Accession Number:

ADA379565

Title:

Small Deployments, Big Problems

Descriptive Note:

Corporate Author:

RAND CORP SANTA MONICA CA

Personal Author(s):

• Polich, J. M.
• Orvis, Bruce R.
• Hix, W. M.

Report Date:

2000-01-01

Pagination or Media Count:

5.0

Abstract:

Recent deployments of military units to overseas non- combat operations-including Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo have placed new and unanticipated stresses on the nations armed services. Yet military leaders find it hard to pinpoint the causes of that stress. This leads many observers to ask With nearly a half-million personnel on active duty, why does the Army have trouble supporting deployments that require 5,000 to 10,000 people RAND Arroyo Center researchers, collaborating with the Army Personnel Command and units at individual installations, have looked into that question for the case of Bosnia. They have found that personnel turbulence is a large part of the answer Even modest deployments have large cascading effects on the militarys dynamic system for managing units and soldiers within them. This Issue Paper shows how these problems highlight important issues for the Armys deployment policy in general. It explores the amount of turbulence generated by the Bosnia deployment, the factors behind the turbulence, and Army options for addressing it.

Descriptors:

• *DEPLOYMENT
• *ARMY PERSONNEL
• *STRESS(PSYCHOLOGY)
• ACTIVE DUTY
• SOMALIA
• BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA
• OVERSEAS
• HAITI
• PEACEKEEPING

Subject Categories:

• Psychology
• Military Forces and Organizations

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE