The RAND SLAM program / Jacob Alex Klerman [et al.].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Rand Corporation.

Klerman, Jacob Alex.

Series:

Technical report (Rand Corporation); TR-433-OSD

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Risk assessment--United States--Computer programs.

Risk assessment.

Military planning--United States--Computer programs.

Military planning.

Military planning--United States--Decision making.

United States. Army--Organization--Computer programs.

United States.

United States. Army--Reserves--Computer programs.

United States. Army--Personnel management--Computer programs.

United States. Army--Cost control--Computer programs.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xix, 167 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

Santa Monica, CA : RAND Corporation, 2008.

Summary:

Assessing alternative mixes of active and reserve forces is a crucial defense issue. Force structure decisions are made in an inherently uncertain environment: Force requirements can vary unpredictably, sometimes surging dramatically, depending on the types of conflicts that arise. The RAND SLAM program is a software application designed to aid military analysts in exploring the inherent trade-offs between cost, stress, and risk in force structure decisions. Its unique feature is that it models force requirements stochastically, allowing for analysis of requirements that change unpredictably over time. This report serves as a user's guide, explaining the program's features and interface and guiding the user through example analyses. Several of these example analyses examine some of the same force structure decisions as those analyzed with spreadsheet techniques by Lynn E. Davis et al. in Stretched Thin: Army Forces for Sustained Operations, thus validating the RAND SLAM results against this previous work. The authors also discuss the underlying model for the program, including its strengths and limitations and how it might be expanded and improved.

Contents:

Introduction Using the RAND SLAM Program Reproducing Stretched Thin Using Only the Active Component Reproducing Stretched Thin Using Both Active and Reserve Components Exploring the Cost-Effectiveness of the Reserves A Stochastic Perspective on Stretched Thin Examining the Active-Reserve Mix Conclusion Appendix A: A User's Guide to the SLAM Program Appendix B: Technical Notes on the Implementation of the SLAM Program Appendix C: Specification of the Integer and Linear Programs Appendix D: Creating Assignment Rules Appendix E: Tables and Modules

Notes:

"RAND National Defense Research Institute."

"This research was ... conducted within the Forces and Resources Policy Center of the RAND National Defense Research Institute (NDRI)"--Preface