Movement and Maneuver Culture and the Competition for Influence Among the U.S
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Movement and Maneuver Culture and the Competition for Influence Among the U.S. Military Services S. Rebecca Zimmerman, Kimberly Jackson, Natasha Lander, Colin Roberts, Dan Madden, Rebeca Orrie C O R P O R A T I O N For more information on this publication, visit www.rand.org/t/RR2270 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this publication. ISBN: 978-1-9774-0189-2 Published by the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif. © Copyright 2019 RAND Corporation R® is a registered trademark. Cover: U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash Limited Print and Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited. Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions. The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. Support RAND Make a tax-deductible charitable contribution at www.rand.org/giving/contribute www.rand.org Preface This report presents findings intended to assist the Office of the Secretary of Defense to understand the current character of interservice competition and how service culture impacts the ways in which the military services posture themselves to secure institu- tional relevance. We examine cultural shifts and competitive strategies that have devel- oped over the last 30 years, focusing on events and patterns that have emerged since the passage of the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. In this report, we analyze the cultural characteristics and competitive strategies and tactics exhibited by the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Based on this analysis, we assess how each of the services and USSOCOM might adapt and respond if faced with major policy shifts in the future, focusing specifically on contingencies in the Asia-Pacific. This project was sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Office of Net Assessment and conducted within the International Security and Defense Policy Center of the RAND National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the Unified Combatant Commands, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the defense agencies, and the defense Intelligence Community. For more information on the RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center, see www.rand.org/nsrd/ndri/centers/isdp.html or contact the director (contact information is provided on the web page). iii Contents Preface ................................................................................................. iii Figures .................................................................................................vii Tables .................................................................................................. ix Summary .............................................................................................. xi Acknowledgments ................................................................................ xxiii Abbreviations ....................................................................................... xxv CHAPTER ONE Introduction ........................................................................................... 1 Our Purpose ............................................................................................ 2 Organizations as Powerful Actors .................................................................... 3 Relative Power and Influence of Services ........................................................... 8 The Changing Character of Competition .........................................................13 Studying Culture and Competition .................................................................15 CHAPTER TWO The Army ..............................................................................................21 Major Defining Characteristics of the Army ..................................................... 22 Arenas of Competition ...............................................................................33 Preferred Tactics of Competition ................................................................... 43 How Others View the Army .........................................................................45 CHAPTER THREE The Navy ..............................................................................................47 Major Defining Characteristics of the Navy .......................................................47 Arenas of Competition ...............................................................................58 Preferred Tactics of Competition ....................................................................65 How Others View the Navy .........................................................................73 v vi Movement and Maneuver CHAPTER FOUR The Air Force ........................................................................................ 77 Major Defining Characteristics of the Air Force ................................................. 77 Arenas of Competition .............................................................................. 84 Preferred Tactics of Competition ................................................................... 90 How Others View the Air Force ....................................................................93 CHAPTER FIVE The Marine Corps ...................................................................................95 Major Defining Characteristics of the Marine Corps ........................................... 96 Arenas of Competition ............................................................................. 108 Preferred Tactics of Competition .................................................................. 115 How Others View the Marine Corps ............................................................. 122 CHAPTER SIX U.S. Special Operations Command ............................................................ 125 Major Defining Characteristics of U.S. Special Operations Command ..................... 127 Cultures of Each Service’s Special Operations Forces Component ........................... 140 Arenas of Competition ............................................................................. 148 Preferred Tactics of Competition .................................................................. 157 How Others View U.S. Special Operations Command and Special Operations Forces ... 164 CHAPTER SEVEN Implications for Future Conflicts .............................................................. 169 The Future of Competition ........................................................................ 169 Army .................................................................................................. 169 Navy .................................................................................................. 171 Air Force ............................................................................................. 174 Marine Corps ........................................................................................ 176 U.S. Special Operations Command .............................................................. 178 CHAPTER EIGHT Conclusion .......................................................................................... 183 Summary of Findings............................................................................... 183 The Future of Competition ........................................................................ 186 APPENDICES A. Historical Milestones Narrative ............................................................ 189 B. Interview Protocol ............................................................................ 217 References ........................................................................................... 219 Figures 1.1. Department of Defense Organization .................................................. 9 2.1. Army Base Budget Versus Contingency Funding, Fiscal Years 2001–2017 ..... 42 5.1. Marine Air Ground Task Forces ...................................................... 97 5.2. Service End Strength (Thousands) .................................................. 112 5.3. Marine Corps FedEx Variant Bumper Sticker ..................................... 117 A.1. Grand Strategic Eras ................................................................... 190 A.2. Unipolar-Era Shocks ................................................................... 195 A.3. Nonstate-Actor-Era Shocks ........................................................... 202 A.4. Budget by Military Department ..................................................... 203 A.5. Funding for U.S. Special Operations Command .................................. 207 A.6. Great-Power-Era Shocks..............................................................