The well publicized 360-degree missile defense system to protect Guam against a potential Chinese attack is apparently not all it's cracked up to be.

According to the Guam-based regional Think Tank, “The Pacific Center for island security,” which monitors U.S. Defense Department activity in the region, a new report by DOD’s own Director of Operational Testing and Evaluation Analysis questioned the capabilities of the planned 360-degree missile defense system for Guam.

PCIS Chairman Dr. Robert Underwood said bottom line, the system just isn't capable of doing what's being touted.

“It's not us saying it, its DOD that's saying it and that is really important for people to understand. It's not just a reflexive criticism of military activity, it's a hard-boiled analysis of what the military is capable of doing at this time, whether they can do what they say they're able to do,” said Underwood. 

Still, the Indo-Pacific Command is directing billions of dollars towards the system, which Underwood said might be better spent elsewhere to try and protect Guam from a Chinese attack.

Underwood said, “There's many ways to deal with the threat ranging from soft power to diplomacy, setting up alliances, things like that. But the military, especially the Indo-Pacific Command, has invested all of their marbles, all of their effort on this advanced integrated air missile defense system.”

The military has said it may need up to twenty different sites for the system, and an environmental impact report is scheduled to be released in the next few months.

But Underwood suggested the strategy may be misguided.

“The whole notion of a 360-degree missile defense system is a really high bar, and an overblown explanation of what is technologically possible and feasible within the current context of things,” he said.

He added that if the military is serious about a Chinese threat it should also be spending money on other specific ways to protect the civilian population...such as shelters, evacuation plans, and post attack community sustainment.