Conventional prompt global strike (CPGS) is a military option under consideration by the U.S. Department of Defense. This book, the final report from the National Research Councils Committee on Conventional Prompt Global Strike Capability, analyzes proposed CPGS systems and evaluates the potential role CPGS could play in U.S. defense.

U.S. Conventional Prompt Global Strike provides near-, mid-, and long-term recommendations for possible CPGS development, addressing the following questions:

• Does the United States need CPGS capabilities?
• What are the alternative CPGS systems, and how effective are they likely to be if proposed capabilities are achieved?
• What would be the implications of alternative CPGS systems for stability, doctrine, decision making, and operations?
• What nuclear ambiguity concerns arise from CPGS, and how might they be mitigated?
• What arms control issues arise with CPGS systems, and how might they be resolved?
• Should the United States proceed with research, development, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E) of the Conventional Trident Modification (CTM) program5 and, ultimately, with CTM production and deployment?
• Should the United States proceed with the development and testing of alternative CPGS systems beyond CTM?

To offer security in the maritime domain, governments around the world need the capabilities to directly confront common threats like piracy, drug-trafficking, and illegal immigration. No single navy or nation can do this alone.

Recognizing this new international security landscape, the former Chief of Naval Operations called for a collaborative international approach to maritime security, initially branded the 1,000-ship Navy. This concept envisions U.S. naval forces partnering with multinational, federal, state, local and private sector entities to ensure freedom of navigation, the flow of commerce, and the protection of ocean resources.

This report examines the technical and operational implications of the 1,000-ship Navy, as they apply to different levels of cooperative efforts.

Manpower and Personnel Needs for a Transformed Naval Force (2008)

The Department of Defense (DOD) is committed to transforming the nation’s armed forces to meet the military challenges of the future. One approach to achieving this transformation is by leveraging advances in science and technology. New technologies and innovations are integral to today’s military actions, and associated changes have rippled through all aspects of operations, highlighting the need for changes in policies related to military personnel. At the request of the former Chief of Naval Operations, the NRC reviewed the military manpower and personnel policies and studies currently underway in the DOD and developed an implementation strategy for the Department of the Navy’s future military manpower and personnel needs. This report presents an introduction to current personnel policies of and concerns facing the Naval forces; an assessment of demographic, technological, and other forces affecting future personnel needs and availability; a summary and assessment of previous studies; an examination of the role of research tools in implementing personnel policy change; and an analysis of obstacles to and strategies for transforming the Naval forces.