Resourcing the National Security Enterprise: Connecting the Ends and Means of US National Security is what coeditor Susan Bryant describes as “the book that we, the editors, wished we had when we were beginning our careers in Washington, DC.”
In his foreword, Steve Kosiak, partner with ISM Strategies and former Associate Director for Defense and International Affairs for the Office of Management and Budget of the White House, remarks:
we must increasingly think about how best to align our budgetary resources with specific national security outputs, like foreign assistance, weapons modernization, military readiness, and force structure plans—all of which constitute complex components of our national security toolkit. Improving our ability to effectively make tradeoffs between and among different types of national security capabilities requires us to have a better understanding of not only the broad tools with which we craft our national security but also the detailed components that comprise those tools. In this context, the timing and content of this book could not be more opportune.”
In chapter 1, “Introduction to Resourcing National Security,” Susan Bryant notes:
Considering the national security enterprise from the standpoint of strategic resourcing is neither simple nor straightforward. To succeed requires taking a multidisciplinary approach; working with a team with substantial background knowledge on such diverse and byzantine topics as the Department of Defense’s acquisition system, the president’s budget submission, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Preparedness Frameworks; and having a basic understanding of macroeconomics. Further, the development of a cohesive and logical narrative is difficult because the Framers’ intended checks and balances among the executive and legislative branches effectively preclude the possibility of seamless integration among national security priorities. That said, anyone aspiring to the title of “national security professional” must understand the process in order to be effective. This volume is written with this aspirant in mind.
Resourcing the National Security Enterprise: Connecting the Ends and Means of US National Security by Susan Bryant and Mark Troutman is available in hardcover, paperback, and digital editions. It is part of the Cambria Rapid Communications in Conflict and Security (RCCS) Series (General Editor: Dr. Geoffrey R.H. Burn).