Hagel: Six priorities shape future defense institutions U.S. Air Force Article Display
In the months since the 2012 defense strategic guidance first reflected a new budget reality, Pentagon officials and military leaders have been working on the department's longer-term budget and strategy, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said here Nov. 5.
In the keynote address before the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Global Security Forum, Hagel said a needed realignment of missions and resources is being undertaken across the department that will require significant change across every aspect of the enterprise.
"I have identified six areas of focus for our budget and strategic planning efforts going forward," the secretary said.
"Working closely with the service secretaries, service chiefs, combatant commanders and DOD leaders," he added. "These six priorities will help determine the shape of our defense institutions for years to come."
The priorities include institutional reform, force planning, preparing for a prolonged military readiness challenge, protecting investments in emerging capabilities, balancing capacity and capability across the services, and balancing personnel responsibilities with a sustainable compensation policy.
During his first weeks in office, Hagel said, he directed a Strategic Choices and Management Review that over several months identified options for reshaping the force and institutions in the face of difficult budget scenarios.
"That review pointed to the stark choices and tradeoffs in military capabilities that will be required if sequester-level cuts persist, but it also identified opportunities to make changes and reforms," Hagel said.
"Above all, it underscored the reality that DOD still possesses resources and options," he said. "We will need to more efficiently match our resources to our most important national security requirements. We can do things better, we must do things better, and we will."
Addressing the six priorities that will shape future defense efforts, the secretary began with a continued a focus on institutional reform.
Coming out of more than a decade of war and budget growth, he said, there is a clear opportunity and need to reshape the defense enterprise, including paring back the world's largest back office. This summer, Hagel announced a 20-percent reduction in headquarters budgets across the department, beginning with the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
