Transcripts For CSPAN Army Air Force Confirmation Hearing 20240714

We are one minute late. The Committee Meets to consider the nomination of misses Barbara Barrett to be secretary of the air force. And Ryan Mccarthy to be secretary of the army. Standard questions, whether you like it or not. You have to answer audibly so it can be heard. Do you adhere to the laws regarding conflict of interest . Yes sir. Staffl you ensure your complies with questions . Yes, senator. Will you provide witnesses in response to congressional requests . Will they be protected from testimony . Yes, senator. Are you under taking actions which would appear to have presumed the outcome of the confirmation process . No, senator. I really believe we are in the most dangerous situation we have been in in this world in my lifetime. Thought id say i would look back wistfully at the days of the cold war, i would say things are bad. Problems. Rious we have a National Defense strategy. I cant believe that. This is kind of unique. Total agreement. We are locked into that. They are catching up in others. We dont have any more. We dont know how that is changing. It is a moving target. Focus main farkas was counterterrorism. Of budget cuts under the oura administration left readiness and crisis. The last administration thought we could cut the budget hundreds of millions of dollars. That is not the case. He came up with a document, after i checked it out, i believed it to be true. When we were cutting our budget 20102015scal years they were increasing theres in china by 83 . People are not aware of this. They dont know that is going on. The cuts left our military in a predicament that will take years. Fortunately, we have a good start. Somel year 18, 19, we made great advances. This. Looking forward you will be playing a major role fixing something broken right now. Thank you very much. I join you in joining secretary mccarthy. I would also like to welcome sec. Mccarthys family. Likewise, ambassador barrett. Her husband greg. Her sisters and sisterinlaw. We are pleased you could be here. Secretary mccarthy, i know you have a wealth of experience. Admirably ased under secretary of the army. Will ensure the Army Continues to innovate. As under secretary, you work with the secretary and the Senior Leadership to establish teams focused on the major modernization priorities. As well as establishing the command as a single command for all modernization efforts. I would ask you share what you have learned from these efforts. Edgeering cutting abilities to our war fighters. A modernized military platform. This will be pointless if they do not have the training necessary to prevail on the such,field read as readiness remains the priority. Hope you mccarthy, i will share what you can do to ensure readiness. The success is dependent on the men and women in uniform. The army has had challenges meeting recruitment goals. The army should focus on the quality rather than quantity. Senator mccarthy, secretary you will believe be leading the air force transition as the air force transition as the air force during a major transition institutes guidance establishing the space force. Doing this correctly will have great influence on our ability challenge competitiveness. The air force has been heavily involved overseas and 9 11 and has been laboring under the day today strains of deployments and operating tempo. Given the concerns about supporting the readiness of our supporting structure will be critical. The first party seems to me the secretary of the your force should be focusing on improving readiness of the existing forces. Addition to improving readiness the secretary must focus on modernization. Over number of years many Senior Leaders have expressed concern about the size and modernization of the air force. However as complicated as to increase the number of aircraft we are buying, buying more aircraft is not enough. The air force must also buy the right types of aircraft. Currently the air force is under the threshold of modernizing several capabilities the including the bomber force the , intercontinental ballistic force and the Battle Management program which will place Ground Surveillance planes. Finally the Service Secretaries sector is not under the direct chain of command for the Acquisition Program but the Service Sector plays a Critical Role in the budget and the decision to drive Acquisition Programs. Therefore this committee will look to you for your contributions and balancing a air force resources against the air force needs and ensuring you have the Acquisition Workforce the Department Needs to get the job done. Again let me thank you for holding this hearing. I look forward to hearing from the nominees. Thank you senator reed. , secretary mccarthy and an introduction of you is not really necessary. Youve worked for two years as the undersecretary in the same position and you certainly know it well. However we do have senator mcsally who has requested to introduce mrs. Barrett. I know you dont object to that. Thank you, chairman half. It is with great pride that i sit before you to introduce fellow arizonians and my personal friend ambassador Barbara Barrett. Many of us already know barbara for outstanding accomplishments in leadership spanning from the Business World academia to international diplomacy. A few of these include the deputy federal aviation administrator serving as the u. S. Ambassador to finland her time at the u. S. Mission at the united nations. These positions make her a phenomenal choice to lead a military Service Branch but her unique experiences are what make her the best choice to lead our air force at this important time in history. First and foremost shes a pilot herself so she thinks in three dimensions. She always looks up and shares a passion for flying with the airmen she will lead. Ambassador barrett has vast managing experience. Leading teams through change. President of the thunderbird as thepresident of the Thunderbird School of management she was responsible for creating leaders. This Global Outlook will be vital as we adapt to the resurgence of Great Power Competition and the threats posed to the world. She has a firsthand understanding of how to navigate commercial partnerships to give them the best practices they need when they needed where they when they need at and shes where they need it. Worked at several organizations the air force looks to like serving as a ceo in the aerospace corporation. A Nonprofit Corporation based in california that operates federally funded Research Development center for the Space Enterprise. She also serves on one of most influential think tanks. When asked by the secretary of defense to serve on the defense business board she tackled the tough task of improving Business Practices of the dod. Macrolevel analysis experience this kind of will enable her to ensure the air force can meet anywhere, any threat, anytime. Ambassador barrett has been involved in many institutions focused on advocacy. Serving on the boards of the national air and space museum sally ride science and , foundation. Nearest and dearest to my heart is ambassador barrett played a role in the against paradigm shift. Expanding air combat roles for women. As the only female pilot serving on Defense Advisory Committee on women in the services she was instrumental in recommending that women are allowed to compete for and fly in combat the leadership of this committee. In fact the leadership of this committee opposed the , recommendations at the time. Dont worry, the full senate overruled the opposition. But paving the way for thousands serve our country with of women like me to distinction in combat. E wisdom of these decisions. Picking the best man for the job even though shes a woman. This led to other airmen being able to meet none of these women their full potential. None of these women would be possible if not for the experience and grit of women like ambassador Barbara Barrett posing new solutions to out im dated thinking. Grateful to barbara for the work to step up for our country. Im honored to introduce the proud tradition of arizona women in airspace. Today, as we sit in his body that makes these important decisions, i continue to be inspired by barbaras example. Not afraid to question the status quo. Think strategically. Acknowledge sometimes doing things the way they have always been in the past may not be good enough anymore. Its a personal understanding of what airmen need for intimate knowledge of the Aerospace Industry that supports them for , her competence and her passion for the air and space domain and a consistent search for better, more Innovative Solutions that make ambassador barrett the best candidate to lead our air force today and tomorrow. Finally ive been blessed to get as a friend and i believe she is the perfect fit for this job. I advocated to President Trump for that nomination and im grateful that he is nominated her. From our years of friendship by i can tell you shes a woman of character, vision, smarts and a true leader who cares deeply about our country our military and our air force. With all she is accomplishing , she did not have to answer this call. She was not seeking this call yet she was willing to give these years of her life to share her immense experience and lead our air force into the future. Barbara truly embodies the air force care values Integrity Service before self self and we do. Excellence in what she will inspire our airmen. I support our nomination herm\. Thank you mr. Chairman can member reed for the opportunity to make the introduction with that is my pleasure to introduce my friend ambassador barrett. Thats great. Thank you senator mcsally. A beautiful introduction. We will now have Opening Statements from our nominees and keep in mind the entire statement will be made part of the record. You dont need to go over the whole thing. I invite you to introduce any of your friends or family who have come to support you this morning. Secretary mccarthy. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member reed members of the committee it is an honor to come before you today as the president nominee for secretary of the army. Ive testified previously in front of this committee and i hold it in the highest regard. I want to thank secretary for his confidence in the president for nominating me. Yesterday as we do every year we pause to remember the 9 11 attacks to honor the souls lost on that day and the subsequent 18 years of war. Just as the pentagon building bears the physical scars of the attack we will never forget. 18 years ago today i was beginning my preparation to deploy for the afghanistan invasion. That day fundamentally changed my life. Troops deployed in combat operations will remain my primary focus. Id like to begin by recognizing my wife jennifer who joins me here today. She along with her daughter alexandra and the rest of my family serve as the bedrock for who i am as a person. They provide me with strength and motivation to be the best husband, father and man that i can be. O my parents david and kathleen i want to publicly thank them for their love support and guidance my entire life. To my sister shana my brotherinlaw jace thank you for being confidants and friends who are always there for me. I want to thank the committee for the confidence and bipartisan support they have shown the army and the department of defense with the committees top line will provide the foundation for budget deal that provides fiscal certainty in the fy2020 and fy2021. We will work to maximize the utility of every dollar with privatization and safeguard her our most treasured National Resource the men and women serving in the Army Civilians and their families. I am an avid supporter of the National Defense strategy and will continue the participation privatization prioritization necessary for it to be realized. It serves as our blueprint minimizing any potential turbulence as a result of the transition of leaders. This strategy allows for laser like focus against Great Power Competition while institutionalizing the hard Lessons Learned in counterinsurgency and the Violent Extremist Organization fight. If confirmed as secretary the of the army, i will continue to champion the Army Strategy condition with an emphasis on readiness modernization and reform. It is only through the care for our people that these priorities will be achieved. Im encouraged by their retention numbers as a measure performance. In fy 19 the army met over 100 of our retention goals and we are in track to achieve a revised goal without dilution and quality. If confirmed i intend to ensure our soldiers and families have the resources to thrive. This includes quality