Red Herrings and Defense Budgets: True Causes and Solutions to the Strategy - Resource Mismatch

摘要

The current Defense Program fails to adequately address current readiness shortfalls and long-term modernization needs. If allowed to continue unabated, the ability of U.S. forces to support the National Security Strategy may be significantly jeopardized within the next decade. The factors normally cited as catalysts for this situation are the Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System (PPBS), and a chronically under funded Defense budget throughout the last decade. These commonly accepted problems with the defense budget are not the true drivers for shortfalls in the defense program. Accordingly, the commonly accepted means for fixing the problems are inevitably going to fall short of their goals. Without a true understanding of the principal factors affecting defense spending, viable, long term solutions cannot be reached. A comprehensive and systemic understanding of the root causes for our current strategy-resource mismatch, as well as an appreciation of how the Defense budget relates to the Federal budget, are necessary before effective solutions can be developed.