What I learned at a think tank

By Lt. Col. Tom Cooper, USAF

Best Defense fine fellow

After
a year as the Air Force Fellow at the Center for a New American Security, I
think I finally understand how think tanks help make the world work. Prior to this, I had no practical sense of
how think tanks are useful in policy debates in Washington. During Air Force Fellows orientation in
August of 2011, Peter
Singer from Brookings Institution told us, "Think tanks are like the bicycle
chain that links the policy world with the research world, applying academic
rigor to contemporary policy problems." This analogy became even more clear when I examined what one military
service might do with a report published by a think tank.

A
recent CNAS report titled "Sustaining
Preeminence: Reforming the U.S. Military at a Time of Strategic Change" is a great example of
how think tank reports are useful. Recommendations in the report impact diverse organizations and will
upset some and please others. The
tension created by pleasing some and angering some is exactly what powers the
bicycle chain described by Singer. How
the pedals are turned by policy actors is what makes the report useful and can
help shape future dialogue.

Two
issues in the report related to the Air Force can be examined to understand how
one organization can turn the cranks moving the chain -- even if in different
directions. The first is the ongoing
debate about force structure changes and how a think tank recommendation can be
used. The second is the report's
misperception of how the Air Force has changed over the past decade and how a
service can use the report to correct or improve messaging efforts.

In
"Sustainable Preeminence," the authors take a stand on a contentious Air Force
issue -- cuts to the Air National Guard in the FY13 budget. Based on independent examination, the authors
conclude that "reductions to the reserve component proposed by the Air Force in
the FY2013 budget are reasonable." This
statement is incredibly useful for the Air Force. The authors, not known for their support of
air issues, conclude these changes are good and should be encouraged to explain
their conclusion. The Air Force could
use the support presented in this report and work with CNAS to reinforce this
message on Capital Hill.

The
second issue in "Sustainable Preeminence" relates to what the Air Force has
been doing to support recent conflicts and how it has transformed to support
the other services. The report
states: "The infusion of billions of
dollars in the past decade has moved the services away from deeper integration
and interdependence, as each service has sought greater self-sufficiency rather
than rely upon the capabilities of other services." This statement is not true for the Air Force.

Over
the past decade, the Air Force has changed air mobility methods, ISR force
structure (everything
from the number of remotely piloted aircraft patrols to a 4000 percent increase in
processing, exploitation, and dissemination of intelligence to tactical forces),
how
combat air support is directly connected to the warfighter, and modifying
aircraft and weapons to support ground force engagements. These examples are proof the Air Force has
moved towards greater integration and interdependence, all while reducing
end-strength and force structure. The
lack of understanding demonstrated in the report is an example of how services,
and the Air Force in particular, can identify misperceptions and help inform
the research world. The Air Force can
use this to plan future interactions with the think tank community.

In
spending the last year at CNAS, I've learned how the think tank research
process is useful in creating policy. By
watching how reports like "Sustainable
Preeminence"
are produced, I've seen how important it is to work with think tanks to achieve
policy outcomes. The process that
sometimes creates tension shouldn't lead to greater tension, instead policy
actors would do better to recognize how to turn the pedals and use the "chain
linking the policy world and the research world" as a way to help advance their
interests.

Lt. Col. Tom Cooper is  the
Air Force fellow at the Center for a New American Security . He flew the E-3 Sentry, SAMFOX C-9s in the 89   AW and C-40s as commander of the AF Reserve's active
associate 54 AS.