and safe housing Reliable Health care and , access to childcare taking , care of the force leads to a better quality of life. Retention of worldclass soldiers and ultimately improve readiness. Im equally committed to the prevention of Sexual Assault and harassment in our formation s which tears at the very fabric of our institution. Leadership at every level must build a team of teams, protecting our brothers and sisters to our left and right. Reinforcing theres no place for suicide and Sexual Assault and harassment in our army. If confirmed the Army Leadership will continue to build upon the reform agenda we have established over the last 24 months. Significant work remains to solidify the Modernization Enterprise and finish what we collectively started. Congressional support has helped the army and i look forward to working with this committee and congress to fulfilling their responsibility providing the best man equipped and trained force our nation needs to meet its objectives. Im grateful for your consideration of my nomination and i look forward to your questions. Thank you. Thank you mr. Secretary and ms. Barrett. Chairman and topRanking Members distinguished members of this Important Committee thank you for the opportunity to appear before you with acting secretary of the army ran Ryan Mccarthy. I hope to build a relationship with the tifia should i be i would like to thank the confirmed. President for his nomination as secretary of defense for the possible privilege to again serve our great nation. I would like to recognize my family who are here with me today my husband craig, the love , of my life and the kind of guy you would want your son to grow up to be. Also, my sisters and sisterinlaw who all traveled from western pennsylvania. Senator mcsally thank you for your kind introduction. As the first woman to fly an aircraft engaged in combat and also the first woman to lead us a squadron in combat you know firsthand what is required of our airmen. Im grateful for your confidence and your friendship. This committee profoundly understands the threats Great Power Competitions present to our National Interest as properly prioritized in the National Defense strategy. China and russia continually challenge free and open international order, imposed their authoritarian model beyond their borders and attempt to undermine longstanding alliances. A recent independent bipartisan Strategy Commission appointed by congress concluded the air force will be at the forefront of any future conflicts. We cannot afford to lose our competitive edge. If confirmed i would work with congress and the administration to build upon our manpower resources to meet our National Defense needs. The air force must not only retain its technical edge over potential adversaries that we but we must expand it. If confirmed continued i will continue investments in modernization and advanced capabilities to better equip our airmen to prevail in the highend fight. While attending to readiness modernization and reform i will also work closely with our allies and deepen global partnerships. Up theirmed, standing space force would be a key imperative. I believe we need a space force. In fact in my opinion a domain specific service organized to train and equip space forces is overdue. Most americans use space before their first cup of coffee in the morning. Space controls our electricity, our water, our Financial Transactions and of course navigation, information and communication. While space is ubiquitous it is also invisible and often underappreciated. American National Power depends upon space in our potential adversaries know it. And our potential adversaries know it. We must be prepared to defend critical space access come assets increased resilience for Space Enterprise and be prepared to fight and win should deterrence fail. Finally as a focus on organizing training and equipping for combat we cannot ignore the readiness challenge close to home. We must support our airmen by addressing suicide, Sexual Assault, housing, and the quality of life. Much work has been done to address these serious issues and if confirmed i would support and fortify those efforts. Most americans took their kids in bed at night without a thought about foreign threat because brave men and women in uniform stand ready. It is because of their sacrifices that we all sleep well. As an aviator i have a deep love and respect for the air force and the men and women uniformed and civilian who served and their families. Our dad was a cowboy when he enlisted in the army corps of engineers during world war ii. Long ago he instilled the importance of Public Service in us. As a result ive eiselt the duty to serve when called. I would consider it a supreme privilege and a pivotal responsibility to lead our airmen and serve as the 25th secretary of the air force. I look forward to your questions. Thank you ms. Barrett. During my opening comments i talked a little bit about our launch capabilities and i regret that while we were light years ahead in the Previous Administration we lost that edge. We now have china and im very much concerned about what they are doing. Lean on. They are developing technology that takes us a lot longer with a different system. That is not our system. First of all i would ask if you agree with the most recent space launch acquisition effort in the air force and the senate focus on staying the course in the Lunch Services procurement today. Thank you mr. Chairman. We dont get to space without an effective space launch. We have developed not just a military and government capability but commercial capability as well. We still need to have government capability and i am fully supportive of continuation of the capability through the military. And also the fact that we stay on course in terms of our timing because any delay is going to put them that much further ahead. Do you agree with that . Absolutely, senator. Of your topne priorities. I want to mention one other thing. Theres a misunderstanding. We know that the air forces top needing 72 fighter aircraft. When we came out with this 60 and the f15s the main problem we had at that time was the manufacturer or the contractor didnt have the capacity to get up any higher than that. Thats a moving target right now. We are not sure where that ends but we have another situation and that is on the f15s in the the f35 that are out there. Any that we get right now would block three and get block four will be coming next year. What is your feeling on the situation today, where we are and how would some of these problems affect our on the outside and dont have inside knowledge, from the briefings i have received the f35 is our future we need it. We need it sustainably. So getting more of the f35 has been something the air force has been working hard to do and if confirmed i would look to continue that push. Ms. Barrett i remember when time because the we had the f 22 debate. I dont want that to happen again. We should have learned by that time. Secretary mccarthy, you know the job. You have been the undersecretary for how long . 25 months. 25 month so you know some of the problems that are out there. We are not able to meet their recruitment goals this last time. Looking at what we are trying to do right now what are the problems we have . Right now we have the best economy arguably in my lifetime so thats your competition out there. How do you overcome that and are you going to be able to meet your goals and if not what is the fallback position . To your point chairman we missed the active goal by 6500 in fy18 so secretary esper and the general set down as a family and said we had to make a change so we changed the strategy to focus on 22 cities across the continental United States because we need a larger sample size. We needed to get greater penetration in demographics. To your point with 3. 6 deployment theres never been a benchmark since 1969 and that was an all draft the military. A unique setting and we are competing with a air force navy and marines. Our leadership is meeting with mayors and our parks and recreation directors are getting Civic Leaders to help us. We are changing Marketing Strategy and we are putting more funding in the effort of digital marketing. We have made a dramatic change and also looking at 150 different operational specialties. Theres a vast opportunity for americans to get an opportunity to get technical skills, money for education and surely get out of an environment where they can reach the middle class part as well and saying the army its that escalated to the middle class so changing the method was the key in communicating with the country. I would add initially trying to meet those goals we didnt anticipate having the economy that we have today. We meet those targets well in a year in advance so we had to make the adjustment. Its hard because we still need to grow 50 of combat and commanders requirements. We will have to continue to grow. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Congratulations to the nominees. I enjoyed your visits. We talked about the concern of mine in the space area which is the lack of rules. As you pointed out, it is sort of invisible. As you pointed sort of invisible and the challenges of the rule less environment are going to get more and more significant the more investments we never countries make. Theres an example in the last year where an American Company was denied an fcc license on satellite launches, but they circumvented the fccs ruling by going to india and launching the satellite and there was a monetary penalty set against the company for doing that. We talked about issues of debris in space created by either accidents or efforts to use missiles to knock down satellites. As you contemplate should you be , confirmed as secretary what are your thoughts about what the United States should do to try to work with other nations to create a set of International Rules that could be enforced to try to protect the investments we would make . Thank you, senator. I think that would be one of the important things for the future. The air force would want to be a big part of that. If confirmed i would dissipate in the leadership. You indicated you were strongly support the space force we did it good bit of work on the ndaa and that will survive relatively intact from the conference i am hearing. Talk a little bit about how you would approach the implementation of the accreditations included in the ndaa. We look forward to seeing the outcome of those negotiations in congress and building upon what Congress Directs i would look forward to participating if confirmed in developing an agency that is focused on capability and space, not on building bureaucracy but instead building the capabilities for the warfighter and the american public. And just back to my first question you would agree with me , that it would be very difficult for us to protect our investments in space without some kind of a rulebased order that other nations are agreeing with. Its hard to either have bilateral or unilateral rules in space because the cavities of activities of other nations could jeopardize our investments. Just as our activities could jeopardize theirs unless there is an international set of rules. I agree completely. We are vulnerable to the actions of others in open territory. Thank you for that. Secretary mccarthy i have been impressed with first impressed first depressed with the challenges surrounded military housing but i am impressed with the armys candor about acknowledging them. The armywith arma secretary on that. One of the reasons i was happy to introduce him to the committee for his hearing was because the work thats been done. It strikes me as i think about the work over the last few months including visits that i have made to bases in virginia including army bases and looked at a lot of military Family Housing but i havent looked at barracks. If we are really going to be serious about the housing issue we have to make sure single individuals men and women who , in the lower ranks who are in are in barracks many assists as the most vulnerable they have acceptable housing. We talked about military housing issues as the army is grappling with those. What are you doing to look at Housing Conditions for all of the troops including g force and below who live as single members in barracks . We had to conduct a very thorough baseline to make sure we understood the problem. This has been bubbling since back in the fall of 18. Secretary esper initiated the 19 investigation. We recently released the results of the entire congress and there were a series of recommendations , about 90 of which we are definitely going to implement. We had to get a better understanding of how we were managing the problem and thats really what has gone on for the last couple of months. We have now begun to move resources and get better data and understanding of the health of all of the assets in the entire portfolio. That would include the barracks for a single person. You and i talked briefly yesterday. A recent study by the cdc indicates if there is 1. 