Transcripts For CSPAN3 Hearing 20240703

Cspan is your unfiltered view of government. We are funded by these Elevation Companies and more including charter communications. Charter is proud to be recognized as one of the best internet providers and we are just getting started, building 100,0 miles of new infrastructure to reach those who need it most. Charter communications supports cspan as a Public Service along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. Up next, the commanders of u. S. Northern command and u. S. Southern command testify on security challenges affecting the western hemisphere. From the Senate Armed Services committee, this is just under two hours. [inaudible] good morning. Testimony from gregory and good morning. The Committee Meets today to receive testimony from general gregory geo, commander of u. S. Northern command and north American Aerospace Defense Command, and general laura richardson, commander of u. S. Southern command. This is general geos first Posture Hearing is northcom commander and we welcome you, sir. I would also note that this is general richardsons last appearance before the committee in her current role. General, i would like to express my appreciation for your decades of Admirable Service to the nation including our outstanding leadership of our south com forces. Thank you very much, maam. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the ongoing crisis in haiti. The situation is very concerning and i understand the u. S. Military forces have been deployed to augment security at our embassy in portauprince and evacuate nonessential personnel. This crisis involves both of your commands to varying degrees and i would like to know what resources or support you need to respond. U. S. Northern command is key to our National Security as the principal command for protecting the american homeland. Indeed, the first of the four priorities outlined in the National Defense strategy is start it defending the homeland, the growing multiple main threat posed by the people of the republic of china. As we consider threats from china and other competitors, our very concept of Homeland Defense must evolved. Jennifer guillot, i understand northcom published the first guidance to meet this challenge and when asked for an up date on its status of implementation and how it will transform the Homeland Defense plan of the department. The urgency of this mission has been made clear over the past year with the incursions of a chinese surveillance balloon and other unidentified aerial phenomena in our airspace. These events raise concerns that northcom and norad may have an awareness gap that needs to be resolved. Americas skies and seas must be secured to protect our citizens and the Department Must pursue technologies that provide forward detection. General, i would be interested in your assessment of these potential awareness gaps and what additional tools or resources are needed to overcome them. Regionally, northcom also provide support to the u. S. Law Enforcement Mission by helping to counter cartels engaged in drug smuggling, Human Trafficking and Money Laundering across the southwest order. The committee would appreciate your views on the success of Security Cooperation efforts with the mexican army and navy and what role northcom plays in supporting the department of Homeland Security and order security operations. Turning to Southern Command, general richardson, your command faces growing challenges from china and russia in latin america. The political and economic instability in the region presents a situation that our adversaries are seeking to exploit to increase their own influence. China in particular is expanding its presence in the region, including through investments in strategic infrastructure such as the port of balboa in panama, 5g telecommunications and expanding Network Space tracking installations. General, im interested in your assessment of the challenge from your competitors in latin america and how we might work strategically with our partners in the region to build resilience against these activities. South com, like northcom, continues to work closely with the u. S. Interagency to support counter narcotic and counter Transnational Criminal Organizations or tco. I am concerned about the growing threats to tcos and synthetic opioid trafficking including fentanyl, which are contributing to more than 1000 overdosed deaths each year in the United States. Jenna richardson, i would ask for an up date of southcoms work with coordination with other u. S. Government agencies and counter narcotic and account or tco given southcom posture and resources. Finally we know that insecurity throughout the south com area is contributing to the flow of migrants north to the u. S. Border. Economic instability, violence and corruption continue to be a major source of insecurity in much of the region, especially in the northern triangle countries of honduras, guatemala, and el salvador. General richardson, i would like to know your views on what more can be done to help improve the situation and strengthen Border Security throughout the region. Thank you again to our witnesses. I look forward to your testimony and as a reminder to my colleagues, there will be a closed session immediately following this hearing in room svc 217. Let me now turn to my colleague, senator wood. Thank you mr. Chairman. I want to thank our witnesses for being with us here. Our adversaries, particularly antichina and russia are actively working to exploit a miracles vulnerabilities. They are doing so at home and seeking to expand their influence in this western hemisphere. The 2022 National Defense strategy establishes Homeland Defense as its top priority. That was a year and a half ago. But the Biden Administration has not managed that goal with action. Year after year the Biden Administration has declined to fund northcoms request for the radars and sensors it needs for proper air defense. Numerous bases on american soil remain unable to protect themselves against small drones. This presents a clear and significant vulnerability. On top of it all, our wargames continue to ignore crucial domestic resilience problems that would arise in a potential conflict. The Biden Administration also refuses to learn from its Homeland Defense mistakes. Last year chinese surveillance balloon lapse, the lapse of last years defenses with regard to the chinese surveillance balloon, is a case in point. Senior Biden Administration defense officials responded evasively to congressional oversight and they leaked classified information selectively to deflect blame. The president s staff declined to conduct an internal review of the major defense failure. They finally did so with this committee and then updated it in the ndaa as presided over by a distinguished chair. The spy balloon was a significant failure, but the most pressing Homeland Defense crisis is the one at our southwest border. Approximately 70,000 americans are dying annually from fentanyl overdoses. Most of the supply is synthesized in mexico using chinese precursor chemicals. Than it is trafficked to the United States by mexicos criminal cartels. The crisis can only worsen as more deadly drugs flood the market. The cartels are also executing an unprecedented Human Trafficking operation across our open border. And it is lucrative, the gangs are charging thousands of dollars for each person they traffic. The human tragedy is severe and so is the risk of terrorist infiltration. As cnn reported this past summer, the Human Smuggling Network with ties to ices helped more than a dozen individuals enter our country illegally. In october two iranians who were on a Security Threat list were caught as they tried to cross the border from mexico. General guillot, i recognize that many agencies have responsibility at the southwest order. The dod is one of them. I hope you will explain how dods Border Security contributions could be improved. We also have challenges further south. Our main concern about the growing chinese threats in Central America and south america. The Chinese Communist Party Continues to use its wellknown playbook in the south, theater. It aggressively uses predatory economic and diplomatic practices to influence governments. Simultaneously, it sets conditions to enhance its military presence, gather intelligence and limit u. S. Access and influence. Great power competition is happening right here in the americas. We cannot ignore it. Two quick examples underscore the urgency. Beijing is making latin america dependent on wall way for communications technology, something they tried to do in our country. An example of chinas economic influence campaign. We see the ccps military influence in cuba, where we discovered a large chinese intelligence collection center. General richardson, i look forward to hearing how these practices directly impact the stability of our region. We should understand the threat they pose to our National Security. How real is it . How important is it . Of course there are other malign influences in this theater. Venezuelan president maduro recently has asserted a provocative extraterritorial claim of sovereignty over a large, oilrich portion of the neighboring nation of gion. This type of instability so close to our homeland is troubling. Even more troubling is the consistent mismatch between the requirements southcom has in the resources it receives. We need to find costeffective ways to exert influence in this theater. For example, lets explore the use of the office of Strategic Capital in the future. I look forward to general richardsons candid assessment of southcoms most pressing resource and capability shortfalls and im eager to learn what congress can do to help. General guillot, i note that your name rhymes with hero. Is that right . Yes, senator. It does. Good. We expect both of you to live up to these expectations. Thank you. Thank you senator wicker and let me recognize general guillot, please. Chairman reid, Ranking Member wicker and distant with members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. Its a profound honor to command and represent the men and women of north American Aerospace Defense Command and the United States Northern Command. As we speak this morning, american and Canadian Military and civilian personnel from those commands are actively defending our homelands against significant, persistent threats from multiple vectors in all domains. Although ive only been in command a few weeks, it is readily clear to me that the United States, canada, and are expensive network of partners are facing an extraordinarily complex strategic environment. Competitors seeking to diminish our military and economic advantage have fielded advanced kinetic systems designed to strike civilian and military infrastructure in north america, both above and below the nuclear threshold. Meanwhile, competitors have rapidly advanced and routinely use nonkinetic capabilities targeting our Critical Infrastructure and our essential networks. Threats to the homeland are present in all domains and along all avenues of approach to include the arctic region. As stated in the National Defense strategy, the peoples republic of China Remains a pacing