Considering a Cadre Augmented Army - RAND Corporation

-66- A Budgetary Analysis of Cadre
be maintained than are needed to sustain deployments over the long-term. In this section,
we will show that relaxing the assumption that all AC units must obey rotation guidance
while cadre units mobilize increases the cost savings from a cadre augmented force by
reducing the number of RC units required. We use the Long War Assignment Model’s
(LWAM) Cadre Force Optimizer to calculate the number of RC units required.
5.2.1—The Cadre Force Optimizer
The Cadre Force Optimizer takes the number of AC and cadre units as input by the
user and determines the smallest number of RC units required for a given set of force use
parameters (dwell time, deployment length, etc.). The model begins with a force containing
the specified number of AC and cadre units and calculates an initial number of RC units
based on the steady-state demand. The model then simulates the deployment of this force
for the specified demand and war length. 78 If the model is unable to meet the requirement
for deployed forces under the restrictions input by the user, the model will increase the size
of the RC force until it reaches a feasible solution. Once a feasible solution is found, the
model calculates the cost of this force and graphs the amount of stress placed on the AC.
The analyses that follow use the LWAM cadre force optimizer to determine the smallest
number of RC units needed to sustain a cadre augmented force under differing assumptions
about the DoD’s willingness to let AC units break rotation guidance.
5.2.2—Breaking Rotation Guidance
This analysis incrementally relaxes the constraint that AC units must be used
according to DoD guidance. We allow AC units to be deployed with fewer than two years at
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78 In all of the analyses in this paper we assume that wars last on average ten years.