Pentagon drops new National Defense Strategy that places defending homeland as top priority

The Pentagon quietly released its latest National Defense Strategy on Friday night, which places defending the homeland as the War Department's number one priority above the Indo-Pacific.

The priority is a change from President Donald Trump's first administration in 2018, which labeled China as a serious challenger in an era of “great power competition," and the focus on China was supported by the Biden administration in 2022. 

The National Defense Strategy document is considered a foundational document for the Pentagon and explains how the Defense Department will follow the guidance of the National Security Strategy, according to Breaking Defense.

“As President Trump has said, the U.S. military’s foremost priority is to defend the U.S. Homeland," the document reads. "The Department will therefore prioritize doing just that, including by defending America’s interests throughout the Western Hemisphere."

The new document still prioritizes deterring China in the Indo-Pacific region, but through strength instead of confrontation, and it comes after defending the homeland. The report also said the U.S. will increase burden-sharing with U.S. Allies and Supercharge the U.S. Defense Industrial Base.

The report comes weeks after the department released its National Security Strategy, which also focused more on protecting the Western Hemisphere, including by protecting the U.S. borders and countering narcoterrorism. 

“After years of neglect, the United States will restore US military dominance in the Western Hemisphere,” War Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Reagan Defense Forum last month. “Past administrations perpetuated the belief that the Monroe Doctrine had expired. They were wrong. The Monroe Doctrine is in effect, and it is stronger than ever.”

The NDS says that the top four priorities for the Pentagon, are: 

1. Defend the US homeland
2. Deter China in the Indo-Pacific “through strength, not confrontation”
3. Increase burden-sharing with US allies and partners
4. “Supercharge” the US Defense industrial base

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.