challenge as the Peoples Liberation army modernizes and grows at a rapid pace. The prcs expanding Nuclear Capability and capacity alongside its development of 100 submarines, missiles, Hypersonic Weapons, all present significant challenges for Homeland Defense. While the prcs capabilities are growing quickly, russia remains a threat to the homeland today and is an immediate nationstate concern. Russia retains the Worlds Largest stockpile of strategic and Nonstrategic Nuclear weapons along with significant capacity to strike inside north america with air and see launch precision conventional weapons. Despite heavy losses to its Ground Forces in ukraine, russia has invested heavily in systems that can threaten the United States, such as advanced guided missile submarines, hypersonic live vehicles, icbms as well as significant cyber and undersea capabilities as well as Developmental Systems such as Nuclear Torpedo and a Nuclear Powered cruise missile. Meanwhile, north korea continues its bellicose rhetoric while test launching increasingly advanced long range missiles and expanding its ties with china and russia. While iran currently lacks the capability to strike north america with longrange missiles it is investing in that capability. Iran also supports violent militant groups in the middle east and maintains a Worldwide Network of operational surrogates. And the most prevalent and growing threats include cyber and small Unmanned Aerial Systems that are being employed inside the u. S. And canada against civilian and military infrastructure in ways that were not possible even just a few years ago. With those risks firmly in mind, norad and northcom strive to begin Homeland Defense well beyond america. To do so, both commands are working with the services and congress to improve domain awareness in order to detect, track and defeat threats ranging from longrange Ballistic Missiles to small, Unmanned Aerial Systems. The defense of north america is an active endeavor that includes norad and northcom to campaign against threats and all domains along all approaches. That effort requires Seamless Exchange of information with combatant commands, conventional and special operations forces, the Intelligence Community and the spectrum of interagency and international partners. The importance of collecting and disseminating information quickly cannot be overstated. I strongly support the departments work to advance the combined joint all domain commandandcontrol concept as we seek to attract and protect the potential threats and share information as quickly as possible with analysts, operators and decisionmakers around the world. Finally, upon taking command, i began a 90 day assessment to inform the department, the joint force, and congress on norad and northcoms ability to execute assigned tasks and make recommendations on where the commands could or should do more. Once complete i look forward to sharing my findings and updated vision on how norad and northcom will best execute the Noble Mission of Homeland Defense. The challenges facing our homelands are real but there should be no doubt about norad and northcoms resolved to deter aggression and if necessary defeat threats to our nation and our citizens. Again i thank you for the opportunity to appear this morning. I look forward to working with the committee and im happy to answer your questions. Thank you general guillot. General richardson, please. Chairman reed, Ranking Member wicker and distinct members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today with general guillot. Im honored to represent the dedicated men and women of the United States Southern Command to discuss the challenges we share with our neighbors in latin america and the caribbean. Our National Security strategy recognizes the direct link between this regions security and our own security. We are harnessing the power of partnership from team usa in support of Team Democracy by leveraging all instruments of national power. Diplomacy, information, military and economics, to expeditiously assist partner nations in addressing the challenges that impact our collective security. This region, which is our shared neighborhood, remains under assault from a host of crosscutting, transboundary challenges that directly threaten our homeland. Ive seen these challenges intensify since i met with you last year and this remains a call to action. In almost 2 1 2 years in the command ive made it my priority to meet partners where they are and to listen and understand the challenges that affect us all. The world is at an inflection point. Our partners in the western hemisphere, with whom we are bonded by trade, shared values and aquatic traditions and family ties, are increasingly impacted by the interference and coercion. Ive learned that our presence absolutely matters. The peoples republic of china has exploited the trust of democracies in this hemisphere, using that trust to steal national secrets, intellectual property, and Research Related to academia, agriculture, and healthcare. The scope and scale of this espionage is unprecedented. Through the belt and wrote initiative, the prc aims to amass power and influence at the expense of the worlds democracies. Here in the western hemisphere, latin america and the caribbean have the potential to feed and fuel the world. Understanding this, the prc has already and is already busy extracting and exploiting. Predatory investment practices, construction of mega ports and dual use space facilities and criminal cyber activities are just a few of the prcs malign activities that jeopardize the sovereignty and safety of the region. Russia remains an acute threat and seeks to increase its foothold by bolstering authoritarian regimes in cuba, nicaragua, and venezuela. In the last year, china, russia and iran have increased their presence diplomatically, economically and even militarily in the region. These activities undermine democracies and challenge their credibility. Both china and russia exploit the presence of Transnational Criminal Organizations and amplify their destabilizing impacts on democratic governments. Tcos traffic, weapons, drugs, people, gold, lithium, rare earth minerals, commodities and counterfeit goods while converting to the surge of fentanyl related deaths here at home. The good news is working with our very willing partners leads to the best defense. We must use all available levers to strengthen our partnerships with the 28 like minded democracies in this hemisphere who understand the power of working together to counter these shared threats. The United States remains the preferred and most trusted Security Partner in the region. We build trust through investment and Security Cooperation programs that train and equip our partners. Our partner military and Security Forces, a robust joint exercise program to build interoperability and the development and employment of emerging technologies. Moreover, we maximize the resources allocated by the department of States International military, education and Training Program for military financing, for military sales, to build that interoperability and counterbalance the rc military engagements and investments. As the National Defense strategy states, the u. S. Derives immense benefit from a stable, peaceful, and democratic western hemisphere that also reduces Security Threats to the homeland. U. S. South, continues to innovate and adapt, putting integrated deterrence into action every day. We remain committed to working across all domains with allies and partners, combatant commands, the joint force, the u. S. Interagency nonfederal entities and the u. S. Congress to guarantee safety, security, and prosperity throughout the western hemisphere. This is the work and promise of u. S. South,. As part of team usa and support of Team Democracy. Thank you for your assistance in resourcing this team. I would also like to recognize behind me in the audience, the Interamerican Defense College Class that is here today to see how the power of our United States congress and how the department of defense and us as Combatant Commanders talk about our regions. I look forward to your questions. Thank you. Thank you very much, and the suggestion of my colleague, would all the students please stand to be recognized . [ applause ] gaseous and on behalf of my colleagues, let me say be in bonitos. [ speaking nonenglish ] please be seated. General guillot, weve had unmanned invasion of our vehicles. Has dod developed and defined Standard Operating Procedures for individual base commanders in dealing with these vehicles . Because they could show up in minutes before they would be penetrating in space. Do we have a system or sops to deal with them . Chairman, shortly after taking command and getting my 90 day assessment, i realized that the challenge of the large increase in the number of incursions by ua ss was something that was going to drive and change probably the direction of my first year in command because of that acute number. The services do have authorities but work remains to be done to ensure that they are resourced, equipped, and that we have standardized operating procedures to address those threats, and also, work remains to be done, chairman, to be able to use, especially the non kinetic capabilities that can bring down those systems safely without interfering with our airspace structure. At this present time, norad and northcom do not have a designated role in that but in my recommendations at the end of the 90 days assessment, i will point out ways that i think norad and northcom could or should play a role in bringing that standardization that you mentioned. This process would involved other agencies such as the department of justice, the fbi, Homeland Security, working at that joint agency level . Yes, chairman. They have some authorities now, and as you alluded to, we would need to bring them altogether so we are bringing each capability together against the same incursion threat. Thank you. General richardson, the situation in haiti is deteriorating rapidly. On march 10 we sent in augmentation forces to the embassy. There is already been extraction of personnel from the embassy in haiti. Then on march 11 the secretary of defense agreed to the contribution of 200 million to provide Logistic Support for a Security Force to come into haiti. Could you just give us your sense of the implications of the situation in haiti for the United States and the region . Thank you, senator and chairman. Thank you for the question. So certainly the u. S. South, has a wide range of contingency plans, so we are ready for whatever would be required for department of defense response. So weve already conducted two missions that have been widely publicized, of increasing security, and its routine actions that would take place for any of our embassies across the globe. And so the situation in haiti has been deteriorating over the past couple of weeks, and so with the announcement that has come and the political negotiations that have been happening and occurring, the violence has been tamped down somewhat over the past couple of days so certainly the political solution seems to be working, and hopefully that continues on a positive path. But if not, we