Research for CRM

This reader supplements other CNA papers about the future directions in the Western Alliance, by presenting the Soviet perspective on developments in Britain. Particular attention is given to recent Soviet writings on the United Kingdom, especially: its security aspirations, policies and debates, its roles in international affairs and arms control; its military forces; and its domestic politics.

New scales for Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) forms 11, 12, and 13 have been implemented. This research memorandum describes the impact of this adjusted scaling on scores for FY 1985 Marine Corps applicants. In addition, the initial and adjusted scalings for each ASVAB subtest are compared.

In January 1977, General Secretary L.I. Brezhnev delivered an address in the city of Tula whose impact on Soviet doctrine and capabilities continues to this day. By rejecting the possibility of a means of defense against nuclear weapons, or a damage-limiting capacity in nuclear war, Brezhnev closed the door on a debate that had lasted over a decade in Soviet military thought. Since Tula, the Soviet politico-military leadership has presented a consensus on the reality of 'Mutual Assured Destruction' in present-day conditions. The Soviet debate on the viability of nuclear war as an instrument of policy was likewise resolved by a consensus: nuclear war is so unpromising and dangerous that it remains an instrument of policy only in theory, an instrument of policy that cannot be used. While the Soviet consensus on the diminishing military utility of nuclear weapons represents a ground-breaking shift in doctrine since the heyday of Marshal Solokovskiy, there is scant evidence of any dispute on the new correlation of war and policy in a nuclear age. Marshal N.V. Ogarkov and other hard-minded military figures have themselves emerged as the architects of the Soviet shift away from a nuclear war-fighting and war-winning strategy, while General Secretary Gorbachev has fashioned a corresponding arms control agenda.

The Rand Corporation has developed a model to determine cost-effective qualification standards for military occupational specialties. Since this model may potentially have an impact on enlistment policy, it is important to fully understand its assumptions and procedures. The research memorandum examines key elements of the model, discusses the impact they have on the outcome of the model, and identifies issues that might benefit from further analysis.