Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense 1 

Introduction

The United States has played a leading role in transforming the international system over the 

past sixty-five years. Working with like-minded nations, the United States has created a 

safer, more stable, and more prosperous world for the American people, our allies, and our 

partners around the globe than existed prior to World War II. Over the last decade, we have 

undertaken extended operations in Iraq and Afghanistan to bring stability to those countries 

and secure our interests. As we responsibly draw down from these two operations, take 

steps to protect our nationLs economic vitality, and protect our interests in a world of 

accelerating change, we face an inflection point. This merited an assessment of the U.S. 

defense strategy in light of the changing geopolitical environment and our changing fiscal 

circumstances. This assessment reflects the PresidentLs strategic direction to the Department 

and was deeply informed by the DepartmentLs civilian and military leadership, including the 

Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretaries of the Military Departments, and the Combatant 

Commanders. Out of the assessment we developed a defense strategy that transitions our 

Defense enterprise from an emphasis on todayLs wars to preparing for future challenges, 

protects the broad range of U.S. national security interests, advances the DepartmentLs 

efforts to rebalance and reform, and supports the national security imperative of deficit 

reduction through a lower level of defense spending. 

This strategic guidance document describes the projected security environment and the key 

military missions for which the Department of Defense (DoD) will prepare. It is intended as 

a blueprint for the Joint Force in 2020, providing a set of precepts that will help guide 

decisions regarding the size and shape of the force over subsequent program and budget 

cycles, and highlighting some of the strategic risks that may be associated with the proposed 

strategy. 

A Challenging Global Security Environment

The global security environment presents an increasingly complex set of challenges and 

opportunities to which all elements of U.S. national power must be applied. 

The demise of Osama bin Laden and the capturing or killing of many other senior al-QaLida 

leaders have rendered the group far less capable. However, al-QaLida and its affiliates 

remain active in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, and elsewhere. More broadly, 

violent extremists will continue to threaten U.S. interests, allies, partners, and the homeland. 

The primary loci of these threats are South Asia and the Middle East. With the diffusion of 

destructive technology, these extremists have the potential to pose catastrophic threats that 

could directly affect our security and prosperity. For the foreseeable future, the United 

States will continue to take an active approach to countering these threats by monitoring the 

activities of non-state threats worldwide, working with allies and partners to establish 

control over ungoverned territories, and directly striking the most dangerous groups and 

individuals when necessary. 
Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense 2 

U.S. economic and security interests are inextricably linked to developments in the arc 

extending from the Western Pacific and East Asia into the Indian Ocean region and South 

Asia, creating a mix of evolving challenges and opportunities. Accordingly, while the U.S. 

military will continue to contribute to security globally, we will of necessity rebalance 

toward the Asia-Pacific region. Our relationships with Asian allies and key partners are 

critical to the future stability and growth of the region. We will emphasize our existing 

alliances, which provide a vital foundation for Asia-Pacific security. We will also expand 

our networks of cooperation with emerging partners throughout the Asia-Pacific to ensure 

collective capability and capacity for securing common interests. The United States is also 

investing in a long-term strategic partnership with India to support its ability to serve as a 

regional economic anchor and provider of security in the broader Indian Ocean region. 

Furthermore, we will maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula by effectively working with 

allies and other regional states to deter and defend against provocation from North Korea, 

which is actively pursuing a nuclear weapons program. 

The maintenance of peace, stability, the free flow of commerce, and of U.S. influence in this 

dynamic region will depend in part on an underlying balance of military capability and 

presence. Over the long term, ChinaLs emergence as a regional power will have the 

potential to affect the U.S. economy and our security in a variety of ways. Our two 

countries have a strong stake in peace and stability in East Asia and an interest in building a 

cooperative bilateral relationship. However, the growth of ChinaLs military power must be 

accompanied by greater clarity of its strategic intentions in order to avoid causing friction in 

the region. The United States will continue to make the necessary investments to ensure that 

we maintain regional access and the ability to operate freely in keeping with our treaty 

obligations and with international law.  Working closely with our network of allies and 

partners, we will continue to promote a rules-based international order that ensures 

underlying stability and encourages the peaceful rise of new powers, economic dynamism, 

and constructive defense cooperation. 