have as i said, the contingency plans ready to respond from u. S. Southcom. Thank you. You pointed out the penetration of your air by china and russia. It seems that one of the leading edges of chinas activities is economic, by imports, getting the belt and road projects underway, and its one other area, too. That is their willingness or their eagerness to acquire more interesting Interamerican Development bank. And i understand that Congress Must pass legislation to authorize the United States to buy the shares before the chinese do. Is that accurate . And if the chinese beat us out, would that be a problem . That would be a problem, chairman, and i think through the u. S. Governments initiative with the american prosperity American Partnership for economic prosperity, a pep, where the administration with latin america and heads of state in washington, d. C. In 2023, this would be part of that. Our ability to invest in Critical Infrastructure through the Interamerican Development bank and the development of finance corporation dfc. So these shares that are coming up, 75 million in shares for the u. S. To purchase those shares in the Interamerican Development bank. And this bank has been established in 1959 to do exactly these things, to invest in Critical Infrastructure within the region. And if we dont do it, the chinese will . Exactly right, chairman. Thank you. Senator wicker, please. Thank you, in southcom, venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro took unprecedented steps to establish control over the contested sap ibo region of neighboring gion. This violated an International Court of justice ruling and the region accounts for two thirds of guyanas territory, an extensive offshore oil riches. How has this impacted the security of the region and particularly the fact that venezuela has deployed light tanks, armored carriers, missile equipped patrol boats along the affected border . Senator, it absolutely has and in terms of our relationship with guyana as a very willing partner and a democracy in the region, very important partner, and we see what the maduro regime and venezuela are doing, the activities they are taken against this democracy with an unjustified claim. So our support for guyana, we have shown that from the u. S. Government and through all the instruments of national power, the diplomacy, the military, and do you have directions from the white house, from your superiors in the department as to what we should do . As we work my engagements and what we did with Security Cooperation, we have a very robust plan with guyana and weve continued on that plan and thats been correlated with our u. S. Government. Could you briefly describe the plan . It consists of visits by folks within my command and the engagements that we do, the exercises, the subject matter exchanges. Weve continued with all of those. Not trying to exacerbate the situation but continued on past with our regular engagements that have been scheduled and we have not halted any of that. Is the International Community assisting us in that regard . The International Community is very much assisting and i would say our allies as part of our western hemisphere framework that we signed into with southcom with our allies that work in the region, the uk, canada, the netherlands and also france , and so as we Work Together to coordinate our activity, we also have activities and engagements they do in the region and are doing in guyana, and those are also coordinated. Rd troops on the border. I think maybe a lot of americans dont understand how often we do this. But its worsen considerably. Americans dont understand how often we do this but, it is worsened considerably. It has deployed troops in 18 of the previous 21 years. They are called temporary deployments but it is beginning to look permanent. There is a difference in the way we deploy and notify these units, is there not . Ti in the sense that if it is a temporary deployment, they get 180 days notice in advance. If it is regular deployment, it is a year and a half. Can you discuss that . Is my understanding correct . Senator, your understanding is correct. The primary difference that we see in Northern Command is, we are in support, as you mentioned. Therefore, we wait for the request from the lead agency. In this case, customs and Border Protection and a request for assistance that is reviewed and has ultimately been approved i the department of defense. At that point, we can start trying to match, through the joint staff in the National Guard with the correct units to support that, based on the needs that are in that request for assistance. Would it be helpful if we treated it as a permanent deployment . Senator, i think more than treating it as a Permanent Appointment would be earlier notification of the requirements. If those change, that allows us to tailor the National Guard force to meet the change in requirements of the customs and Border Protection. Whereas, if we had a permanent force, we might have permanently the wrong type to support. However, to your point, what wes have established and what we must maintain of having a permanent command and control structure over there so we have continuity and predictability in how we present the forces and work with the customs and Border Protection. Do we need to give you different authority in that regard or is it a matter of the department . Senator, we have the authority that we need. The thing that we would most benefit from, as you alluded to, is time. Time to pick and train and prepare the National Guard units that will go down and support the cdt. To both of you, tell us what you need and we will try to get it for you. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much. In my notes, since you have been talking, i have written the word gap about five times. We are going to talk about gaps. General guillot, do we have a sensor gap at norad we learn more from failures than successes. What did we learn from the balloon incursion about the adequacy of our sensors which is essentially the basis of norad . Senator, we learned a thgrea deal. To the gaps, what we have is, we had some gaps in the layered approach where we wanted to be able to protect domain awareness from satellites down to Traditional Air one of the problems is low altitude. That is right. We were able to address many of those on initiatives that were started by my predecessor by changing the sensitivity of the radars that we do have and that has allowed us to have better demand awareness in that regime that you mentioned. However, there are some gaps that will be manifesting in the near future and those are currently scheduled to be addressed by the radar, the hypersonic and ballistic tracking space system. Those capabilities are essential to fill gaps that are growing because of the increased capability of the atmosphere. I would suggest that is an urgent need, given the experience we have had and also given the incredible militarization of the arctic coast i russia and the development of drone technology. All of those things added together create a significant risk. I hope you can come to us with what you need because this is something we need to do in a hurry. We cant wait five years to develop this capacity. We also have an icebreaker gap, in terms of our ability to operate in the arctic. As the arctic ocean opens up, it is becoming more militarized by the russians and much more important body of water. It is like we suddenly discovered the mediterranean sea. Talk to me about icebreakers. We only have one and they have heavy icebreakers in the arctic. That is correct, senator. We are severely outnumbered. We appreciate the coast guard. I would say 40 two 1 is outnumbered. That is approximately the number russians have. Yes, senator. And, the chinese declaring themselves a near arctic nation. When the chinese declared themselves a near arctic nation, my position is new york is a maine caribbean state. I share your view, sir. We do appreciate that the coast guard is procuring more icebreakers but even with those, we will be severely outnumbered and that does limit our freedom of maneuver in that region. It is basically like not having a road to get to where you need to go. Yes. General richardson, lets talk about another gap, drugs. Simply, we have been sitting here, 10 americans have died of drug overdoses just since we began this meeting 45 minutes ago. One a day one person a day is dying in my home state of maine. Do you have the capacity to interdict drug shipments coming in by sea that we know of . H i have asked this question every year for the past 10 years and i am afraid i know the answer. Senator, in u. S. Southcom, we have the protection and Monitoring Mission and that is to gain the intelligence i shouldnt have said do you have the capacity. I mean we, as a country. You have terrific capacity for intelligence. My concern is, once we know about the dangerous do we have the capacity to interdict it . We pass that intelligence over to Law Enforcement or a partner nation and it becomes on who is close enough to do that. In terms of the capacity, we anticipate that we are able to if what we know is out there, interdict about 10 of ol the known problem with the resourcing and capability that we currently i would emphasize that figure to our colleagues. We can interdict 10 of what we know of. That is inexcusable. I dont mean it is inexcusable y for you but one of the problems that strikes me is when everyone is in charge, nobody is in charge. You got yourself, d. E. A. , dhs, the Intelligence Community and the problem is, americans are dying. About every 10 days, we have september 11. 3000 people die in this country every 10 days and you use the word in your testimony, assault. That is what it is. It is an assault that we are treating it as a kind of domestic Law Enforcement problem when it is an assault and most of it is coming from outside of our country. I hope that you will work with your colleagues, perhaps form a task group to get after this problem of interdiction and if we dont have capacity, if we dont have enough coast guard cutters or dhs does not have the capacity, tell us. Tell us because we cant solve a problem if we dont know what it is. We know the general shape of the problem but you are in a position to tell us what is missing and what you can do in order to help protect this country. Senator, i would offer that we cant interdict our way into the problem and weve got to be able to go after the network. We have to be able to go after the drug labs. We have to be able to follow the money and the Money Laundering which is fueling this very rich environment. I would agree. We have to talk about the demand aside here and treatment and prevention. I totally agree with that but this is a discrete problem we do have some capacity to deal with. Final question. This is not about a gap but what is your overall assessment of the chinese incursion into latin america, specifically, they have been doing this for some time in other parts of the world. There is some development of buyers remorse that the chinese have not performed as they were expected, that the debt colonialism is becoming the problem. Is that occurring in latin america, in your view . Absolutely, senator. My concern as a commander for the region in 22 of 31 countries in the region have signed up for the initiative, but it is all a lot of investment in Critical Infrastructure where the big money projects are. Deepwater ports, Smart City Technology to be able to spy on the populations. With the state owned enterprises from the prc my concern is being able to use those for military application if required. