Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I would like to thank the men and women who serve in the US military, including individuals on active duty, those in the reserves and National Guard, and veterans. Hundreds have given their time and wisdom to this project, and I hope the result is worthy of their respect.

Literally hundreds of senior officers and government officials have advised me and provided feedback on drafts, and I am especially grateful for informative visits and opportunities to discuss the research during sessions at the Pentagon, Naval Personnel Command, US Air Force Academy, University of Kansas, the Philanthropy Roundtable, and the Naval Postgraduate School.

This book was made possible by a generous grant from the Smith Richardson Foundation, and I am grateful for its support.

Thanks to the Hoover Institution, which has given me a home for the past three years to conduct this research. I am especially grateful to my Hoover colleagues, including George Shultz, Condoleezza Rice, Gary Roughead, Jim Mattis, David Slayton, Joe Felter, John Taylor, Eric Hanushek, Eddie Lazear, John Cochrane, David Henderson, Josh Rauh, Amy Zegart, Richard Epstein, Kori Schake, Chris Dauer, Stephen Langlois, Mike Franc, John Raisian, and Tom Gilligan. In addition, I received unexpected and generous input from Charles O’Reilly, a professor at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. His impact on my thinking and on much of the text was tremendous. A great deal of thanks goes to four classes of the Hoover Institution’s National Security Affairs Fellows, a program generously supported by Bob Oster and other Hoover Overseers who have also encouraged this work. Finally, I must acknowledge the inspiring work done by the late Hoover scholars who paved the way for all of us in promoting an All-Volunteer Force: Milton Friedman, Gary Becker, and Martin Anderson above all.

Research support from Evelyn Heil was invaluable. Thanks also to Chris Dellaporta, Shane Culver, Alexis Gurganius, Alexa Liautaud, and Laura Olson for their dedicated assistance. Many other colleagues at Hoover generously assisted the project, and Claudia Hubbard was especially helpful.

Walt Ulmer, Troy Thomas, John Gallagher, Philip Carter, Todd Harrison, Mackenzie Eaglen, Jim Carafano, Kate Kidder, David Barno, Seth Cropsey, Chris DeMuth, Don Vandergriff, Nora Bensahel, and Steve Leonard each had a hand in shaping my thinking. Thanks as well to the many individuals from private-sector firms who provided valuable thoughts, including William Treseder and his colleagues at BMNT partners, Karen Courington, Chris Hsu, John Maguire, Beau Laskey, Joe Wolf, Don Faul, Nathan Estruth, Pat Johnson, Bill Casebeer, Jeff Philippart, Joe Deane, and Steve Kiser. Special thanks to Kevin McConnell and his colleagues at Palantir.

Editors at the Hoover Institution Press have been an invaluable asset in making this book come to life. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

I cannot express enough thanks to Tom Ricks for his encouragement and support in publishing various essays along the way at Foreign Policy, and to an equally supportive hand from John Podhoretz at Commentary, Ryan Evans at WarOnTheRocks.com, and the editors at Military Times.

Although I need to express thanks to so many people, the reader must know that the final analysis and recommendations are mine alone. Indeed, many individuals listed here will and have argued to the contrary on parts of my thinking. Any errors, especially, belong to me.

TIM KANE

Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University

Captain, US Air Force (1990–95)