5 billion a year in obesity related health issues. This is a national, not just a military issue. It puts the obesity rate of the army at 17 . You have done, the army is now implementing a new fitness standard across the force. Talk about how you would help implement those should you be confirmed. It starts on the front and. We have extended the length of the basic training to get more repetition in time for soldiers to get fit before they arrive. Thats the 16 to 22. 16 to 22, yes sir, and from there working with the contractors that run the dining facilities to change the menus. So we are working across that including fitness and quite frankly they have to get more sleep at night so going across the Health Continuum we look at how we can improve all of those variables. Its a challenge for the country with over half the country s youth within an obesity range. And military can set a good example. Thank you very much. I yield back. You, senators. When we spoke in my office i , felt we had a good conversation about the importance of the 55th wing stationed and really the air force isr mission the wing helps perform. That being said the isr mission performed by the air force is is evolving with the changing is evolving with the changing evolving and it pace of technology and also with the threats that we face as a country. Given the importance of the information gained from the isr systems how do you see the air , force growing and evolving in this mission over time and would you agree that future technologies such as Network Systems and the unmanned vehicles could work to enhance the proven platforms that we are already have like the rc 135 and other very highpowered isr assets. Thank you, senator. From your position in nebraska we see that its a keystone to the isr mission of the United States air force and that is a mission that is only going to grow. Modernize and incorporate more technology so that is something that seems to lie very much in the future of the United States air force and if confirmed i would hope to work with you in continuing that modernization. As we discussed in our private meeting that we had that every combatant command needs that information provided. Every Combatant Commander that has testified before this committee, they mentioned the need for more isr so would you commit to working with me and my colleagues to expand that the isr infrastructure that we have so that we can put more of those assets into the field . Absolutely. As are needed by the air force. Thank you. You and i both agree on the importance of modernizing the air forces nuclear forces. And the Nuclear Command and control infrastructure which they rely. I ask you if you would give me a commitment that will make that Nuclear Modernization a top priority if you are confirmed. Senator, i can make that commitment to you. Thank you. In your response to the committees advance policy questions you know that most of the systems in the Nuclear Triad have quote exceeded their original defined lives and they must all be modernized. This includes the ground base deterrent and i know this is an area that if confirmed you are going to be thoroughly reviewing. We are seeing calls for changes to the Acquisition Strategy but i would encourage you to please keep in mind the lack of margin in the current schedule as you acquaint yourself with the program. Do you agree that the highest priority needs to be moving forward to ensure that this program delivers on time and that we also meet the warfighter requirements . Senator, timeliness and moving forward on modernization of our Nuclear Capability is among the highest priority. I would say it is the highest. Deterrentr triad, the it provides is the security of our country. We understand that its that important. Thank you. One of the fundamental issues that the air force will need to address is the question of what is the force structure and the force size that going to be necessary in order to meet those goals from our National Defense strategy and put simply we cannot afford to maintain an outdated air force, one that is shaped by a lowend conflict when we are looking at Great Power Competition now and into the foreseeable future. I have been a vocal proponent of the air force. The air force we need, that plan that is there to grow the size of the air force and rethink the mix of the aircraft that we have but im concerned that without resourcing and also without implementation plans like this end up on the shelf and go by the wayside. I do not believe we can afford i do not believe we can afford to see that happen. What is your vision for the future, first size, and for the future of the air force . A great deal of effort was put into an analysis of what is the air force we need. I would think that is not something destined for the shelf , but instead destined for implementation. Whether it is exactly 380 six quadrants, i dont know, but it is something that we are paying a great deal of attention to so that we can have the structure we need to pursue and achieve the mission. Thank you, ambassador, and thank you, mr. Secretary, for your willingness to continue to serve this country. Iq. Thank you. Thank you, chairman. Ambassador, i appreciate you meeting with me yesterday and i want to go over that same ground and focus specifically on some new mexico projects but i am sure you will hear about projects over the country for my colleagues. My state was one of the hardest recentthe president s run around the congressional to fresh appropriations process, specifically the plan that we cut 35 million from a formal Training Unit at Holloman Air Force base. A new building that is desperately needed to effectively train all of our operators. Were you aware that we train 100 of the active reserve and international m q nine operators at the holloman facility . I was not aware that, no. Are you aware of the fact that current trainees are resorting to using duct tape to pass to patch holes . I think we can do better than that. Did you know that because of these conditions, these operators are the only combat aircrews in the entire air force that are forced to train in an unclassified and unsecured environment . No, senator. If this project doesnt receive funding, what would your approach we to make sure it does . I understand the funding has been deferred, and i would hope that appropriate funding is achieved, and if confirmed deferred is not a word we either use, it is appropriate or not appropriated. Foras not been appropriated the use that congress wrote into the appropriations bill. Im trying to get a sense from you how we are going to get these kinds of projects back on track. The priority remains very high for that project, as i understand it. I have been on the outside, so it is not something i was a participant in, but i do believe the priorities have changed to something we would be looked for with funding and appropriate action, and i would be attentive to that as secretary if confirmed. Acting secretary mccarthy, obviously it wasnt just our air force bases that were affected by the transfers of funds and cuts. The administration also cut Information Systems facilities at white hams missile range. If this cut is enacted, if that funding isnt received, what would be the impact on the missile range and our Global Information operations . As we discussed in the office call, we will be making investments and support efforts with hypersonics. The project specifically was to be awarded in the fy 20 timeframe. What we are going to do is look at options of can we put it in the 21 fiscal year to make the adjustments into a we can to recover the schedule and work with the contractors if possible . For both of you, needless to say, i was more than disappointed by these actions. Hard well,ry it makes it obvious that mexico is not paying for this stuff. Mexico is not paying for the wall. Instead we have real cuts that have a very real price to be paid in our militarys readiness, even if it only costs us a single year. Real impacts on the backs of our men and women in uniform and their family. I would love to know from both of you if you understand just how caustic ignoring congressional intent can be to the kind of relationship that should exist between the administration and congress. I would look to build a relationship with congress such that we could work carefully and closely despite adversarial issues and the scarcity of resources and Important National strategic assets. Senator, i have worked hard to earn a bipartisan relationship and we will continue to do so. Thank you, chairman. Senator cotton. Congratulations, secretary mccarthy, on your nomination, and thank you for your Current Service and past service and i look forward to working with you both. Barrett, earlier this week, just a few days ago, a number of for 35s bond in isis stronghold north baghdad. They were used to disrupt isiss ability to hide in thick vegetation. I have real concerns about using a fifth generation aircraft to strike a bunch of terrorists hiding in the bushes. It feels to me like we should be using aircraft that is suitable and an environment where we have total air dominance and rf f35 should be training for highend conflict against adversaries like china, especially when the gao has published a study that says the f35 supply chain does not have enough spare parts available to keep aircraft smiling and to be more fighter requirements. This congress has repeatedly authorized it appropriated money for a Light Attack Aircraft that would be able to conduct such missions against low intensity threats in the middle east at a fraction of the cost while bringing up the f35 and all those people who support it to train for those highend conflicts. Do you share my concerns about using this kind of highend aircraft for a very lowend flight, especially given the strain the f35 has on it right now . Identifyr, i cant what went into the decision not a particular operation, as a conceptual matter, when we could be using lowend aircraft to conduct these missions and giving the f35 pilots ready for a fight against a peer competitor. Does it seem like we should be exploring that option more aggressively . I think so. That weess has said want to see initial operating i hopeity by 2023, and that upon confirmation you can make that a priority since the air force has moved somewhat slowly on it. To moving thatrd tong more quickly and trading in operational mission. Thanks. Mccarthy, when you were in the army back in the they saw a lot of artillerymen conducting operations as dismounted infantryman, a reflection of the strain on the force with lasting repercussions as artillery units now have lieutenants and captains who were driving in humvees with mounted infantry. Can you talk to us a little bit about the armys plan for getting our servicemembers ready to conduct the same highend fight against the major land power and also against the new system that will come in place for them to operate in light of russias decision to kill the intermediate range new your forces treaty and the successful groundbased tomahawk missile that occurred just a few weeks ago. I attribute a lot of this to ,eneral millers leadership where we changed all the scenarios and Training Centers , scenarios that we would see with peer competitors. We changed our Investment Strategy to make longrange precision fire the number one billion with almost 9 in hypersonic missiles. That investment from our time and training, as well as the bringing of tactical operation back into the formation we are also looking very hard at. Hanging to fill out more units a tremendous effort moving forward. Missile regard with defense that has atrophied a great deal with 18 years of counterinsurgency, a lot of investment, we are looking at batteries coming online, so there is improvement that is on the way but we are still short if we had to go to war tonight. Yes, we are. I am glad to hear that and im glad we can start providing our soldiers with the longrange fire they need to counteract the threat in russia and europe and china. Thank you both. Thank you, senator cotton. Apologize there is a simultaneous Appropriations Committee here and i had to attend. Let me raise an issue which is ,ot exclusive to the air force Sexual Assault and misconduct. You took ars ago step forward in terms of requiring an affirmative evaluation on adherence to policy and training but i think what has happened in the interim is it becomes more check the box. Checking exes in wise, this has , ite the Company Commander is very important, and it is not an issue of political correctness. Military,os of the dont exploit other soldiers. Can you comment on what you can do and hopefully inspire other services to do . Im addressing yes, sir. Discussed in our office of wherehis is a lot you want to look at changing the way we are training, because clearly the trend is going the wrong direction. They are encouraged by the that event received, up in west point a few weeks ago, and the change they brought training in front of rooms full of people. We are getting away from the compliance of a powerpoint and making it more interactive. Clearly the message weve been using doesnt work. Thank you. This is an issue you have to attend for in the air force but i want to focus on another issue, one that we spoke about a moremeeting, becoming critical aspect. 