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Military Family Guidebook SNAP

/analyses/2019/04/military-family-guidebook-snap

The 13th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation’s (QRMC)’s Presidential charter directed the QRMC to “survey the usage of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, as well as any other supplemental sources of income or support you deem significant, by military members on active service and their families, and consider the results of the review in assessing the adequacy of overall military compensation.” This guidebook describes basic eligibility criteria for SNAP; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). It also contains information about how servicemember pay is treated for eligibility purposes.

Promoting Civilian Protection during Security Assistance

/analyses/2019/05/promoting-civilian-protection-during-security-assistance

For four years, the United States provided the Saudi-led coalition with military equipment and assistance used in its campaign in Yemen. During that time, the US has wrestled with and debated both the legality and wisdom of its support. After four years of conflict in Yemen, the US should be asking: what lessons can be learned from four years of support to the Saudi-led coalition? In light of the significant civilian protection concerns seen in Yemen, is there a way to get better outcomes from security assistance activities? This report aims to answer those questions. We analyze US support to the Saudi-led coalition and identify two gaps in policy and information, respectively. We also examine the timely issue of better protecting health care in the midst of armed conflict. In this report, we provide a policy framework for including civilian protection considerations as part of security assistance.

Strategies for Policing Initiative

/analyses/2019/05/strategies-for-policing-initiative

SPI supports law enforcement agencies in building evidence‑based, data‑driven law enforcement tactics and strategies that are effective, efficient, and economical. SPI represents a strategic approach that helps police agencies figure out what works in crime-prevention and crime‑reduction initiatives. SPI sites apply for grant awards through a competitive review process. Once a site receives an SPI award, the CNA team provides assistance to the SPI site as it designs and implements crime control and crime prevention strategies, and as it collects and analyzes data to devise evidence‑based solutions to target serious crime problems, such as street robberies, substance abuse, repeat violent offenders, retaliatory violence, or gun violence. CNA documents lessons learned and research-tested practices in the SPI sites to share proven policing innovations nationwide.

Working Toward Cooperative Disaster Response

/analyses/2019/05/working-toward-cooperative-disaster-response

The Emergency Response Information Exchange (ERIE) discussion was a Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) sponsored event at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, on February 12–14, 2019. It showed numerous ways in which forces of foreign militaries stationed in Djibouti can contribute to the government of Djibouti’s disaster response operations and improve coordination with one another. ERIE explored coordination among the international military forces in Djibouti and the government of Djibouti to support disaster relief operations led by the government of Djibouti. The scenario examined humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR) operations in the immediate aftermath of a large-magnitude earthquake that caused extensive damage in Djibouti City. Based on the discussion during ERIE, this research memorandum presents a series of insights and recommendations on the requirements and expectations for coordination and communication among members of the international community assisting in an HA/DR operation in Djibouti.

Future of Global Competition

/analyses/2019/05/future-of-global-competition

The 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS) makes clear that competing effectively with state adversaries will be the primary focus of the Department of Defense (DOD) going forward. Irregular warfare (IW) is a key element of modern great power competition (GPC), and our adversaries are deftly exploiting unconventional methodologies— particularly the use of information and intermediaries (i.e., proxies and surrogates)—as mediums of national influence. In March 2019, CNA hosted a cohort of academic, government, and military experts for a discussion on how special operations forces (SOF) can best lead or support US Government (USG) efforts to compete successfully on a global scale using information operations and intermediary partnerships. The discussion is summarized and synthesized in this document.

Russia Venezuela Defense Cooperation

/analyses/2019/06/russia-venezuela-defense-cooperation

In this paper, Russian defense industry and arms trade expert Sergey Denisentsev looks at the history, current state, and outlook for defense cooperation between Russia and Venezuela. He notes that before the arrival of Hugo Chávez, Venezuela was not among the Russian defense customers. The attempted coup in 2002 and the ensuing restrictions on sales of US weaponry to the country opened up the Venezuelan defense market to Russian suppliers. This paper reviews the Russian arms transfers that enabled a major modernization of the Venezuelan arms forces under Chávez. Those transfers, however, came to an almost complete halt after Chavez died and an economic crisis broke out in Venezuela in 2013. The latest bout of political crisis that began in January 2019 has given a new lease of life to Russian-Venezuelan defense cooperation. That cooperation no longer involves large weapons contracts, but Russia is providing technical support and advice to the Venezuelan military and security services.

Russian Military Spaceship

/analyses/2019/06/russian-military-spaceship

In this CNA Occasional Paper, Anatoly Zak, a noted expert on the Russian space program, examines Russia’s military and dual-purpose spacecraft. He discusses the resurgence of the Russian space program in the past two decades, both the military and civilian components. The paper identifies different satellite classes operated by both the country’s military and the civilian space agency, providing a detailed overview of radar imagery and early warning technologies in service today. Zak provides a detailed description of antisatellite capabilities in Russian service, and goes over some of the significant detriments to further progress, such as corruption and quality control issue in the Russian space service. He argues that the “growing pains” of the Russian space industry in the post-Soviet period could eventually be resolved or at least mitigated, allowing more effective use of available resources, cutting the development time, and producing more reliable systems in the future.

Russias Black Sea Fleet

/analyses/2019/06/russias-black-sea-fleet

Today, the Black Sea Fleet appears to be a more flexible and multipurpose naval formation. Its area of responsibility has evolved and is focused on the greater Mediterranean region from the Caspian to the Levant.

Iranian Action in Syria

/analyses/2019/06/iranian-action-in-syria

On April 18, 2019, CNA hosted a National Security Seminar to examine Iranian military operations and influence activities in Syria and to discuss the potential ramifications of these actions for the United States and its regional allies. The event convened a panel of subject matter experts from the diplomatic, defense, and academic communities and featured an active audience of US government members. As the US prepares to downsize its Syrian presence to a cohort of 400 troops, Iran is redoubling its commitment to become a long-term power broker in Syria. Seminar participants reviewed how Iran has skillfully exploited the conflict in Syria, deploying hybrid warfare—including military action, influence operations, and diplomatic networking—to insinuate itself into local politics. The following summary highlights the key points of the discussion, with particular attention paid to the challenges and opportunities that Iran’s presence in Syria could pose for the US over the long term.

Feasibility of Parental Leave

/analyses/2019/07/feasibility-of-parental-leave

This study examines the implications of offering service members noncontinuous caregiver leave (to care for infants or newly adopted children). House Report 115-676 directed the Secretary of Defense to submit a report assessing the feasibility of flexible parental leave. Policy subject matter experts and commanders across the Department of Defense provided key policy and operational implications. Before implementing a noncontinuous caregiver leave policy, we recommend (1) identifying the needs that can be satisfied by noncontinuous caregiver leave that are not met by other time-off options, (2) considering various types of flexible policies, and (3) assessing the benefits and drawbacks from two recent applications of noncontinuous caregiver leave (2015–2016 Department of the Navy policy and the current US Coast Guard parental leave policy). Taken together, these recommendations will increase the likelihood that any policy change will meet service member needs while balancing mission requirements.