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The Army Has Relatively Little Empirical Information About the Personnel Implications of Regionally Aligned Forces (RAF)

• At this point, there has been almost no opportunity to compare different approaches to manning the force in support of RAF and determine that one alternative is superior to others.

Potential Demand for Regional Expertise Appears Likely to Be Moderate

• Demand for regional expertise currently appears to be concentrated at the operational level, at the division echelon and higher, and in theater-level enablers, particularly intelligence, logistics, and signal units.
• The eventual requirement might not exceed 4,300 soldiers.

Acquiring Regional Expertise Need Not Conflict with Traditional Career Development Patterns

• Acquiring appropriate regional expertise need not conflict with normal career progression, at least not substantially.

The Army Will Probably Produce Enough Soldiers with Relevant Expertise to Meet This Modest Demand

• After several years of RAF implementation, the Army will likely accrue sufficient inventories of personnel with the required degree of regional experience. The Army should be able to fill positions with regionally experienced personnel and still retain a modicum of selectivity.

Current Personnel Management Practices and Recordkeeping Systems Do Not Enable the Army to Match Supply with Demand

• A sufficient number of soldiers will probably have the needed expertise, but it is very hard to match the supply with the demand given the level of information currently in Army personnel data.
• For the most part, data about soldiers' regionally relevant experience, education, and training are available neither to assignment personnel nor to units in the field.