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman and thank you both for being here today. General guillot, i appreciated the challenges on characterizing and tracking potential threats to our homeland. Most americans are fully aware of the incident with the chinese balloon but northcom has other responsibilities especially with protecting the advanced threats that are out there which include ballistic and cruise missiles. Why is having that improved domain awareness, which is the ability to detect and track the threats and also to provide a clear threats picture of what is out there and to be able to discriminate what you are seeing . Why is that so important to defending our homeland . Senator, it is important because it gives us time, time to inform leaders, make decisions, and enact defeat mechanisms to defeat these threats that are coming in. You mentioned the discrimination capability. As the threat becomes more advanced and they can put out decoys, we could needlessly shoot interceptors at objects that are not a threat but having discrimination radar makes sure that we can actually shoot and kill the warhead that would be a threat. The other thing i would quickly say, senator, is that the capabilities are growing so much by the adversary that demand awareness. That needs to push out further away from our shores, detect earlier, characterize them earlier as you mentioned so we have more time to employ the defense capabilities that we have. Are we moving quickly enough . Senator, we are right on the edge. I think that we are moving quickly and i appreciate all the support from this body and the services but we cant pause at all because the adversaries multiple adversaries, not just one, are growing very, very quickly and it really is at an alarming rate. I am concerned about what we are seeing in the president s budget request for fy2025. The administration decreases spending for the glide phase Interceptor Program and it is stating it will be delivered in 2035. Yes, in the nda a of fy24 in a section 1666, that requires the Missile Defense agency to achieve an initial operational tape ability of that program by december 31, 2029. How do you respond to my concerns . Senator, my response is that i view hypersonics as the most destabilizing threat that we have out there because of the speed. More than that, the maneuverability and predictability on where it will impact as opposed to a Ballistic Missile which is fairly predictable. I have worked very closely in my short period of time with mda and i am pleased with some of the efforts they are doing to intercept in the glide phase and also using existing systems to adapt against that threat and i am also very pleased with mdas dealing with the satellite capability to detect and track hypersonics. Just yesterday, we heard from a Senior Analyst with the National Airspace intelligence center. He told congress that, quote, china now has the worlds leading hypersonic arsenal. Given the pace that we are seeing with russia and with china as they advance their Hypersonic Weapons programs, should the department accelerate the development of those hypersonic Defense Systems . Really, when it is technically peaceful to do so . Senator, i support moving all of our capabilities against the strategic threat that you mentioned as far left as possible based on the growing and consistently growing capabilities of our adversaries. Thank you. General richardson, thank you for all the work that you have done and your service to this country. When we talk about china and the initiatives, you answered senator king on that but when you are looking at the longer term strategies that china has in the buying that they continue to do in your area of responsibility, how serious a threat is it . I look at it as a serious threat because of the ability of these state owned controlled by the government companies. If i just take the panama canal in the five state owned enterprises that are along either side of the panama canal and that is a very important strategic line of communication. So, there are a lot of implications there in terms of all the Critical Infrastructure. This is state study, smart study technology. It is very concerning. S thank you. You made comments, i think it was yesterday before the house committee, or two days ago before the house Armed Services committee about the possibility of seeing in the very near future a chinese aircraft in closeness to our homeland. I thank you for bringing that to our attention. Thank you, senator fisher. Thank you both for being here. I remain concerned about the dods Missile Defense posture, i guess you can call it. In that, the dod does not have a plan for hawaii. It is an issue i have brought up with just about everybody who comes to testify from the dod. In the 2024 directive, the plan for the Missile Defense of hawaii, general, your predecessor told me last year the northcom is responsible for protecting hawaii against Ballistic Missile threats from north korea but, of course, we also need to concern ourselves with the missile threats like cruise missiles and hypersonic. Have you been coordinating regarding the development of the Missile Defense plan . Senator, i have. I worked very closely with all defense of our entire homeland. I also agree with the characterization that the general did on our specific role. I have some concerns. There are so many different commands involved in the Missile Defense of hawaii and Missile Defense and general. We have you, we have northcom, space, strand, Missile Defense agencies. Do you have some concerns about how all of you are coordinating and coming up with the kind of plan that we need for Missile Defense . Senator, i think that we communicate very well with each other. I think we all understand the priorities. I have not seen any place where having multiple agencies responsible for a common area presenting a theme or challenge but i am very acutely aware of the potential and a watch for that very closely. The 2024 and daa directs a plan so the plan is going to be presented to us by next month which is the timeframe. I assume that plan will reflect the coordinate of input from all of you. General richardson, a port is expected to open this november and is expected to be the first south american port controlled by china and this is just one example of chinas growing influence on latin america through economic ties y controlling Critical Minerals and establishing port and space facilities. This projects risks to National Security and global order. General, what changes are you seeing in the region as a result of the growing enforcement and what steps are you taking to counter chinas influence in latin america . Thank you, senator. We have doubled down. With the increase of funding last year from the United States congress, southcom received funding that went to secure the cooperations programs and also with flexible authorities. That was extremely helpful. It allows us to be very responsive in terms of being able to help our partner nations , to counter the influence of china. I want to thank you for that. And, our ability to be able to respond and be responsive. The heads of state are generally in the seat for one term for four years so they are working on a stopwatch, not calendar. They are trying to show progress within months, not years. You mentioned that we have provided additional resources. Do you think we are doing enough to counter . China is its own everywhere, especially in the indo pacific area. We know what their influences are. Now, they are in latin america. Are we doing enough to really address all of the longterm focus that china has throughout the world . Senator, through all of the instruments of power of team usa and bringing those together and synchronizing and integrating, the chairman brought up the American Partnership for economic posterity and the idb invest program. Through that initial program, to invest in the western hemisphere is huge and it is just a start. I would recommend that that is something very similar, this program, to the economic d recovery act of 1948, which was so instrumental in terms of the economic recovery and i see that this economic recovery for the region, due to the impacts of covid, what it did to the economies of the region and now the Transnational Criminal Organization is taking a stance. This is a first start with these 11 heads of state from latin america that are here in washington in november 2023 for this program that was rolling out billions of dollars for Critical Infrastructure investments by the u. S. Government. We are on a very good path. A third of our latin american leaders with this economic investment. I would say that national rt security rests on their Economic Security and we can do more. Through the program, we can build this out. We would be on a good path with our partners. That aspect of working with our latin American Allies are critical. Can i just ask one more question . I will keep it short. You mentioned that regarding the interdiction of drugs, that it requires us to Pay Attention to some other aspects such as going after these criminal forces is there an International Task force that you are all working together to cover the drug threat . There needs to be more focusing on this particular grouping to get after the problem. From the moneylaundering to the drug lab and following not just the small semi submersible that is loaded with counter narcotics but actually getting to where it is produced. The work that we have done in colombia has been very effective but the amounts are only increasing. We have got to figure out, we have got to follow this money and we have to get after this as a holistic, more filled out, robust program. