CRS INSIGHT
The 2018 National Defense Strategy
February 5, 2018 (IN10855)
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Kathleen J. McInnis
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Kathleen J. McInnis, Analyst in International Security (kmcinnis@crs.loc.gov, 7-1416)
On January 19, 2018, Secretary of Defense Mattis released the unclassified summary of the
Department of Defense's (DOD) first congressionally mandated National Defense Strategy
(NDS). In addition to stating DOD's approach to contending with current and emerging
national security challenges, the NDS is also intended to articulate the overall strategic
rationale for programs and priorities contained within the FY2019-FY2023 budget requests.
Overall, the document maintains that the strategic environment in which the United States
must operate is one characterized by the erosion of the rules-based international order, which
has produced a degree of strategic complexity and volatility not seen "in recent memory"
(p. 1). As a result, the document argues, the United States must bolster its competitive military
advantage—which the NDS sees as having eroded in recent decades—relative to the threats
posed by China and Russia. It further maintains that "inter-state strategic competition, not
terrorism, is now the primary concern in U.S. national security." (p. 1)
Statutory Requirement
Particularly since the end of the Cold War, the Pentagon has regularly reviewed its strategy,
policy, and programs to ensure they are appropriate to the current and emerging strategic
landscape. Over time, these reviews became congressionally mandated and referred to as the
"Quadrennial Defense Review." Eventually, dissatisfaction with the QDR process and its
associated outcomes led Congress to rewrite the requirements for these DOD strategy
documents. The FY2017 NDAA, P.L. 114-328, Section 941, amended Title 10, United States
Code, Section 113, to require the Secretary of Defense to produce an NDS which articulates
how the Department of Defense will advance U.S. objectives articulated in the National
Security Strategy, released in December 2017. The document released on January 19
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