The United States military is at an important crossroads in deciding how best to defend national interests. Do we continue with systems that served us well, or move forward with a transformation to new systems required to meet the changing environment?Past leaders faced similar decisions. The machine gun had a major impact on how wars were fought, just as the tank did in World War II. Vietnam saw the evolution to helicopters and air assaults; and Operation Desert Storm again proved the value of armored forces working in concert with artillery and air power. Afghanistan has shown how information operations, special operations forces, precision air strikes and infantry can defeat an unconventional threat. Today, we debate transformational systems that will continue to ensure national interests are protected.