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you. Thank you, chairman. Senator, thank you both for being here. It is my understanding that there has been a lot of drone incursions along our southern border. Menu drone incursions have we had and what are they doing . Senator, the number of incursions is something that was alarming to me as i took command last month. I dont know the actual number. I dont think anybody does but it is in the thousands. I have talked to customs and Border Protection who is responsible for the incursions and in the border along with doj and they put the number at thousands. Over what period of time . I would say over a month. We could probably have over 1000 in a month. General, do they, in your view, represent a threat . Senator, they alarm me from being the person responsible i have not seen any of them manifest in a threat to the level of National Defense but i see the potential only growing. General, continuing on a different topic, do you consider the strike eagle to be a capable aircraft . Are there particular characteristics that make it ideal for Homeland Defense . Senator, the strike eagle is a phenomenal aircraft. What makes it applicable in our theater is the same thing that o makes it applicable around the world, its versatility. In many ways, it is unmatched air to ground and in many ways it is unmatched air to air. It has a phenomenal radar that can be used in the east. It electrically scans and allows it to pick out low, slow moving and also low radar sections such as drones or other threats like cruise missiles. The strike eagle is a fantastic aircraft. In its fiscal year 25 budget, beer air force plans to divest 26 Strike Eagles the same time it is buying less than expected 35, f15 and other fighters. This has me very concerned not just for Homeland Defense and the descriptions that you shared a moment ago but including potential conflict with china. Also, for responses to striking other geographic combatants. If you would agree to keep your eye on that and share with us concerns as they arise he i will. Thank you. Changing topics, general richardson and general guillot both, you mentioned tco just a bit ago. Like the mexican drug cartel, they also move not just drugs and lethal fentanyl but they move people. The minute these activities proceed without interruption in the areas of responsibility, section 1068 of the fiscal year 2024 requires the secretary of defense to submit a plan for coordinating with defense partners in north and south america and supporting interagency departments with agencies to counter Human Trafficking including Human Trafficking. Have either of you been consulted on developing that plan . General richardson, we will start with you. Senator, we work migration every day and the United States Southern Command for this past year with the trilateral agreement that the United States government signed with panama and columbia we are very aware of the migration. Beyond the general awareness, the secretary of a defense is required to submit a plan. Are you working on that plan . I am not specifically working on that plan. The department of defense and the joint staff has been working on that . Senator, the same answer. We are not working directly. To the department of defense and secretary, that is disappointing. I would like to follow up with both of you and the department on this to make sure that begins to get implemented so we can begin stopping the illegal flow of deadly fentanyl and other drugs and the tragic trafficking of humans. That is big business for the cartel, contributing to instability in countries across our hemisphere. What efforts are already underway with you or your partners to address Human Trafficking . Thank you, senator. I am not aware that the report the report could very well be well along its way. We are just not actively working on it from our level and a lot of times, the joint staff and the oh sd will work those things to allow us to continue to extricate execute our mission. We are working very closely with a huge Human Trafficking area. You are exactly right in terms of the transnational career organizations. They have only gotten more powerful. 300 billion annual revenue in business. They traffic humans, drugs, gold, lithium, all kinds of counterfeit goods. Only getting more powerful. The work that we do, the Colombian Military has set to go after the criminal networks doing these criminal activities as well as the panama front order forces that are going after the criminal networks in the panama. In the interest of time, i will yield but i would love to continue discussions, perhaps offline, about your efforts in regards to Human Trafficking in northcom. Thank you. Thank you chairman, general a guillot, general richardson. General richardson, yesterday we were talking a little bit about haiti and the situation on the ground being chaotic. Gangs running rampant in their capital. This week, the Prime Minister of haiti announced he would resign and they paused the agreement to send 1000 Police Officers until a new government would be put into place. Southcom has successfully airlifted Embassy Staff out of the country. The number of Americans Still remain in haiti, some may be looking to leave. Some are concerned that the u. S. Has not initiated a noncombatant order to get americans out of haiti. General, have you been tasked to operate an evacuation . As part of the wide range of contingency plans, we are ready for a neo activation if required and we have other plans ready to go, as we always do and keep those plans refreshed over and over. We are ready at any time for any type of crisis you say you are ready now but are there any additional preparations in the event that this becomes a necessity . I think the two missions of increasing the security at the embassy and a little bit of my capability as well, expanding that is the platform that we would use if we need to expand from there. We put in all of the necessary measures and they are necessary for any of the plans to be an activated. It would be true to say that there is Mission Planning currently underway in case you have to do this . Senator, we always do Mission Planning in the military so, absolutely. Thank you. General guillot, just on monday morning i got back from a trip to the arctic where i was able to see firsthand some of the efforts by the navy to pursue the arctic and strategic objectives in the arctic is a real area of concern and a great example of the intersection between defense policy, climate, strategic partnership. Melting ice is making the arctic more accessible to everyone, including russia and china. It is rich in oil, mineral, fishing, other resources and we have to ensure that a free and peaceful arctic benefits the United States and our partners and allies. Russia seeks the arctic as a staging ground for power projection in addition to it being a critical defense and determined for the homeland. They also seek to control the region. We have made Real Progress in combating russian influence in the arctic over the last year with finland and sweden joining nato. Now, every country with a border on the arctic is part of nato with the exception of russia. We must not miss this s opportunity to advance our interest in the arctic while russia is focusing on their illegal and brutal invasion of d ukraine. General guillot, i would like to hear in more detail what you think the u. S. And nato strategy should look like in the arctic. Senator, first, thank you for visiting us up there duringt ice camp, as you alluded to. It is an extremely important operation. That demonstrates our capability up there with submarines and all of the other aircraft. As far as what we could do or should do with nato in the arctic, you described exercises we are doing on the alaska side or the 10 00 approach. We have also had some success working with nato and european command on the northeast approach. Just last week for the first time in over two years, the russians sent two of their bombers down along that avenue to what we call the gei uk gap. Greenland, iceland, and the united kingdom, approaching ther canadian and the United States air defense identification zones. I have not seen this activity in over two years. We were able to track the entire time thanks to the Radar Networks and the information t sharing between countries within norway is one i will point out. We are able to what range were you able to intercept them . Senator, we did not have to intercept them because we had aircraft flying to the point where we would intercept them before they cross the identification zone and the russians turned around prior to reaching that zone. We had aircraft and u. S. Fighters along the line, which, i think is disheartening to the russians to fly all that way to find out that we are waiting for them. Have you seen that video back the russians are pretty good operating in the arctic. Are you seeing in advancements by the chinese . What i see, senator, is a willingness and a desire by the chinese to act. We have seen them in the maritime. We have seen them under the cloud of a technical or Scientific Research but we think it is certainly multimission to include military and then, i expect to see air activity in the alaska part of the arctic as soon as this year, potentially. It is a very big concern. Thank you, general. Thank you, mr. Chairman. General guillot, general richardson, thank you to you and your teams for your service to our country. I would like to follow up a little bit with what the senator began talking about with regard to haiti. General richardson, it seems to me that it rather surprises me that there may not have been any advance notice requesting additional followup in regard to the possibility of a nato operation in haiti. Wouldnt that seem to be an advisory that would be appropriate if you receive something at least the administration indicating it is at least a possibility. Would and that maybe if you the opportunity to notify those individuals who are responsible for providing you the resources necessary to be ready to go . It does not seem to me that they can be on high alert all the time. Could you just expand on that a little bit, please . Senator, i did not mean to give the perception that we are not ready or the nobody has asked us to be ready or anything like that. We have been discussing that and talking about that and i have been talking with our joint staff chairman and secretary of defense over the past two weeks about all of the range of plans that we might have to do a mass migration, all of those things. So, the missions of extracting nonessential personnel it is not just a matter of being ready to fight tonight as much as we are aware of it and we are doing some preplanning just in case the call is made. Absolutely, senator. We are ready to avgo. We have all of our plans ready r to go. Thank you. Also, i noted with regard to discussions earlier about the Transnational Criminal Organizations, the drug cartels and so forth south of our border. Both of you have some responsibilities with regard to whether or not it is in other parts of the norad command. Just a reminder that under the ndaa, we have already authorized the use of our cyber teams to be able to fly out in advance and to know who these n people are, where they rank , how they communicate and so forth. Hopefully we will not just authorized but now we will fund that part of the operation so y that we can insist those countries who want our expertise in finding out more of these organizations, that that is available to them. Let me also just general guillot, potential investments of Fighter Aircraft by the air force, there are concerns about how the air National Guard who shoulder a significant portion of the burden of Homeland Defense, how they will be able to continuously support you in that capacity while also fulfilling the obligations under the National Defense strategy. I bring this up because the resourcing of the air National Guard the resourcing that the air National Guard received appears to be incongruent with their mission assignment, which concludes both the Aerospace Control alert strategy using the same resources and also supporting the joint force in the national strategy. I am just curious. Are you involved in any planning or discussions with the secretary or the general as