With future military engagements eminent, the independent panel assigned to examine the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), the Congressionally mandated overview of U.S. military policy, says that U.S. defense needs to be modernized in nearly every aspect. A report from the panel calls for more people, equipment and, ultimately, more money.
“Our current federal government structures, both executive and legislative, and in particular those related to security, were fashioned in the 1940s and they work at best imperfectly today,” said former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, who steers the panel along with former Defense Secretary William Perry. The pair testified this morning before the House Armed Services Committee Thursday.
The report states that “the aging of the inventories and equipment used by the services, the decline in the size of the Navy, escalating personnel entitlements, overhead and procurement costs, and the growing stress on the force mean that a train wreck is coming.”
To avoid such a grim fate, Hadley and Perry recommended expanding personnel, acquisition and the overall force structure.
Rep. Howard McKeon (R-Calif.), the Ranking Member of the committee, applauded the panel’s conclusion, which stands in contrast to calls from many on Capitol Hill to reduce defense spending and the streamlined interpretation of military policy included in the QDR itself.
Despite the report’s answers on how the military should be improved, how to pay for such changes remains in question.
Defense Train Wreck Could Be Coming, Cautions Independent Panel
By Sarah Mamula - Talk Radio News Service
With future military engagements eminent, the independent panel assigned to examine the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), the Congressionally mandated overview of U.S. military policy, says that U.S. defense needs to be modernized in nearly every aspect. A report from the panel calls for more people, equipment and, ultimately, more money.
“Our current federal government structures, both executive and legislative, and in particular those related to security, were fashioned in the 1940s and they work at best imperfectly today,” said former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, who steers the panel along with former Defense Secretary William Perry. The pair testified this morning before the House Armed Services Committee Thursday.
The report states that “the aging of the inventories and equipment used by the services, the decline in the size of the Navy, escalating personnel entitlements, overhead and procurement costs, and the growing stress on the force mean that a train wreck is coming.”
To avoid such a grim fate, Hadley and Perry recommended expanding personnel, acquisition and the overall force structure.
Rep. Howard McKeon (R-Calif.), the Ranking Member of the committee, applauded the panel’s conclusion, which stands in contrast to calls from many on Capitol Hill to reduce defense spending and the streamlined interpretation of military policy included in the QDR itself.
Despite the report’s answers on how the military should be improved, how to pay for such changes remains in question.