The Difference Between Offsets and Offsets
both might be relevant to what you are doing!
Depending on which watercooler you happen to be standing by, you might have a very different definition of what an “offset” is in national security lingo.
The “Third Offset Strategy”
Many may be familiar with what is called, the "Offset Strategy", which is a method of compensating asymmetrically for a disadvantage in military competition. Instead of directly matching an opponent in unfavorable conditions, an offset strategy shifts the competition to a more advantageous position. During the Cold War, two main periods exemplified the use of offset strategies. In the 1950s, the U.S. emphasized nuclear deterrence under President Eisenhower. From 1975-1989, technological superiority was leveraged to offset inferiority in conventional forces against the Warsaw Pact. Post-Vietnam War, the U.S. sought again leveraged technology to offset numerical advantages of adversaries and budget constraints. Examples of offset capabilities have included ISR platforms, precision-guided weapons, stealth technology, and space-based communications. The Third Offset Strategy, announced by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel in 2014, aimed to counter anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) systems of potential adversaries, primarily through maintaining the technological edge. Since the National Security Strategy of 2018, the Third Offset Strategy has focused on robotics, system autonomy, big data, and advanced manufacturing, aligning with private sector innovations. It deals with various challenges such as labor shortages, dependence on foreign supply chains, unfair trade practices by adversaries, and the need for modernized manufacturing technologies.