In this report, the authors present a framework that describes how mishaps might be expected to affect U.S. Department of Defense unit readiness and propose different approaches to data compilation, analysis, and classification that would allow estimation of the readiness impact of mishaps.

Incorporating Readiness Considerations into Mishap Classification and Analysis

Anna Jean Wirth, Tom LaTourrette, Peyton Miller, Dulani Woods, Tim Conley

ResearchPublished Oct 14, 2025

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) classifies incidents involving injuries or property damage (referred to as mishaps) by cost and injury severity, which do not capture the impact of mishaps on DoD unit readiness. In this report, the authors present a framework that describes how mishaps might be expected to affect DoD unit readiness and propose different approaches to data compilation, analysis, and classification that would allow estimation of the readiness impact of mishaps. This understanding will help DoD prioritize resources for mishap reporting, investigation, and mitigation toward the mishaps that have the greatest impact on readiness.

Key Findings

  • The safety community views mishap cost as being deficient at conveying the severity of a mishap because of the strong relationship between mishap cost and the overall cost of the equipment involved.
  • The existing approach can lead to different severity classifications of mishaps that are otherwise identical in impact to unit operations simply because of the cost of the piece of equipment.
  • The data collected on mishaps do not support understanding the readiness impact of mishaps because they lack the operational context (e.g., the size of the unit, the amount of equipment on hand).

Recommendations

  • Force Safety and Occupational Health (FSOH) should consider augmenting mishap data in the Force Risk Reduction (FR2) system—either within the FR2 database or in a new database that exists at a higher classification level—to support contextualizing mishaps with the readiness impact and use this additional information to augment ongoing mishap trend analysis.
  • If minimizing the level of effort for data integration is essential, FSOH should consider augmenting FR2 data with fields to identify the criticality of equipment and personnel involved in the mishap.
  • If a more nuanced analysis of potential readiness trends resulting from mishaps is desired (especially lower-level mishaps), FSOH should consider augmenting FR2 data with fields that allow estimation of mishap impact on readiness metrics that define the Defense Readiness Reporting System’s P- and R-levels.
  • Because of the significant implementation challenges and potential cost implications of adding data fields into FR2, FSOH should consider a pilot analysis that assembles data extracted from FR2 with service-level data to further evaluate the feasibility and analytic benefit of making such an investment.
  • If incorporating readiness impact within the existing mishap classification structure is a long-term goal, FSOH should first incorporate measures that capture the readiness impact into FR2 and use those data to carefully assess the potential increase in the investigation and reporting burden on the services as various thresholds are considered for the level of readiness impact required for Class A and B mishaps.

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Wirth, Anna Jean, Tom LaTourrette, Peyton Miller, Dulani Woods, and Tim Conley, Incorporating Readiness Considerations into Mishap Classification and Analysis. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2025. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3284-1.html.
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This research was sponsored by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and conducted within the Personnel, Readiness, and Health Program of the RAND National Security Research Division.

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