60 to 80 of the lifecycle course is sustainment, not production. Ihas put huge pressure think the senators comments are insightful about how we are using this aircraft, since im told 35,000 to keep in f35 in the air and if we are going after some folks in a bush with 35,000, that is tough. But it comes down to a number of numbers. Wed like to see over thousand aircraft, which is 30 5,000 an hour so how can we afford that Going Forward . Have an idea for reversing sustainment . That would be getting those flight our cost down, one of the things that i would give a high priority two. It is an important element of the arsenal, and we need the cost fory, but the flight hours seems extremely high. We would build capabilities so that the aircraft could be flown and are less expensive. Cost factors is that theres logistical support, the automatic logistics information system, alice. Are you familiar with alice . Only lucy. This point, it would be difficult for you to talk about any specific changes that you would direct in terms of overall sustainment and specific relations to the alice program. From the outside, details of that sort that is exactly the kind of thing we should be paying attention to. Thank you. Mr. Chairman. Thank you, mr. Chair. Thank you both for being here today. Mr. Secretary, i appreciate your Prior Service and your willingness to continue in a different rule for the United States army. And ambassador, thank you for being willing to step forward and fill in at a very exciting you and for your wonderful families for accompanying. We appreciate that. I want to continue down the road that Ranking Member reid was on in discussing Sexual Assault within our military, discouraged that we absolutely must push against and bring to an end. The shift weve seen in our military culture is difficult to stomach and i think those that are in positions of leadership and responsibility really need to see this through and make sure we are addressing the situation with the seriousness that it acquires. Secretary, you spoke about west point and the events that Jennifer Williams held and i was able to participate in that event this last monday stop they have an honorable living standdown day, an entire day toicated at west point addressing this issue of Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault, addressing the attitudes and behaviors that are inconsistent with our army values, that are degrading readiness. We see that across the force, not just at west point. But you are right in that they had role players and ways of challenging the cadets in their thinking, and i think this event was very effective, to see the looks on the faces of the cadets as they had to respond to different scenarios, engaging their brains, which is not what we have seen in the past with clicking through a bunch of powerpoint slides. Im excited to see the results as we move through this grand experiment and see if it works and shows a change in attitude, but if you are confirmed, what else would you like to see that would change the culture that we see existing in our military today . What else could we be doing to effect that change . Senator, when teams have more time to train together, when they are with each other in the hall were training together, they get to know each other better. Much of the challenges that ive seen in the last 25 months as the chief management officer is too much reporting, too much compliance, we take them away from doing the core elements of the job. The things that i remember as a junior officer was how much i ate breakfast and lunch and dinner with my teammates, i was with them all the time. We do that in the pentagon. Know to the gym and they they need a cup of coffee and that is what it comes down to. We started about a year ago, taking requirements away to allow more cohesive teams to be built, and that is where the trust, the foundation of great units is where it is really codified. And we need to do more of that. In the end of the type of interactive training you described is what we do for anything stop thank you. Ambassador . As you described it of Sexual Assault cannot be tolerated, in an environment where we trust our military soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines with extraordinary power. I investigated a Sexual Assault claim in the previous role and i fired a top leader for that action. It is a zerotolerance matter in my view, and it is something that is confirmed i would take very seriously. I believe there is a value in having women in leadership roles, where women feel comfortable to step forward if there are problems of that sort. I appreciate it and i think you have both hit on key components we need to know our teams and our soldiers and sailors and airmen emory. Innding that quality time exhibiting the necessary leadership to make sure we are identifying those issues and bringing solutions to the table. Thank you both very much and i look forward to your confirmation. Thank you. Chairman, andmr. Thank you to both our nominees for being here and for your service and for your willingness to serve. Senator king alluded to this and i want to go back to it we have had multiple hearings this and addressver persistent and unacceptable problems are servicemembers and their families have experienced in Privatized Housing and on military bases. We have seen it across the country. The root causes of these problems continue to be uncovered. Provide tou hope to members of congress. My take away from these reports is that we are finally applying some really needed focus to get this right but we still have a long way to go. We try to address this in the nda and hopefully the language will stay in there. I would like to ask each of you can we get a commitment from each of you that if confirmed, you will continue each of your services focused on addressing these issues and ensuring military members and families are provided the housing that they deserve, the transparency, the responsiveness, and i think all members of this committee believe they are important to our family members and the wellbeing of the military. Yes, senator. I tried to exhibit that behavior a week ago when we released it to the entire congress. We have a series of recommendations that are in the same spirit of the legislation you just referred to. We are taking appropriate actions and as i mentioned earlier we baselined ourselves against the problem. We werent managing the contractor as well as we should with the level of diligence we should. We took out the chain of command from the process and you cant empower leaders if you take away their authority in their ability to measure the problems. This isto do better a qualityoflife issue and retention for our soldiers. This will be top of mind every day for the rest of my tenure. Army, ilike the understand the United States air force has been doing a against thework deplorable conditions families have been subjected to. If confirmed i would continue that and possibly accelerate the rate. Thank you. Secretary mccarthy, i will ask you first, but it is probably appropriate for the ambassador as well. Aboutback to the question specific programs being deferred out of new mexico the Anniston Army deco, deferring money and pushing money to the southern border, it was a critical maintenance project and i know there are a lot of these projects and its a lot of money , and instead of focusing i would like to ask secretary im sure you are familiar with it how that might affect and i would also like to discuss your view on how the deferral quality project as a whole and the possibility of future deferrals might affect the military. Lets take it away from the appropriations process. Goinge deferral of money to a political project how would that affect anniston as a whole . Senator, with respect to going to awardre that project in fy 20 stop it could potentially threaten the schedule with another funding mechanism and then recover the schedule over time. It has presented some turbulence that we are trying to manage, and we will look at the various funding vehicles and repropose those projects. We intend to continue to find solutions. Exactly the same with the air force, senator. We would be looking to find prioritynd make those issues go forward. Thank you for your service and willingness to serve. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. We talked a little bit about this thank you for your time. Know you as dont well as senator mcsally, but i am fully confident you are going to do a great job. One of the areas we talked about was something that started in the air force almost 11 years ago now. It was this document. 680 page document to define the next generation of handguns for the department of defense stop it then went through the army says they finally had to take it over to get the job done and then it went through a process of procurement and acquisition that took about 10 years. Take about 10g to years to get it fully deployed. When will be the next generation handgun . When i first started taking this document, 680 pages and bringing it before the committee, i have some folks in acquisition who said it is only 40 pages of specifications. My question to them was are all the all the other pages intentionally left blank . Do they have requirements that the suppliers can just dismiss and only focus on those 40 pages . We all know the answer to that. I want to make sure that we figure out a way to acquire appropriate to the risk of whatever it is we are requiring i fully expect we probably had it rop that was 300 pages long for the next generation paperclip. Tell me what you think we are already doing we discussed this in the office, give me your assurance that these sorts of things could be put to more capability and better prepare men and women in uniform. And then secretary mccarthy i want to touch on housing with you. What agreemost that the acquisition system has been broken. I credit my predecessor as secretary of the air force for having really tackled that problem and the evidence from 10 years ago lets hope it is better now and it would be something we would look to get better if i am confirmed. Secretary wilson, i understand, took the acquisition process from 14 approval levels to four. That cuts out who knows how much hands, and adds to the responsibility that each of those four has for getting it right. Once you are confirmed, i would love to visit with you in andffice so we can sit down look at these specific things around the business of the dod that we not only have to fix but the Continuous Improvement that can convince me that if we dont get it right within 10 years we are back to the unacceptable process. Secretary ryan, you and i had a great discussion and it has been great working with you and i am going to support your nomination. Tell me about what you experienced at fort bragg and the progress were are making on housing. Senator, i was disappointed i went to the Housing Project of theicular, and some families had experienced Carbon Monoxide leaks. One of the homes, the solutions were not adequate. Not moving fast enough. A town hall with a couple hundred people about a month ago. We had this remarkable phenomenon every time i go there we see a lot of Service Requests for the men and women in housing but we have to continue to work on the systematic changes in congress through sequestration, the Department Taking inside of the tol, there is no one person blame here but we have to continue to measure the progress. We spoke about the bill of rights, just continuing to pound on this, letting families know that fort bragg i plan on doing a town hall again in about a month and i hope they are working on the surface requests and i look forward to working with a view in addressing what i consider the unacceptable Family Housing and i have full confidence that we will get it right. Senator kaine. