Achieving balance over time.

• Author: Martin, Gregory S.
• Position: COMMENTARY - United States. Department of Defense

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been articulate and decisive in moving the Defense Department, military services and agencies toward a more "balanced" force.

But one must ask, "Will the balance for today be the right balance 20 or 30 years from now?"

Although U.S. forces have been dominant in conventional conflicts, they have not been as decisive against the insurgents and terrorist forces, using irregular warfare techniques with less technologically sophisticated weapons.

Whether U.S. forces are inserted into a peacekeeping and stabilization situation, or left with the task of stabilizing and reconstructing a nation after a major conflict, they will be faced with irregular warfare adversaries. While increasing emphasis on those irregular warfare capabilities makes sense, balance should not mean focus on today's wars with little concern for the very real possibilities of future challenges.

The nation must not lose focus on the technologies and capabilities that have given its military forces the ability to be dominant in high-intensity conflicts. The world is unpredictable and the future security challenges may look far different than those the United States faces in Iraq and Afghanistan. When Gates announced the termination of the C-17 and F-22 production lines; cancellation of the next combat search-and-rescue helicopter, the presidential helicopter, the multiple kill vehicle, the next generation bomber and the transformational satellite communication...