U.S National Defense Strategy – 2022: Old Wine in New Bottle?
Maj Gen P K Mallick, VSM (Retd)
December 29 , 2022
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Introduction
On October 27, 2022, the US government published the unclassified version of the
National Defense Strategy (NDS), along with the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) and
Missile Defense Review (MDR) . It is a much-anticipated document which shows how the
Biden administration plans to counter threats from adversary nations at a time when war
and the threat of compound conflicts are escalating. The last NDS was published in early
2018 by the Trump administration.
The NSS defines all US government agencies' overall strategic priorities and
guidelines. It is a foundation for agency-specific strategic documents, like the classified
National Defense Strategy (NDS) and the not-yet-updated National Military Strategy (NMS).
The process of making NSS to Joint Operating Concepts to Field Manuals is explained
in the following diagram.
To define the overall strategic priorities and guidelines for all US government agencies, the White House issues the
unclassified NSS as a foundation for agency-specific strategic documents, like the classified National Defense
Strategy (NDS) and the not-yet updated National Military Strategy (NMS). Earlier, Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR)
used to be published. After Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, the NDS
replaced the QDR. Now, the NDS is issued every four years and is required to consider the "global strategic
environment force posture and the role of the USA in global security "
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