Agenda for the Future
While maintaining a realistic deterrent, we wiil further adjust our general purpose forces in response to changing circumstances. Our attention, for example, will be focused on:Manpower. Our ultimate goal is to meet our military manpower requirements, without resort to the draft. In the meantime, we are working on reform of the selective service system. We have adopted a new method of selection to ensure a more equitable spreading of the burden of military service, and reduce to a minimum the uncertainties associated with the draft. Draft calls have been substantially reduced. As Vietnamization progresses, and our program of upgrading the rewards of the career service takes effect, we hope to make further reductions.
NATO. We and our NATO allies have agreed to improve the quality of alliance forces. In 1971 we will move to concrete programs for improving NATO's conventional capabilities, and insuring modern and sufficient strategic and theater nuclear forces.
Asia. We will, with our allies, determine how best to help them improve their defensive capabilities. This will enable us to deal with the allocation ot resources between U.S. forces and increased assistance in the area.
Defense Review.We have defined new strategic doctrines for our nuclear forces and for our general purpose forces. But we must continue to refine our assessments of the implications of our strategies for our force composition. This will be a continuing task of this Administration.
We will also be taking measures to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our defense establishment. The Secretary of Defense is reviewing the proposals of the Blue Ribbon Defense Panel on the organization and management of the Department of Defense. He has implemented many of them, and is preparing his recommendations to me on others. These matters will be covered fully in the Secretary's Defense Report to the Congress.
