Editor's corner.

• Position: Editorial - Brief Article

U.S. military forces today are uncontested in their skills and competence. In the future, however, will America's armed services be able to avoid a "training surprise?"

That was the question posed in a study by the Defense Science Board, an expert panel that advises the secretary of defense. The study was completed before September 11, a day when suddenly the priorities at the Pentagon and the nation were turned upside down.

A training surprise occurs "when the adversary focuses efforts on a particular vulnerability and has very high-quality training to exploit that vulnerability," explained the chairman of the Defense Science Board, William Schneider. This nation's vulnerability became obvious on September 11, when thousands of people died, "not from traditional armies waging traditional campaigns, but from the brutal, faceless weapons of terror," said Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. "They died as the victims of a war that many had feared, but whose sheer horror took America by surprise."

Adapting to surprise quickly and decisively, Rumsfeld said, "must, therefore, be a condition of planning."

Homeland defense is now the most important mission for which the Pentagon must prepare. Thus, the relevancy of the DSB study. Highlights of the report, titled "Training Superiority and Training Surprise," are on page 26 of this edition of National Defense.

In a special report this month, expert analysts, government officials, current and retired military officers offer their views on how the United States should prepare its forces to fight what Bush administration...