The Field Program is managed by our Operations Evaluation Group. We perpetually have approximately 45 analysts assigned to Navy, Marine Corps and joint commands through our field program. A typical assignment is for 2-3 years and the assignments range from aircraft carrier battle groups to Marine expeditionary forces to the highest levels of operational commands like U.S. Central Command and the U.S. Pacific Command. The analysts, or field representatives as they are called, are assigned to the field to provide real-time analytic support on operational problems of immediate concern to the command. Our analysts are included in all functions of the command so they have access to the issues and information necessary to make contributions to the most important challenges the command is facing.
In times of crisis or conflict operations we augment our field staff, sending additional analysts to the field to provide support on these occasions. We have supported every conflict the Navy or Marines have been involved with since World War II including the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War in 1991 and, most recently, Operation Iraqi Freedom. During these times of conflicts, the field representatives and the augmenting analysts sent from our Alexandria, Virginia headquarters are responsible first and foremost for providing real-time analytic support on issues that can help their commander conduct the operation either more effectively or safely or both. In addition to this fundamental charter, the analysts are also responsible for identifying issues requiring further analysis, post-conflict, and collecting the data to support that analysis.
The CNA Corporation's research and analyses are defined by this applied, on-the-ground approach. Field assignments have an enduring influence on the character of the work our analysts perform throughout their careers on a wide variety of issues. The field program allows our analysts to develop a fundamental understanding of how their work contributes to helping our government clients' end game — and how to effectively help make our country safer, stronger and more secure, and our government more effective.
