Sizing the Military in the Post-Cold War Era

Abstract

Ever since the end of the Cold War, the United States has been struggling to gain consensus on an appropriate force planning methodology concerning the size of its military establishment and answer the question “how much is enough.” The size and posture of the U.S. military was the principal topic of the first Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) and the National Defense Panel’s (NDP) Alternative Force Structure Assessment, and remains an important task for the U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century. The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2000, which made quadrennial defense reviews a permanent requirement, includes under its first and principal task to the Secretary of Defense a call for a comprehensive discussion of national defense strategy and the force structure best suited to implement that strategy. Consequently, the new administration, and all subsequent “new administrations” must explicitly show their hand at the complex task of force planning.

You cannot make decisions simply by asking yourself whether something might be nice to have. You have to make a judgement on how much is enough.

Robert S. McNamara

April 20, 1963