The johns lewis, vice dean at the Johns HopkinsUniversity School of advanced international studies. Before making my brief introductory remarks, i think we will start by asking everyone to silence or turn off your cell phones. We just finished our Holiday Season and i had the opportunity to go to a couple movies so i am very mindful of turning off cell phones and silencing our devices. It is a great honor to welcome you to todays presentation of the National Defense strategy. The nds is the foundational document that determines how the department of defense will contribute to the president S National Security strategy which was released in december of 2017. This nds is the first in a decade. Nds, but also because its author is the 26th secretary of defense,service ase u. S. Central command from 2010 to 2013. Following his military service, secretary mattis was a distinguished visiting fellow at the hoover institution, Stanford University and sat on several corporate and nonprofit boards. The scholars in our audience will know, secretary mattis is also known for his love of learning and research and has coauthored a book on Civil Military relations which was published in 2016. This is secretary mattis first public address of 2018. At theical item conclusion of the presentation, we will answer questions from the audience, or secretary mattis will answer questions from the audience. For this portion of the event, we ask that you write your questions on the note cards that are at your seats. Our student workers will be passing through the audience at two intervals during the presentation. As questions occur, you can send those down and we can collect them. We hope to get to as many as possible. Following secretary mattiss standridgetherine will pose the question to the secretary. We are glad to incorporate different members of our community and this distinguished event. Hopkins isry, john honored to welkicome you. Welcomingn me in secretary james mattis. [applause] good morning and thank you all for taking time to come and listen to us here. Again, this is the National Defense strategy, but what it really is, this is an american strategy. It belongs to you. You own it. We work for you and i will tell you, dean lewis, it is a pleasure for you hosting me today. It is a pleasure to be at a school named for the gentleman that this one is made for. Wisel tell you he was so and how he could select people. Onceicked a young man and gave him a townhouse to help him when he first got into National Security affairs. That young man on his couch was none other than george schulz. That says something about his ability to see talent at a young age. There is a lot of talent that comes through here. You all look like promising young men and women because you are all young compared to me. He was also a great and avid scholar. You could agree or disagree with him, but you would not find him flatfooted intellectually. I bring this up because National Security document, or report number 68, was a Guiding Light during the cold war. Was it perfect in hindsight . No, it was not. We dont look for perfection from young people, we look for excellence. He served as secretary of the navy so we have a sense of ownership of the men for whom this school is named. The background you have here makes this a fitting place to introduce our unclassified summary of the classified document. Parts of it are classified because we owe a degree of theee and sh confidentiality to troops. Our nations first National Defense strategy in 10 years. I believe it is a moral obligation for leaders to layout quickly to their subordinates in the department of defense what it is we expect of them. Is designed to is designed to t americas Vital National interest. This Defense Strategy was framed, as noted by the dean by President TrumpS National Security strategy. Just to show you what i mean, that it is inside the framework of that National Security strategy, specifically where it states to protect the American People, the homeland and the american way of life. It goes on to say and to reserve peace through strength. Those are words that of the National Security strategy and we carry those themes inside the pentagon where we say what does that mean for us . National security is much more than just defense. This is our part of the responsibility. Americas military reclaims an era of strategic purpose. We are alert to the realities of a changing world and attentive to protect our values and the countries that stand with us. Americas military protects our and i want to point out it also protects a realm of ideas. It is not just about protecting geography. This is a Defense Strategy that will guide our efforts in all realms. The world, to quote george shultz, is a wash of change increased by volatility, with great power between nations becoming a reality once again. We will continue to prosecute the campaign against terrorists that we are engaged in today but Great Power Competition, not terrorism is now the primary focus of National Security. This strategy is fit for our time. Providing the American People the military required to protect our way of life, stand with our allies, and live up to our s intact toity to pas the next generation those s intact to the next generation those freedoms that all of us enjoy today. Adapting to todays realities, the strategy expands our competitive space, prioritizes preparedness for war, provides clear direction for significant change at the speed of relevance, and builds a more lethal force to compete strategically. This strategy makes a clear security environment with a keen eye on americas place in the world. This requires tough choices, ladies and gentlemen, and we made them based upon a fundamental precept, mainly that america can afford