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Sustainable Pre-eminence: Reforming the U.S. Military at a Time of Strategic Change
Type of Publication: ReportDate: 05/23/2012Maintaining the U.S. military’s global pre-eminence is vital to protecting American interests and promoting American values. However, the Pentagon still has not enacted the types of reforms that are necessary to sustain that pre-eminence into the future. In Sustainable Preeminence: Reforming the U.S. Military at a Time of Strategic Change, CNAS experts LTG David W. Barno, USA (Ret.), Dr. Nora Bensahel, Matthew Irvine and Travis Sharp argue that DOD should organize and operate America’s armed forces in new ways. Click here to read the transcript from the May 29 live web chat with the authors of Sustainable Pre-eminence.
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Perspectives on the FY 2013 Budget Request for Department of Defense
Type of Publication: Congressional TestimonyDate: 03/06/2012On March 6th, CNAS Senior Advisor and Senior Fellow LTG David Barno, USA (Ret.) testified before the Senate Budget Committee in an open hearing on President Obama's FY 2013 budget request for the U.S. Department of Defense.
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Hard Choices: Responsible Defense in an Age of Austerity
Type of Publication: ReportDate: 10/03/2011Hard Choices: Responsible Defense in an Age of Austerity, a report authored by CNAS experts LTG David W. Barno, USA (Ret.), Dr. Nora Bensahel and Travis Sharp, outlines four budget cut scenarios and evaluates possible trade-offs among force structure, end strength, procurement and overhead.
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Hard Choices: Responsible Defense in an Age of Austerity
Date:
October 7, 2011
8:30am - 10:30am
Date & Time
Friday, October 7, 2011
8:30-9:00 a.m.: Guest registration
9:00-10:30 a.m.: Moderated panel discussion followed by Q&A
10:30 a.m.:Press availability with report authors and speakers
RSVP
RSVP online or by phone: 202-457-9427
Location:
The Newseum's Knight Conference Center
555 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
(Knight Conference Center entrance on 6th St. NW)
Washington, DC 20001
The Budget Control Act of 2011 has set the government on a path to dramatically reduce spending over the next decade, and a congressional "super committee" is now seeking to trim spending by more than $1 trillion beyond the cuts already enacted this year. As additional cuts are made, we must ask: How can the United States responsibly and effectively maximize its security in this era of growing fiscal austerity?
Authored by Center for a New American Security (CNAS) experts LTG David W. Barno, USA (Ret.), Dr. Nora Bensahel and Travis Sharp, the newly released report Hard Choices: Responsible Defense in an Age of Austerity answers this question and highlights the implications of tough budget cuts on America's military capabilities. Hard Choices outlines four budget cut scenarios and evaluates possible trade-offs among force structure, end strength, procurement and overhead. Barno, Bensahel and Sharp also offer several potential reforms to military pay and benefits.
On October 7, 2011, CNAS released Hard Choices at an event featuring a discussion with the report authors and leading defense and budget experts Gordon Adams, Professor of international relations at American University's School of International Service and Distinguished Fellow at the Stimson Center, and Tom Donnelly, Resident Fellow and Director of the Center for Defense Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
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Date: 10/13/2011Media: VideoOld-timers recall with dread the so-called "hollow Army" the U.S. had following the Vietnam War, which crystallized in 1980's failed rescue mission of the U.S. hostages held by Iran. Budget cuts are coming, so how can the U.S. avoid hollowing out its military forces once again? John Nagl, of the Center for a New American Security, and I chat about it with Todd Harrison, of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, and Nora Benshahel, a defense analyst at CNAS.
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Hard Choices: Responsible Defense in an Age of Austerity - Video
Date: 10/12/2011Media: VideoOn October 7, 2011, CNAS released Hard Choices: Responsible Defense in an Age of Austerity at an event featuring a discussion with the report authors - LTG David W. Barno, USA (Ret.), Dr. Nora Bensahel and Travis Sharp - and leading defense and budget experts Gordon Adams and Tom Donnelly. Watch the video here.
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Hard Choices: Responsible Defense in an Age of Austerity - Audio
Date: 10/12/2011Media: AudioOn October 7, 2011, CNAS released Hard Choices: Responsible Defense in an Age of Austerity at an event featuring a discussion with the report authors - LTG David W. Barno, USA (Ret.), Dr. Nora Bensahel and Travis Sharp - and leading defense and budget experts Gordon Adams and Tom Donnelly. Listen to the audio here.
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Hard Choices: Responsible Defense in an Age of Austerity - Photos
Date: 10/12/2011Media: PhotoOn October 7, 2011, CNAS released Hard Choices: Responsible Defense in an Age of Austerity at an event featuring a discussion with the report authors - LTG David W. Barno, USA (Ret.), Dr. Nora Bensahel and Travis Sharp - and leading defense and budget experts Gordon Adams and Tom Donnelly. View the photo slideshow here.
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Command Post: Can We Cut Pentagon Spending Enough by Eliminating Waste, Fraud and Abuse?
Date: 10/11/2011Media: VideoThey're three of the Pentagon's perpetual enemies: waste, fraud and abuse. It's so common it sometimes morphs an acronym – WFA. If it's such a big part of military spending, can the Defense Department make its needed cuts simply by ridding itself of the trio? John Nagl, of the Center for a New American Security, and I chat about it with Todd Harrison, of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, and Nora Benshahel, a defense analyst at CNAS.
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Transcript - Hard Choices: Responsible Defense in an Age of Austerity
Date: 10/11/2011Media: TranscriptOn October 7, 2011, CNAS released Hard Choices: Responsible Defense in an Age of Austerity at an event featuring a discussion with the report authors - LTG David W. Barno, USA (Ret.), Dr. Nora Bensahel and Travis Sharp - and leading defense and budget experts Gordon Adams and Tom Donnelly. Read the full transcript here.
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Command Post: "OK...I'll Bite: Why is Cutting the Defense Budget So Tough?"
Date: 10/06/2011Media: VideoSo just what is it that makes cutting the defense budget so difficult? How much is objectively hard, and how much is subjective, due to pork, politics and precedent? John Nagl, of the Center for a New American Security, and I discuss the topic with Todd Harrison, of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, and Nora Benshahel, a defense analyst at CNAS, to try to figure out why it's so tough to wield the budgetary knife.
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Command Post: "What's This 'Super Committee' and Why Is the Pentagon So Scared Of It?"
Date: 10/04/2011Media: VideoThere have been lots of rumbles rolling from Capitol Hill, the Pentagon and the White House about this so-called "Super Committee" of 12 lawmakers – officially the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction – designed to bring some fiscal order to the federal budget. It petrifies the Pentagon, and with good reason. John Nagl, of the Center for a New American Security, and I discuss the topic with Todd Harrison, of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, and Nora Bensahel, a defense analyst at CNAS, to try to figure out what's really at stake.
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This project looks at the appropriate roles for and proper oversight of private contractors in current and future conflicts.
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Cyber Security
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Military Personnel
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National Security Leaders Forum Event Series
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South China Sea: Cooperation, Conflict, and U.S. Interests
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