This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. The DoD is facing the complex challenge of simultaneously supporting continuing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and preparing its military forces to meet emerging threats of the new security environment. The 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) articulates DoD's strategic plan to rebalance capabilities in order to prevail in current operations and develop capabilities to meet future threats. The QDR acknowledged that the country faces fiscal challenges and that DoD must make difficult trade-offs where warranted. This report provides an assessment of the degree to which DoD addressed each of these items in its 2010 report on the QDR and the supplemental information provided to the defense committees. Charts and tables.

Quadrennial Defense Review: 2010 Report Addressed Many but Not All Required Items

"Secretary of Defense to submit a report to the congressional defense committees that directly addresses those items that GAO assessed as not directly addressed by the QDR no later than 30 days after the submission of GAO's report. The legislation that establishes the requirements for the QDR review and report is reprinted in enclosure II.DOD's Approach to the 2010 QDRDOD used the 2008 National Defense Strategy as the starting point for the 2010 QDR review. The strategy described an environment shaped by globalization, violent extremist movements, rogue and unstable states, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. For its 2010 QDR analyses, DOD examined forces needed for three different sets of scenarios, each consisting of multiple concurrent operations, chosen to reflect the complexity and range of events that may occur in multiple theaters in overlapping timeframes in the mid-term (5 to 7 years in the future). The range of potential operations included homeland defense, defense support to civil authorities responding to a catastrophic event in the United States, a major stabilization operation, deterring and defeating regional aggressors, and a medium-sized counterinsurgency mission. According to the QDR report, DOD used the results of its analyses to make decisions on how to size and shape the force and to inform its choices on resourcing priorities. For example, according to DOD officials, the proposed fiscal year 2011 defense budget focuses investments toward the priorities outlined in the QDR report, such as rebalancing the force.The Under Secretary of Defense for Policy had the lead role in conducting the 2010 QDR. To conduct the QDR analyses, DOD established four issue teams, each co-chaired by representatives from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation division of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the Joint Staff. Issue teams included: (1) irregular warfare, (2) high-end asym..."

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent agency that works for Congress. The GAO watches over Congress, and investigates how the federal government spends taxpayers dollars. The Comptroller General of the United States is the leader of the GAO, and is appointed to a 15-year term by the U.S. President. The GAO wants to support Congress, while at the same time doing right by the citizens of the United States. They audit, investigate, perform analyses, issue legal decisions and report anything that the government is doing. This is one of their reports.

DOD is required by law to conduct a comprehensive examination of the national defense strategy, force structure, force modernization plans, infrastructure, budget plan, and other elements of the defense program and policies of the United States, every 4 years, with a view toward determining and expressing the nation's defense strategy and establishing a defense program for the next 20 years. This report assesses the degree to which DOD addressed each of these items in its 2010 report on the QDR and the supplemental information provided to the defense committees.

Volume 116 of Terrorism: Commentary on Security Documents, Assessing President Obama's National Security Strategy extends the previous volumes on the Administration's national security policy by highlighting its specific strategies. The volume begins with an assessment of the recently published Obama National Security Strategy. It also includes other strategy documents, official statements, and budget documents to allow readers to compare and contrast this Administration's approach to its predecessor.

Maritime security threats to the U.S. are broad, incl. the naval forces of potential adversary nations, terrorism, and piracy. The attacks on the USS Cole in 2000, in Mumbai in 2008, and on the Maersk Alabama in 2009 highlight these threats. DoD considers maritime domain awareness -- identifying threats and providing commanders with sufficient awareness to make timely decisions -- a means for facilitating effective action in the maritime domain and critical to its homeland defense mission. This report examines the extent to which DoD has developed a strategy to manage its maritime domain awareness efforts and uses a risk-based approach. It is a public version of a previous, sensitive report. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand report.