Rational Methods, Prudent Choices: Planning U.S. Forces

Planning for US military forces goes on regardless of the political party in power, the state of the budget, or the issues of the moment. Because planners decide the size and shape of land, air, and sea forces, force planning is at the very core of our national security effort. In this primer on force planning, Colonel Robert P. Haffa reviews the process used to structure our strategic, general purpose, and rapidly deployable forces. He contends that many people both within and outside the defense community do not fully understand force planning methods. Too often, he writes, military planners themselves---caught up in the daily pressures of the bureaucracy---focus on parochial, near-term issues. At the national level, far too many public debates are cast in terms of dollars instead of national objectives, missions, and forces. Haffa calls for a return to first principles, recommending these four guidelines for force planning: emphasize coherent policy relationships; rely on empirical data; stress planning, not budgeting consider the long term. Haffa shows that rational planning methods lead to prudent choices. His analysis reminds force planners never to lose sight of fundamentals, especially while prodding national leaders to pay attention to the rational methods of force planning. This fresh study of how we plan our military forces inspires us to get back to the basics essential for informed, productive debate on defense issues. Bradley C. Hosmer Lieutenant General, US Air Force President, National Defense University