In the Middle East, the Arab Awakening presents both strategic opportunities and 

challenges. Regime changes, as well as tensions within and among states under pressure to 

reform, introduce uncertainty for the future. But they also may result in governments that, 

over the long term, are more responsive to the legitimate aspirations of their people, and are 

more stable and reliable partners of the United States. 

Our defense efforts in the Middle East will be aimed at countering violent extremists and 

destabilizing threats, as well as upholding our commitment to allies and partner states. Of 

particular concern are the proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction 

(WMD). U.S. policy will emphasize Gulf security, in collaboration with Gulf Cooperation 

Council countries when appropriate, to prevent IranLs development of a nuclear weapon 

capability and counter its destabilizing policies. The United States will do this while 

standing up for IsraelLs security and a comprehensive Middle East peace.To support these 

objectives, the United States will continue to place a premium on U.S. and allied military 

presence in A and support of A partner nations in and around this region.

Europe is home to some of AmericaLs most stalwart allies and partners, many of whom have 

sacrificed alongside U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. Europe is our principal 

partner in seeking global and economic security, and will remain so for the foreseeable 
Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense 3 

future. At the same time, security challenges and unresolved conflicts persist in parts of 

Europe and Eurasia, where the United States must continue to promote regional security and 

Euro-Atlantic integration. The United States has enduring interests in supporting peace and 

prosperity in Europe as well as bolstering the strength and vitality of NATO, which is 

critical to the security of Europe and beyond. Most European countries are now producers 

of security rather than consumers of it. Combined with the drawdown in Iraq and 

Afghanistan, this has created a strategic opportunity to rebalance the U.S. military 

investment in Europe, moving from a focus on current conflicts toward a focus on future 

capabilities. In keeping with this evolving strategic landscape, our posture in Europe must 

also evolve. As this occurs, the United States will maintain our Article 5 commitments to 

allied security and promote enhanced capacity and interoperability for coalition operations. 

In this resource-constrained era, we will also work with NATO allies to develop a _Smart 

Defense` approach to pool, share, and specialize capabilities as needed to meet 21st century 

challenges. In addition, our engagement with Russia remains important, and we will 

continue to build a closer relationship in areas of mutual interest and encourage it to be a 

contributor across a broad range of issues. 

Building partnership capacity elsewhere in the world also remains important for sharing the 

costs and responsibilities of global leadership. Across the globe we will seek to be the 

security partner of choice, pursuing new partnerships with a growing number of nations a 

including those in Africa and Latin America a whose interests and viewpoints are merging 

into a common vision of freedom, stability, and prosperity. Whenever possible, we will 

develop innovative, low-cost, and small-footprint approaches to achieve our security 

objectives, relying on exercises, rotational presence, and advisory capabilities. 

To enable economic growth and commerce, America, working in conjunction with allies and 

partners around the world, will seek to protect freedom of access throughout the global 

commons a those areas beyond national jurisdiction that constitute the vital connective 

tissue of the international system. Global security and prosperity are increasingly dependent 

on the free flow of goods shipped by air or sea. State and non-state actors pose potential 

threats to access in the global commons, whether through opposition to existing norms or 

other anti-access approaches. Both state and non-state actors possess the capability and 

intent to conduct cyber espionage and, potentially, cyber attacks on the United States, with 

possible severe effects on both our military operations and our homeland. Growth in the 

number of space-faring nations is also leading to an increasingly congested and contested 

space environment, threatening safety and security. The United States will continue to lead 

global efforts with capable allies and partners to assure access to and use of the global 

commons, both by strengthening international norms of responsible behavior and by 

maintaining relevant and interoperable military capabilities.