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I want to acknowledge the service of both of you to our country and. Welcome i amr qualifications delighted with your qualifications and look forward to serving with both of you. I have a question, and a secretary mccarthy, you may be better because you are with the pentagon now. Has a legal opinion been prepared by the general counsel of any of the military services or the Defense Department on the legality of the use of these military Construction Funds for the border wall construction . And could you make that available to the committee . Yes, sir. Thank you. I believe you have been given an illegal order. Herenk what is being done is a gross violation of the constitution and the fundamental principles of the constitution, which is a separation of powers and the bestowing of the appropriation and a power on the congress. Article one, section nine could not be more clear. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law. That could not be more clear. Now, the fig leaf the administration is using is su title x, which shows troo being deployed in a national emergency. But even that does not fit because any expenditures in the taking of military Construction Projects be used for undertaken to support the troops. This project has nothing to do with supporting the troops. When they are talking with about roads or barracks or defensive positions, does it support the troops . I want to see that legal opinion because i do not believe it holds any water. What shocks me is the failure of this congress to stand up for its prerogatives. If this goes through, it establishes a precedent that essentially transfers a significant portion of the power of the administration. Not just list administration, but any administration not this administration, but any administration. You are doing with the chain of command reports, but i believe it is an illegal order, and therefore i would like to see that illegal opinion that justifies what is going on here. One comment to senator heinrichs question, maybe the president misstated and meant new mexico will pay for the wall,. Not mexico. Accordancen with the constitution. Senator mccarthy, the army has been going through a substantial period of modernization for the past two years. A lot has been accomplished. What has gone right and what has gone wrong . What do you feel are the things that have worked the best, and where do we still have gaps . Senator, we believe we have the organizational construct right. The three pillars of command, the concepts and competence systems, this cross functional design brings the stakeholders together so you can command, and that is working. Fallt up the teams in the of 2017, and we had prototypes delivered in 18 months that we were testing. I fired the nexgen weapons at fort bragg last spring. We tested the extended range canon. Are starting to yield results, so reducing the time as everything. Are there elements we could be doing better . Of course, senator. The of what we will see, true litmus test is if the prototypes actually are the ones we want and we want to scale them. Madehe decisions will be coming at the senior level when we slapped the table on a nexgen combat vehicle, making those hard trades up top when you start to buy. We are not out of the woods yet. There is great progress in the way we have gone about the requirements process, which is what senator mccain really pushed on. I am sure you are going to stay on it. Miss barrett, a couple of questions. We talked yesterday about the importance of maintenance. I believe we should be doing a much better job of readiness in terms of our fleet of airplanes, getting them, maintaining them, having maintainers. We have a maintainer shortage. I would hope when you do the acquisition process, and this goes for both services, that in this day and age we should be buying along with the platform the intellectual Property Rights to all the parts of that 3d printso that we can our own parts rather than having to go back to the manufacturer, go back to a supply chain that could be slow, expensive, and inefficient. I hope that will be part of your Acquisition Strategy. Senator, we are investing in manufacturing. Going toenge we are have Going Forward is the intellectual Property Rights as we work through that with major defense contractors, for example. It may require some support from the committees and jurisdiction from the committees jurisdiction. Miss barrett, you will do the same . Yes, intellectual property is an important part of what our acquisitions need to have in order to have operability. I appreciate it and look forward to working with you. Senator mcsally. Thank you for answering the call. Arizona is home to many important air force bases. As you know, the air force has been a proactive partner to of active and National Guard for higher than normal levels of contamination. Some of these higher than normal sites are in arizona, notably north of Tucson International airport. Andi get your commitment confirm that you will continue to partner with these local communities to address this issue . Absolutely, senator. It is important, the relationship between our military facilities in the communities are vitally important. This contamination is a problem that is not unique to arizona, but is something that will be carefully attended. Thank you. Strongwell know, i am a advocate of the f35 and the a10. We need both in order to make sure we have air dominance and air superiority, and that we protect our troops on the ground or in a firefight. How do you feel about that, and do you agree we need both of these important capabilities . Our structure requires both of those pieces of equipment and those Weapons Systems until there is a replacement to do the job that the a10 does and the f35. Those will be core to the air force. If confirmed, i would commit to it. You can get an update firsthand. One thing they are doing at luke is innovative. As you are looking at bringing down cost of maintenance and sustainment, they are doing lightning integrated teams where they are training people to be more cross trained in other functions and own the aircraft. It has really cut down on the number of people involved, the cost, the time. I brought this up to secretary wilson and also secretary esper. They are very interested in it. Will we continue to have your assistance . It is an amazing initiative. Absolutely, senator. We will show you that firsthand when you come out to luke. It is great to see you again. When we visited in my office, we talked about a number of different issues, but one being the importance it has unique capabilities for being our center of excellence for intelligence training, for the electronic proofing grounds. There are unique attributes for asymmetrical capabilities that will be so important for our war fighters in the future. We talked about the equipment you have. I want to ask you, will you continue to be committed for the in the unique missions they have, and will you visit and see them firsthand . I will definitely come visit. The unique characteristics are also the processing exploitation dissemination of data. That is a Core Foundation of what our folks do, targeting and being information on the battlefield. Exactly. As you know, there are also unique elements in the airspace that we have and whether for the mission, and the electronic proofing grounds is critical. I look forward to hosting you down there so you can see that firsthand. I just want to highlight, we had a long conversation about those missions. Thanks. One thing we talked about also is our range modernization and the importance of longrange strikes. This applies to both of you. Modernizing the ranges and the longrange strike missions. I want to give you guys the little time i have left to speak to those issues and the importance of modernizing our testing and training ranges. Us, as iularly for mentioned before, we are testing artillery,d range the number one portfolio for precision longrange fires. These capabilities will have greater lethality that we have had historically. The investments will be very importance to us very important to us. They have not really kept up with the capabilities we have, so we need to modernize them. I want to get your thoughts on the modernization of our ranges. The goldwater range is a national jewel. I have been there to watch a performance, and it is something that is rarely replicable because of the airspace. From my tenure as number two at the faa, looking at the use of airspace is an important matter. That block of air set aside is a g tofit to training the United States air force. I want to thank you for serving your country at this important time. I look forward to continue partnering with you. Senator duckworth. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I want to thank both of you for being here. Miss barrett, continuing on the subject of logistics from our conversation a couple of days ago, i want to get further into the details with you. We talked about Great Power Competition and the vast distances we would need to position our forces across those distances. Highlight some serious challenges i brought up to you. We spoke specifically on the indo pacific region. They wouldironment, grow even more dire. For example, i traveled to the pacific and had a chance to speak to several commanders of pacific air forces. We talked about discussing dispersing resources, which would require massive capabilities. As a secretary, what specific logistics abilities would you prioritize to make sure we can support our commanders, adapt needs in the shortterm, and can you give me specific examples . R the thank you, senator. The vast reaches provide logistic concerns. Andannot be met with ease, we have bases that have been helpful. But i have taken a special interest in that region. The europeanow theater. To going to those points in the pacific, the guadalcanal can you give me specific examples of logistical initiatives that you would take to address these issues in the pacific . The air force has been to do midairkc46 refueling so we expand our reach. Oureed greater reach by fighters and bombers to be able to have access in that area. In addition, a lot of what we have to do in the pacific, especially with the vast expanses, is to work with our allies and build greater partnerships in that region so we also have reached. How . Building partnerships. In what . Refueling, basing . What specifically . Both of those. Recently, the chief of staff of the air force visited the philippines and japan and vietnam and other areas in the pacific to build greater friendships. I think that is a part of my background in diplomatic work, and that would be the way we would work to build better cooperation. When appropriate, having our allies and partners flying american compatible equipment is a way we can expand our reach and our capability in a vast region of that sort. So increasing sales of tinkers and refuelers to our allies . Talke need tod worry too much about logistics in the area of the of 35 put platforms to take over the role. I am of rate you misunderstood. What really is important for us is to have access in the air breathing region, as well as space. Space offers new opportunities, but it does not replace our air breathing and surface capabilities. I am still trying to get specifics. What platforms are you talking about . What capabilities are you talking about beyond increasing diplomatic efforts . As i indicated, the kc46 will have the midair refueling capabilities. Do we have enough in the pipeline now for future needs . In the pipeline, we have a lot more. At the moment, we have a great it, i and as i understand am not in the building at this point. But from what i have seen and how i have been briefed, it seems the intent is to get a great deal more of the kc46 modern refueling capability in the air. Can you speak to c130 models, and its relations to the interNational Guard . C130j model is important or its more modern its moreies for modern capabilities. It is an asset we are looking to acquire more of. Actually, i think you are ending the program at a time when the guard is still on the hmodels. The guards have been flying the hmodels. It is something i will spend more attention to if i can be confirmed. Please do, because i think the guard needs those models. Mr. Mccarthy, thank you for meeting with me prior to the break, and i hope you will continue. Mr. Mccarthy, the fy 