This monograph discusses the current state of the United States Air Force and how it can better align its institutional identity and force posture to the future security environment. It offers a fiscally-constrained menu of recommendations for how that realignment might be realized over the next twenty years, with a larger force posture in mind.
Studies
Regaining Strategic Competence
September 1, 2009 • By Barry Watts and Andrew F. Krepinevich • Studies
The central argument of this report is that, in light of the complex and intensifying security challenges the United States now faces, the nation can no longer afford poor strategic performance. The time to reverse the decline in US strategic competence is long overdue. The first task is for American political and military leaders to develop a clearer understanding of what strategy actually is, and what cognitive skills are necessary to craft and implement good strategies.
Analysis of the FY 2010 Defense Budget Request
August 12, 2009 • By Todd Harrison • Studies
The Obama Administration has requested a total of $668 billion for the Department of Defense (DoD) in the FY 2010 budget. The “base” budget for the Department includes $534 billion…
Impact of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on the US Military’s Plans, Programs and Budgets
August 12, 2009 • By Todd Harrison • Studies
This report assesses the effect that the operations in these two theaters have had on the plans, programs, and budgets of the US military, specifically those of the US Army. It makes projections for the future costs of the operations in these two theaters.
Reshaping America’s Alliances for the Long Haul
June 1, 2009 • By Evan B. Montgomery • Studies
The United States currently faces a host of critical foreign and defense policy challenges, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, instability in Pakistan and the reconstitution of an operational…