DOD begins writing new National Defense Strategy due by late August

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby to begin working on the next National Defense Strategy to be completed no later than Aug. 31, according to a new memo.

“The NDS is the single most important document to ensure the department is operating in accordance with the president's and my intent,” Hegseth wrote. “This is a time of great danger, but we will meet it. DOD will deliver on the president's charge to achieve Peace Through Strength. There is no time to lose.”

Colby, the under secretary of defense for policy, will lead the NDS process, while the “drafting team” will be led by his office with a deputy from the Joint Staff.

“In addition, each of the Services will provide a strategist at the O-6/GS-15 level to the NDS drafting team,” Hegseth wrote. “All DoD Components should be maximally responsive to the NDS drafting team throughout the process.”

Colby’s nomination for USD-P ran into early resistance with some Republicans who cited concerns with his views that the United States should consider lesser roles in Europe and the Middle East in order to properly pivot to the Indo-Pacific region to compete with China.

Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee Chairman Mitch McConnell (R-KY) voted against Colby’s confirmation but three Democrats -- Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) -- supported him.

During his March 4 nomination hearing, Colby said he wants to deliver a “realistic strategy of prioritization focused on China” while working with allies in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

“We don’t have a military that's capable of fighting four adversaries,” he said. "Because the threat is so acute and so realistic, and because of the very real possibility of multifront war, we must have a realistic plan. I feel a special obligation that, if confirmed, I must deliver a strategy that actually deals with that.”