survival. We have faced many powers. Nations that seek to create a world consistent with their authoritarian models, seeking Veto Authority over other nations security decisions. Rogue regimes like north korea and iran persists in taking outlaw actions that threaten stability. Oppressing their own people and their own peoples dignity and human rights, they push their work to views outwards. Despite the defeat of isis physical caliphate, violent extremists like hezbollah or al qaeda sew hatred, destroying peace and murdering innocents across the globe. In this time of change, our military is still strong. Yet, our Competitive Edge has eroded in every way of warfare. It is continuing to erode. Thed technological change, negative impacts on military readiness is resulting from the longest, continuous stretch of combat in our nations history and defense spending, because we have been operating for nine of the last 10 years under continuing resolutions that have created an military. Ed the role is to keep the peace for one more year, one more month, one more week, one more day to ensure our military. The diplomats are working to solve problems from a position of strength. This confidence is underpinned by the insurance that are military will win should diplomacy fail. Securityling national strategy, President Trump said weakness is the surest path to conflict and unquestioned strength is the most are means of defense. We have no room for complacency and history makes clear that america has no preordained right to victory on the battlefield. Simply, we must be the best of of enlightenment are to survive. It is incumbent upon us to feel a more lethal force of our nation is to retain the ability to retain ourselves and what we stand for. The Defense Strategys three primary lines of effort will restore our competitive military advantage. They are going to build a more lethal force and will strengthen our traditional alliances and building new partnerships with other nations, in at the same time, we will reform our departments Business Practices for performance and affordability. Doing this will learn the trust of American People and congress if the defense dollars or well spent. Legality. Start with everything we do must contribute to the lethality of our military. The paradox of war is that an enemy will attack any perceived weakness. We in america cannot adopt a single preclusive form of warfare. Fight, we must be able to across the spectrum of conflict. This means if the size and composition of our force matters, the nation must feel sufficient capable forces to deter conflict. If deterrence fails, we must win. We will modernize capabilities, recognizing we cannot expect success fighting tomorrows conflicts with yesterdays weapons or equipment. Investments in space and cyberspace, Nuclear Deterrence forces, missiledefense, advanced the top imag autonomou systems will give us what we need to win. Changes are forces posture will prioritize readiness for work fighting for major content, making us strategically predictable or our allies and operationally unpredictable for any adversary. Increasing the lethality of our troops requires us to reshape our approach to managing our outstanding talent, reinvigorating our military education and honing civilian workforce expertise. The creativity and talent of the department is our deepest strength and warrants greater investment. To those who would threaten americas experiment in democracy, they must know if you challenge us, it will be your longest and your worst day. Work with our diplomats, you dont want to fight with the department of defense. The second line of effort i noted was to strengthen alliances as we build new partnerships as well. In my past, i thought many times and never did i fight in a solely american formation. It was always alongside foreign troops. As Winston Churchill once said, hardery thing fighting with allies is fighting without them. We will be stronger together in recognizing our military will be designed and trained and ready to fight alongside allies. History proves the nations with allies thrive and approach to security and prosperity that has served the United States well and keeping peace and winning wars. Working by and with and through allies to carry their equitable share allows us to amass the greatest possible strength. We carried a disproportionate share of the defense burden for the democracies in the postworld war ii era. The growing economic strength of todays democracies and partners dictates they must now step up and do more. Our together, we pool resources and share responsibility for the common nations individual security burdens become lighter. This has been demonstrated right nations and over 70 International Organizations of the defeat isis campaign that has successfully conducted operations in the middle east. Again, the 40 odd nations that stand sol shoulder to shoulder n afghanistan. To work with more allies, our organizations must be ally friendly. The department will do more than just listen to other nations ideas. We will be willing to be persuaded by them, recognizing that not all good ideas comes mosta country with the aircraft carriers. This line of effort will bolster an extended Network Capable of decisively meeting the challenges of our time. Most aircraft carriers. This linewe are going to make te military more lethal and we are going to build and strength traditional alliances, as well as go out and find some new partners, may be nontraditional as thes as we deal witid greatest generation did coming home from world war ii when they built the alliances that have served us well. Our third line of effort serves as the foundation for a Competitive Edge. Business the practices of the department to provide solvency insecurity, getting