2012 Strategic Imperatives

In January 2012, the Administration issued new strategic guidance which described the Department's priorities and spending to "sustain U.S. global leadership". The strategic guidance acknowledges that the U.S. is at a strategic turning point; it outlines anticipated military missions for the near-term based on the current security environment. The Department will require capabilities to operate, deter, and defend the nation in new operational environments, and with efficient use of resources.

At the same time, circumstances might require us to constitute new capabilities quickly, and technologies will enable us to turn on a dime to defend the nation in response to new threats.

We need to proactively develop:

• Technologies based on new domains of operation and new disciplines;
• Greater modularity for easier upgrades and modifications, and greater degree of "smarts";
• Technologies for training and technologies that increase the productivity of personnel; and
• Technologies that help us gather more data and information, and process that information
  into useful forms.