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This analysis uses data from Selected Acquisition Reports to determine the causes of cost growth in 35 mature major defense acquisition programs. Four major sources of growth are identified: (1) errors in estimation and scheduling, (2) decisions by the government, (3) financial matters, and (4) miscellaneous. The analysis shows that more than two-thirds of cost growth (measured as simple averages) is caused by decisions, most of which involve quantity changes, requirements growth, and schedule changes.

Every uniformed service member, whether Active Component (AC) or Reserve Component (RC), must complete ancillary or general military training (GMT) requirements prescribed by his or her service. Individual services direct some topics, and some are stipulated by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). DoD has identified a need to reduce cyclic mandatory training requirements (especially for the RCs), thus reducing the training burden on the services and making the most of available training time. The RAND National Defense Research Institute was asked to examine the services' mandatory military training requirements and examine options to standardize requirements and reduce the training burden. This report responds to that request by providing a common definition of GMT and examining both the guidance that directs GMT completion and the services' approaches to conducting GMT. The authors identified GMT requirements directed by law and policy and interviewed service AC and RC subject-matter experts

The U.S. Department of Defense has highlighted the importance of preparing health care leaders to succeed in joint, performance-based environments. The current wartime environment, rising health care costs, and an increased focus on joint operations have led to recommendations for Military Health System (MHS) transformation. Part of that transformation will involve improving the identification and development of potential MHS leaders. An examination of how candidates are identified for leadership positions, the training and education opportunities offered to them, and the competencies they are expected to achieve revealed both a range of approaches and several commonalities in the military, civilian, and government sectors. A conceptual framework guided a series of interviews with senior health care executives from a wide range of organizations and military health care leaders from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as a case study of the leader development approaches used by the Veterans Health Administration. Several themes emerged in terms of how leaders are developed in each sector, including the importance of mentoring, career counseling, 360-degree feedback, self-development, and formal education and training programs. Lessons learned in the civilian and government sectors hold importance for transforming the way in which MHS identifies and develops health care officers with high leadership potential for senior executive positions.