Few Surprises in US DoD's 2005 QDR

摘要

In its final form the 2005 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) that the US Department of Defense (DoD) released on Feb. 3 contains no ground-shaking surprises, as officials had indeed cautioned it would not. But neither does it contain any real solutions to rising costs for the Pentagon's many acquisition programs that must be balanced with the need for more highly trained service members, analysts said. The importance of working with other government agencies and other countries; development of better language skills and cultural knowledge for US forces; an emphasis on the total effect of weapons and other technology rather than individual platforms; creation of a more mobile, expeditionary force, with more special-operations forces and naval assets that help them deploy faster, as well as operate better in littoral areas — senior leaders throughout the various US services have been discussing such goals for months as part of how the DoD seeks to adapt to new threats around the world.