(August 7, 2026)

The start of the review was announced by Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby during a keynote speech Wednesday. In his comments, Colby repeatedly emphasized the term “options,” though he stressed that as of right now, he had “no announcement of any kind of change” regarding the Pentagon’s nuclear policy.

“There’s, you know, a review or sort of relook at the employment guidance, which is more about the commander of STRATCOM [Strategic Command] and his responsibilities and [the defense] secretary’s authorities, etcetera,” he said in Omaha, Neb., during the 2026 Deterrence Symposium. Colby also noted that the review will not be released to the general public.

Colby’s comments were not publicly broadcast, but a copy of the audio was shared with Breaking Defense.