Author Description

"The U.S. Air Force manages any proposed significant changes and additions regarding the location of weapon systems and personnel through its strategic basing process. Because these decisions affect force posture, local economies, and public trust, it is imperative that the decisionmaking process be objective and reproducible. This report is an independent analysis of the Air Force's basing process and the quality of the underlying data. It seeks to inform decisionmakers on potential improvements to the data and assessment criteria used in making basing decisions. The authors examined the data used in recent Air Force basing decisions and found them to be of sufficient quality, though their auditability is weak and should be targeted for improvement. To assess whether basing decision criteria are aligned with Air Force intentions, the authors used a mathematical process to compare the relative desired and actual impact of each of the criteria used in recent decisions; they found that a base's suitability for the mission in question is the main driver of basing decisions, and because of this the authors suggest that suitability-for-mission criteria be assessed earlier in the decisionmaking process. Finally, the authors identified challenges and potential improvements to the basing decisionmaking process, including the inclusion more strategic inputs in the process"--Publihser's description.