Abstract : The Department of Defense budget has been on a steady downward trend since the beginning of the drawdown in l987. The impact of the drawdown is now beginning to show on both readiness and modernization. In the late 1980s, with the breakup of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, it was obvious the U.S. Armed Forces needed to downsize. What was not so clear was how far downsizing should go. Now, with current resourcing levels, we are undermining our ability to deploy robust and flexible military forces as specified in the National Security Strategy and, it can be argued, are mortgaging our future to buy today's readiness.