A Baseline Assessment of DOD Staff Nuclear Expertise
Abstract
This analysis assesses the state of staff nuclear expertise within the DoD to determine if it is sufficient for the department to carry out its nuclear responsibilities. It proceeded on the premise that nuclear expertise had atrophied since the end of the Cold War and this decline was now negatively impacting the nuclear mission. The first step in the analysis was to assess each service's understanding of its nuclear "staff requirements". In short, does the particular service understand how many nuclear staff billets it must fill within DoD and elsewhere (DOE, State Department, etc), and the specific job qualifications of each billet? Next, the team reviewed each service's process to identify, develop, and assign staff officers with the requisite skills to meet user requirements. Finally, the team conducted interviews with a wide cross section of "users" of staff nuclear expertise, including OSD, Air Staff, Navy Staff, DTKA, Joint Staff, USSTKATCOM, HQ2OAF, SUBLANT, HQ8AF, AFSPC, and ACC. These discussions were central to our assessment of the state of DoD staff nuclear expertise to determine the level of "user satisfaction" with current staff nuclear expertise. In addition, the interviews solicited "users views" on trends in staff nuclear expertise for the future as well as suggestions for improving the quality of staff personnel.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 21, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA459868
Entities
People
- John Preisinger
- Joseph Sutter
- Lisa Ludka
- Thomas Neary