Need a better solution than the one now being considered. Two years ago we saw Congress Reach a twoyear agreement to be bipartisan budget act. Although we preferred a longerterm solution to sequestration, that deal was able to provide dod a measure of stability needed to plan for more than a just one year. Today, i hope we can come together for a longerterm, multiyour agreement that provides the budget stability that we need by locking in budget levels consistent with the president s request. I pledge my support this effort as well as the support of the entire staff of the department of defense. I would like to work with each of you as well as other leaders and members of congress to this end. End. If we are successful, i am if we are successful, i am confident we can build a force of the future that is powerful enough to underwrite our strategy and show resolve to friends and potential foes alike. A force that is equipped with bold new technology and ideas, able to lead in cutting age to abilities in cyberspace. Cyberspace. A force that is lean and efficient throughout the enterprise that continues to attract and inspire new generations of americans to contribute to this great mission. That is the vision for the force of the future i have been pursuing since i took office 11 weeks ago. And i hope to continue doing so in partnership with all of you. Mr. Chairman, this is the time for coming to governor and problemsolving, coming together and problemsolving. Much like in december 2013, our only choice is to come together to find a real solution that reflects our strength and security as a nation. I look to this committee and its many leaders who sit on it to help us get on the right path out of this wilderness. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Secretary. I noticed in the submission we had before us this morning, you created or proposed to create a new unit. A point of partnership socalled. Apparently to be led by a civilian with a military deputy and staffed with an elite team of active duty reserve and civilian personnel. It sounds like an ambitious undertaking. May be complicated. There is the suggestion that the team will vote for breakthroughs in emerging technologies. I wonder if you could let us know how much you think this is going to cost, and how long it will take to be up and running . Secretary carter i surely can provide you with the costs and i will do so. As far as the mechanism is concerned, it is an important effort. It is an experimental effort as is our socalled Defense Innovation unit. I announced the creation of it a week and a half ago. It has a couple things that it brings together. One is our need to continue to be on the cutting edge, especially the cyberedge represented by the Silicon Valley tech industry. Second, our need, which i mentioned in my statement, to attract the very best to defense. We want to have an open door. We are and exciting and attractive lease for the attractive place for the countrys smartest people to come and work, even if they can only work for a period of time. And third it combines an ingredient you mentioned, which is the use of the reserve component, which is a huge treasure for our department. A lot of reservists are technologically savvy. They will contribute to the region. It brings a number of ingredients together for the future. We are going to try it out. It is an experiment, but it is not a costly experiment. I think it is critical for us to have an open avenue between us and Silicon Valley. We need to be an Innovative Department so that we stay fresh and attractive. Senator cochran thank you. Senator dempsey, i will ask if you would like to make your opening statement. You may proceed at this point. General dempsey thank you chairman. Thanks very much at the outset for the very kind words about my service. It has been a rare privilege to hold this position and be able to represent the millions of men and women and their families concern around the world. And thank you to this committee for their support. This is my last during. I last hearing. I think you for the opportunity. And if it is not, i suppose until we meet again. On that note, i fully support the nominations of general. Board as dougford as general vicechairman. You can trust them, which i think is the right word, to provide you timely, pragmatic, and effective military advice. I would like to reiterate something that i said in the previous hearings this fiscal year which is that the Global Security environment is as consistent is as uncertain as ive seen in 40 years of service. We are at a point where our global aspirations are exceeding our available resources. We have heard the congress of the United States loud and clear that we have to become a more efficient, and we have to do the rigorous Strategic Thinking to determine the minimum essential requirements that we believe are essential to protect our national interests. In my judgment, this budget represents a responsible, nation of capacity and readiness. But we are at the bottom edge are manageable risk in achieving and fulfilling our National Security strategy as it is currently designed. Funding lower than pv 60, and lacking the flexibility to make the internal forms internal reforms that we need to make will put us in a position where we have to change our National Security strategy. Let me describe what kind of change you might see. For the past 25 years the u. S. Military has secured the global commons, we have deterred our adversaries, we have reassured our allies, and we have responded to crises and conflicts, primarily by maintaining our presence forward or abroad. It is been our strategy to shape the future any interNational Security environment by our forward presence and by building relationships with regional partners. In general terms, about 1 3 of the force is forward deployed, and one third is getting ready to go. This puts significant strain on the men and women in europe, but we have kept the nation safe by following that paradigm. Meant and women in uniform. Sequestration would change the way we deploy the force, and change the way we affect the security environment. We would be