DOD to usurp planning now done by regional commands
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To move to the centralized troop management tactic outlined in its new defense strategy, Defense wants to revamp technology and business processes, too.
To move to the centralized troop management tactic outlined in its new defense strategy, the Defense Department wants to revamp technology and business processes, too.
The department's new National Defense Strategy noted that 'transformational change is not limited to operational forces. We also want to change longstanding business processes within the department to take advantage of IT.'
The plan outlined Pentagon plans to shift to a 'global force management' model that will let it quickly expand the number of troops available anywhere in the world.
The strategy calls for deploying U.S. military forces from a global perspective rather than a regional one.
'Under this concept, combatant commanders no longer 'own' forces in their theaters,' the strategy said. 'Forces are allocated to them as needed ' sourced from anywhere in the world. This allows for greater flexibility to meet rapidly changing operational circumstances.'
The Pentagon released the defense strategy, as well as the National Military Strategy, to guide U.S. efforts to protect the nation against terrorism, war, weapons of mass destruction and other threats.
The 25-page document is a building block for next year's sweeping Quadrennial Defense Review, the chief risk assessment done by the department every four years. DOD updates the defense strategy every two years.
The strategy reflects changes in Defense's force management approach based on its experiences since the 2001 terrorist attacks and its deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, said Douglas Feith, undersecretary of Defense for policy, in a statement.
'We now have a strategy that positions us better to handle strategic uncertainty, recognizes the value of measures to resolve problems before they become crises and crises before they become wars, and emphasizes the importance of building partnership capacity to address security problems,' Feith said.
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