Assessing the Value of U.S. Army International Activities

Abstract

This study reports on the development of a conceptual approach to assessing the value of the U.S. Army's noncombat interactions with other militaries. The first task was to take a fresh look at the objectives or "ends" of Army International Activities (AIA). Because the Army conducts security cooperation activities based on policies determined by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), the Department of State, and other governmental agencies, RAND reviewed all of the relevant national security documents: the National Military Strategy, the Defense Planning Guidance, the Quadrennial Defense Review, and OSD's April 2003 Security Cooperation Guidance, as well as the AIA Plan and The Army Plan. The result was eight AIA "ends," which they embedded within OSD's three overarching security cooperation objectives: (1) Build defense relationships that promote specific U.S. interests, (2) Develop allied and friendly military capabilities for self-defense and coalition operations, and (3) Provide U.S. forces with peacetime and contingency access and en route infrastructure. The second task was to consolidate the large number of AIAs into a manageable set of AIA "ways." RAND then began focusing on its core task: deriving measures of effectiveness for AIA based on an 8 x 8 ends/ways matrix. They set out to develop a method and to produce measures for every cell in the matrix. To develop the method, they reviewed relevant literature in economics and the behavioral sciences and concluded that security cooperation is based on two types of relations between countries: exchange and socialization. Exchanges are quid pro quo interactions that are usually quantifiable. Socialization denotes a qualitative change in a country's attitude or behavior that is not quantifiable. The report also describes the AIAKSS (Army International Activities Knowledge Sharing System), a web-based AIA program and activities data collection and reporting tool.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2006
Accession Number
ADA455078

Entities

People

  • Andrea Mejia
  • Anny Wong
  • Brett Steele
  • Brian Nichiporuk
  • Cathryn Q. Thurston
  • Cynthia Huger
  • Jasen J. Castillo
  • Jefferson P. Marquis
  • Jennifer D.P. Moroney
  • Richard E. Darilek

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Combatant Commanders
  • Employment
  • Health Services
  • Information Exchange
  • Information Systems
  • International Law
  • International Relations
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Education
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Students
  • Treaties
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Defense Technology Research and Development.
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Strategic Security Studies