Inside Defense
The Pentagon must send Congress a flurry of new reports on force structure issues, basing plans and the global defense posture when it delivers the Quadrennial Defense Review report to lawmakers early next year, according to the fiscal year 2010 defense authorization conference agreement unveiled last week.
The legislation also tasks the Government Accountability Office with conducting a follow-up study of the QDR to ensure the review covered the required topics.
One legislative provision (section 1052), proposed earlier this year by House authorizers and approved recently by conferees, would require the Defense Department to prepare a report on the force structure findings of the ongoing QDR.
The report, which would have a classified annex, would include the analyses used to determine and support the findings on force structure and a description of any changes from the previous QDR to the minimum military requirements for major military capabilities. The force structure report would be due to Congress with the submission of the QDR report.
Another provision (section 1063), which originated with House authorizers, calls for a separate report on basing plans for combatant commands. This report would also be due to Congress with the QDR.
The report on basing plans would describe how the plans support the U.S. national security strategy; how the plan supports the security commitments undertaken by the United States pursuant to any international security treaty; how the plan addresses the current security environment in each geographic combatant command’s area of responsibility, including U.S. participation in theater security cooperation activities and bilateral partnership, exchanges, and training exercises; and the impact that a permanent change in the basing of a unit currently stationed outside the United States would have on such matters.
The same report would also cover the impact the plan will have on the status of overseas base closure and realignment actions undertaken as part of a global defense posture realignment strategy and the status of development and execution of comprehensive master plans for overseas military main operating bases, forward operating sites, and cooperative security locations of the global defense posture of the United States; any recommendations for additional closures or realignments of military installations outside of the United States; and any comments resulting from an interagency review of the plan that includes the Department of State and other relevant federal departments and agencies.
This section also requires Defense Secretary Robert Gates to notify Congress at least 30 days prior to permanently relocating a unit stationed outside the United States.
Yet another provision (section 2822), which originated with Senate authorizers, calls for a new annual Pentagon report on global defense posture realignment and an update on an interagency review.
The first annual report would be due to Congress early next year with the submission of the FY-11 budget request. It would discuss the status of overseas base closure and realignment actions undertaken as part of a global defense posture realignment strategy as well as the status of development and execution of comprehensive
master plans for overseas military main operating bases, forward operating sites and cooperative security locations.
The report -- which overlaps somewhat with the study called for in section 1063 -- would address how the master plans would support the security commitments undertaken by the United States pursuant to any international security treaty; the impact of such plans on the current security environments in the combatant commands, including U.S. participation in theater security cooperation activities and bilateral partnership, exchanges and training exercises; and comments from Gates resulting from an interagency review that includes the State Department and other federal departments and agencies.
This provision also says that within 90 days of submitting the QDR to Congress, the Pentagon must submit an interagency overseas basing report detailing how the results of the assessment conducted as part of such review will impact the status of overseas base closure and realignment actions undertaken as part of a global defense posture realignment strategy and the status of development and execution of comprehensive master plans for overseas military main operating bases, forward operating sites, and cooperative security locations of the U.S. global defense posture. This report is supposed to include any recommendations for additional closures or realignments of military
installations outside of the United States and any comments resulting from the interagency review.
In addition, the legislation directs the Government Accountability Office to review the QDR report to mull how well the Pentagon complied with the law requiring the report to address certain topics. The GAO report would be completed within 90 days of the issuance of the QDR. If the GAO determines the QDR report fails to directly address any required topics, the conference agreement would require Gates to submit another report addressing the items in question. This DOD report would be due 30 days after the GAO study is completed. -- Christopher J. Castelli
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