almost 20 smaller from what we started than when i became chairman. Our forward presence will be reduced by more than 1 3. We will have less influence and we will be less responsive. Conflict will take longer to resolve, and will be more costly in terms of dollars and casualties. In an age where we are less certain about what will happen next but certain that it will happen more quickly, we will be further away and much less ready then we need to be. Sequestration will result in a dramatic change to how we protect our nation and how we promote our National Security interests. Our men and women in uniform are performing around the globe with extraordinary courage character, and professionalism. It seems to me that we owed them and their families clarity and predictability on everything from policy to compensation, health care, training, equipment, and readiness. Settling down the uncertainty we have experienced over the past 40 years and our decision processes and getting us out of a one year at a time cycle will hold us keep the right people. And that is our decisive edge. We will be able to maintain the military is that the American People deserve, and frankly they expect. I am grateful for the continued opportunity to support our men and women and uniform and i will promise to run through the tape in the time remaining and make myself available at any time to help you shape the policy and fiscal decisions ahead of you. I think youank you again members of congress for your support. Senator cochran thank you general. I recognize mr. Durbin. Any comments . Senator durbin thank you chairman cochran. I was going to go into the oco issue, but both of your statements have been unequivocal ont hat that issue. I want to go to an issue not of budgetary cuts went, but a consequence nonetheless. Budgetary comes consequence. I did it with some reflection, knowing that wit would require commitments of the United States. I know that this may not be a genocide by classic legal definition, but this is the cement Syrian Crisis by our time. Millions of people displaced. I would appreciate it if you tell us what you think of this concept and the challenge it could present to us. General dempsey sure, thank you senator. Youre right what is happening in syria is a terrible humanitarian tragedy. It has been going on for several years. There are many displaced people within syria and fleeing to countries around. We are caught between two forces or the country is caught between two forces both of whi ch are intervening to this violence against the very people of the country namely isil and its like, and the syrian regime. We are trying to create a third force to combat those two and to create an environment in which the Syrian People can live in peace, which they deserve. Your questions about, can we establish ourselves in a humanitarian six of . Humanitarian safe zone . We talked about that yesterday. In concept that is an area in which people could flee and find safety. What i was saying to you was that we would need to, and have thought this through, how secure that zone would be. Doing Something Like that would be contested, both by isil forces and other syrian forces. It would not necessarily be supported by the neighbors supported militarily in a strong way, therefore something we will do ourselves. That is a combat mission and a major one. The practicalities of it are significant. That is what i was sharing with you yesterday. Perhaps general dempsey would like to add something to that, but we would need to fight to create such a space. And then fight to keep such a space. That is why it is a difficult thing, or challenging to use your word. Senator durbin my concept is that it would not be alone. My hope is that it would be done through the United Nations or in concert with other nations to join us with his effort. I am not naive enough to believe that isil is going to sign up. So we have to prepare to defend the space. Secretary carter thanks senator, it would not be isis but the regime itself that challenges the region. For this to be practical and effective would have to involve regional partners. I can tell you that militarily, in contention with european command and our turkish counterparts, we have been planning for such contingency for some time. The question, can we do this . Of course, we can. There would be opportunity costs, that is resources put elsewhere would have to be repositioned. I want to point out the cognitive dissonance about talking more about doing more in the world when we are facing losing another 250 billion over the next five years. I will say that it is practical militarily. But it would be a significant policy decision to do so. Senator durbin thank you very much. Senator cochran senator shelby from alabama. Senator shelby i congratulate you on your long career, your 41 years since you graduated. You served this nation with honor and dissension. Thank you very much. Honor and distinction. Secretary carter, it is my understanding that the department of defense has recommended a legislative solution which would allow the use of as many as 18 rd, 19 80s force future space launch competitions. Is that correct . General dempsey yes. Senator shelby we hope there could be 23 years in ensuring access to space. Have you looked at that, and do you agree or disagree with that . How can we ensure there is no gap because these programs are so important to National Intelligence and other things. General dempsey it absolutely is. Secretary carter we cannot afford to have a gap. Just to scope out the issue as a whole, these engines that power some of our rocket boosters are manufactured in russia. We want to get off of that dependency on russia, but it takes some time to do so. In the meantime, we dont want to have a gap. Therefore, our approach is not to order more, but not to cancel the orders we have placed for the engines while we are able to prepare competitive engines that are not russian into the space business. That is our strategy, and you are absolutely right that we need to launch National Security settlers. Senator shelby but it is important for us to build our own satellite in the