Toward Holistic Joint Force Structure Decisions

<p>In the words of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates The United States our allies and our partners face a spectrum of challenges'; We must balance strategic risk across the responses making the best use of the tools at hand within the U.S. Government and among our international partners. Examination of the propensity of U.S. foreign policy indicates that the Middle East and the radical extremist organizations which draw strength from the region will continue to hold an arguably preeminent position of relevancy. Despite the importance of the enduring struggle against terrorism and extremism the Department of Defense is still challenged to balance strategic risks across the joint force and instead service parochial perspectives still drive procurement and hence strategic decisions. It is the author's intent to provide justification for the necessity of a holistic framework from which the U.S. joint force structure can both be shaped and help formulate a grand strategy for the U.S. specifically justified by the context of the Middle East. Arguably this framework for military force structure decisions should be part of a wider whole of government approach to the spectrum of challenges the U.S. faces globally. However it is the author's contention that an important if not first step towards a broader approach should be taken with respect to military force structure decisions.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>