Exploring the Intricacies: Unveiling the National Defense Strategy's Inner Workings
In late 2022, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin unveiled the United States' latest National Defense Strategy (NDS), outlining the overarching goals and priorities for the country's military and defense posture. The strategy identifies China as the primary "pacing threat," with Russia as a secondary but dangerous concern.
The NDS emphasizes defending the U.S. homeland, deterring strategic attacks against the nation and its allies, and preparing to prevail in conflict by integrating efforts across military services, the government, and allied partners. The strategy highlights the importance of "campaigning," meaning ongoing military activities like exercises and deployments to shift the security environment favourably over time.
Regarding irregular warfare—conflicts not characterized by conventional force-on-force combat but including guerrilla tactics, insurgencies, terrorism, and other unconventional methods—the NDS's approach manifests mainly through integrated deterrence and partnerships. These efforts involve combined operations with allies and partners, suggesting that dealing with irregular threats is embedded in broader strategic campaigning and readiness across multiple domains.
The NDS also prioritizes technological modernization, such as the use of drones and AI, and campaign-style operations that can counter both near-peer state threats and irregular warfare environments which often include state and non-state actors employing asymmetric tactics.
The focus on homeland defense, including military support to border security and cooperation with agencies like Customs and Border Patrol, indicates an expanded view of irregular warfare threats domestically, such as illegal border crossings and drug trafficking, as highlighted in recent discussions of U.S. defense priorities.
The National Defense Strategy distills guidance from the National Security Strategy down to the Pentagon, and its implementation affects irregular warfare efforts significantly. The Irregular Warfare Podcast, a production of the Irregular Warfare Initiative (IWI), delves into the impact of the NDS on irregular warfare in its Episode 73.
Hosted by Ben Jebb and Julia McClenon, Episode 73 features Retired Brigadier General Chris Burns, the senior advisor to the Irregular Warfare Center, and Dr. Kori Schake, a senior fellow and the director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. The discussion centres around the unclassified version of the National Defense Strategy and how it shapes U.S. approaches to irregular warfare by stressing a whole-of-government and allied integration approach, ensuring the military is capable of addressing diverse threats that include irregular tactics.
IWI, a team of volunteers dedicated to bridging the gap between scholars and practitioners in the field of irregular warfare, generates written and audio content, coordinates events for the IW community, and hosts critical thinkers in the field of irregular warfare as IWI fellows. The organisation can be followed and engaged with on various social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Subscription to the IWI monthly newsletter provides access to written content, upcoming community events, and other resources.
Before retiring, Retired Brigadier General Chris Burns commanded Special Operations Command North at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. During his thirty-six-year military career, he led special operations units at multiple echelons.
In summary, the National Defense Strategy sets a comprehensive defense framework that includes preparing for and responding to irregular warfare through integrated deterrence, partnerships, new technologies, and homeland defense. This strategic outlook is likely a central theme in Episode 73 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast, explaining how irregular warfare fits into broader U.S. defense priorities and operations today.
- The National Defense Strategy (NDS) emphasizes the importance of integrating efforts across military services, the government, and allied partners in preparing to prevail in conflict.
- Regarding irregular warfare, the NDS's approach manifests mainly through integrated deterrence and partnerships, involving combined operations with allies and partners.
- The NDS prioritizes technological modernization, such as the use of drones and AI, and campaign-style operations that can counter both near-peer state threats and irregular warfare environments.
- The discussion in Episode 73 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast, hosted by Ben Jebb and Julia McClenon, focuses on how the unclassified version of the NDS shapes U.S. approaches to irregular warfare.
- Before retiring, Retired Brigadier General Chris Burns, a senior advisor to the Irregular Warfare Center, led special operations units at multiple echelons, including Special Operations Command North at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.