future. But it takes time. Secretary carter correct. Absolutely. Senator shelby i post this next question to you and general dempsey. The iranian threat, not just to the middle east, but to the persian gulf. We are all familiar, not as much as you towo are, with what is going on any given. On in yemen. A lot of our allies are nervous there, as they should be. As our administration is negotiating with iran on a Nuclear Weapons it seems that they continue to supply a training and so forth to their allies all over the area causing us and our allies more than apprehension. I would like your comments, where you can on iran. I believe senator durbin brought up isis in a sense, what is going on there. And then in yemen we are on a different sides. What is our challenge to north korea too, and perhaps even with russia . I know that is a lot of questions. [laughter] secretary carter thank you, i will say some thing briefly about some of them. You are right that iranian behavior is concerning on a number of fronts and locations. Both as regards to the stability of the gulf countries, freedom of navigation which is very important, and other things. In addition to their nuclear program, of course, which is the concern that inspires the negotiations to which you referred. I will say that for us in the department of defense, this creates a continuing requirement for present ince the region, reassurance of our allies and partners in the region. Particularly israel, but not confined israel. Confined to israel. Also of course with respect to the nuclear agreement, the president has said that he would take no deal over a bad deal, and therefore we are under construction to have a military option. Those are our responsibilities in respect to iran. Isis is a continuing threat, both in iraq and syria. Then you see the ability of it as a movement to inspire the lost and the radical worldwide to acts of the violence. It is seriously concerning in both of those respects. We are combating it from the air and with partners in both iraq and syria. Just to touch on north korea north koreas behavior i was in south korea a couple of weeks ago it continues to be provocative. We need to watch it carefully. We say that south korea is the place where we need to fight to night. It is not a game over there. We need to be present and ready. One thing we cant trim is our deterrent in the korean peninsula. I can keep going, but i will see if the secretary has any general has anything to add. General dempsey let me unpacked really briefly. I said that this is the most uncertain security environment i experience in four years. Here is why we face are mergingr emerging threatse we face emerging threats from many areas. A rising china which is not yet a military threat, but if that relationship is not minute carefully, not managed carefully, could become one. We have a large body of nonstate actors al qaeda, other groups who have aligned themselves. And for the first time in my career, they are both manifesting themselves simultaneously. This is not a time to be withdrawing from the world. The senator from rhode island, mr. Reeves. Thank you general dempsey for your Extraordinary Service. I think youll attribute it to the brilliant first glassman who mentored you at west point. Just for the record. Thank you for your Extraordinary Service to the nation. In regard to the proposals to do things that might help defense general dempsey indicated in testimony that there are nine of lines of operation against isil. The department of defense has two of those lines. The other lines are agencies that were not benefit directly or as much from this oco maneuver. Is that fair to say . General dempsey to tell you the truth, i have not looked at anyones budget although than myself. Two of the lines are military, others are other agencies of government. The efforts of the state department are contracted because you dont have that expertise. Fbi, dea agents deployed forward you have a whole strategy that will become unhinged even if you get the extra oco money. General dempsey again senator i dont know what the other the permits are lacking, i literally dont know. Other departments. Those kind of threats that you described, the threat of nonstate actors requires a whole government approach, not just military. One example that leaps out to everybody. The statistic used in social media by isil. And our response to that without traditional nondefense actors who have a role in this, our response will be as it has been today. You dont have to concur, but that is my conclusion. Mr. Secretary, you made an interesting point notably only in terms of having a longterm strategy with a longterm budget but how you can do things that require componentry partners in government, when they dont have the resources. The other point is about the world watching. You traveled to the capital. In fact, you are getting intel about our adversaries. They are looking at us unwilling to invest in a National Security. And they get it, unfortunately. Secretary carter that is my experience, and you travel as well. And among our friends it is concerned whether we have our wits about us in terms of the danger of the world, the responsibilities of america, and the inherent strengths of our country. I obviously dont talk to our potential foes, but they talk to others. And they say see what the americans are doing to themselves . I would like to come back and say we are still the worlds greatest fighting force. We are amazingly experienced including in our military, in complex missions. We do take a whole government approach, which is necessary in the world. You need to tell people that they cant look at the difficulties we have, and we obviously have them in terms of reaching a budget, and concluded that in america has eclipsed or is losing its power. I hasten to say that. At the same time, it would certainly approve our standing were we to come together, as i urged for our budget. Another aspect too is that we remain at the paramount military force in many dimensions. But the gap is narrowing in so many areas. It used to be not fight tonight in korea, it was fight this month. We cant