National Military Strategy

National Military Strategy

American Political Systems

Term Paper: National Military Strategy

Professor: Roger Jordan

Due Date: Week 9 (winter semester)

As we will never forget what happened on September 11, 2001, neither will the rest of the world. Our lives changed that day; everyday people now know that, many people in other parts of the world do not like us. How could this type of attacked have happened on our own soil? This is a question that is asked by many. Yet the answer never seems to be available it was something that just happened. The only thing that we can do about it is to try to prevent something like that from ever happening again. Our government tries its best to protect its citizens from acts of terrorism like we saw on 9-11. First, while protecting the United States we must win the War on Terrorism.

The National Military Strategy is composed after every presidential election. With the security and interests of America in mind. The goal of the strategy is to allow all of the armed forces the tools to protect America. With an ever-changing world this strategy is always being modified. New technologies have made it easier for us to obtain the right information that we need to make fast decisions. But also this technology has made it easier for our enemies to gain information that could be used in plotting an attack on us again.

The attacks of September 11, 2001 demonstrated that our liberties are vulnerable. "The prospect of future attacks, potentially employing weapons of mass destruction, makes it imperative we act now to stop terrorists before they can attack again". Today, our priority is to protect the United States.

Joint forces help to secure the United States from direct attack through military activities overseas, planning and execution of homeland defense also know as the US Patriot Act that was enacted on October 26, 2001, and has been critical in preventing another terrorist attack on the United States. "It brought the federal government's ability to investigate threats to the national security into the modern era--by modifying our investigative tools to reflect modern technologies, eliminating barriers to effective national security investigations, and giving national security investigators the same sorts of tools as have long been available to investigators who handle non-national security matters."

While engaged in multiple worldwide operations to meet these requirements, the Armed Forces of the United States must maintain force quality to enhance joint war fighting capabilities and transform to meet the challenges of the 21st century. "Executing this strategy will require a truly joint, full spectrum force - with a seamless mix of active forces, the Reserve Component, Department Of Defense, civilians, and contracted workforce - fully grounded in a culture of innovation. It will require the highest quality people - disciplined, dedicated, professional - well trained, well educated, and well led".

Our experience in the war on terror (WOT) reinforces the fact that protecting the Nation and its global interests requires more than passive defensive measures. The threats posed by terrorist groups and rogue states, especially those that gain access to WMD, mandate a swift offense.

Achieving this objective requires actions to counter threats overseas and close to their source; to secure our air, sea, and land territorial approaches; and at home to defend against direct attacks. When directed, the Armed Forces provide military support to civil authorities, including capabilities to manage the consequences of an attack.

"The National Military Strategy provides focus for military activities by defining a set of interrelated military objectives from which the Service Chiefs and combatant commanders identify desired capabilities and assess risk".

Key Aspects of the Security Environment

* A Wider Range of Adversaries

* A More Complex and Distributed Battlespace

* Technology Diffusion and Access

Principles guiding the development of the Joint Force

* Agility

* Decisiveness

* Integration

The Armed Forces must have the ability to operate across the air, land, sea, space and cyberspace domains of the battlespace. Armed Forces must employ military capabilities to ensure access to these domains to protect the Nation, forces in the field and US global interests. Forces operating in key regions are essential to the defense of the United States and to the protection of allies and US interests.

The