The U.S. military has been an all-volunteer force for thirty years. European militaries are now relying less on conscription. What policies do these militaries have toward families?
Cindy Williams is a Principal Research Scientist in the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Formerly, she served as Assistant Director for National Security at the Congressional Budget Office. She has served as a director and in other capacities at the MITRE Corporation; as a member of the Senior Executive Service in the Pentagon?s Directorate of Program Analysis and Evaluation; and as a mathematician at Rand. Her areas of specialization include U.S. defense and security budgets, command and control of military forces, and military personnel and pay policies. Her current research focuses on options for reform of military personnel policies and on future strategic and budgetary choices for U.S. national security. She is the editor of two books, Holding the Line: U.S. Defense Alternatives for the Early 21st Century and the forthcoming Filling the Ranks: Transforming the U.S. Military Personnel System(May 2001).
Dr. Williams holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of California, Irvine. She is a member of the U.S. Naval Studies Board, an elected fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. She serves on the editorial board of International Security and on the board of directors of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), an independent policy and research institute established to promote innovative thinking about defense planning and investment strategies. She is a member of the advisory board of Women in International Security (WIIS).
