The Army After Next

This book recounts the successes and failures of the US Army's Army Transformation program in the larger context of the Department of Defense's overall military transformation effort. Spurred by the belief that RMA represented the future, the Department of Defense (DoD) set out to transform the U.S. armed forces by adopting RMA concepts. Led by President George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the DoD spent billions in an attempt to make the hypothetical capabilities real, changing the entire structure of the armed forces as a result. The services, the media, Congress, and the military industry each had its own agenda, all of which continue to come into play in the development of RMA strategies. The interplay of politics, technology, and military reality offers a fascinating narrative. Sure to be found controversial by some, compelling by all, this is the only available book-length examination of the way the U.S. Army and Department of Defense have tried to create the capabilities promised by the high-tech Revolution in Military Affairs. Of more immediate concern, it is also the only in-depth account of the effect RMA and transformation concepts had on the American operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Many of the problems in both Iraq and Afghanistan, author Thomas K. Adams argues, arose from the DoD's implacable desire to implement RMA-driven transformation concepts—whether they were appropriate or not. What we need to do, he maintains, is to fight the war we have, not the war we want.

This study assesses the potential of new technology to reduce logistics support requirements for future Army combat systems. It describes and recommends areas of research and technology development in which the Army should invest now to field systems that will reduce logistics burdens and provide desired capabilities for an ''Army After Next (AAN) battle force" in 2025.

This document summarizes our initial year's work on the project Assessing Advanced Concepts and Technologies for the Army After Next (AAN). At the request of TRADOC, Deputy Chief of Staff for Doctrine (DCSDOC), RAND Arroyo Center initiated this project about halfway into FY97. The overall intent of the effort was to provide force-on-force simulation-based analytic support to the AAN initiative and support the series of wargames. The effort involves the use of high-resolution constructive simulation to explore both operational concepts and technology options for the light battle force concept associated with the AAN initiative. One of the key capabilities required of the light battle force is an ability to hide and wait for the right opportunity and then create a virtual ambush, resulting in a shock or disintegration of the enemy. This kind of defeat, to some extent, is contrasted from more traditional attrition in that it greatly compresses the time in which

This document summarizes our initial year's work on the Army After Next project at RAND Arroyo Center. This project started about halfway into FY 97. The intent of the effort was to provide analytic, simulation-based support to the Army After Next (AAN) initiative. The effort focuses on use of high-resolution construction simulation to explore technology options and operational concepts for the light battle force component of AAN.

This weeklong workshop focused primarily on identifying those portions of the Army's Medical Science and Technology Investment Strategy, principally Basic Research (6.1) and Applied Research (6.2) investment areas, that are essential to ensure that the Army will have the required medical capabilities to support the Army After Next (AAN) in 2025. The goal of the Medical Technology Workshop 1999 (MTW-99) was to support Army efforts to make the appropriate technology acquisition decisions by developing medical solutions for military requirements to protect and sustain the force.

"This report briefly summarizes a review of 83 documents that focused on how the Army and its environment might be changing in the future, and what these changes could mean for leadership practice, leadership development, and other important organizational policies. The reports and presentations reviewed were prepared from 1990-1999 with the majority written over the last three years. These documents were reviewed to answer two central questions: (1) What is the Army's operating environment likely to be in the future? and (2) What do environmental changes mean for leadership practices and leader development? The review of the 83 reports indicated significant changes in six environmental sectors: geopolitical, technological, economic, socio-cultural, and demographic. The results of the review are organized around four topics: (1) leadership performance requirements resulting from changes in the Army's operating environment; (2) the leader attributes that contribute to leader effectiveness; (3) the assessment and selection of Army officers; and (4) the training and development of officers. The resulting summary was prepared in the form of a briefing to be presented to senior decision makers. This report includes the summary, list of reports reviewed, and briefing slides." - Stinet.