Author Description

Product Description In an era of new military missions, repositioning and reduction of forces, and a heightened pace of deployments, the question arises whether today's Army combat leaders have had fewer opportunities to develop tactical skills. From the Publisher Over the past decade, the U.S. Army has been profoundly affected bychanges in military missions, repositioning and reduction of forces,and a heightened pace of deployments. Some observers argue thatthese changes, in conjunction with normal personnel movementthrough units, may seriously limit leaders' opportunities to conductthe unit training that is critical to the development of warfightingskills. If this is true, the result could undercut the tactical capabilitiesof future generations of combat leaders.Interviews conducted during RAND visits to warfighting brigadesindicated that some commanders shared this concern. They at-tributedit to officers' shorter assignments to key developmentalpositions and fewer opportunities within those assignments to par-ticipatein field training. Others viewed the pace as quick, but theybelieved their subordinates were being well prepared for futureresponsibilities.To address this issue, a RAND Arroyo Center study team analyzedcareer histories of past and current cohorts of Army combat leaders.In addition, during 1998 and 1999 the team also collected data fromand conducted extensive interviews with commanders and staff inmost of the combat brigades in the continental United States. Thisreport presents the results for a policy audience. The topic was alsothe subject of the author's Ph.D. dissertation in the RAND GraduateSchool.1This research was conducted under a project entitled "Effects ofOPTEMPO and PERSTEMPO on Readiness," sponsored by the ArmyDeputy Chief of Staff for Personnel and U.S. Army Forces Command.It was conducted in RAND Arroyo Center's Manpower and TrainingProgram. The Arroyo Center is a federally funded research anddevelopment center sponsored