the full benefit from every dollar spent, in which way we will gain and hold the trust of congress and the American People. We are going to have to be good stewards of the tax dollars allocated to us and that means results and accountability matter. To keep pace with our times, the departmental transition to a culture of performance and affordability that operates at relevance. F success does not go to a country that develops a new technology first, but rather to the one that better integrated and adapts. Our current bureaucratic processes are insufficiently responsive to departments needs for equipment. We will prioritize speed of delivery, continuous adaptation, and frequent modular upgrades. We must shed outdated management and acquisition practices, while industrieserican best practices. Our Management Structure and process are not engraved in industries best practices. Stone, they are a means to an end, empowering our work fighters with it support needed to fight and win. In the current structures inhibit our pursuit of lethality, i expect the Service Secretaries and agency heads to consolidate, eliminate or restructured to achieve the mission. Deputy secretary of defense shanahan is leading this third line of effort to leverage our scale of operations, driving better deals for equipping our troops. This National Defense strategy will guide all our actions, aligning the departments three lines of efforts to gain synergy. We recognize no strategy good long survive without necessary funding and a stable predictable budget required to defend america in the modern age. Failure to modernize our military risks leaving us to the force that can dominate the last war, but the irrelevant to tomorrow security. Part is theear, as last 16 years have been on our military, no enemy in the field has done more to harm the readiness of the u. S. Military than the combined impact of the budget control acts defense by usng cuts, worsened operating in last nine of the 10 years under continuing resolutions, wasting Copious Amounts of precious taxpayer dollars. Today, as our Competitive Edge over our foes erodes due to budgetary confusion, even with the storm clouds gathering, americas military is operating under yet another continuing resolution. For too long, we have asked our military to stoically carry as theyat any cost worked tirelessly to accomplish the mission that is now inadequate with misaligned as they resources because the congress could not maintain regular order. We have performed well is a credit to our wonderful and loyal troops. Loyalty must be a twoway street. We expect the magnificent men and women of our military to be faithful in their service even when going in harms way. We must remain faithful to those whoresources because the congres could not maintain regular voluk check payable to the American People with their lives. As speaker ryan said yesterday, our men and women in uniform are not bargaining chips. The consequences of not providing a budget are clear. Without a sustained budget, ships will not receive the required maintenance to put to sea. The ships already at sea will be extended outside of port. Aircraft remain on the ground, their pilots not at their sharpest. Eventually, ammunition, training and manpower will not be sufficient to deter war. Im optimistic that congress will do the right thing and carry out their responsibility. I may be in the minority in this room when i say that. Im an eternal optimist. As senator reid said last november, we need bipartisan investment in our troops to enhance military readiness and help us meet evolving National Security challenges. Under our constitution, it is congress that has the authority to raise armies and maintain navies. As i stand here this morning watching the news from capitol hill, we are on the verge of a government shutdown, or at best, yet another debilitating continuing resolution. We need congress back in the drivers seat of budget decisions, not in the spectator seat of budget control acts, indiscriminate and automatic cuts. We need a budget and we need budget predictability if we are to sustain our military primacy. Born freer room were in america completely by accident. All of us can live here by choice thanks to the veterans and patriots who served today in our military. Yet, we today have an obligation to pass intact the next generations the same freedoms we enjoy now. That is an obligation we have. That is not something we can simply aggregate to someone else. I believe this strategy, resource to properly, will ensure we live up to our responsibility. With that, ladies and gentlemen the dean said he will answer help me answer questions. I recognize that is a slip of the tongue. In this town, that can get you in a lot of trouble and i speak on authority. Lets see where you are at. Lets have a dialogue. We serve you. This is your strategy as much as it is ours. We had the responsibility to write it and it is up to us to defend it intellectually alongside you and in the face of any questions you have. Lets hear whats on your mind. Wheres catherine at . Thank you for your remarks. Im a secondyear student here. Ill be reading the questions that have been submitted by the audience. First question, building capability and capacity are challenging to achieve at the same time. Do you see one of these being more important in the near term . Sec. Mattis very good question. Capabilities are what does the force bring. You look at every capability in a force. You look at changing times, what are the threats . We try to define the threats to a jesuit level of satisfaction which is tough indeed. And then do we need additional capabilities. And then you have capacity how big is the force you have. I believe at this time in this age, emphasizing the capab