Summary: Although broader in scope and more rigorous in some aspects than the Defense Department's (DOD) 1993 Bottom-Up Review of U.S. defense requirements, the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), a blueprint for meeting the military's needs through 2015, did not consider certain force structure alternatives. Moreover, the QDR did not fully consider the potential effects of new technologies and war-fighting concepts on DOD's planned force structure. As a result, it is unclear whether the QDR identified the force structure that is best suited to carrying out the defense strategy, as required by Congress. The QDR's modernization review examined some variations of the services' procurement plans but did not include a thorough, mission-oriented review of the mix of capabilities that the United States will need to counter future threats. DOD can provide a more thorough review of U.S. defense needs in the next QDR by preparing early, improving its analytical tools, and considering changes to the structure and design of the QDR process. If Congress chooses to establish another independent panel of experts to review defense needs, it may want to require the panel to complete its work before the next QDR to provide DOD with a broader set of alternatives to consider.