they discuss a plan for longform longterm fighting structure . I would encourage your involvement. Can you share a little bit about your encouragement with them . Yes, senator. Thank you for pointing out the outstanding contributions. We cannot conduct our air r Defense Mission without them. They are not only the cornerstone they provide, and 20 different sites that you mentioned, our 24 7 capability to respond. We have talked directly with the chief of staff of the air force about the commitment of the air force to that mission and then also what will happen , with the future as we draw down some capabilities and bring on new capabilities to include the Collaborative Combat Aircraft or next generation offense. It is very clear that he fully supports our mission and he understands the no fail nation of our mission and he invited t me to be a part of the future discussions on how they incorporate these capabilities. Excellent. We have to be able to incorporate the air guard. General richardson, we discussed chinas quick growing footprint and the influence through southcom and how important it is that the u. S. Remain engaged in the region. One of the main tools that you have at your disposal that we discussed in my office is section 333 of title 10, which lets the dod help build the security capacity of friendly nations. Unfortunately, section 333 requires you to navigate a bureaucracy in both the department of defense and the department of state before you can make use of this authority. It is not agile and it clearly is not very quick. Ironically, the Chinese Communist party is not bogged down by the same bureaucratic inertia. Important is section 333 authority to your mission and how can it be improved . It is my main lever in Security Cooperations, senator. The 333, as we call it, and the ability to be able to i have a triple 3 package right now that is navigating all of the areas needs to go through for a counter prc effort on sports scanners, for example. The feeling of data that the prc does and to be able to put a u. S. Company, to be able to do the scanning for in and out cargo is extremely important. Again, it is about the data. M the 333 and flexible authorities and being responsive is extremely important. I appreciate the help and emphasis on those authorities. Thank you. Senator peterson . Re please. Thank you, mr. Chairman. General guillot and general richardson, thank you for your service and the men and women who serve along with you. We appreciate that. General guillot, you mentioned the importance of the challenges, or i should say, the significant challenges we face in the arctic on a previous question and how we need to seek ways to address that, make additional investments in the arctic, resilient platforms as well as coldweather training, which is essential for our troops. A key portion of coldweather training is completed every winter during a Northern Strike at the National Work fighting center in michigan. We are blessed with cold ey weather during the winter so that provides a great training opportunity. My question for you, general, is that while the summer training portion of the Northern Strike is extensive we believe that the exercises in winter has some great expansion opportunities to provide costeffective cold weather training for men and women who may be tasked to serve up there. My question for you is how can we grow the arctic training through exercises like Northern Strike to support the priorities of our National Security strategy . Senator, i would be a strong proponent of doing exactly as you stated. One of the concerns i have as i visited alaska about a week into my command to assess many of the areas that you just discussed was that the forces of there are extremely well trained and equipped with the right equipment to operate in the arctic. The backfill forces are probably very well trained but not equipped and they have not trained in that environment. Anything that we can do for the supplementing forces or the backfill forces that would go into the arctic, training them either in the arctic environment or in the something as you described that would replicate that will be very important not only to give them the skills but to identify the pieces of equipment that we need to develop and issue so they can seamlessly operate in r that environment. Very good. Thank you. General richardson, the National Guards Partnership Program links our state National Guard units with Global Partners and the program certainly has been invaluable as we have been strengthening our relationship with partner nations including southcom s 28 active disappearance. As part of the state Partnership Program, u. S. Embassys ideally have a Bilateral Affairs officer working as a conduit between the state as well as the partner country. Despite what i believe is a critical role, these billets sit vacant, forcing the commanders to pay for these. Ne my question for you, general, first of all, what role do Bilateral Affairs officers play in successfully implementing the state Partnership Program and how can we address the gaps that exist to ensure that they are filled and we can get the maximum utility out of these partnerships . Thank you, senator. I would say that the largest stp program in all the geographic combatant area and we are very grateful for that program. It is a huge enabler. We have to keep those blocks filled with those officers. They organize and synchronize the activities of the National Guard with the operations activities and investments that i have in the u. S. Southcom. It is a critical role. With the theater maintenance project initiative which is a program that we are rolling out to put nine centers of excellence in the region this is partnering with the partner nation militaries and their military academies with Program Instruction to teach and train maintenance and the culture of maintenance. It is a tactical Level Program all the way up to an operational level into the ministries of defense where you can anticipate logistics and teach logistics and that culture of maintenance to keep equipment ready and increase the readiness of capability for these partner nations. Appreciate that. A question i had for you is, my understanding is that right now, the Chinese Military is training about five times more latin american and caribbean officers than the United States. I have some concerns that these chinese professional military education exchanges, they have an outside impact on our allies, particularly in southcom. My question for you, what are the risks with continuing to allow chinese education exchanges to out pace what we are providing and how can congress support your command in countering this challenge . The prc is using our playbook against us in terms of these exchanges, these all expense paid training t exchanges. We are able to provide through the program for professional military education. The difference that makes when they come to our school in the United States, for example, when you dont speak the language or i would say there are several three ministers of defense and about 15 chiefs of defense that have been to our United States schools. You already built the trust. I dont have to build the trust over a year with these leaders. I would say that we need to continue to sustain that and even increase our program. Thank you. Thank you. Before i begin my remarks, i want to Say Something about what Chuck Schumer is saying on the senate floor right now. The majority leader on the u. S. Enforce conquering a new israeli government. This is coercion. It is dangerous. It is undemocratic. If Chuck Schumer does not like vindman netanyahu, it does not matter. We should respect the israeli government. The americans should stand strongly with israels elected leadership and not threaten it as it fights i personally hope israel destroys, kills every hamas terrorist there is. First of all, thank you to both of you for your service. I want to say a few things before i ask you a couple of questions. Detecting our National Security means we must be laser focused on the cold hard facts and not l only what our adversaries are doing but what they are capable of doing. The violence and unrest in haiti is heartbreaking. It is a symptom of political unrest that has only continued to grow under this administration. Not only is the Biden Administration taking an active role in destabilizing the region but it appears that the white house is unprepared to deal with the consequences of the political unrest these regimes create and support. The policies could not be that d we let everyone into our country totally unvented anytime there is trouble around the world. That is what President Biden has done with 8 Million People pouring across from afghanistan with 90,000 unvented people coming in. Not only does this administration open up the floodgates for people who dont, know anything about what we believe and to come to our country, President Biden and the democrats of every level of government give these individuals cash, phones, lawyers and everything else, paid for by the us taxpayer. The entire Biden Administration can be summed up as this. L item creates a magnet for illegal immigration here, pieces evil regimes and forces the American People to pay for the unrest, humanitarian crisis and massive border crossings that result. It does not work and it cant e be our answer to the chaos in haiti. All of this works to benefit our adversaries like china and russia. Our enemies thrive on our chaos. These evil regimes are working every day to expand their foothold in the western hemisphere and increase stability for their proxies to destabilize the region. For southcom, we see them infiltrating the region to spread their influence for countries in latin america with massive debt. For northcom, we see Unconventional Warfare especially cyber attacks, going after a supplychain or taking advantage of the open border. We are even seeing our adversaries undermine u. S. Security in places like the arctic, bringing their militaries closer to the u. S. Another couple of questions. Lets start with haiti. The people of haiti have reached a breaking point. We have a lot of haitian families in our state who are compassionate but they are worried about how this instability in the region will not only include haiti but all of the southcom theater and could bring a Mass Immigration event in my state. I spoke with the coast guard last night and i would like to hear from you. What is the plan to address the possibility of a mass migration event that made on the only impact florida but also our bases within the caribbean. What are the options to build us with the dod capabilities . In terms of the mass migration, we have our contingency plan for u. S. Southcom. We did training last summer on naval stations, Guantanamo Bay and that was with the interagency to walk through the processes and ensure that all the steps that are necessary to take place are actually in place, everything is refreshed, the equipment, everything is ready to go. As we work through all of our contingency plans, i assure you that u. S. Southcom and the department of defense are ready to go. I worked on getting a dual use amendment for fiscal year 23. This allows us to inject