The proliferation of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons technology has the potential 

to magnify the threats posed by regional state actors, giving them more freedom of action to 

challenge U.S. interests. Terrorist access to even simple nuclear devices poses the prospect 

of devastating consequences for the United States. Accordingly, the Department of Defense 

will continue to enhance its capabilities, acting with an array of domestic and foreign 

partners, to conduct effective operations to counter the proliferation of WMD. 
Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense 4 

Primary Missions of the U.S. Armed Forces

To protect U.S. national interests and achieve the objectives of the 2010 National Security 

Strategy in this environment, the Joint Force will need to recalibrate its capabilities and 

make selective additional investments to succeed in the following missions: 

x Counter Terrorism and Irregular Warfare. Acting in concert with other means of 

national power, U.S. military forces must continue to hold al-QaLida and its affiliates and 

adherents under constant pressure, wherever they may be. Achieving our core goal of 

disrupting, dismantling, and defeating al-QaKida and preventing Afghanistan from ever 

being a safe haven again will be central to this effort. As U.S. forces draw down in 

Afghanistan, our global counter terrorism efforts will become more widely distributed 

and will be characterized by a mix of direct action and security force assistance. 

Reflecting lessons learned of the past decade, we will continue to build and sustain 

tailored capabilities appropriate for counter terrorism and irregular warfare. We will also 

remain vigilant to threats posed by other designated terrorist organizations, such as 

Hezbollah. 

x Deter and Defeat Aggression. U.S. forces will be capable of deterring and defeating 

aggression by any potential adversary. Credible deterrence results from both the 

capabilities to deny an aggressor the prospect of achieving his objectives and from the 

complementary capability to impose unacceptable costs on the aggressor. As a nation 

with important interests in multiple regions, our forces must be capable of deterring and 

defeating aggression by an opportunistic adversary in one region even when our forces 

are committed to a large-scale operation elsewhere. Our planning envisages forces that 

are able to fully deny a capable stateLs aggressive objectives in one region by conducting 

a combined arms campaign across all domains a land, air, maritime, space, and 

cyberspace. This includes being able to secure territory and populations and facilitate a 

transition to stable governance on a small scale for a limited period using standing 

forces and, if necessary, for an extended period with mobilized forces. Even when U.S. 

forces are committed to a large-scale operation in one region, they will be capable of 

denying the objectives of A or imposing unacceptable costs on A an opportunistic 

aggressor in a second region. U.S. forces will plan to operate whenever possible with 

allied and coalition forces. Our ground forces will be responsive and capitalize on 

balanced lift, presence, and prepositioning to maintain the agility needed to remain 

prepared for the several areas in which such conflicts could occur. 

x Project Power Despite Anti-Access/Area Denial Challenges. In order to credibly deter 

potential adversaries and to prevent them from achieving their objectives, the United 

States must maintain its ability to project power in areas in which our access and freedom 

to operate are challenged. In these areas, sophisticated adversaries will use asymmetric 

capabilities, to include electronic and cyber warfare, ballistic and cruise missiles, 

advanced air defenses, mining, and other methods, to complicate our operational 

calculus. States such as China and Iran will continue to pursue asymmetric means to 

counter our power projection capabilities, while the proliferation of sophisticated 

weapons and technology will extend to non-state actors as well. Accordingly, the U.S. 

military will invest as required to ensure its ability to operate effectively in anti-access 
Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense 5 

and area denial (A2/AD) environments. This will include implementing the Joint 

Operational Access Concept, sustaining our undersea capabilities, developing a new 

stealth bomber, improving missile defenses, and continuing efforts to enhance the 

resiliency and effectiveness of critical space-based capabilities. 

x Counter Weapons of Mass Destruction. U.S. forces conduct a range of activities aimed 

at preventing the proliferation and use of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. 

These activities include implementing the Cooperative Threat Reduction (Nunn-Lugar) 

Program, and planning and operations to locate, monitor, track, interdict and secure 

WMD and WMD-related components and the means and facilities to make them. They 

also include an active whole-of-government effort to frustrate the ambitions of nations 

bent on developing WMD, to include preventing IranLs pursuit of a nuclear weapons 

capability. In partnership with other elements of the U.S. Government, DoD will 

continue to invest in capabilities to detect, protect against, and respond to WMD use, 

should preventive measures fail. 

x Operate Effectively in Cyberspace and Space. Modern armed forces cannot conduct 

high-tempo, effective operations without reliable information and communication 

networks and assured access to cyberspace and space. Today space systems and their 

supporting infrastructure face a range of threats that may degrade, disrupt, or destroy 

assets. Accordingly, DoD will continue to work with domestic and international allies 

and partners and invest in advanced capabilities to defend its networks, operational 

capability, and resiliency in cyberspace and space. 

