A Revised Military Strategy for Changing Realities and Conditions

For over 40 years U.S. military strategy has been built on the foundation of global war with the Soviet Union. With the Soviet threat receding and the shape of other threats yet to emerge, it will be impossible to maintain 28 active and reserve Army divisions, four Marine divisions, 14 Navy carrier battle groups, and 37 Air Force active and reserve wings. Do global change and fiscal realities require an evolution of U.S. military strategy? Or, will strategy that has buoyed triumphant American values and interests remain valid while the degree of execution varies according to resources available? To fundamentally alter a strategy that has served the nation so well requires a clear vision of the future. The Eastern Bloc is unraveling in such a chaotic manner no one can make a reliable assessment of the future. Long-range military planning is now being made on guesswork. The author suggests that a revised political-military strategy is needed to sustain the momentum developed over the last 40 years. While the objectives of the strategy remain virtually unchanged, several basic elements must be restructured to address changing strategic realities. Adoption of power-projection over forward deployment will require U.S. decision makers to approach future regional crises more selectively and with a keen understanding of America's vital interests. Hard decisions will determine which crises pose direct risks to national security and which do not, and which can be handled through our alliances or by other means. Changing geographic, economic, military, political, and social realities are creating difficult choices for U.S. policy makers. These choices involve both forces and means and entail a reordering of priorities to sustain a military strategy capable of ensuring national security. Whether or not the nation emerges from this decade with an enduring military strategy depends on what choices it makes now.