Quadrennial Defense Review process revs up

  • Published
  • By Jim Garamone
  • American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  The Quadrennial Defense Review looks to make sure the Defense Department is "arranged in the way that makes the most sense for the current situation," a senior Pentagon spokesman said July 5.

The QDR is a congressionally mandated study used to analyze the full range of DOD activities. DOD officials will present the review to Congress with the Fiscal 2007 Defense Budget Request on Feb. 6.

The last review was conducted in 2001. Officials collected most of the information used in that review before the terror attacks that hit New York and the Pentagon. While officials worked to include experiences from the attacks and from subsequent operations in Afghanistan, the review did not do justice to those experiences.

"We have learned a lot since (2001)," said Lawrence Di Rita, a Pentagon spokesman.

The 2001 review helped planners determine the size of the force, the capabilities the force would need, and the growing importance of the homeland defense mission.

"Obviously, a lot has happened since the last Quadrennial Defense Review," Mr. Di Rita said. "The senior (leaders) of this department (have) established terms of reference for the ongoing Quadrennial Defense Review to look at a lot of activities, try and learn from what has happened since the last (review), try and analyze various options, and come to some conclusions about how we're organized."

Mr. Di Rita said many servicemembers and civilians will work on the review. In addition, people from other government agencies will offer expertise and advice. DOD officials will work closely with Congress as the process moves along, he said.

The review started as the "Bottom-Up Review," released by then-Defense Secretary Les Aspin in October 1993, and looked at the Defense Department's role in the aftermath of the fall of the Soviet Union.

Congress called for the process to be institutionalized, and the QDR process began in 1996 with a finished report delivered by then-Defense Secretary William Cohen in 1997.

The process looks at all aspects of DOD, including the right mix of capabilities, department roles, missions and organizations, agency business practices, and DOD processes.

The biggest difference between this review and those in the past is that for the first time the process is happening while the United States is at war. Joint teams will look at proposals from the military services to ensure that capabilities are not duplicated or resources wasted. The information collected for the review will be used immediately to inform senior leaders' budget decisions.