20 budget calls for the elimination of the force. That is a significant cut in the medical workforce and is likely to have a pretty Significant Impact on the quality of medical care provided. Alreadyital is under pretty significant strain from a lack of assigned medical personnel. Can you assure me that if you are confirmed that you will work with me to address this problem . Senator, i actually would like to go visit the facility with you. Dhae work our way to the merger, there are locations around the country where there is Great Health Care outside the gate and other more remote places where we are challenged with the distance from the installation to the health care facility, and the size and scale of those facilities. As we make this transition, some of our more remote installations will have challenges, and that is a place where we are putting a tremendous amount of attention to make sure they have the health care they need. I look forward to that. Switching topics, how do you envision the army helping to deny i am thinking of longrange precision fires. Our number one investment priority of longrange precision missiles that the are a replacement. Outside of the treaty, those munitions could have ranges upward of 700 kilometers. Array within this suite, an array of capabilities that will change the geometry within southwest asia. If we can get the appropriate partnerships and rights with partners in the region, we can change the geometry and basically have the effects to reverse any capabilities that have been invested by near peer competitors. Thank you for that. To make sure i understand it, i hear you saying that the range of missiles would enhance the militarys ability of blunting a potential chinese response. How do you see the army working with other services, and particularly the marine corps, to ensure the longrange precision fire and abilities are integrated with the rest of the joint force . On the hypersonic effort in particular, we signed a joint memorandum of agreement. This is a joint interest program, not a joint program, where we are all sharing data, synchronizing the materials and sharing the data within the test regime. How many shots we are going to take over the next 24, 36 months. A Great Partnership of working together, but we are not looking at changing the fundamental requirements of how this weapons system will be deployed in combat operations. We dont want to slow it down. We are going to lock arms and go after it. We view theicular, hypersonic effort similar to the persian capability in the 1980s. This could fundamentally change the posture for us in various combatant commands, and it is a number one investment priority for us. It is something that started with secretary mattis, and we have our foot on the gas here, sir. Let me ask a question about air force priorities. The Analysis Shows investments in c4 asr, munitions, air arc resilience essential are essential in assuring you can defeat chi. Are essential in assuring you can defeat china and russia. The indo pacific is such a vast area. Hard toinstances, it is get surface access to those areas. Is especially dependent on space, and that is where the importance of defending and protecting our space assets really rises to the fore. If you are confirmed, how do you plan to balance the tension between the need to invest airbasen munitions, resilience, other critical enablers, while simultaneously increasing the number of operational squadrons to 386 . The balance is the key issue. It is a resource constrained time, and that is where we have to establish priorities and make sure we minimize the bomar ability of any of those areas. The vulnerability of any of those areas. Thank you both for your service, and thank you for visiting with me earlier in the week. You and imccarthy, talked about military housing, and i had no doubt about your very good intentions. And you, ambassador barrett, as well to ensure the quality of housing improved. Is it a best way to terminate contractors . Shouldnt they be held accountable, and it shouldnt the army be taking action against them, including potential criminal referrals . You have raised previously, know whether there are steps to hold those contractors accountable for their clear violations of contractual obligations and possible fraud. From the range of what you iscussed just recently delegated the authority for the withheld with for for latitude to do w performance. It is something we would investigate and pursue with vigor. The Inspector General of the army recently completed a report the residents, 1180 twohem, that participated, thirds of them in that survey said they were dissatisfied. 48 of the 49 Army Locations would privatize housing and had residents who expressed concern with safety and environmental issues, and the inspectors found that life, health, and safety items are not part of the current army housing inspection requirements. Army policy 2013 that specifically prohibited health and welfare inspections for privatize housing. Have you reversed that . Yes, sir. I would like a report back, if possible, as soon as possible, on what is being done to hold those private contractors accountable, both civilly and criminally. Yes, sir. 30 days, 45 days. 45 days, if necessary. 30 days, preferable. And i know you are focused on this issue and you will be, ambassador barrett, as far as the air force is concerned. Ambassador barrett, you and i discussed when you visited with issue of air force personnel at trump Branded Properties. From new ors far novel. In fact, i raised it with secretary esper when i found that in the First Six Months of this administration, 140,000 had been spent, almost 140,000, at trump Branded Properties. The air forcere, recently ordered a Global Review as to how the Service Selects overnight accommodations for Service Members. And i appreciate your commitment made to me, i hope you will restate it care, to provide this committee with the air force investigation once it is complete. Meretary esper committed to to providing Additional Information about expenditures made by civilian and uniform dod employees at Trump Properties. He has not provided that information. Will you on behalf of the air force provide a complete accounting to me and this committee about expenditures at trump Branded Properties . Absolutely, senator. Do you agree that no taxpayer funds should be going to the as adent or his business result of stays by department of defense personnel at trump Branded Properties . It seems like we should have generic rules and regulations that look to the best value and the best acquisitions, and those rules should be enforced and enforced equally. Will you commit to issuing a service wide policy to prohibit all air force personnel from using Trump Properties for military travel whenever operationally feasible . You and i discussed the apartance, wholely from the president profiting from properties he owns. It is absolutely unacceptable. What we need to do is have rules and regulations that are applied evenly, and are thoughtful and do include appearances in those rules and regulations. Again, they should not be specific to any particular owner. Wouldnt a clear policy, as you suggested, against violations of both the domestic and foreign emoluments clause chieft the commander in from profiting from department of defense expenditures . Senator, i understand the question and i understand the concern, but if there were shareholders in a company that owns hotels, should that be excluded from military housing or military involvement . I am asking you about the president of the United States who owns properties where the department of defense has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to the profit of the president of the United States, in violation of United States the United States constitution. Will you issue a policy prohibiting that practice . I will take a look at the rules and regulations on that and evaluate what policies should be issued. Before your confirmation, i hope you will provide a clearer answer to this committee. Thank you, senator. Chairman. Ou, mr. I want to thank the nominees and their families for their service to our country, and previous service, continuing service. I have enjoyed meeting with both of you, and i look forward to confirming you. Is very important. Questionart with a that is in a region of the world i am sure you will not be surprise given our previous discussions, and that is the arctic. America is an arctic nation because of alaska, and i have some handouts. I can provide them to my colleagues as well, there is a very significant russian buildup in the art tech. Take a look at those handouts. Almost daily if you look at the other handouts, the articles, literally almost daily whats happening in arctic in the russiachina buildup, rivalry. Additionally, article in the Washington Post said forget greenland, a far more dangerous game is being played in the arctic. An article in the National Interest, all within the last week. What does china want with the arctic given its new strategy . Then on the hill, the hill newspapers just said an article that started by staying the next cold war with russia may be a literal vice metaphorical one. The presencemiss in greenland, we should consider russia and china seek arctic influence. This is daily. Ambassador come at have extensive experience in the arctic, given that the National Defense strategy focuses on Great Power Competition. Secretary pompeo recently gave what i thought was a wellthoughtout speech on the arctic. I would like to get your views on what we should be doing there to protect our National Interest and secretary, i would like to hear yours, as well. Senator, we werent done any favors by flattening the globe. People lose track of how small the Northern Hemisphere is and how close those properties are. And how close alaska is to going over the top into the siberian area. That is now both available in shipping as well as the persistent space access to those areas and that is an area that where threats would potentially derived. Let me say real quick, this committee certainly starting to raise awareness on this. I do think the Biggest Agency in washington that hasnt got the message on our strategic competition in the arctic, the pentagon. Some are getting it and some of the big blob of. Can you get both of your commitments to see the arctic firsthand in america and get your commitment to work we put with me and this committee which is very interested by the way in a bipartisan way of these issues. To make sure we are protecting americas strategic interest in this next great power rivalry arena. Can i get your commitment on that . Mr. Secretary . Senator duckworth raised a very good question with regard to logistics in the asiapacific. Ambassador the air force is , looking at making it his own conus decisions on basing of the kc 46. Alaska is going to have over 100 fifth Generation Fighters, f22s within the next couple of years. No place on the planet earth will have that many combat next gen fighters. The secretary, when he went through his confirmation, he mentioned that carrying a 100 fifth Generation Fighters that can range three combatant commands areas within hours. This would give the united status extreme strategic reach. Would you work with me on that decision, which this committee has weighed our guidelines . Absolutely, senator. Let me ask a final question as it relates to readiness. Mr. Secretary, the chairman to his credit has raised this readiness issue a lot. I chair the readiness subcommittee. From 2010 the 2015, the department of Defense Budget was cut by 25 percent. My first three months in the senate in 2015, the Obama Administration was cutting 50000 additional active duty army troops which in retrospect looks like a strategically idiotic decision but they did it anyway. Have you read this book . Which the army and marine corps gives to all infantry officers . Yes sir, twice. I appreciate that. Can you talk a little bit about readiness and what happened in had thewhen in 1945, we most feared military in the history of the world and five couldnt stop a third world peasant army from invading the south . Readiness is the constant state. Try to expedite your answer as quickly as you can. Senator, readiness is a constant state of vigilance. You cant ever take your foot off the gas. Everyday boy had to get as many get asyday, you have to many reputations as you can. Physically individual training repetitions as you can. Physically individual training and collective training, it is something that is one of the greatest deterrence that we have in the military is having as many formations at the highest levels of readiness, capable