The Quadrennial Defense Review

Congress mandated that every 4 years the Dept. of Defense (DoD) conduct a review to examine the national defense strategy and its implications for force structure, modernization, infrastructure and the budget. Because the 2001 review, which was issued on Sept. 30, 2001, will have a significant impact on the DoD's planning and budget, the General Accounting Office (GAO) was asked to assess: (1) the strengths and weaknesses of DoD's conduct and reporting of the review, and (2) whether changes in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) legislation could improve the usefulness of future reviews. Charts and tables.

Partial contents include: (1) Design, Approach, and Implementation of the Quadrennial Defense Review; (2) The Global Security Environment; (3) Defense Strategy; (4) Alternative Defense Postures; (5) Forces and Manpower; (6) Force Readiness; (7) Transforming U.S. Forces For the Future; (8) Achieving a 21st Century Defense Infrastructure; (9) Defense Resources Section; and (10) Comments by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Partial contents include: (1) Design, Approach, and Implementation of the Quadrennial Defense Review; (2) The Global Security Environment; (3) Defense Strategy; (4) Alternative Defense Postures; (5) Forces and Manpower; (6) Force Readiness; (7) Transforming U.S. Forces For the Future; (8) Achieving a 21st Century Defense Infrastructure; (9) Defense Resources Section; and (10) Comments by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The problems and issues that the research team tracked during QDR 1997 are far from being resolved and there is no clear guidance on what will be demanded in QDR 2001. The services remain skeptical of the Joint Staff dealing with tough issues that could redirect their own programmatic decisions. Although there is promise of improvement in organization and process, the most glaring problems are the lack of a comprehensive approach to treating resources and understanding the effects of resources on strategy adn transformation alternatives. It is essential that good working relationships be established now with a clear understanding of the different responsibilities and capabilities of the Joint Staff and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). It will be important to identify an appropriate set of mega-issues (with an appropriate set of supporting specific issues) and initiate studies and analysis on the most important ones.

As an After-action report, this documented briefing summatizes analysis performed for the Joint STaff in preparation for and in support of the second Quadrennial Defense Review(QDR). The authors concluded that QDR 2001 like QDR 1997, was useful inproviding information on requirements for military capabilties and resource. The report recommend that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff use existing processes to routinely address cross-cutting issues from a military perpective.