CARLISLE, PA, April 16, 2009 -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today he had directed the Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review team to be "realistic" about the scenarios in which direct U.S. military action might be required.
This means considering where, for instance, “it would be necessary or sensible to send a large conventional ground force,” he said. “The QDR will also take a look at the Army’s force mix of heavy and light, active and Reserve, and assess whether shifts are needed.”
Gates, who spoke at the Army War College in Carlisle, PA, said the Defense Department must be prepared for the wars America is most likely to fight -- not just the wars U.S. forces have traditionally been best suited to fight or the threats “we conjure up from potential adversaries who also have limited resources.”
The answer is not necessarily buying more technologically advanced versions of vehicles, ships and aircraft designed to stop the Soviets during the Cold War, Gates said. This will be the first QDR in which defense planners will be able to fully incorporate the numerous lessons learned on the battlefield these last few years, he added, citing “lessons about what mix of hybrid tactics future adversaries, both state and non-state actors, are likely to pursue.”
InsideDefense.com reported this week that the QDR will examine 11 scenarios, including regime collapse in North Korea, cyberattacks on the United States and a major conflict with China over Taiwan. The scenarios have been divided into four categories: U.S.-led stability and reconstruction operations; steady-state demands; major conflicts against state adversaries; and defense of the homeland and civil support. -- Christopher J. Castelli