power into the atmosphere. I ask air force leadership about the future of homestead and having a Permanent Mission at the base. The general assured me he was committed to having a platform operate outside of homestead. Why do we need it . Homestead, the reserve base is a great staging platform. When i was in northcom in my previous job, we phased out for the response in the bahamas for the damage that was done by hurricane dorian. We launched our missions. The special Operations Command is that homestead or rivers base. We staged our two missions that we conducted into haiti this past week from homestead. The ability for the department of defense to have homestead as a saving base in south florida and be able to respond to humanitarian assistance and Disaster Response type activities is very hugely helpful. I think both of you. Thank you, senator scott. Thank you, mr. Chair and thank you to our witnesses. I want to begin with you. My colleagues and i on this committee have recently discussed installation security with respect to drone threats as a basis in the United States, recognizing we are in an unclassified setting. What can you tell me about how northcom is addressing this issue and what partners are you working this challenge . Senator, northcom, as part of my 90 day assessment, to tell the truth, the counter mission has dominated that so far in the first month. Of course, i knew it was an issue coming from another command where we faced that threat in a very different way because of the environment but i was not prepared for the number of incursions that i see. Gone into the events at joint base Langley Eustis and i am using that as the centerpiece of my 90 day assessment to see where norad and northcom can and should do more with this emerging capability outstripping the operational framework that we have to address. Can you talk about other partners you are working with . Obviously there is a Law Enforcement component of this. B who else is working with you on this problem . Primarily, the department of Homeland Security and department of justice along the border have the primary ne responsibility. In the interior, it is the services that have the responsibility for defending the bases. Working with each individual service and then again, the department of Homeland Security and department of energy for specific Critical Infrastructure locations. Those are the primary ones i am working with. Thank you for that. The importance of fms was mentioned last week. General guillot, you mentioned it in the written statement. You and i talked about it a little bit last week when we were together. The fms programs not only increase interoperability to strengthen partnerships but can help reduce our partners reliance upon strategic competitors as well. What are you hearing from your counterparts . I want to particularly direct that to general richardson. Could you talk about this . This is a critical enabler. Obviously with being able to have our equipment have up to date equipment and then having u. S. Equipment and being interoperable and that sort of thing is imperative. What secretary alston and the chairman have instituted to speed up the processes over the past two years have taken place. I would say that we have to streamline that to the interagency. It is not just the department of defense that has a stake in that. We have got to streamline that process a little bit better and speed it up. We talked last week in my t office about the potential synergy between the state Partnership Program that senator peters was discussing. Could you talk a little bit about that and whether it could support or compliment the priorities that we have . Absolutely. That is the whole reason for it. We have u. S. Equipment in these countries. Maintenance is part of our military and it is hard for our partner nations as well. With the turnover, we always have people coming in and going out and leaving the military so there is a constant turnover. You have to have a really good teaching and Training Program at the top of the level. The program that you mentioned, the nexus with the National Guard state Partnership Program has tons of maintainers. This makes a very simple, easy way to teach and train which is right in line with the Institutional Capacity as well. Last question i would like to ask you. One of the best advantages we have in your region is that the security agenda you have made this a priority in your travel. Can you speak on the impact that the initiatives are having within our partner country . Huge impact. The Un Security Council resolution 1325 every visit i do in the country, we have a security event. The great thing is we get we have the enlisted Leader Professional Development program as well. We have many women and leaders that are in our military formations in the region. That feels nicely with our different programs. Our partner nations doing that and seeing the diversity and the ability to increase readiness within the forces, they have realized that and they continue on a really great path. Thank you very much. I yield back. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you to both of you being here today. This is the most important everyone is important. We see the change in the one guards the front door and one guards backdoor. The direction they are going which should be rep general the we have seen the change in government. Maybe the direction that they are going. Which is very important, should be very important to all of us. Have you seen any change with the military in terms of how they are helping us with northcom . Senator on the first day of my command, met with the minister of National Defense, minister blair and the chief of staff in Colorado Springs and we talked about canadas commitment to norad and they told me at that time that they were committed with funding aligned for over the horizon radar, and 35, ph and q9. All the systems will immediately have an effect to us in the Homeland Defense mission that we shared in norad. Since the first day, ive seen nothing but strong commitment from our canadian partners for modernizing norad. And working together to defend our homeland. Thats good news. What about the border . Are you getting any pushback on the northern border . We hear a lot about the southern border, but the northern border is. We hear a lot of people are coming from the northern border. Have you had any conversation with any of your counterparts there . Senator, i have. Although the customs of Border Security and Homeland Security have not requested this on the north border, its something i watch closely for a number of reasons. One is potential threats entering the country to the north, and i have frequent discussions with the Intel Community to see if there are any threats that are coming through, and of course, it is a shared order with a Strong Partner like canada. From milton old canada, we talk about it. Absolutely giving cooperation and keeping a strong sense of Situational Awareness on the act of it is of the northern border. Thank you. Jenna richardson, one of the most important resources in Central America, give us an update on that right now if we had some kind of conflict over the world would we be able to use the panama canal . We have a very Strong Partnership with panama. That only continues to improve. My concerns are the prc statement on enterprises along either side of the panama canals three of the five. Just the strategic see line of communication in the panama canal. I would be extremely concerned about that, and am. As a result, we watch that very closely, senator. You think the security there is adequate, above and beyond where we would be able to use it . Again, my concern is being able to use those state owned enterprises for military application of required. The proximity that this has to the panama, now is of concern to me. I have no doubt in panamas ability to secure that and our ability to help defend that if required for it is the expansion on target . I know last time i was down there, they were doing a lot of work on the panama canal. I dont know whether you keep up with that or not. That is the prc, senator. Yes. They are building a fourth bridge across the canal. So we absolutely track everything thats done with the panama canal and work with our panamanian authorities and the partners as we watch all of the site vividly that takes place and continues to take place. Have you or any of your staff visit to the gap where we have all the immigrants come from south america to north america . Senator, i visited it several times, both on the colombian side and on the panama side and ive been to the binational base that columbia and panama share together to contract joint operations. Where does the funding come from for that . In terms of the operations that columbia conduct, it comes from columbia resourcing that they have for their military. The ones for panama come from the panama Security Forces. Our activities, oai, operation activities and investments are from my Security Cooperation fund in southcom. I saw your budget and there is no doubt that both of you are so to the protection of american citizens in our country. We just voted to give 60 billion to ukraine. I wish it would have done to yall. Im sure yall could have used it. Ive seen your budgets and your things that you use to work in both of your north and south, and what you do is amazing. But we really need to help you. We really do. Thank you very much. Thank you, senator. Senator rosen, please. Thank you. Thank you for holding this hearing. I would like to thank general guillot and general richardson for testifying today and of course, for your service to our nation. I really appreciate it. I will hit on countering chinese and Russian Forces because as russia as its war in ukraine and china acts with increasing aggression in the end of pacific, both countries are taking steps and pose a direct threat to our National Security right here at home. So general guillot, how can northcom adjust their posture to proactively deter and respond to the increasing president s and capabilities of russian and chinese asset off of our coast and within north america . Senator, the best way for us to counter them is to have a presence of our own. So the execution of exercises, patrols in all domains is extremely important off of all of our coast. Primarily focusing right now in the region of alaska because of the number of incursions by russian aircraft. Then the number of maritime. The strong presence that both the chinese and the russians have there. The same thing applies on what we call the 2 00 approach off on the northeast. Making sure that we have presence there. That is what i think is the best way to counter. Heart of the presence is being exercised. Strong exercise. Strong multinational partner showing we have the capacity to defend the strategic area. Thank you. Im going to move on, general guillot, to talking about cybersecurity because this is a big part of our Homeland Security system, as well. Can you talk to us about how southcom northcom is currently addressing cyber Security Threats . In your opinion, could the creation of a new subordinate unified command, specifically responsible for defense of cyber