Protecting Against Biological Threats: Recommendations for the Global Posture Review

The Council on Strategic Risks argues that the U.S. Department of Defense's Global Posture Review should prioritize biological threat readiness by enhancing ally cooperation, deploying rapid disease detection on naval assets, and establishing forward-deployed medical materiel stocks. It suggests utilizing OCONUS bases for pathogen surveillance and medical countermeasure manufacturing to improve resilience and deter adversaries from developing biological weapons.

• The Global Posture Review (GPR) should prioritize the development of rapid disease detection capabilities for naval forces, specifically on aircraft carriers, due to the unique health vulnerabilities exposed by COVID-19.
• The U.S. Department of Defense lacks forward-deployed medical materiel to handle large-scale biological events or humanitarian disasters and should collaborate with the Department of Health and Human Services to create an OCONUS version of the Strategic National Stockpile or use forward-deployed manufacturing.
• OCONUS bases should be utilized and expanded as hubs for early warning and rapid response, including pathogen surveillance and the manufacturing of medical countermeasures.
• Proactive and robust efforts to counter biological threats are necessary to deter adversaries who may be incentivized to develop biological weapons following the impact of COVID-19 on the DoD.
• Following the GPR, a comprehensive status review of the DoD's biological threat portfolio should be conducted by the Assistant Secretary for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs, COCOM leaders, and the director of DARPA to identify five-year improvement opportunities.

APA

The Council on Strategic Risks (2021). Protecting Against Biological Threats: Recommendations for the Global Posture Review. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2021/02/11/protecting-against-biological-threats-recommendations-for-the-global-posture-review/

Chicago

The Council on Strategic Risks. Protecting Against Biological Threats: Recommendations for the Global Posture Review. 2021. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2021/02/11/protecting-against-biological-threats-recommendations-for-the-global-posture-review/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=The Council on Strategic Risks |title=Protecting Against Biological Threats: Recommendations for the Global Posture Review |date=11 February 2021 |url=https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2021/02/11/protecting-against-biological-threats-recommendations-for-the-global-posture-review/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{thecouncilonstrategicrisks2021protecting, author = {{The Council on Strategic Risks}}, title = {{Protecting Against Biological Threats: Recommendations for the Global Posture Review}}, publisher = {The Council on Strategic Risks}, year = {2021}, month = feb, url = {https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2021/02/11/protecting-against-biological-threats-recommendations-for-the-global-posture-review/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }