Inside the Pentagon
A draft of the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review points to a number of changes Defense Department leaders have weighed in preparing a new 20-year blueprint for the armed forces, an assessment that sources say will recalibrate U.S. military power to deal with an expanded set of operational changes.
An 88-page, Dec. 3 version of the congressionally mandated review reflects the thinking of senior Pentagon officials responsible for leading the assessment day-to-day, but not the views of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the combatant commanders and service chiefs. Their views are captured in a final version due to be released next week, Pentagon officials said.
Sources who have seen both versions say the final report -- which will be made public Feb. 1 -- includes a number of revisions. Still, the draft offers the most detailed insight to date on how Pentagon leaders plan to “rebalance” the U.S. military -- one of Gates’ chief goals for the review -- to improve capabilities needed for conducting irregular operations as well as capabilities need to defeat high-end, asymmetrical threats.
Many of the QDR’s substantive findings have previously been reported on InsideDefense.com.
While the review evaluates all dimensions of the massive U.S. defense enterprise, among its most anticipated recommendations are those related to plans for modernizing the armed forces.
The draft QDR sets six overarching missions for U.S. military forces: defending the nation and supporting domestic civil authorities; building partnership capacity; deterring and defeating aggression in anti-access environments; conducting stability and counterinsurgency and counterterrorist operations; impeding proliferation and countering weapons of mass destruction; and operating effectively in cyberspace.
The Defense Department plans to make adjustments to its modernization plans and organization to improve its capabilities in each of these areas, according to the draft.
Foremost among these changes is a plan to form new military units designed to rapidly respond to catastrophic terrorist attacks on domestic soil. The draft proposes the establishment of 10 “Homeland Response Forces,” one aligned with each of the Federal Emergency Management Agency regional administrators. This step would be taken in tandem with a decision to jettison the creation of a second and third CBRNE Consequence Management Response Force (CCMRF) unit. The goal is to posture military forces to support civilian authorities in the wake of a disaster -- man-made or natural -- that causes significant numbers of deaths, as well as large-scale physical and economic damage.
Other homeland defense-related improvements are also planned.
To enhance “domain awareness,” DOD will explore “next-generation, over-the-horizon” radar technology and rapid-reaction tunnel detection, and accelerate development of standoff radiological- and nuclear-detection capabilities.
Another new focus area for domestic operations is counter-roadside bomb capabilities, according to the draft report. “To better prepare the Department to support civil authorities focused on countering the threat that could be posed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the United States, DOD will enhance its counter-IED training, intelligence and exploitation teams, and its information integration centers here at home,” it states.
To enhance counterinsurgency, stability and counterterrorist operations, DOD aims to increase the availability of rotary-wing assets; expand manned and unmanned aerial systems for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; expand intelligence, reconnaissance and targeting capacity; and bolster electronic-warfare capacity, according to the report.
In addition, DOD aims to increase “key enabling assets” for special operations forces; expand civil affairs capacity; increase general-purpose forces’ competency to conduct counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations; and “increase regional expertise for Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
Working with allies and partner nations to increase their capacity is also an area DOD aims to enhance, according to the draft. To that end, the document calls for the services to improve their capabilities to provide security force assistance and enhance language, regional, and cultural abilities. Also, the draft report pushes for an improved ability to train foreign aviation forces and foreign defense ministries and the establishment of mechanisms for the rapid transfer of critical matériel.
The draft report calls on DOD to take a number of steps to deter and defeat aggression in anti-access environments, which defense analysts say would likely be necessary in a major war against China. These, according to the draft, include developing a joint air-sea battle concept; expanding future long-range strike capabilities; exploiting advantages in subsurface operations; increasing the resiliency of base infrastructure; and assuring space assets are online during a fight. Further, the draft report calls for DOD to enhance the robustness of key command, control, communications, computers and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities as well as efforts to defeat enemy sensors and engagement systems.
The Pentagon mission to prevent proliferation and counter weapons of mass destruction would be enhanced, according to the draft, by establishing a standing Joint Task Force Elimination Headquarters; researching countermeasures and defenses against non-traditional agents; supporting nuclear forensics; securing vulnerable nuclear materials; expanding the biological threat reduction program; and developing new arms control verification technologies.
Lastly, to improve the military’s ability to operate in cyberspace, the draft report calls for DOD to develop a comprehensive approach to cyber operations, centralize its command of those operations and enhance partnerships with other agencies and governments. -- Jason Sherman
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