Keeping the Warfighting Edge: An Empirical Analysis of Army Officers' Tactical Expertise over the 199Os
Abstract
Over the past decade, the U.S. Army has been profoundly affected by changes in military missions, repositioning and reduction of forces, and a heightened pace of deployments. This study empirically examined whether these changes, coupled with normal personnel movements through units, have limited opportunities for officers to develop tactical skills. This documented briefing provides an overview of our results testing three hypotheses: (1) whether the tenure of key developmental assignments became shorter between 1990 and 1998, (2) whether the content of those assignments also changed in significant ways over the 1990s, and (3) whether earlier shifts in career patterns and training meant recent officers arrived in key positions with less cumulative experience than their counterparts in previous years. We find that while some assignments have become shorter, especially for platoon leaders, on average the length of most key jobs in 1998 was about the same as it had been in 1990. There is stronger evidence of significant shifts in the content of those assignments. Most notably, in 1998 key assignments for Infantry and Armor officers involved less field training (much less in the case of Armor officers) than they had in 1990. Finally, there did not appear to be substantial changes in the overall career patterns of officers, except again in the case of Lieutenants, who showed a rising propensity to serve on staffs at the expense of time as platoon leaders. Taken together, these trends suggest that the tactical foundation of recent Infantry and Armor officers was weaker in 1998 than it had been in previous years. The effects of this degradation are probably most serious at junior levels, because the effects suggest a more limited base of experience for them to take forward into future assignments.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA379462
Entities
People
- Maren Leed
Organizations
- RAND Corporation