Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey has released the country's National Military Strategy which provides the blueprint for how the military will use its forces to protect and advance US national and security interests.
"This strategy addresses these dynamics and our strategy to ensure that our force remains the best-led, trained and equipped military on the planet," Gen. Dempsey in a statement issued by the US Defense Department on Wednesday.
"Globalisation, diffusion of technology, and demographic shifts are driving rapid change as state actors and trans-regional networks challenge order and stability," said the general.
The National Military Strategy follows the release of the 2015 National Security Strategy in February this year, as well as the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review.
The strategy recognises that the application of military power versus traditional state threats is far different than military power against non-state actors. It also posits that the most likely scenario is prolonged campaigns rather than short, intense battles.
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The strategy also states that as a "hedge against unpredictability with reduced resources we may have to adjust our global posture".
According to the strategy document, the US military also must be ready to counter "revisionist states" such as Russia that are challenging international norms as well as violent extremist organisations such as the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.
"We are working with allies to deter, deny and -- when necessary -- defeat potential state adversaries," the document says. But at the same time, the statement said, the US military was building and leading an extensive network to take on the IS .
