America’s New National Security Strategy: New Scenarios for Military Operations Research

This is a precis of a report, America Promises to Come Back: A national Strategy, NPS-NS-91-003A, issued May 13, 1991, presented at the Military Operations Research Society's 59th Symposium at the U.S., West Point and to appear in the Symposium Proceedings. It provides an analysis of President Bush's new national security strategy first unveiled in Aspen, CO. on August 2, 1990, and General Colin Powell's 'base' force. If implemented, the new strategy and force structure would return a significant amount of U.S. ground and air forces to CONNUS where most would be demobilized. In the event of a major crisis, the U.S. would rely on active and reserve forces for a contingency response. The new national security strategy is based upon a revised Soviet threat and new international security environment which allows us to assume two years warning of a major ground war in Europe. During this two year period, the U.S. would reconstitute additional military capability. An outline is provided of the new strategy and base force structure, transportation requirements, and whether or not the U.S. will retain a unilateral capability for overseas intervention. It also includes discussion of parallel NATO initiatives and Discussion of major issues, including: defining new goals and objectives in both programming and war planning, the effect of Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM, new requirements for military intelligence, requirements for decision- making, investment strategy and industrial conversion, reconstitution, and impact on military operations research and analysis