The Quadrennial Defense Review

For months, staffs have been busy preparing for the Pentagon’s Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) process. The QDR is expected to set out a new ‘Strategic Framework’ based four threat concepts. It will have to consider the following: whether current levels of US military activity constitutes a more or less manageable aberration or a new standard, requiring a commensurate planning response; how to align US forces to meet the four threats identified; how to address the dichotomy between military ‘transformation’ and meeting current replenishment needs; and how to reconcile budgetary tensions between outlays on equipment and personnel.