WASHINGTON — The authors of an independent, Pentagon-commissioned assessment of the Afghan National Security Forces concluded that current U.S. and NATO plans for the post-2014 ANSF are woefully inadequate to prevent a major deterioration in the Afghanistan security environment.

The study, which was published Thursday, was conducted by CNA, a think tank based in Alexandria, Va. The Defense Department requested the review under Congressional mandate.

Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said the Pentagon has received the report and DOD officials are in the process of reviewing it.

“There’s no doubt that the work that CNA has done here will help inform decision-makers as we get close to the end of the year,” Kirby told reporters at the Pentagon.

The CNA analysts issued a dire warning about what will happen in Afghanistan after 2014 if current plans remain in place.

“In the likely 2015-2018 security environment, the ANSF will require a total security force of about 373,300 personnel [including 29,100 Afghan Local Police] in order to provide basic security for the country, and cope with the Taliban insurgency and low-level al-Qaida threat,” according to the report’s authors.

That force level is 44 percent higher than the one agreed upon by political leaders at the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago. Alliance plans call for 258,500 [including 30,000 Afghan Local Police] in that time frame. There are currently 382,000 ANSF.

“Proceeding with the drawdown of the ANSF as announced at the Chicago Summit will put the current U.S. policy goal for Afghanistan at risk,” the report said.

The CNA analysts noted that their conclusion is based on the assumption that the insurgent threat would increase post-2014, which differs from the alliance assumption in 2012 that the insurgency would be diminished by that point.

CNA estimated that the annual cost of sustaining a 373,400-strong force would be $5-6 billion per year at a time of budget constraints for the Pentagon and the U.S. government as a whole. The projected annual cost of maintaining a base force of 228,500 ANSF [not including the 30,000 Afghan Local Police], as envisioned by NATO, is $4.1 billion per year.

WASHINGTON — Facing fiscal constraints, the Defense Department will try to preserve high-tech warfare capabilities while cutting people and platforms and curbing the growth of pay and benefits, according to a budget preview unveiled by Pentagon officials Monday.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel suggested next year’s budget will have historic implications.

“As we end our combat mission in Afghanistan, this will be the first budget to fully reflect the transition DOD is making after 13 years of war — the longest conflict in our nation’s history … The choices ahead will define our defense institutions for the years to come,” he told reporters at the Pentagon.

Caps on spending stemming from recent Congressional budget agreements have forced DOD to make cuts to force structure and lower personnel costs in order to preserve high-priority programs and maintain sufficient levels of readiness to meet future threats, Hagel said.

For Fiscal 2015, the law limits DOD spending to $496 billion — $45 billion less for the year than projected in President Barack Obama’s five-year forecast last year. And the threat of sequestration in future years gives further impetus to making these force adjustments, Hagel said.

“No realistic effort to find further significant savings can avoid dealing with military compensation. That includes pay and benefits for active and retired troops, both direct and in-kind,” Hagel said.

WASHINGTON — Former President George W. Bush hosted a Military Service Initiative Summit on Wednesday, and spoke about the many problems facing post-9/11 veterans and how his institute hopes to address them.

“A lot of people ask me, you know, do I miss much about being president. The answer really [is] no, [but] I do miss saluting men and women who volunteer to defend our nation during war. Many are coming home and are preparing for new missions as civilians. And I intend to salute these men and women for the rest of my life … And through the Military Service Initiative, the [George W.] Bush Institute is going to help [them],” Bush said at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas.

“Since 9/11, more than 2.5 million Americans have worn the uniform … They are the 1 percent of America who kept the 99 percent safe. And we owe them and their families a deep debt of gratitude. Our country can never really fully repay our vets, but we ought to try.”

Bush said his institute’s plans have been shaped by a joint study that the organization conducted with the Syracuse University Institute for Veterans and Military Families, which he described as “one of the most comprehensive studies ever conducted of post-9/11 veterans.”