Pentagon's strategy focuses on joint operations, security

The Pentagon over the next five years plans to continue focusing more resources on homeland defense and joint capabilities involving the different branches of the military, according to a classified strategy document.

The appendix section of the military's annual Strategic Planning Guidance (SPG) -- obtained by National Journal's Technology Daily -- shows three pages of orders by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld instructing his deputies to study programs such as non-lethal and directed-energy technologies and intelligence roadmaps for joint forces, among several others.

The document -- changed from the Defense Planning Guidance by Rumsfeld in 2003 -- indicates to military officials the secretary's priorities and goals for drafting annual budgets over a five-year timeline. It is released every spring before the military begins crafting its annual budget plan.

"The outcome of some of the studies will be incorporated into the 2006 budget," said a Pentagon official who read the document. "The studies elevate technologies to department-wide efforts and potentially bring more attention and money to the programs."

Rumsfeld repeatedly has said the military needs to change old ways of thinking and operating, and it needs to transform the services to fight jointly in order to face 21st-century threats. Similar to the last several years, the studies reflect his philosophy.

The Joint Staff is instructed to take the lead or coordinate 13 of the 22 studies, such as revising joint concepts and integrating missile assets into a joint network, among others. Rumsfeld instructed the Joint Forces Command to lead four studies: concepts for rapid deployment; strategy for optimizing intelligence for its transformation missions; integration of missile assets and recommendations for a re-engineered deployment and mobilization process.

More than 10 projects fall under the bolded "Homeland Defense Strategy" study to look at integrated threat-assessment capabilities, military assistance to the Homeland Security Department and a program for protecting critical infrastructures.

A new office headed by Stephen Cambone, who became the Pentagon's first undersecretary for intelligence last year, would spearhead a study to assess the military's contribution to intelligence support for homeland defense. Cambone also would coordinate with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, service secretaries, combatant commanders, personnel and readiness office, and others on the remaining homeland defense studies.

He would play a role in five other studies, including assessing integrated air and missile defenses for joint-fighting capabilities.

The Defense acquisition office would work on eight studies, presumably to determine how much the department is spending on capabilities for certain programs.

The only research and development project focuses on directed-energy technologies, such as lasers and high-powered microwaves. Rumsfeld also ordered a study for synchronizing space programs.

Officials have deadlines throughout 2004 and 2005 to complete the studies.