x Maintain a Safe, Secure, and Effective Nuclear Deterrent. As long as nuclear 

weapons remain in existence, the United States will maintain a safe, secure, and effective 

arsenal. We will field nuclear forces that can under any circumstances confront an 

adversary with the prospect of unacceptable damage, both to deter potential adversaries 

and to assure U.S. allies and other security partners that they can count on AmericaLs 

security commitments. It is possible that our deterrence goals can be achieved with a 

smaller nuclear force, which would reduce the number of nuclear weapons in our 

inventory as well as their role in U.S. national security strategy. 

x Defend the Homeland and Provide Support to Civil Authorities. U.S. forces will 

continue to defend U.S. territory from direct attack by state and non-state actors. We will 

also come to the assistance of domestic civil authorities in the event such defense fails or 

in case of natural disasters, potentially in response to a very significant or even 

catastrophic event. Homeland defense and support to civil authorities require strong, 

steadyastate force readiness, to include a robust missile defense capability. Threats to the 

homeland may be highest when U.S. forces are engaged in conflict with an adversary 

abroad. 

x Provide a Stabilizing Presence. U.S. forces will conduct a sustainable pace of presence 

operations abroad, including rotational deployments and bilateral and multilateral training 

exercises. These activities reinforce deterrence, help to build the capacity and 

competence of U.S., allied, and partner forces for internal and external defense, 

strengthen alliance cohesion, and increase U.S. influence. A reduction in resources will 
Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense 6 

require innovative and creative solutions to maintain our support for allied and partner 

interoperability and building partner capacity. However, with reduced resources, 

thoughtful choices will need to be made regarding the location and frequency of these 

operations. 

x Conduct Stability and Counterinsurgency Operations. In the aftermath of the wars 

in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States will emphasize non-military means and 

military-to-military cooperation to address instability and reduce the demand for 

significant U.S. force commitments to stability operations. U.S. forces will nevertheless 

be ready to conduct limited counterinsurgency and other stability operations if required, 

operating alongside coalition forces wherever possible. Accordingly, U.S. forces will 

retain and continue to refine the lessons learned, expertise, and specialized capabilities 

that have been developed over the past ten years of counterinsurgency and stability 

operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, U.S. forces will no longer be sized to 

conduct large-scale, prolonged stability operations.

x Conduct Humanitarian, Disaster Relief, and Other Operations. The nation has 

frequently called upon its Armed Forces to respond to a range of situations that threaten 

the safety and well-being of its citizens and those of other countries. U.S. forces possess 

rapidly deployable capabilities, including airlift and sealift, surveillance, medical 

evacuation and care, and communications that can be invaluable in supplementing lead 

relief agencies, by extending aid to victims of natural or man-made disasters, both at 

home and abroad. DoD will continue to develop joint doctrine and military response 

options to prevent and, if necessary, respond to mass atrocities. U.S. forces will also 

remain capable of conducting non-combatant evacuation operations for American 

citizens overseas on an emergency basis. 

The aforementioned missions will largely determine the shape of the future Joint Force. The 

overall capacity of U.S. forces, however, will be based on requirements that the following 

subset of missions demand: counter terrorism and irregular warfare; deter and defeat 

aggression; maintain a safe, secure, and effective nuclear deterrent; and defend the 

homeland and support civil authorities.

Toward the Joint Force of 2020 

To ensure success in these missions, several principles will guide our force and program 

development. First, given that we cannot predict how the strategic environment will evolve 

with absolute certainty, we will maintain a broad portfolio of military capabilities that, in the 

aggregate, offer versatility across the range of missions described above. The Department 

will make clear distinctions both among the key sizing and shaping missions listed above 

and between these mission areas and all other areas of the defense program. Wholesale 

divestment of the capability to conduct any mission would be unwise, based on historical 

and projected uses of U.S. military forces and our inability to predict the future. Likewise,

DoD will manage the force in ways that protect its ability to regenerate capabilities that 

might be needed to meet future, unforeseen demands, maintaining intellectual capital and 

rank structure that could be called upon to expand key elements of the force. 
Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense 7 

Second, we have sought to differentiate between those investments that should be made 

today and those that can be deferred. This includes an accounting of our ability to make a 

course change that could be driven by many factors, including shocks or evolutions in the 

strategic, operational, economic, and technological spheres. Accordingly, the concept of 

VreversibilityW A including the vectors on which we place our industrial base, our people, 

our active-reserve component balance, our posture, and our partnership emphasis A is a key 

part of our decision calculus. 

