Abstract
The Pentagon needs to embrace a new methodology called mission-based planning to size and shape the defense enterprise properly. This article critiques several proposals for reestablishing the long-standing two major theater war construct in the face of ongoing shifts in the strategic environment, including the nation’s $36 trillion debt and prospects of annual interest payments beyond $1 trillion. It presents a mission priority alternative focused on strategic prioritization based on the authors’ four decades of experience in strategy/force planning at the service, the department, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense levels. Strategic-level service planners and students of Joint professional military education / top-level schools will better understand the strategic context and key parameters of the internal debate at the Pentagon about the upcoming National Defense Strategy.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.55540/0031-1723.3342
Recommended Citation
Frank G. Hoffman, "The Next National Defense Strategy: Mission-Based Force Planning," Parameters 55, no. 2 (2025), doi:10.55540/0031-1723.3342.
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