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 orga