QDR War Warning

In mid-NOV it will be here: the QDR. You may remember the one was just ready when, well 9/11 took place.

Here and there you are hearing more about it, and inside a month we will all hear the details.

Just a feeling I'm having, but if you are one of those people that think their community is "essential" (EF-111 folks want to talk to you - along with the Frigate true believers) you may have a rough Thanksgiving. To quote Papa Salamander, "No one owes you a living son."

Last summer, Gordon England, acting deputy defense secretary, who was dissatisfied with the progress of the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), asked Marshall for concise recommendations based on the growing needs to operate in the Pacific region, strike precisely at intercontinental ranges, quickly deploy aircraft to austere bases, protect satellites and space capabilities, and defend against ballistic missiles.

On Oct. 5, Marshall’s “Red Team” described its findings to England and senior military leaders. The team recommended several steps, including:

- Cut tactical air forces by 30 percent.
- Cancel the Navy’s DDX future destroyer.
- Delay the Army’s Future Combat Systems.
- Develop conventional theater ballistic missiles to rapidly strike “high-value targets.
- Build more fast sealift ships and nuclear submarines.
- Develop a new long-range bomber.

In the second week of November, OMB will give the Pentagon its top-line budget limits for the coming six years. Military officials will then have a scant few weeks to decide the fate of scores of programs.

Rummy is getting the bulls in line as well.

The strategic planning council, which includes the Pentagon’s Senior Level Review Group plus the combatant commanders, has already convened to discuss the QDR in January, May and earlier this month.

“This is supposed to be the final ‘come-to-Jesus’ review of programmatic issues,” said a Pentagon official involved in the review.

Have much blue in your uniform...

The directors of PA&E’s naval forces and tactical air forces divisions are also expected to deliver findings suggesting cuts in their respective areas soon, Pentagon officials said.

Another briefing that is causing the Air Force and Army heartburn is a second PA&E alternative assessment that suggests force structure for both be cut, Marine Corps force structure increase, and the Navy be left unchanged. These recommendations, spelled out in a PA&E assessment, “Key Force Sizing Assumptions,” is on the agenda for discussion during a Friday meeting of Gordon England, the acting deputy defense secretary, and Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, along with the service vice chiefs.

Snicker. Two Navy folks. Get the AFDB zoomie guys.... It will probably be easier being green.

A Ground Force Capability Study led by Mark Cancian, director of PA&E’s land forces division, wrapped up this week, with recommendations with significant implications for the Army and Marine Corps, according to two Pentagon officials familiar with the study’s findings.

Of course, it could all be bad gouge. Methinks though, if you are not directly engaged in kicking down a door and interfering with someone's cardio-vascular system, you may have an abbreviated career.

Fun times!