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

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 strat...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mills, Patrick, Grissom, Adam, Kavanagh, Jennifer, Mahnad, Leila, Worman, Stephen M
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
AIR FORCE BUDGETS
AIR FORCE FACILITIES
AIR FORCE OVERSEAS BASING
AIR FORCE PERSONNEL
BASE CLOSURES
BASE LOCATION
COST ANALYSIS
COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS
Economics and Cost Analysis
FORCE LOCATION
FORCE REALIGNMENT
FORCE SIZE
FORCE STRUCTURE CHANGES
INSTALLATION SUPPORT COSTS
Logistics, Military Facilities and Supplies
MILITARY FORCE LEVELS
Military Forces and Organizations
OVERSEAS
POLICIES
POSITION(LOCATION)
REGRESSION ANALYSIS
SAVINGS
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Summary: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).