to meet national objectives. Senator peters . Thank you, mr. Chairman. Secretary mccarthy as we discussed in my office, i have a very significant contamination problem in my state. There seems to be some miscommunication going on between the army, National Guard bureau, and national National Guard Michigan National as well as the local community. To give us some background, the michigan National Guard submitted a Time Critical response actual requests the to the national regard bureau. There are homes in grayling township that have tested positive for very high levels of these due to contamination from the Camp Grayling army airfield. It was my understanding that a request made by the michigan National Guard through the National Guard bureau and the department of the army requesting funds to provide for a new water system to the residents who were affected. Meeting in late july, and the amended announcement to the town, that they would receive a new water system. It was obviously received very positively. However, following the meeting, my office was contacted by the department of army and was told that the office of Legal Counsel could not the funding could not be provided. This was obviously very problematic. I would hope that you would work with me on this and if confirmed, more specifically, how will you work with the local community to make sure this issue is resolved . As we discussed, we send a team of experts forward to make the assessment. It is clear the mess was made by us. We have to clean this up. We worked out a potential solution that didnt work out to youcally and i vow and all of your constituents we will Work Together to get this fixed. I appreciate that commitment and we need to do it expeditiously, as well. I appreciate that. There is a provision in the house passed bill for the Environmental Restoration Program Funding to support cleanup currently controlled by the department of army. If confirmed couple you support giving the National Guard access to some of these accounts . Sec. Mccarthy yes, senator. I appreciate assistant secretarys visit to michigan in april to meet in and around the former air force base. Im sure you have faced similar concerns in these communities, you are well aware of what goes on. Ive shot to ensure that the air force adequately budgets for projected contamination related needs. I was disappointed to say the least, that the air force recently diverted more than four 4. 5 million intended for cleanup at wurtsmith, to cover needs at another site elsewhere in the nation. My a question my question is, will you work we put congress to secure the resources boy need to fully address is pfs contamination problem that exists not only in michigan but all across the country and how will you do that . Ambassador barrett absolutely. Senator, i would work with the senate. If confirmed, it is so important for the air force to work well with the communities. This is the contaminant that was used in good faith not knowing of the injury that it caused. It is clear that this contamination is clear of air force activity. If confirmed, i will be happy to work we put congress to resolve it. Im glad you brought up the health standard. That is an important issue in michigan and other states are now taking steps to establish enforceable Drinking Water and various cleanup standards set and we need federal standards. I like to better understand circumstances in which the air force will recognize and meet Environmental Standards that are established by the individual state where you are operating. The air force has thus far committed to considering both of state laws will qualify as a political or appropriate requirements. In this circle of clear process but respectively, for communities that feel they been waiting with two long, which they feel this way near the air force base, it is frustrating to say the least. Will you commit if confirmed, to work with me to understand when and why in the past the air force willingly met a state standard through the circle of process and how the air force will approach that moving forward . Ambassador barrett ill be happy to work we put you if confirmed. Sen. Peters thank you. Thank you and i appreciate each of you being here in the time youve spent visiting we with us. About what is in front of you, so thank you. Want to come to you and continue the discussion that we had a little bit about Nexgen Networks and technologies placement in the air force and the difference this will make for our war fighters and for some of the r and d being done, and we are delighted to know arnold air in tennessee is going to be one of the first to be completed. Dot i would like for you to is give us an overview of the rollout for 5g capabilities and technologies throughout the air force systemwide. Senator, therrett air force is based on the wereology and provides fighting capability through technology. G5 is clearly the technology of the future. It is an important part of what intoir force is building new generations of capabilities. Sen. Blackburn how are you going to approach the integration with existing technologies and looking at Artificial Intelligence and data flows . These are all very important to the new capabilities and as we are modernizing our platforms and genources, next platforms are engaging the 5g and Artificial Intelligence and augmented intelligence. We are seeing a lot of capability through hypersonic and technologies that make our reach greater. Sen. Blackburn mr. Mccarthy, i have been concerned and we have previously talked about the gaps, and they are really critical gaps in army cyber defense. This is all going to be vitally important as we look at the 21st century warfare. As we look at interoperability and integration and working cross platform. Fund the multifaceted utilization in ai , the way you will have disparate platforms you will be working from in multiple locations. Why dont you talk about how you envision and is the army pursuing signet and pw and ciber, and how you see the army shapingfitting into or this strategy. Mr. Mccarthy senator, first it is people. We have to recruit more cyber experts. Its a very difficult to recruit and even harder to retain. We have used tool of force Solutions Across the force and found a lot of success there in trying to retain men and women to stay in the army because they make the move to the private sector because theyre clearly very marketable. Weve established some unique relationships with academia like where we established our Artificial Intelligence task force. This is as much a cultural indoctrination to the force as well as finding the best and brightest in academia. The hub of us to work we put work with academia to find the best and brightest to help us look at how to we apply these algorithms into our weapon systems. Y the cloudndationall architecture. If we cant get the army to the cloud, the standards and formats of the data will not move seamlessly from a system to system. This has become a big effort by us and the Leadership Team to make sure the appropriate resources focus and attention to move forward. The network is our top six investment portfolios. Thats as much the types of Telecommunication Systems will have as well as in the space domain. The army is investing in satellites. From people to materiel, it has been a monumental effort for the army for the last three years. Sen. Blackburn we see it as having to be a monumental effort for dod in total, as well as for the air force and the army. We see building the systems as being a priority. The interoperability and Network Capacity in those systems is being vital to 21st century warfare. I would make one comment. You mentioned recruiting and retention. Yes, we are quite concerned about the human capital. Or lack thereof when it comes to technologies and whether it is hypersonics or Artificial Intelligence or the work with avs or the work with supercomputing or quantum computing. We do share the concerns that are there. Also, we care share the concerns on pilots. I know that each of you have a pilot shortage. And will continue to raise that we will continue to raise that issue with you. I yelled back. Mr. Chairman senator hirono. Senator hirono thank you mr. Chairman. Two questions. Mr. Secretary, since you became a legal adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or even kind of assault of any nature. Mr. Mccarthy no sir. Mrs. Barrett no, senator. Have you entered ever and entered into a settlement regarding this contact . Mrs. Barrett now. Mr. Mccarthy no. Senator hirono in response to questions from senator kane, regarding legality, abusing the moral law, you refer to a legal opinion. Who issues that legal opinion. Mr. Mccarthy the dod, counsel. Senator hirono is at the highest loophole for the legal opinion on both of or not this is okay what is the attorney general way and on this. Mr. Mccarthy department of defense and the advice in making this decision. Senator hirono i take it that it is okay that the president for doing this. Mr. Mccarthy yes. Senator hirono if this is okay, we can expect more of this what we call the rating of military funds for various purposes that the president has in mind. So if confirmed, what would you do to prevent the president from continuing to do this . Continuing to raid military funds . Mr. Mccarthy when the request came down to support this effort, chairman dunford conducted the military assessment to the value of the project and that is where we ultimately determined the 11. Had the security value so that is where we senator hirono in other words, your effort was to comply with what the president wanted to do. Thats how you see your role. Mr. Mccarthy this was a lawful order and we intend to follow it. Senator hirono if the president wants to do this further, you will continue to support making fundedons in duly projects by this congress . You will comply . That is what you are telling me. Lawful orders,n we will comply with the president s intent. We will provide the military advice and offsets associated with the choices being made. Senator hirono what about you, ambassador barrett . What would you do to prevent the president from continuing to raid military funds for whatever projects when he sees fit. , i. Barrett if confirmed would look to work cooperatively with the senate but also to conduct every action in compliance with the law and the constitution. My commitment would be to the constitution and that would be my guiding direction. Senator hirono i think that a lot of us would want our military leaders to speak up against this kind of action by the president. Legal or not, because these are all duly funded. At some point, we can argue at some point whether these , what impact it has to readiness and National Security, but one hopes that all of the funds that projects are very necessary. They relate to readiness. And National Security. Youve been asked a number of questions about military housing. We all share the concerns regarding the lack of oversight with regard to housing. Secretary mccarthy, that was done by the military we put regards to private housing. You refer to the 20 recommendations in this hard. How many have been addressed at this time. Mr. Mccarthy were going to execute just about all of them, 90 percent of them. I cant remember exactly the couple they were working backandforth on. The preponderance of the right liquidations will be executed. Senator hirono can you provide a list of the 20 recommendations and we put the timeline is and what youve been doing we put regards to all of this. I did hear a commitment from you to fasttrack some of the things you need to do from the air force side. I wanted turn very quickly to the matter of Suicide Prevention in the military. The quarterly suicide report of the department of defense released last month, one hundred 39 activeduty soldiers, 68 soldiers, 58 airmen died by suicide last year and this was 40 more Service Members than the previous year. For the navy, marine corps, and army, this represents an increase over the previous year. I would just like to ask, and im running up time but what you all are doing very specifically to prevent these suicides from happening. Without getting into it right now, this is a matter that we will follow up with both of you on. Thank you. