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A pdf briefing book for Obama’s incoming Secretary of Defense as authored by the Defense Sciences Board. In a sense, it is hard to say how this brief was received by its intended audience, as President Obama chose to keep Secretary Gates in place at DoD (believing, I think correctly, that Gates was best positioned to continue unhampered the long-term housecleaning the Department so desperately needed.)

However, it is also interesting to see how candid some of the people close to the Pentagon can be when given a chance. I would not say the list of challenges is comprehensive – such a list could have filled several volumes – but it did give a thorough airing to the top-line issues.

What will be interesting to see is how many of these same issues lay unresolved upon the inauguration of President Obama’s successor.