The Commission on The National Defense Strategy: A Call to Action
Military Happenings
“The United States faces urgent and monumental challenges. Meeting them will require bold leadership, consensus, and the willingness to change course.“
The Commission on National Defense Strategy - 2024
The United States faces a pivotal moment in its defense strategy. The recent report from the Commission on the National Defense Strategy warns that we are not keeping pace with China, our primary military competitor. This is a call for urgent action and informed dialogue. We must recognize the challenge, understand the stakes, and take decisive steps to secure our future. The time to read, engage, and act is now.
In July, the “Commission on the National Defense Strategy” released its report, fulfilling the direction of Congress to provide a comprehensive review and assessment of our Defense Strategy. It is a thoughtful assessment authored by a panel of experienced professionals not focused on politics, but policy – that of our national defense and our national security. This report deserves a read.
In Washington, there is a steady stream and volume of reports from blue ribbon panels, think tanks, academia, and advocacy groups aimed at informing and influencing policy-makers to take notice and to take action. These reports are commonplace, part of the normal churn in Washington, and they have their purpose. But they are often outside interest groups advocating for a policy. A few, however, serve in a fiduciary role in the American interest. The Commission is in the latter category.
The Commission’s assessments are significant and deserve not only to be highlighted to both political leadership and the American people – but read as the first step in generating a national discussion. To the point, the Commission report offers an alarming bottom line about our current defense strategy trajectory stating we are not ready for military competition or conflict with China. Unfortunately, this report strikes similar themes to the previous Commission report, but this time offers more comprehensive actions to address the entire U.S. national security establishment.
The report finds that “in many ways, China is outpacing the United States and has largely negated the U.S. military advantage in the Western Pacific through two decades of focused military investment.” Given that our National Security Strategy sets the goal of ‘out-pacing China’ (and the PRC is our top priority in the defense strategy), the Commission’s assessment is we have failed to achieve our key priority. Their assessment is that what we are currently doing isn’t working, and we are not on the path to closing the gap.
Among our challenges, according to the Commission, is a risk avoidance DoD culture that is slow to respond to our current challenges and make needed reforms in DoD’s business practices, Research & Development, and shift from a focus on legacy-centric hardware systems to rapid investment and incorporation of new technologies and new innovative concepts across the joint force.
They also cite critical shortfalls in both military capability and capacity; our Defense Industrial Base, and that the NDS does not sufficiently account for “the very real threat of simultaneous conflict in more than one theater.”
Perhaps most strikingly, the report states a critical need to engage the U.S. public as they are “largely unaware of the dangers the United States faces or the costs (financial and otherwise) required to adequately prepare” for if a conflict (with China) were to erupt.
If you agree with the challenges the Commission outlines, then the insights presented in the report are significant, as are the consequences of inaction to our way of life. The report points to a larger dialog than just our defense strategy, but a whole of nation response. However, to start with, there is a pressing need to reevaluate our National Defense Strategy and decide on a path ahead for the actions needed to change our current trajectory. It is time to get informed and to have the discussion.
Read the full report here: Commission Report
The commission does not directly address what I, and others, think is key: a revitalization of our surface warfare capabilities. How dumb is our Navy's leadership? So dumb they wasted critical years and billions of dollars on the Zumwalt class destroyers. What did they do? Ask for more Arleigh Burke destroyers (11 are being built). Granted, these will be very modern versions of the venerable ships, but the entire surface navy needs updating with both quality and quantity.
Advocating for a new world wide arms race is Interesting but not convincing......