CDFM National Defense Strategy 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In the NDS hierarchy, which document translates national security objectives into military objectives?
- National Military Strategy (NMS) (Correct answer)
- Unified Command Plan (UCP)
- Joint Strategic Capabilities Plan (JSCP)
- Defense Planning Guidance (DPG)
Correct answer: National Military Strategy (NMS)
The National Military Strategy, produced by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, translates national security and defense strategy objectives into military terms.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes the role of the Missile Defense Review (MDR) relative to the NDS?
- The MDR elaborates missile defense policy nested within and supporting the broader NDS (Correct answer)
- The MDR supersedes the NDS for homeland defense priorities
- The MDR is produced by Congress to authorize missile defense spending
- The MDR replaces theater campaign plans for missile threats
Correct answer: The MDR elaborates missile defense policy nested within and supporting the broader NDS
Like the NPR, the MDR is a subordinate strategy document that provides detail on missile defense policy aligned with NDS objectives.
Question 3: The NDS concept of 'building a resilient Joint Force' is most directly related to which CDFM financial management function?
- Ensuring adequate and sustained funding for readiness and modernization programs (Correct answer)
- Conducting financial statement audits
- Managing military pay and entitlements
- Processing contract payments
Correct answer: Ensuring adequate and sustained funding for readiness and modernization programs
Building a resilient Joint Force requires sustained investment in readiness, training, and modernization — areas directly funded through defense budgets that financial managers oversee.
Question 4: How does the NDS address the concept of 'dynamic force employment' (DFE)?
- DFE provides flexible options to employ the Joint Force in ways that are unpredictable to adversaries while managing risk (Correct answer)
- DFE requires permanently stationing forces in forward locations
- DFE mandates rotating all forces on fixed 6-month deployments
- DFE is primarily a nuclear employment concept
Correct answer: DFE provides flexible options to employ the Joint Force in ways that are unpredictable to adversaries while managing risk
Dynamic force employment increases unpredictability by varying the timing, location, and nature of force deployments to complicate adversary planning.
Question 5: Which NDS line of effort is most closely associated with strengthening alliances and attracting new partners?
- Building enduring advantages (Correct answer)
- Campaigning to prevail in strategic competition
- Deterring strategic attacks
- Defending the homeland
Correct answer: Building enduring advantages
The 'building enduring advantages' line of effort in the 2022 NDS includes strengthening alliances and partnerships as a source of long-term strategic advantage.
Question 6: The NDS fiscal implication most relevant to a CDFM is that resource constrained environments require:
- Prioritization and tradeoff decisions aligned with strategic guidance (Correct answer)
- Equal distribution of funds across all services
- Maximizing procurement at the expense of readiness
- Deferring all modernization to future budget cycles
Correct answer: Prioritization and tradeoff decisions aligned with strategic guidance
Resource constraints require financial managers to make tradeoff decisions that align scarce resources with the highest strategic priorities identified in the NDS.
Question 7: What does the NDS mean by 'integrated deterrence across the spectrum of conflict'?
- Applying deterrence tools at every level from conventional competition to nuclear conflict (Correct answer)
- Using nuclear weapons to deter all types of adversary action
- Relying on conventional forces only to avoid nuclear escalation
- Restricting deterrence to high-end great power competition
Correct answer: Applying deterrence tools at every level from conventional competition to nuclear conflict
Integrated deterrence spans the full spectrum from low-level competition through conventional conflict to nuclear deterrence, using appropriate tools at each level.
CDFM National Defense Strategy 3
In the NDS hierarchy, which document translates national security objectives into military objectives?