U.S. Military Transformation and the Lessons for South Korea on its Path Toward Defense Reform 2020

When Donald Rumsfeld returned to the Pentagon as Secretary of Defense after a quarter-century hiatus, he found a defense establishment desperately in need of radical change; what he termed "transformation". By the time of his departure, and in spite of the pressures caused by 9/11 and the ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Rumsfeld could point to a record of significant change in the way the DoD functioned. Rumsfeld significantly altered the planning and strategy process; the command structure; force organization, deployment, training and warfighting capability; financial management; and the personnel system. Yet Rumsfeld's transformation has not been without its critics. Some say he has moved too quickly, others that he has moved too slowly. And still others argue that his efforts, while laudatory, have not focused on the right issues. Time will tell whether his enterprise will succeed, and will be accepted by the conservative culture that pervades the DoD. The Korean Defense Reform Plan (DRP) likewise represents a major, albeit less radical, transformation of all aspects of the Republic of Korea's military system. In many respects, the DRP was spurred by Rumsfeld's efforts to change the posture and deployment of U.S. forces on the Korean peninsula. Like Rumsfeld's transformation, however, the DRP also faces institutional resistance, and it too will require a determined effort by successive governments to realize its goals and objectives. Adapted from the source document.