New U.S. Defense Strategic Outline Is not Just Desirable, but Necessary
The force is tired and needs a break. It also needs new technology and a structure that will enable it to remain preeminent.
The U.S. military needs to be restructured both to meet new threats and to revitalize the force, according to the undersecretary of the Navy. Robert O. Work emphatically defended the new defense strategy in a fiery Thursday morning plenary address at West 2012 in San Diego. Work pointed out that since the end of the Cold War, the United States will have been at war as much as it has been at peace. This is unprecedented in the country's geopolitical eras, and that warfighting has stressed the military beyond an acceptable point. "We have become the Department of War," Work declared. "We must revitalize our economy and stop using our military instrument as long and as hard as we have been." Work cited the Dwight Eisenhower administration as a presidency that faced similar challenges when it took office. Amid diverse and growing threats, President Eisenhower worked to balance the budget and cut defense spending while ensuring military supremacy. The current military restructuring reflects the changing nature of the threat and the necessity of bringing the budget under control. "The strategic pivot is that we are going to have a period of revitalization," Work stated. "We are going to revitalize our economy; we are going to revitalize our military-we are going pull back a little on the accelerator."
