Let's Keep the NDAA Focused on Defense

Our military services have made progress in recouping readiness. But it hasn’t been easy – and the job isn’t finished.

Things are trending in the right direction again, but there is more work to be done when it comes to modernizing key items of equipment, as well as re-growing a military widely believed to be too small for the tasks given it. Key documents such as the National Defense Strategy, the work of the Commission charged to assess the NDS, and numerous commentators have noted the increased challenges that come with a return to “great power competition” and the impressive investments other countries are making in advanced capabilities.

With this in mind, the recent press release from the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee seems very odd.

But words mean a lot, and the emphasis placed on the NDAA by key leaders says much about focus and priority. The formal statement by the HASC Chairman summarizing what he believes are the most important achievements in the House version of the 2021 NDAA seems to imply that warfighting capabilities and the U.S. military's status to fulfill its primary function are rather far down the list. 

Consider the top 10 items emphasized by the Chairman:

While mention is made (far down the list at number #15) of a 3 percent pay increase for military personnel and pay-equity for civilian DOD employees, there is curiously no mention anywhere on his list of equipment modernization, improving force lethality, updating critical military infrastructure, the military’s force posture, its operational readiness or inventory of munitions, R&D efforts for emerging technologies of military relevance, or initiatives to strengthen the ability of allies to contribute to common security efforts.

Of course, issues like racial equality, sound environmental stewardship, and protections against pandemic disease are important. No reasonable person would dispute that. But one might hope that leaders in Congress, responsible for ensuring our military’s preparedness, would prioritize matters relating to warfighting.

The National Defense Authorization Act should first and foremost be about ensuring our military is able to do what we expect it to do. Announcements about the NDAA should likewise convey to the American people that Congress is just as focused on that fact and not distracted by matters that, while important, haven’t much to do with warfighting.

Dakota L. Wood is a senior research fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Center for National Defense and editor of the think tank’s annual Index of U.S. Military Strength.