U.S. Force Posture Strategy in the Asia Pacific Region: An Independent Assessment

The president signed the Fiscal Year 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA, or Public Law 112-81) in December 2012, setting in motion the requirement under Section 346 of the NDAA to commission a report on force posture and deployment plans of the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM). One week later, on January 5, 2012, the president released at the Department of Defense (DoD) a new Strategic Guidance document that directed a rebalancing toward the Asia Pacific region of military forces and national security efforts across the government. This guidance, and the Fiscal Year 2013 defense budget, marks only the beginning of force posture rebalancing. In March, DoD tasked the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) to undertake that study, with a report due 180 days after enactment, or by the end of June, 2012.