AUSA’s Institute of Land Warfare recently released a new National Security Watch titled – "The 2011 National Military Strategy: Resetting a Strong Foundation" (National Security Watch 11-2, May 2011) – that examines the United States’ new national military strategy in comparison with the previous iteration to explore enduring strategic challenges and implications for future U.S. grand strategy.The 2011 National Military Strategy is one of several key documents that provide a framework and vision for how the United States will ensure its security at home and abroad.The document, crafted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, carries forward themes from the previous version while both expanding and elaborating on the military challenges of the future.As a whole, the strategy shifts laterally from a specific vision of military victory over specific threats to a long-term plan to partner against, deter and counter a wide range of threats.Despite a more balanced approach to capabilities and potential threats, the strategy faces a two-pronged challenge in aligning national priorities with national interests along with an implicit devaluation of hard power.The strategy gains a wider vision about the nature of future conflict, but at the expense of specific and well-honed capabilities that require constant maintenance. It also leaves some questions unanswered, such as what form enduring partner-building relationships will take and where such partnerships will rank in the hierarchy of national security tools.Still, the strategy is a flexible document that guides the principled application of force and provides the United States with a solid foundation of military preparedness and planning; the strategy’s ability to grow, evolve and adapt will ultimately prove its worth.These and other ILW publications are available online at http://www.ausa.org/ilw and can also be obtained by calling (800) 336-4570, ext. 630, or by e-mailing a request to ilwpublications@ausa.org.