National Defense Strategy (United States)

The National Defense Strategy (NDS) is produced by the United States Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and is signed by the United States Secretary of Defense as the United States Department of Defense's (DoD) capstone strategic guidance. The NDS translates and refines the National Security Strategy (NSS) (produced by the U.S. President's staff and signed by the President) into broad military guidance for military planning, military strategy, force posturing, force constructs, force modernization, etc. It is expected to be produced every four years and to be generally publicly available.[1] [2] [3][4] [5] [6]

The NDS informs another related document, the National Military Strategy (NMS),[a][b] written by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and signed by its Chairman (CJCS).[7] The NMS and NDS often agree, but since the CJCS's role is to give unfiltered military advice to the government, the NMS is also an opportunity for the CJCS to provide a contrary opinion, however rare. In any case, the NMS is a further refinement of the NDS to provide the U.S. military with more detailed guidance for theater campaign planning, modernization, force posturing, and force structure.

Moreover, the NMS is often classified, while the NDS is generally not. According to a fact sheet[2] from the Department of Defense the March 2022 version is classified, however an "unclassified NDS will be forthcoming".[9]

In 2018, the NDS became the sole successor to the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR).[10][11][12]

In 2022, the NDS[1]: 1–32  was released on October 27 along with the Missile Defense Review (MDR)[1]: 63rd-80th pages [c] and Nuclear Posture Review (NPR).[1]: 33rd-62nd pages [15][b]

  1. ^ a b c d Lloyd Austin III, US Secretary of Defense, et. al. (27 Oct 2022) 2022 National Defense Strategy of the United States, including the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review, and the 2022 Missile Defense Review 80 pages: Unclassified. NDS (1st-32nd pages); NPR (33rd-62nd pages); MDR (63rd-80th pages)
  2. ^ a b US Department of Defense (28 Mar 2022) Fact Sheet: 2022 National Defense Strategy 2 page sketch NDS
  3. ^ Colin Kahl, US Department of Defense (4 Nov 2022) The 2022 National Defense Strategy: A conversation with Colin Kahl 2 hour discussion of NDS presented by the Brookings Institution
  4. ^ a b c C. Todd Lopez, DOD News (8 Dec 2022) U.S. Military Readiness Goes Beyond Just China, Russia 
  5. ^ CJCSI 5123.011 (30 October 2021) CHARTER OF THE JOINT REQUIREMENTS OVERSIGHT COUNCIL AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE JOINT CAPABILITIES INTEGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM JROC charter and JCIDS
  6. ^ Jim Garamone, DOD News (9 Nov 2022) Russia Suffers 'Catastrophic Strategic Disaster' in Ukraine "Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine has been 'a catastrophic strategic disaster' —Colin H. Kahl, the undersecretary of defense for policy
  7. ^ a b c The Joint Staff (2018) Description of the National Military Strategy 2018 8 pages
  8. ^ Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Public Affairs (12 July 2019) Description of the 2018 National Military Strategy Released
  9. ^ "Fact Sheet: 2022 National Defense Strategy" (PDF). Defense.gov. 28 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  10. ^ Karlin, Mara (21 January 2018). "How to read the 2018 National Defense Strategy". Brookings Institution. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  11. ^ Gould, Joe (25 April 2016). "QDR Dead in 2017 Defense Policy Bill". Defense News. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  12. ^ Saralyn Cruickshank (Jan 19, 2018) U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis outlines bold new national defense strategy at Johns Hopkins
    1. Updating nuclear command, control, and support infrastructure to better counter-attacks from U.S. adversaries
    2. Prioritizing investments in space operations and capabilities
    3. Integrating cyber defense into the full spectrum of military operations
    4. Developing information systems that support the military's tactical operations, strategic planning, and intelligence gathering
  13. ^ Tom Karako, CSIS (27 Oct 2022) The 2022 Missile Defense Review: Still Seeking Alignment
  14. ^ Tom Karako, CSIS (14 Nov 2022) The 2022 Missile Defense Review: A Conversation with John Plumb assistant secretary of defense for space policy
  15. ^ Baron, Kevin (October 27, 2022). "That's it? Biden's Overdue Pentagon Strategy Underwhelms". Defense One. Retrieved 2022-10-28. See Reorganization plan of United States Army for more detail --Note A
  16. ^ Caitlin Lee (23 Mar 2022) The US Military's Force Management Tug-of-War an allocation process


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