Matching Investment to Strategy: Preparing the Department of Defense for the Future
Abstract
The new Bush Administration promises watershed changes for the military establishment beginning with a new strategy for the 21st century international environment. Its ongoing strategic review has been billed as a close scrutiny of forces and capabilities which may lead to disposing Cold War weapons in favor of forces oriented towards future threats. Transformation is the theme today although the end-state, if there is one, is uncertain. It is "presumably a change in the structure and composition of the armed forces to become something new and more effective." The question that needs to be asked isn't just about how the military should change -- it's about reshaping the Department of Defense (DoD) so that it can change and to adapt to new doctrine and threats. After all, the Department has been touting "jointness" for over fifteen years and progress in that direction has been slow. Expecting transformation from an organization that has found it very difficult to solve even basic interoperability issues for existing systems is extremely optimistic at best. The challenge becomes doubly daunting in that (1) there is no outside threat or peer competitor to act as a forcing function for change and (2) the current configuration of forces has been pretty successful in recent outings. There are unknown risks in moving from a successful and robust posture to something different.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA445170
Entities
People
- Ellen Maldonado
Organizations
- National War College