Power, in the international arena, is used to protect a nation’s interests by influencing potential competitors or partners. The most important instrument of power available to a nation-state is military power. The role of the armed forces is to protect and defend the country from the threats and enemies. Armed forces’ missions and tasks are written or derived from the Constitution and can slightly differ from country to country. For example, in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States is written "…provide for the common defense and promote the general welfare. . . .", which led to defining the role of the U.S. military as fighting and winning America’s wars with the objectives to promote and protect the U.S. national interests.
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Participation in these structures helps enhancing the interoperability between member states and their respective units. Common training and exercises are important tools for maintaining interoperability. National capabilities are also challenged through the standardization and implementation of Target Goals (previously known as Force Goals) or capability packages that nations have to implement domestically, as a part of NATO defense planning process. Most of the member states have a single set of forces dedicated to the international commitments. This requires additional synchronization and coordination between the member states to avoid duplication and simultaneous engagement of available forces, especially for NATO and EU purposes. National participation in NATO working bodies, agencies, conferences, projects and programs is also limited and not a priority for some member states. It depends on national interests, priorities, existing capabilities, and budgetary issues. This affects the exchange of information and the quality of common NATO publications and doctrines which cannot be thoroughly developed and tested before putting in …show more content…
Smart Defense represents an innovative and cooperative way of thinking about generating the modern defense capabilities that the Alliance needs for the future. It also represents the opportunity for a transparent and cost-effective approach to meet essential capability requirements through the prioritization, specialization, and cooperation. At Chicago Summit in 2012, NATO adopted a comprehensive Smart Defense package which included more than 20 multinational projects. NATO member states are encouraged to work together to develop, acquire, operate and maintain military capabilities to carry out the Alliance’s essential core tasks agreed in NATO’s Strategic Concept. That includes harmonizing requirements, pooling and sharing capabilities, setting priorities and coordinating efforts better. Smart Defense projects cover a wide range of efforts addressing the most critical Alliance’s capability requirements such as cyber defense, ballistic missile defense, strategic airlift, joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, etc. Is Smart Defense acceptable and effective enough? On one hand, certainly yes, because all NATO members join and support this idea, and some of the projects initiated under this initiative are already done, and NATO meets its essential capability requirements. Smart Defense can be more beneficial to smaller states so they can develop some new capabilities. On the
Participation in these structures helps enhancing the interoperability between member states and their respective units. Common training and exercises are important tools for maintaining interoperability. National capabilities are also challenged through the standardization and implementation of Target Goals (previously known as Force Goals) or capability packages that nations have to implement domestically, as a part of NATO defense planning process. Most of the member states have a single set of forces dedicated to the international commitments. This requires additional synchronization and coordination between the member states to avoid duplication and simultaneous engagement of available forces, especially for NATO and EU purposes. National participation in NATO working bodies, agencies, conferences, projects and programs is also limited and not a priority for some member states. It depends on national interests, priorities, existing capabilities, and budgetary issues. This affects the exchange of information and the quality of common NATO publications and doctrines which cannot be thoroughly developed and tested before putting in …show more content…
Smart Defense represents an innovative and cooperative way of thinking about generating the modern defense capabilities that the Alliance needs for the future. It also represents the opportunity for a transparent and cost-effective approach to meet essential capability requirements through the prioritization, specialization, and cooperation. At Chicago Summit in 2012, NATO adopted a comprehensive Smart Defense package which included more than 20 multinational projects. NATO member states are encouraged to work together to develop, acquire, operate and maintain military capabilities to carry out the Alliance’s essential core tasks agreed in NATO’s Strategic Concept. That includes harmonizing requirements, pooling and sharing capabilities, setting priorities and coordinating efforts better. Smart Defense projects cover a wide range of efforts addressing the most critical Alliance’s capability requirements such as cyber defense, ballistic missile defense, strategic airlift, joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, etc. Is Smart Defense acceptable and effective enough? On one hand, certainly yes, because all NATO members join and support this idea, and some of the projects initiated under this initiative are already done, and NATO meets its essential capability requirements. Smart Defense can be more beneficial to smaller states so they can develop some new capabilities. On the