Ready or Not
The Military Readiness Paradox
Benjamin A. Hull
DOI: 10.56686/9798987849224
ABOUT THE BOOK
The term “readiness,” in the context of the military, is an often used but rarely understood term. It has a broad array of connotations, yet it is routinely used within the Department of Defense and in Congress as a key criterion for decisions from the tactical to strategic. Ready or Not: The Military Readiness Paradox discusses a range of issues found within the concept of readiness: the practical challenges of counting equipment and merging data fields to the strategic implications of being “ready” based on the wrong metric or for an irrelevant war. The author has worked in this area for more than a decade and brought an uncommon mix of military, business, and data experience to this arena. Using this experience, he expanded the scope of “readiness” from a snapshot in time of force availability and/or capability, to a forward-looking projection to aid in strategic decisions. Richard Betts’s work has been required reading for those working with military readiness and Betts has provided the foreword to this book. There have been significant changes in the defense environment and world stage that demand a contemporary look at this subject. The character of war has changed, and therefore how we measure readiness for it must change as well. Military readiness represents a massive investment by taxpayers and should be carefully considered and balanced across a wide range of factors. This work seeks to answer that call by looking at the history and current practice, providing a broader balanced readiness framework that then seeks to help leaders across the defense sector navigate the various technology, people, and political challenges to achieve the needed change. The discussion, while rooted in the U.S. Department of Defense, has general applicability across any nation with a military establishment. The challenges in decision support, managing the ever-expanding data sources, and shepherding institutional change can be useful across any large governmental or military enterprise.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Benjamin A. Hull is the civilian principal director of the newly established Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness Analytics. He retired from the Marine Corps Reserve in 2016 as a lieutenant colonel and, in uniform, worked as the project officer fielding the Defense Readiness Reporting System-Marine Corps in 2010. During his 27-year career as a reserve infantry officer, he served in Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. His decorations include two bronze stars, combat action ribbon, and the Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Award. When not on active duty, he worked in the transportation industry as a data analyst, database developer, and software designer. During the last seven years, he has led the charge on readiness reporting reform and increasing the utility of readiness data to support senior leader decision making. Most importantly he led the design and rollout of the readiness forecast model within the Marine Corps that is being adopted across the department. Mr. Hull is married with three grown children and two grandchildren. He lives in Stafford, Virginia. He and his wife, Stacy, are both graduates of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Mr. Hull is also an avid historian and designer of several commercial wargames, including This Accursed Civil War, Sweden Fights On, Under the Lily Banners, Gustav Adolf the Great, Won by the Sword, Fields of Fire, and Banish All Their Fears, all published by GMT Games of Hanford, CA, during the last 20 years.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Tables
Figures
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
PART 1: Concepts
Chapter 1: Crossing the Line of Departure
Chapter 2: Introduction to the Readiness Paradox
Chapter 3: Decision Support
Chapter 4: The Range of Military Operations
Chapter 5: Current Readiness Assessments
PART 2: Assessments
Chapter 6: The Data Explosion
Chapter 7: Dimensions of Readiness
Chapter 8: The Balanced Readiness Framework
Chapter 9: What We Do Not Measure
PART 3: Challenges
Chapter 10: Human Factors
Chapter 11: Technology Factors
Chapter 12: Political Factors
Chapter 13: Institutionalizing Change
Chapter 14: Are We Better Off Now?
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
About the Author