The Past, Present, And Future Of U.S. Ground Interventions: Identifying Trends, Characteristics, and Signposts
Abstract
Over the past 100 years, the U.S. Army has engaged in dozens of major ground deployments, serving in highly varied environments and completing missions that range from peacekeeping to conventional war to humanitarian relief. Even as the overall incidence of inter- and intra- state conflict has declined in recent years, the frequency of U.S. military interventions in overseas areas has risen, reaching a peak in the mid-2000s and remaining at high levels through to the present. These interventions have involved millions of U.S. troops, cost billions of dollars, and placed significant demands on Army resources. These challenges are unlikely to abate in the near term. To that end, the Army would benefit from an enhanced ability to anticipate the types and conditions of overseas military interventions it is most likely to be called upon to undertake in the future. Anticipating where and when future interventions might occur requires a clear understanding of historical trends in U.S. ground interventions, an identification of the key factors that drive the likelihood and size of U.S. interventions, and a way to translate these factors into actionable metrics that can be used by Army planners to track and monitor where and when future interventions are most likely and what the demands of these future interventions might be. Existing research on U.S. military interventions identifies a range of different factors that seem to influence U.S. intervention decisions, but fails to operationalize these factors and thus has limited utility for Army planners and analysts trying to anticipate future interventions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 16, 2018
- Accession Number
- AD1055956
Entities
People
- Angela Omahony Omahony
- Bryan A. Frederick
- Eugeniu Han
- Jennifer Kavanagh
- John S. Meyers
- Matthew Povlock
- Nathan Chandler
- Stacie L. Pettyjohn
- Stephen Watts
Organizations
- RAND Corporation