Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense

On January 5, 2012, President Barack H. Obama, Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey released an unclassified version of the defense strategic guidance at a Pentagon press conference.

Related Sites:

Read the unclassified document
Obama Remarks Video
Panetta Speech Video
Panetta Speech Transcript
Defense Strategic Guidance
Photo Essay: Obama, Panetta, DOD Leaders Hold Briefing On New Defense Strategy
Transcript: Defense Strategic Guidance Media Roundtable at the Pentagon
Transcript: Obama's Remarks

"As we end today's wars and reshape our Armed Forces, we will ensure that our military is agile, flexible and ready for the full range of contingencies. In particular, we will continue to invest in the capabilities critical to future success, including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; counterterrorism; countering weapons of mass destruction; operating in anti-access environments; and prevailing in all domains, including cyber. Most importantly, we will keep faith with our troops, military families and veterans who have borne the burden of a decade of war and who make our military the best in the world. Though we must make hard fiscal choices, we will continue to prioritize efforts that focus on wounded warriors, mental health, and families."
-- President Barack H. Obama, 5 January 2012