Third, we are determined to maintain a ready and capable force, even as we reduce our 

overall capacity. We will resist the temptation to sacrifice readiness in order to retain force 

structure, and will in fact rebuild readiness in areas that, by necessity, were deemphasized 

over the past decade. An ill-prepared force will be vulnerable to corrosion in its morale, 

recruitment, and retention. Unless we are prepared to send confident, well-trained, and 

properly equipped men and women into battle, the nation will risk its most important 

military advantage a the health and quality of the All-Volunteer Force. 

Fourth, the Department must continue to reduce the _cost of doing business.` This entails 

reducing the rate of growth of manpower costs, finding further efficiencies in overhead and 

headquarters, business practices, and other support activities before taking further risk in 

meeting the demands of the strategy. As DoD takes steps to reduce its manpower costs, to 

include reductions in the growth of compensation and health care costs, we will keep faith 

with those who serve. 

During the past decade, the men and women who comprise the All-Volunteer Force have 

shown versatility, adaptability, and commitment, enduring the constant stress and strain of 

fighting two overlapping conflicts. They have also endured prolonged and repeated 

deployments. Some a more than 46,000 men and women a have been wounded, and still 

others a more than 6,200 members of the Armed Forces a have lost their lives. As the 

Department reduces the size of the force, we will do so in a way that respects these 

sacrifices. This means, among other things, taking concrete steps to facilitate the transition 

of those who will leave the service. These include supporting programs to help veterans 

translate their military skills for the civilian workforce and aid their search for jobs. 

Fifth, it will be necessary to examine how this strategy will influence existing campaign and 

contingency plans so that more limited resources may be better tuned to their requirements. 

This will include a renewed emphasis on the need for a globally networked approach to 

deterrence and warfare. 

Sixth, the Department will need to examine the mix of Active Component (AC) and Reserve 

Component (RC) elements best suited to the strategy. Over the past decade, the National 

Guard and Reserves have consistently demonstrated their readiness and ability to make 

sustained contributions to national security. The challenges facing the United States today 

and in the future will require that we continue to employ National Guard and Reserve forces. 

The expected pace of operations over the next decade will be a significant driver in 

determining an appropriate AC/RC mix and level of RC readiness. 

Seventh, as we transition out of Iraq and draw down in Afghanistan, we will take extra 

measures to retain and build on key advancements in networked warfare in which joint 
Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense 8 

forces have finally become truly interdependent. This imperative will shape a number of 

Departmental disciplines, ranging from establishing warfighting requirements to the way our 

forces train together. 

Finally, in adjusting our strategy and attendant force size, the Department will make every 

effort to maintain an adequate industrial base and our investment in science and technology. 

We will also encourage innovation in concepts of operation. Over the past ten years, the 

United States and its coalition allies and partners have learned hard lessons and applied new 

operational approaches in the counter terrorism, counterinsurgency, and security force 

assistance arenas, most often operating in uncontested sea and air environments. 

Accordingly, similar work needs to be done to ensure the United States, its allies, and 

partners are capable of operating in A2/AD, cyber, and other contested operating 

environments. To that end, the Department will both encourage a culture of change and be 

prudent with its _seed corn,` balancing reductions necessitated by resource pressures with 

the imperative to sustain key streams of innovation that may provide significant long-term 

payoffs. 

Conclusion 

The United States faces profound challenges that require strong, agile, and capable military 

forces whose actions are harmonized with other elements of U.S. national power. Our 

global responsibilities are significant; we cannot afford to fail. The balance between 

available resources and our security needs has never been more delicate. Force and program 

decisions made by the Department of Defense will be made in accordance with the strategic 

approach described in this document, which is designed to ensure our Armed Forces can 

meet the demands of the U.S. National Security Strategy at acceptable risk.