The RAND Corporation’s paper addresses the importance of strategic planning in the U.S. Air Force. It highlights an essential shift from a threat-based to a capabilities-based planning approach, which focuses on developing a range of military abilities rather than responding to specific threats. This transition allows for more flexible responses to unexpected challenges.
The paper also discusses the role of scenarios in strategic planning. Scenarios help to identify potential threats and challenges, and the capabilities required to address them. They provide a framework for assessing risks and opportunities, and for making decisions about resource allocation.
The paper emphasises the need for an iterative planning process, which continually revises and updates plans in response to changing circumstances. It suggests that this process should involve a wide range of stakeholders, including policymakers, military leaders, and analysts.
Finally, the paper stresses the importance of clearly defining goals and objectives, and of using metrics to measure progress towards these goals. It argues that clear, measurable objectives are essential for effective strategic planning.
Go to source article: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/papers/2005/P7967.pdf