C O R P O R A T I O N SEAN M. ZEIGLER, SARAH HARTING, SEBASTIAN JOON BAE, JULIA BRACKUP, ALAN J. VICK Aligning Roles and Missions for Future Multidomain Warfare RR-A160-1 Cover 5.indd All Pages 7/27/21 5:24 PM For more information on this publication, visit www.rand.org/t/RRA160-1. About RAND 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. To learn more about RAND, visit www.rand.org. Research Integrity Our mission to help improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis is enabled through our core values of quality and objectivity and our unwavering commitment to the highest level of integrity and ethical behavior. 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Preface In light of new priorities established in recent strategic-level guidance such as the 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS);1 the rapid evolution of the U.S. Air Force (USAF), sister service, and joint concepts for Multidomain Operations (MDO); and the creation of the U.S. Space Force (USSF), Headquarters USAF asked the RAND Corporation to explore how and where USAF roles and functions might change to better align with these new demands and opportunities. This report seeks to inform USAF deliberations on whether service roles and functions should be modified and, if so, where and how. The report begins with a short history of major roles and functions events, first at the level of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and then focuses on the events of greatest salience for the USAF. It then assesses the implications of roles and functions as regards recent strategic-level guidance, such as the 2018 NDS; emerging operational concepts; and the creation of the USSF within the U.S. Department of the Air Force. Finally, the report considers the relationship between the USAF institutional vision and roles and functions, and specifically how the USAF’s vision of its purpose determines which roles and functions should be protected, pursued, or divested. The research reported here was commissioned by LeeAnn Borman, Deputy Director for Strategy, Concepts, and Assessments, Headquarters, USAF, and conducted within the Strategy and Doctrine Program of RAND Project AIR FORCE as part of the fiscal year 2020 project Aligning Roles and Missions for Future Multidomain Warfare. RAND Project AIR FORCE RAND Project AIR FORCE (PAF), a division of the RAND Corporation, is the Department of the Air Force’s (DAF’s) federally funded research and development center for studies and analyses, supporting both the United States Air Force and the United States Space Force. PAF provides DAF with independent analyses of policy alternatives affecting the development, employment, combat readiness, and support of current and future, air, space, and cyber forces. Research is conducted in four programs: Strategy and Doctrine; Force Modernization and Employment; Manpower, Personnel, and Training; and Resource Management. The research reported here was prepared under contract FA7014-16-D-1000. 1 U.S. Department of Defense, Summary of the 2018 National Defense Strategy of the United States of America, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Defense, February 2018. iii Additional information about PAF is available on our website: www.rand.org/paf/ This report documents work originally shared with DAF on July 1, 2020. The draft report, issued on September 29, 2020, was reviewed by formal peer reviewers and DAF subject-matter experts. iv Contents Preface ........................................................................................................................................... iii Figures ............................................................................................................................................ vi Tables ........................................................................................................................................... vii Summary ...................................................................................................................................... viii Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... xi Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................... xii 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 Objective ...................................................................................................................................... 2 Research Approach ...................................................................................................................... 3 Organization ................................................................................................................................ 4 2. Overview of Roles, Missions, and Functions in the Department of Defense .............................. 5 Summary of RMF Baseline ....................................................................................................... 11 3. Implications for Roles and Missions of the National Defense Strategy and Emerging Warfighting Concepts .............................................................................................................. 13 Demand Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 14 RMF Implications of Demand Analysis .................................................................................... 27 Key Areas of Interest for the DAF ............................................................................................ 35 4. Roles and Missions Implications of Alternative USAF Visions ............................................... 37 Illustrative USAF Visions ......................................................................................................... 38 Courses of Action for Roles and Missions ................................................................................ 51 Connecting USAF Visions to RMF Courses of Action ............................................................ 57 5. Findings and Recommendations ................................................................................................ 60 Findings ..................................................................................................................................... 60 Recommendations ..................................................................................................................... 63 Final Thoughts ........................................................................................................................... 65 Appendix A. History of Major Department of Defense Roles and Missions Events .................... 66 Appendix B. Overview of Enduring USAF–U.S. Army RMF Disputes ..................................... 106 Appendix C. U.S. Marine Corps Force Design 2030: Process Lessons for USAF Planners ...... 124 Appendix D. Title 10 Service Responsibilities and Department of Defense Functions Identified in Department of Defense Directive 5100.01 ....................................................... 127 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 129 v Figures Figure 1.1. Study Design ................................................................................................................. 3 Figure 2.1. Evolution of Departments, Services, and Combatant Commands ................................ 5 Figure 2.2. Evolution of Military Departments and Services .........................................................