This study applies ideas in business strategy to the formulation of national military strategy for the twenty-first century. The study starts with the premise that United States defense planning is at a crossroads and follows with the notion of the need for a reinvigorated focus on strategy. The study explains that strategy is relating and aligning an organization to its environment and that the goal of strategy is to find an optimum position from which to defend or attack. The study uses the similarity of firms in competition in the marketplace and of states in competition in the security arena as a basis to suggest a business oriented approach to address and formulate military strategy. The study concludes that U.S. national security planning could profit greatly from an approach that distinguishes among core, environmental, and hedging strategies. The study leverages business concepts such as defining the business, dealing with new competitors, entry and exit barriers, assymetrical or indirect attack, and strategic renewal. Finally, using these concepts, the study promotes a recommended strategy and action plan for the future.

ADA 331569 Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)