U.S. government? What compelling and desirable benefits drive that research? How should the government make these decisions? The authors develop a unified decisionmaking approach for addressing these questions. This framework quantifies the social and economic reasons for the research, balances competing perspectives, and enables transparent explanation of the resulting decisions.

In April 2009, the Department of Defense decided to terminate production of the F-22A Raptor. In advance of the decision, the Air Force asked RAND Project AIR FORCE to identify the costs and the industrial base implications of various shutdown options. This monograph evaluates the implications of three shutdown options for the F-22A industrial capability: shutdown; shutdown and restart; and warm production, in which a small number of aircraft are produced until a decision is made to return to full-rate production.

In 2007, on a net basis, the United States imported 58 percent of the oil it consumed. This book critically evaluates commonly suggested links between these imports and U.S. national security and assesses the economic, political, and military costs and benefits of potential policies to alleviate imported oil-related challenges to U.S. national security.