Obama selecting Chuck Hagel as SECDEF and John Kerry as SECSTATE could not send a stronger signal: two Viet war vets with intimate knowledge of the hollowed-out force phenomenon of the later 1970s.
Look for both to do their best, now that Iraq is done for the US and Afghanistan is slated for closure next year, to avoid sending US forces anywhere if possible.
This will be portrayed as an "abandonment" of the world, but it's chickens coming home to roost. Bush burned out the force, so Obama is tasked with "healing" it. "Heal the force" is a Pentagon term of art. It carries great meaning and is emotionally charged when it comes to the subject of actual servicemen and women and their families. It is a different definition of patriotism, and, quite frankly, it fits the times. America is on the verge of significant renewal (if the politicians could only get out of the way), and it needs to husband key resources.