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 NEWS
 Panel suggests re-evaluation of military's use of Guard By Lisa Daniel, American Forces Press Service
 WASHINGTON, - A congressionally mandated panel  has recommended broad changes to long-term Defense Department strategies and  priorities, including funding a major recapitalization of equipment, revamping  the personnel system and re-evaluating of how the military uses National Guard  and reserve forces. Former Defense Secretary William J. Perry and former  National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley gave their final report as  co-chairs of the Independent Panel's Assessment of the Quadrennial Defense  Review to the House Armed Services Committee today. The QDR is a legislatively  mandated review of Department of Defense strategy and priorities. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates appointed 12 of the  20-members on the panel in 2009 to assess the 2010 QDR, which was released in  February. The other eight panel members were selected by Congress. The panel's  report is called "The QDR in Perspective: Meeting America's National  Security Needs in the 21st Century." The panel found that the QDR did not project out far  enough to prepare the military for the long term, Perry said. Rather, he said,  the QDR focused primarily on the next four to five years around the wars in  Iraq and Afghanistan. "If I were secretary of defense today, I would have  done the same thing," said Perry, who served from 1993 to 1997. Perry, who served in President Bill Clinton's  administration, and Hadley, who served under President George W. Bush, said the  panel showed remarkable nonpartisanship and was unanimous in its findings. The panel identified America's four "enduring  national interests that transcend politics" as, defense of the homeland;  assured access to sea, air, space and cyberspace; a favorable balance of power  in western Asia; and overall humanitarian good. Among the potential threats to U.S. national interests,  according to the panel, are radical Islamic extremism and terrorism, the rise  of great powers in the East, tensions in the Middle East and competition for  resources. While "soft power" capabilities of diplomacy  and civilian support are important, Hadley said, "the world's first order  of concern will continue to be security concerns." Because of that, the panel recommends a recapitalization  of military hardware to replace the wear and tear of nine years of war, Perry  said. "This will be expensive," he said. "But deferring  recapitalization will require even more expenses in the future." The panel also recommends a restructuring of forces to  build up Navy end-strength and improve the Air Force's long-range strike  capabilities. Current Army and Marine Corps ground forces are sufficient for  the long term, the panel said. The panel's assessment also calls for a reconsideration  of managing resources. Gates' acquisition reform plans are "a good  start," Perry said, but they don't go far enough. Defense officials should require dual competition in all  production programs, and set a limit of five to seven years for the delivery of  all defined programs, Perry said. Historically, he said, all successful  programs are delivered in four to five years, and programs that drag on beyond  10 years "are guaranteed to cost too much." Also, Pentagon officials need to clarify roles within the  department's acquisitions work force as to who is responsible for the delivery  of programs, Hadley said. "It's a muddy picture, with lots of layering and  lots of review without clear authority," he said. In its review, Perry said, the panel was firmly  supportive of continuing with an all-volunteer force, but found that changes  are needed to reduce personnel costs in maintaining pay and benefits that have  become increasingly generous since conscription ended in the 1970s.  Specifically, the panel recommends establishing a commission to consider cost  savings in pay and benefits and the panel's suggestion to increase length of  service for retirement eligibility from 20 years to as long as 40 years. "I don't need to tell this committee that this is  politically charged," Perry said. He added that extending service is  important to retain people in whom the military has invested much education and  training. The panel also recommends a re-evaluation of how the  military uses National Guard and reserve forces. "Our panel thinks we really need to re-think our  relationship between the active force and the Guard and reserves, and if we  need a mobilization capability beyond our current mobilization force,"  Hadley said. "How much of the Guard and reserve is an operational reserve?  How much of it is a strategic reserve? How much of it is for homeland security?  All this needs to be re-thought." According to the report, the role of the reserve  components needs to be reviewed, "with an eye to ensuring that a portion  of the National Guard be dedicated to and funded for homeland defense."
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