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Senator gillibrand . Senator gillibrand mr. Mccarthy, yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of 9 11 attacks. The war has gone on for almost 20 years and continues to claim the lives of Service Members with no clear and insight. This is no longer the right strategy for our country and hasnt been for many years now. During recent peace talks with the taliban, there has been a surge in violence and increasing combat operations in which our soldiers have lost their lives. This week, the white house brought these talks to an abrupt end without stating any changes in policies or goals. Ofthe Administration Policy conducting diplomacy through twitter caused significant challenges for the army in afghanistan . Mr. Mccarthy with respect to the talks being ceased, i think it was clear the National Command authority felt they did not have the conditions appropriate to enter the next phase of negotiations, so i think it was the right decision to step back from the table and try to look at how do you get to a framework to bring a political end state to the conflict . Once the armyd draws down our forces in afghanistan, i believe there are tactics we can employ to ensure slide once does not again into becoming a host for terrorists with the intent and capability of harming the u. S. To what extent can you in open session provide insight on your thinking on postwithdrawal . Mr. Mccarthy ive worked this problem set serving in all three of the last administrations. Are going to have to have an advisory capability as well as counterterrorism strike capability to be there to help the Afghan Government continue to grow and mature. Two to three of the most sophisticated terrorist organizations on your along the hindu kush mountains, so we cant take our eye off the ball much later there is maturity in the strength within the Afghan Government. Sen. Gillibrand i like to change issues to west point. The United States military academy at west point has placed a central role in providing the next generation of officers. Cadets serving a variety of roles in the army so the quality of this training can have implications for the army moving forward. Are you confident west point is providing the advanced training to meet the future threats these officers will face . Its remarkable how to west point education for our officers and the experiences they get in their four years on the hudson, i think one of the things secretary esper and general nelly worked hard on was the summer experience. We are working hard on the fundamentals of true bleeding at the platoon level. Oop leading at the platoon level. We sent 40 contents from west point cadets from west point to fort knox and we will scale that over two years so we can get upwards in the 500, 600 cadets over the course of the summer and integrate the officer corps. The Stem Education is very strong at the academy but in particular, ciber has become a soughtafter mos. Are making some adjustments to increased sophistication in the classroom but also really drill down into the fundamentals of tru troop leading. Sen. Gillibrand the secretary of defense diverted 3. 6 million in funding for military installations including for the new center to pay for the administrations wall. Doesnt this disruption in funding undermine our ability to prepare army leaders for the future . Mr. Mccarthy the Engineering Department in the parking garage behind and the parking garage behind it, it would improve existing infrastructure. It is something i personally got involved with in session in working with the budget when i went up in the fall of 2017. The deferral would put us potentially scheduled to improving the facilities over time. Our militarynd and Defense Industrial base remains under siege from cyber threat, notably from china. In response to major data losses that may the navy conducted a review and indicated the need to modify processes. What is your level of confidence the air force is doing its best to prevent foreign next alteration and if you dont have time to answer, she can submit it . Unless you would like her to answer, mr. Chairman. Shaheen. R with theett chairmans indulgence, i would just say the air force would be happy to take a look at doing similar cyber review as with the navy did and establish a report on that. Sen. Gillibrand please submitted a letter to my office, thank you. Shaheen thank you, mr. Chairman and congratulations on to thesenations important roles in your past service and willingness to serve this country. I want to start with a question pfas. I know this has come up in your secretary esper announced the formation of a pfas corps. Myself orhy either mr. James mcpherson attended those meetings and we are taking a leadership role on that. Mrs. Barrett the air force has been working to clean up those contaminations. Sen. Shaheen and as we the aird yesterday, force has been responsive to the issues we have had at the air force base in portsmouth, New Hampshire. We hope you will continue that cooperation and that you will support the health studying underway by the agency for toxic substances and disease registry where it is a model site for that. Mrs. Barrett i look forward to it, if confirmed. Sen. Shaheen also, i hope you will both commit to urging the department of defense to come up with an alternative to the Firefighting Foam that has had these pfas chemicals that have done so much to contaminate military sites. Mrs. Barrett i would do that, senator. Mr. Mccarthy yes, senator. We are trying to find the commercial solution to replace the existing capability. We are having a hard time meeting the military spec. Sen. Shaheen i understand and eyes and sure youre aware, a defense bill we hope will pass this year includes some directives to get that done. I also wanted to call your attention to a request from the New Hampshire National Guard to the air force medical support agency to conduct a Public Health study for individuals who have lived and worked to determine if there are higher than expected rates of mortality, cancer deaths, other Health Impacts because of work that was done. I hope you make that a priority. If confirmed i will do that. As we discussed yesterday we are very excited to be the irst guard base to receive kc46, the new fuel tanker and we have the first two and look forward to the remaining 10 well get with the first group and certainly well do everything we can to urge boeing to make that a priority to get that out on time and without the challenges theyve had. One of the issues is the people we expect to staff those tapingers has been transferred to other bases to continue to deal with our legacy tankers. And i hope you will commit to ensuring they get transferred back so we make sure we have the full force we need in order to continue to maintain the excellent record the 157th refueling wing has had. We appreciate the great erformance of that refueling ring and of course would apply our personnel where needed but the performance there is its an indication its a high priority. Thank you. I also understand, ambassador barrett, youve worked with the in afghan Womens Council the project artimas and you have supported to make sure the afghan women can go back to their home country and be successful in business and other areas. I wonder if you can talk about given that work how important you think it is for afghan women to be at the table in any peace negotiations that are ongoing . If you eliminate 50 thank you, senator. I appreciate your question. If you eliminate the talent from any environment you wont have as good a product. The women in afghanistan have been underappreciated and completely abused in the past. With the u. S. Afghan Womens Council weve worked with the health, education, civic, what we my generation call civics and Economic Empowerment of those women so they can play a full role in their society. Thats really important and i hope to continue that. Thank you very much. Im sure both of you are aware we have passed a law called the women peace and security act that guarantees women are supposed to be at the table in any conflict negotiations that we participate in and i would hope you both will do everything you can to ensure that happens in afghanistan and other places around the world. Secretary mccarthy. Yes. And for the record i agree but, i think we need a Counterterrorism Group to continue in afghanistan regardless what happens with all the troops because of the threat from isis and continued terrorist groups there. Thank you both very much. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, chairman shaheen. A lot of comments were made by different members concerning the wall, concerning the activity and the characterization of rating our training. I feel i have been down there and observed that more than any other member of congress. I worked down there for 20 years as a developer on the border. I know whats going on down there. Ive also been as recently as two weeks ago the only member of our congress to be with the mexicans themselves, the three generals in charge of the border so i know whats going on and know what theyre doing down there. If all you have to do is talk to our guard and reserve and others who are down there with military to find out that the training theyre getting there is training that is on the job training, its better training than they get at their home base. Thats what all of them said at that time. So i think to characterize that as rating our training is totally inaccurate and i want that to be included in the record. We have a request from senator king for further question. Thank you, mr. Chairman. A very quick question. Proposed secretary barrett, the f35 started construction before the level of competition with china has reached the level it has now and before of our knowledge of their cyberintrusions. I dont know if this has already happened but i would urge you to order a survey of every single part of the f35 to determine what if any of those parts are made in china and particularly with reference to software and electronics. I think thats a National Security imperative that we not have our most advanced airplane in a position it could be compromised by some intrusion into the supply chain coming from china. Will you take a look at that . Yes, senator, i would be happy to take a look. Thank you very much. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Yes, further question from senator shaheen. Just to piggyback on that a little bit. Ive had several conversations with folks who are working on the f35 who are concerned about what the next steps are with respect to turkey being removed from that program and where some of those parts that weve been relying on turkey are going to be made and how thats going to happen. Im not asking you for a response today but i would urge you to try and provide some direction for our other players in the f35 program so they understand whats supposed to happen next with respect to turkey and are throwing them out of that coalition. Thank you. Thank you, senator shaheen. Senator reid, you have any further comments . No, sir. Thank you very much for holding this hearing. Let me say to the witnesses or the nominees, you did a great job and im looking forward to working with you and we are now adjourned. Thank you, senator. Thank you very much. Cspans washington journal live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. Oming up this morning, our streets institute mr. Policy ok propose finances to the Trump Administration including an overhaul of finance giants author ac and the mccarry talks about his new book, what broke American Health care and how to fix it. Live at 7 00 eastern this morning. Join the discussion. Today joe bide jill biden, wife of former Vice President joe biden is in dover, New Hampshire, who help open a field office for the 2020 biden campaign. Watch the event and her remarks at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan. Today at 6 00 p. M. Eastern on the civil war, the 1863 campaign in tennessee. The night of the 26th brag orders everyone to concentrate on tullahoma. After they leave the rim its somewhat anticlimactic because with brag the tellahoma and then at 8 00, Emery University professor deborah linstadt with her lawsuit against david irving. Those are the basic arguments, no plan, no 6 million, no leadership from hitler, no gas chambers, and the last point is this was all made up by jews. Sunday at 5 00 p. M. Eastern, a discussion about shakes peers influence on u. S. Politics p. And then at 6 00 on american artifacts, the norman rock well traveling exhibit on f. D. R. And the four freedoms. Explore our nations past on American History tv every weekend on cspan 3. The Heritage Foundation hosted a discussion with retired Lieutenant General Thomas Spoehr on his plan on modernizing the army. This is just over an hour. I think well get started here. Thank you so much for joining us here at the Heritage Foundation in release of a major paper which will be the focus. Im told we didnt necessarily have to talk about silencing cell phones but im sayinat