operations, could it and sure a better, comprehensive and more cohesive defense posture against cyber adversaries . In my previous response i should have mentioned cyber because the most prevalent and consistent threat that we see on a daily basis. Weve seen maritime in the air. Occasionally. They are important but every day we have state actors including russia and china attempting to get on our department of defense networks. The strength that we have through Cyber Command in detecting and defeating the threat is what is keeping us operational. Northern commands role is to first and foremost attack the systems that we use inside of norad and northcom to operate. We have four networks that we protect. Beyond that, anything with the department of defense nexus, we work with Cyber Command to make sure all of those are addressed. Then we work with the fbi. Strong partnership with both of them. I have already met with both of their leadership about how do we help other members of the Critical Infrastructure community . They need dod support. It is synchronized and presented through northcom to protect them. For your question about a separate command, i would need to look into it, but my initial response would be that in the two commands in which ive served the relationship report from Cyber Command has been phenomenal. I would hesitate to do anything that bifurcated or separated them from their seamless ability to do operational offensive cyber and defense of cyber. Under the same leadership. It has worked well for us my previous command. It is certainly working well in Northern Command. I would look very closely because Cyber Command, in my opinion, has been a tremendous partner in this. Thank you. Thats very valuable. I appreciate it. I will move on to you, Jenna Richardson, to talk about linguists. With the department of German Defense countering the peoples republic of china, do you have a concern for lack of language opportunities expertise, or is the gap sufficiently addressed whether a force that we recruit . With spanish predominantly in portuguese with brazil, we have enough linguists, senator, but because a lot of our linguists will speak spanish as well as other languages, as well. Its just a matter of making sure that we register our personal demand and requirements all the time. If this region is important and that we have to keep these positions filled. Youre speaking about the panama canal and the prc investments around their, so it is important to have possibly more than spanish and portuguese, even in that area, because we know our adversaries are also there, as well. So thank you. I appreciate it. My time is up. Very much, senator rosen. We anticipate that senator schmidt will arrive shortly. And take this opportunity to ask questions. General guillot, as you know , there considering taking espionage, exclusively now for military use, and beginning to share or sell it to private entities. Can you tell the committee the impact that would have on your operations . Senator, sharing or yielding the spectrum between 3. 1 of 3. 45 gigahertz would have a Significant Impact on our Homeland Defense systems. And is there a possibility of sharing . I noticed folks have come back and said that we can use it mutually it is that thing that you could do . Chairman, i would say that in our initial review, i have not found a way that we could share. This actually because with Northern Command, the 24 7 on alert responsibility for defending the homeland, i would need full access to that for all various systems, which are feebased, landbased and air based systems using that frequency range. And i would assume, too, and a sharing range that there will be a period of time where some of these systems could not effectively operate as they modify themselves. Is that fair . As we negotiate the potential to share, we made it very rare that we would need 24 7 access to this vacancy preaches. General richardson, the chinese influence and russian influence in your area of command is focused on many things, but one of the things theyre focused on is for tedious minerals in the which could be the oil of the next generation as we move to more electric powered vehicles, homes, at tetra. Seen a noticeable concentration of focus about the chinese trying to identify and control these Strategic Minerals . Yes, chairman. Especially with our the work that i have done, partnered with our u. S. Ambassadors in argentina and chile. As we know, the lithium triangle is in comprise of argentina, bolivia, and chile. 50 of the worlds lithium is in that region. So the aggressive nature of which the prc works to extract that lithium, as well as gold and copper. , as well as Gold Resources in the Development Bank could help Chinese Companies acquire these mines. Is that accurate . The this is part of the initiative as i mentioned before, chairman of the economic recovery act of 1948 which was the marshall land. In that initiative, the partnership for economic prosperity, the american Development Bank and also developmental finance corporation. The infusion of billions of dollars to Critical Infrastructure. Clean technology. In energy and digital technology. Thank you very much, maam. I will recognize senator schmidt and senator kaine for additional questions. General, i wanted to ask about the increase, by some accounts, tenfold increase in the number of chinese nationals that have come across our southern border. It is 50 times there is a lot of chinese nationals coming through in the last year. Flying in and out of china is not like getting out of dca back home to st. Louis. It is a much different ordeal. I guess i just want to ask you know, 60 minutes had a report about some content that is being pushed through social Media Channels and vulnerabilities with the border. I am certainly concerned about us ins operations. What information do we have about who these people are, what i dvds are taking place when they cross our southern border . It seems like this is happening now at a rate that just does not feel natural, to the extent that any of this that is happening at the southern border makes any sense but certainly the number of chinese nationals coming across is of concern to me and i wonder if you can speak to that. Senator, the number of chinese coming across the border is a big concern of mine. In the short period of time that i have been in command, i have gone down to the southern border to talk to the agents and leadership about that. And ive also spoken with the acting commissioner of the cdp on the subject. What concerns me most about specifically the chinese migrants is the one that they are so centralized in one location across the border, and to, while many may be political refugees and other explanations, the ability for counterintelligence to hide in plain sight in those numbers. Therefore, we have a strong and robust relationship with the interagency Intelligence Community. And i receive frequent briefings in the headquarters on the disposition of who has been apprehended, and the potential of the threat that youve described. Do we have any and if some of this needs to be in a closed setting but what kind of coordination is taking place here . Because you are right. There were 21,000 just in the last four months in california alone. Those are the numbers ive seen recently. There seems to be a concentration market seems to be coordinated again getting in and out of the peoples republic of china is a different deal. What have you heard about coordinated activities, and are we aware of specific efforts on their part to, you know, being parts of the interior of the United States with sensitive military locations . Senator, i had some of the same questions that you brought up about what ive been told by our partners. The reason that california is the focal point is just simply ease of flying from china into tijuana and then across. I am concerned i think you were alluding to and we talked to our partners about this, is how the surges seemed to be coordinated, commanded and controlled using social media primarily by the cartels to drive the migrants to areas where we might not be. Similar analogy to squeezing the balloon, where we squeezed down. With command and control, they primarily through social media, know to go to the other areas. So our role in northcom is that we are in some word of protection and monitoring along the site with about 2500 military members. Primarily from the army and marine corps. And they were carried leslie to pick up where those surges are, as well as where the gaps are with monitoring equipment to alert the Law Enforcement side of Border Protection to make the apprehensions. I look for to working with you on that and continuing that dialogue about what is happening, because i think it is a dangerous, potentially very dangerous situation. With my limited time, one must question. As far as the drone activity that we see at the southern border, presumably being coordinated by the cartels, maybe other act theres, what information can you share about a lip is what is it that they are doing . Are they tracking order patrol agents . What is the drone activity . What are they seeking to discover with these drones that are coming across . Senator, i asked those very same questions to the commissioner. He said that the overall majority of the activity that they see, the incursions are spotters trying to find gaps, finding out where we are so we can be they can be where we arent. That is the majority. There is a smaller number that are probably moving narcotics across the border. The drones themselves . Thats right. Then lastly i will say there is a lot of activity that is our own doing the same thing to try to find where that activity is and make sure that we are prepared to stop it. Thank you, mr. Chairman. You have another question . Just one question to follow up with Jenna Richardson on our conversation of coronation. I understand there is a Committee Led by the coast guard. Could we followup together on upgrading that to a task force to include all the other agencies and really talk about how to better coordinate our response at the border . Is that something you would be willing to work with us on . Absolutely, senator. The interdiction Committee Meets regularly and actually, the meeting is coming up, and that includes all of the interagency. I would like to meet with you to talk about the activity and to further operationalize the activity of the committee. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator kaine. Thank you to the witnesses for our and testimony. I will adjourn the open session and we will reconvene on svc 217. At, let us say, 11 40. We will give people a time to rest and recuperate. Again, thank you for your service. General richardson, particularly, you are a remarkable servicemember. Your career has really sustained this nation and set an example that we admire. Thank you, chairman. With that, i will adjourn the open session. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] cspan is your unfiltered view of government, funded by these Television Companies and more. Including wow. Cspan has been delivering unfiltered congressional coverage for 45 years. 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