The health of service members is critical to the U.S. military's readiness and combat effectiveness. The U.S. Department of Defense monitors health readiness through a suite of assessments. While this suite shows DoD’s commitment to this important topic, the number of items in these assessments has grown over time. And the mandated time frames in which assessments must be conducted (relative to deployment timelines) might create unnecessary costs and increase the burden on service members.
A new RAND analysis examines DoD's five health readiness assessments and identifies opportunities to improve their effectiveness and efficiency. For example, our findings show that technology-related barriers can make it difficult for health care providers to view and use assessment data. Removing such obstacles and enhancing technological efficiency could help improve the health readiness assessment process and, in turn, lead to better care for service members.
RAND recently surveyed educators across the United States to better understand their use of artificial intelligence tools and products during the 2023–2024 school year. The results show that 25 percent of teachers used AI for their instructional planning or teaching. However, there was large variation in use among different types of teachers. For example, English and science teachers were nearly twice as likely to report using AI tools as mathematics teachers or elementary teachers of all subjects. Additionally, teachers and principals in higher-poverty schools were less likely to report using AI than their counterparts in lower-poverty schools.
In more than three years battling Russian forces, Ukraine has fielded a high volume of new weapon technology that has been invaluable in collecting intelligence, enabling drone strikes, and guiding the removal of land mines. According to RAND experts, Ukraine's success in these areas may provide lessons for DoD as the U.S. government seeks new avenues for efficiency. For example, DoD might consider adopting parts of Ukraine’s drone acquisition approach, especially its focus on cheaper commercial drones that can be modified quickly for specific mission needs.
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