10/14: Innovating for Defense Midterm Review

Strategy: The process of connecting objectives with the resources and methods available to achieve them

Statecraft: A state’s use of tools (elements of national power) to pursue its interests and to affect the behavior of others, whether friend or foe.

requires making accurate assessments and recognizing challenges and opportunities in the strategic landscape and in state interactions.

Very difficult with rapidly changing technology and competition between state and non-state actors

US National Interests: defense of the homeland, economic prosperity, and American ideals

Defense of the homeland and American people: Protect U.S. territory, sovereignty, citizens, and national security.

Economic prosperity: Maintain economic strength, growth, trade, and the resources necessary to support national power.

American ideals: Promote or protect values such as liberty, democracy, and human rights

Grand Strategy: aims to secure and advance a nation’s long-term, enduring, core interests over time. A nation’s grand strategy also shows great persistence over time, orienting on those interests deemed most important; interests for which virtually any nation will spend, legislate, threaten, or fight to defend or advance

Military Strategy: is the creation, employment, and articulation of the military instrument of

national power to achieve policy objectives

Example: Maintaining stability in the Indo-Pacific is a grand strategic objective that may involve trade relationships, diplomacy, alliances, and military deterrence. Deploying naval forces to deter aggression is one component of the military strategy supporting that objective.

How Strategy Works: Ends - where do we want to go? Ways - How do we get there? Means - what resources are available? And what are the risks and costs?

Strategic: National-level objectives and the overall purpose of military action.

Operational: Planning and conducting campaigns and major operations.

Tactical: Individual battles, engagements, and actions.

Compare and contrast different strategic approaches:

Primacy emphasizes maintaining a dominant global position, while restraint and offshore balancing seek to reduce unnecessary commitments.

Selective engagement attempts to balance U.S. interests against the costs of global involvement. However, reducing American military presence may weaken deterrence and create uncertainty among allies.

DoW Organization

Secretary of Defense: DoD’s civilian leader & Chief Executive Officer. Civilian position intended to be independent of the active-duty leadership. Must be retired from service for at least seven years, unless a waiver is approved by Congress.

Three Departments: there are three departments but five services under the departments. The military departments organize, train, and equip forces, while combatant commanders direct military operations through the operational chain of command.

Department of the Army

Secretary of the Army

Office of the Secretary of the Army

Army Staff - under this is the United States Army service

Department of the Navy

Office of the Chief of Naval Operations - under this is the United States Navy

Office of the Secretary of the Navy

Headquarters Marine Corps - under this is the United States Marine Corps service

Department of the Air Force

Secretary of the Air force

Office of the Secretary of the Air force

Air Staff - under this is the Air Force service

Office of the Chief of Space Operations - under this is Space Force service

Collar Insignia:

O-1 to O-3: Bars — gold, silver, double silver.

O-4 to O-5: Oak leaves — gold, then silver.

O-6: Eagle — silver eagle for both Army Colonel and Navy Captain.

O-7 to O-10: Stars — one through four.

Joint Chiefs of Staff: Advise the President, Secretary of Defense, Homeland Security Council and National Security Council

Who:

Most senior military leaders in the DoD, The Chairman and Vice Chairman + the ServiceChiefs; located at the Pentagon

The Chairman: The senior officer in the U.S. Armed Forces - The principal advisor to the President

Chain of command: President, SecDef, Combatant Commanders

Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986: created the Combatant Command structure: Created the Operational Chain of Command, Geographic CCMDs are responsible for a defined Area of Responsibility (AOR):

Military Staff Functions: J- for Joint Staff, G-/S- for Army, N- for Navy, and A- for Air Force.

1

Personnel / Manpower

2

Intelligence & Security

3

Operations

4

Logistics

5

Plans

6

Communications / IT

7

Training

8

Finance / Contracts

9

Civil-Military Cooperation / Civil Affairs

Unified Combatant Commands (CCMD): Joint military commands that direct forces from multiple services to carry out military missions.

Geographic CCMDs: have authority to direct forces from all services within their AOR to carry out military missions.

AFRICOM

Africa

CENTCOM

Middle East and Central/South Asian areas

EUCOM

Europe and assigned surrounding areas

INDOPACOM

Indo-Pacific

NORTHCOM

North America and assigned surrounding areas

SOUTHCOM

Central America, South America, and Caribbean areas

Functional CCMDS: focus on specific military functions: Provide unique capabilities globally, across geographic AOR boundaries.

Geographic AORs:

Culture

The greatest predictor of service is family ties

Zimmerman definition of culture: a set of behavioral codes and symbols that carry meaning and help explain behavior.

Builder Reading: The military services are among the most powerful institutions in the national security system and possess distinct, enduring institutional personalities.

Builder identifies five dimensions of service culture:

1. Altars of Worship: What does the service value most?

2. Self-Measurement: How does the service measure its strength or health?

3. Toys vs. the Arts: Does it prioritize technology/equipment or professional skills and practices?

4. Intra-Service Distinctions: Which communities or specialties have greater status?

5. Insecurities about Legitimacy: Does the service fear losing its relevance or independence?

Army: Values service to the country, emphasizes personnel and traditional land warfare, and is comparatively secure in its institutional relevance.

Navy: Values institutional independence, naval tradition, and ships. Different warfare communities compete for influence.

Air Force: Values flight and advanced technology, traditionally privileges pilots, and has historically defended the importance of independent airpower.