U.S. Overseas Military Posture: Relative Costs and Strategic Benefits
Abstract
Congress, through the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, directed the Department of Defense (DoD) to commission an independent assessment of the overseas basing presence of U.S. forces. The legislation specifically asked for an assessment of the location and number of forces needed overseas to execute the national military strategy, the advisability of changes to overseas basing in light of potential fiscal constraints and the changing strategic environment, and the cost of maintaining overseas presence. DoD asked the RAND National Defense Research Institute to conduct that assessment. To do so, the RAND team examined how overseas posture translates into benefits; the risks that different potential postures pose, and the cost of maintaining these postures; how these benefits, risks, and costs would likely change if U.S. overseas presence were to be modified in different ways; and what this means for the advisability of changes. Key findings: Overseas presence contributes to the ability of U.S. forces to deter adversaries, to respond to aggression, to assure allies regarding U.S. commitments, and to engage in security cooperation activities with partners and allies; Basing involves fixed and variable costs -- variable costs per person (and overall costs) are higher overseas, even when taking host-nation support into account; The costs of rotational presence can be more or less than permanent overseas stationing, depending on rotation frequencies, lengths, unit types, and locations; and Some posture changes could be advisable, depending on judgments about national security priorities and about the relationships between posture and strategic benefits.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA578375
Entities
Organizations
- RAND Corporation