A Cost Analysis of the U.S. Air Force Overseas Posture: Informing Strategic Choices

Abstract

Overseas military presence has been a central concern of American grand strategy for more than a century, dating to the emergence of the United States as a great power in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War. It is equally central to the contemporary debate on the future of American grand strategy in the 21st century. Three particular policies -- the "pivot to Asia," a drawdown of U.S. troops from Europe, and two more possible rounds of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) -- are presently the topic of much debate by analysts, policymakers, and military officials alike. The RAND Corporation has drilled down on one common element of these policies -- overseas U.S. military basing -- to answer the following question: What are the potential cost savings associated with altering the U.S. overseas military posture? The analysis in this report estimates the costs associated with Air Force installations and units to provide further insight into the costs and benefits of overseas basing. Our analysis takes three separable elements of overseas basing (force size, force location, and base location), assesses the costs of altering them individually, and then constructs a cost analysis to frame a range of policy options. This document summarizes the findings from our cost calculations, offering a comparison of recurring savings resulting from altering the U.S. overseas presence. The analysis should be of interest to planners, programmers, and policymakers involved in the contemporary debate on grand strategy, particularly those that assess overseas military posture. This research was co-sponsored by the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force (AF/CV), the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans, and Requirements (AF/A3/5), and the Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Programs (AF/A8).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2013
Accession Number
ADA584959

Entities

People

  • Adam Grissom
  • Jennifer Kavanagh
  • Leila Mahnad
  • Patrick Mills
  • Stephen M. Worman

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • Cyber
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Facilities
  • Air Force Personnel
  • Base Closures
  • Business Administration
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Cost Analysis
  • Costs
  • Employment
  • Families (Human)
  • Investments
  • Logistics
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Asian Economic Studies
  • Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of Proposed Air Force Base Actions.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.