2026 National Defense Strategy: Putting Americans First

JAN 23 2026
MEMORANDUM FOR SENIOR PENTAGON LEADERSHIP
COMMANDERS OF THE COMBATANT COMMANDS
DEFENSE AGENCY AND DOW FIELD ACTIVITY DIRECTORS
SUBJECT: 2026 National Defense Strategy

For too long, the U.S. Government neglected-even rejected-putting Americans and their
concrete interests first. Previous administrations squandered our military advantages and the
lives, goodwill, and resources of our people in grandiose nation-building projects and selfcongratulatory pledges to uphold cloud-castle abstractions like the rules-based international
order. These past leaders neglected and often actively undermined our warfighters’ warrior ethos
and our military’s core, irreplaceable role-fighting, winning, and thereby deterring the wars that
really matter to our people. Consequently, President Trump entered office with the nation on the
precipice of disastrous wars for which we were unprepared.
President Trump has decisively changed that, courageously putting Americans first to truly make
America great once again. Under his leadership, the United States has the world’s strongest,
most lethal, and most capable military-indeed, the most powerful military that this world has
ever seen. No longer will the Department be distracted by interventionism, endless wars, regime
change, and nation building. Instead, we will put our people’s practical, concrete interests first.
We will support a policy of actual peace through strength. We will be the sword and shield to
deter war, with the goal of peace-but ready to fight and win the nation’s necessary wars if
called upon.
This does not mean isolationism. To the contrary, it means a focused and genuinely strategic
approach to the threats our nation faces and how to best manage them. This approach is based on
a flexible, practical realism that looks at the world in a clear-eyed way, which is essential for
serving Americans’ interests. As the National Security Strategy articulates, this is the
commonsense approach President Trump has advanced.

Read more: https://media.defense.gov/2026/Jan/23/2003864773/-1/-1/0/2026-NATIONAL-DEFENSE-STRATEGY.PDF