Transcripts For CSPAN U.S. Space Command National Reconnaissance Office Confirmation Hearing 20240714

1985 but had been dormant 2002, before its reestablishment in the 2019 National Defense authorization act. This hearing is an hour and 30 minutes. [indistinct conversations] limiting welcome to order. Senator van hollen, if you would like to make your remarks, now is a good time. Thank you. I would like to introduce the nominee for the National Reconnaissance office known as nro. Mr. Chairman, while i cannot say that i am happy to see mr. Scalise leave his current duties in the state of maryland for nasa, i can say with great confidence that the nro would be very fortunate to have him as their director. Since march 2012, he has served nasa goddardf Space Flight Center in agreement greenbelt maryland. We are part of the work he has been doing. Mr. Scalise has worked in a variety of positions at goddard and before that at n. A. S. A. Headquarters. Prior to joining n. A. S. A. In 1987, he served as an officer in the navy working and classified programs and worked as civilian in the Defense Department and general research corporation. He is a recipient of many honors. I will not go through the whole list. But i can tell you that they include the very prestigious 2018 American Institute of aeronautics and aeronautics von carmen award. He started early, he received the award many years ago from the American Institute of and young engineer scientist of the year award. He has received many other accolades and much more commission. He has had experience managing organizations and developing space systems, including over 100 should in earth orbit and beyond directly correlating too many of the nros missions. Heimately, i can say that sets a high bar for everybody serving in government. This committee can always rely on him to pursue the best and his of his agency country. Scalise recommend mr. Or the director of the nro and while we will miss him in maryland, i have no doubt the byntry will be well served him in this position. Thank you very much, senator van hollen. It doesnt get any better than that. Thank you, chairman in half and thank you to the full committed for the opportunity to dissipate in this Committee Hearing today enter introduce general raymond. It is an honor to introduce general raymond to lead the air force Space Command. I also welcome molly and their great family here to the hearing today. No doubt, these are critical roles supporting the defense of our nation, and i am proud of the extensive military Space Operations being conducted in my home state of colorado. General raymond is no stranger committee. For those who may not know, you cannot discuss space or Space Operations without relying on the tremendous career of service and work by general raymond. As commander of air force Space Command at Peterson Air Force raymond isal responsible for the organizing committee training, equipping and maintaining of over 26,000 forces to meet operational needs of u. S. Strategic command, north American Aerospace Defense Command as well as combined commands worldwide. This is in addition to his role as the joint force space Combatant Commander. He has answered our nations call many times. I have the greatest confidence in him as he does so once again to lead the u. S. Space command. I cannot think of anyone more knowledgeable, better prepared, or more respected than general efforts. O lead those i thank you, mr. Chairman and Ranking Member fisk for the opportunity to be here today. Thank you very much. Both of you are welcome to stay here for Opening Statements if that is your desire. If your schedule does not permit, we will excuse you. Thank you for a introduction. Meet, tore today to consider the nomination of the two who have just been introduced. We thank both of you for being today. We have your families here, and would like to have you introduced your families. And any other friends that you have brought with you. We have a room reserved for a classified discussion if it becomes necessary, which i hope it doesnt, but we can adjourn down in visitor 217. Er t we have certain required questions to ask, and i would not to ask each of you to respond honorably so we have you all on record. As you have heard, i am speaking now, had heyou to laws governing conflict of interest . Yes. I heard one yes . Yes. Good. Do you agree is confirmed to appear and testify upon request to this committee . Yes. Yes. Do you agree to provide copies and forms of communication on a timely manner when requested by a committee or to consult with the Committee Regarding the basis of any goodfaith delay or denial in providing such documents . Yes. Yes. Will you ensure your staff can comply with the deadlines established including questions for the record on the hearings . Yes. Yes. Would you cooperate with provided witnesses in accordance with any congressional request . Yes . Yes. Will those witnesses be protected from reprisal india testimony . Yes. You undertaken any actions which would presume the outcome of the confirmation process . No. No. The National Defense direct our National Military to prepare for the return of great power competition, this means you must be prepared to deter and if necessary decisively defeat any potential adversaries. Obviously, were talking about russia and china. In order for the department of defense to achieve that goal, the u. S. Space command must have forces that are trained and appropriately. The commander of the u. S. Space command will need to plan and execute global Space Operations as directed. Established,ly unified combatant command, with xpansive area of operations, your interaction with the National Reconnaissance office will be vital in building in establishing space war fighting readiness. I urge you both to embrace collaboration. That means working with each other. We are at a serious risk of falling behind in our great power competitions and both of you can prevent that. We know that is not confined to, we know that did not used to be there exist there was a time when there was the presumption that what we had in america was always better than what they, whoever they happen to be at the time. That is not sure anymore. Intelligence authorization act year 2014 requires the director of the National Reconnaissance office be appointed by the president and with the advising of the senate,. The Senate Select committee on intelligence held a hearing for doctors four mr. Scolese. That is all written in law. They actually came to our ndaa of 2014. So this is the first time the application has taken place. Thescolese, your duties at be farreaching. I was initially concerned with your Public Statement regarding the establishment of the united Space Command and the possibility of integration and synchronization of the nro. A little bit after of creeping in, which normally does. So i would like to hear the reason for making such bold statements without hearing the details of such an organization or if you were speaking about the integration of any intellectual committee within the Space Command. You prepareond, as to establish the u. S. Space command, if confirmed, i would like to know if you believe you have the resources and personnel necessary to complete the job. Responsibility that will be assigned to you. Senator reid. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Let me thank the nominees and their families, who served with them quite literally. General raymond, you have been nominated to serve as commander of the reestablished commander of the Space Command. The last. Eberhardtwas general in 1999. It has become clear in the past few years that space is becoming not only increasingly important, but also a contested domain or the United States may be challenged by our adversaries. As a result, congress authorized a subunit fight command last year, and the committee believes full command is now appropriate. Nominee forfirst this position to appear before this committee under recent changes to senate rules. So welcome. You will add much to todays discussion. You are limited to the commander of a joint command conducting joint operations. If the overall majority of personnel who work in member of the air force. I would be interested in with a alll lead activities occurring in one service. That nro is a master of two masters is in service of two masters, the director of intelligence and policymaking is one of them. That in a row is staffed by the dod and the c. I. A. It builds reconnaissance satellites but requirements are set right Mission Partners and users. Butnro operates satellites decisions are made by n. S. A. And the national geospatialintelligence agency. We would like to hear how you plan to equitably meet parties. Ds of both an issue that will be paramount is Space Commands relationship with the nro. The administration has proposed a space force and unified Space Command because of the growing importance and the contested nature of the base domain. The unified structure is an integrated capability development, but the anaerobic means independent of the Space Command and space force, leaving a seam in our space. I would be interested in your views on how you than to Work Together to overcome this, particularly as we look to the future where there may actually become flex in race. Another issue between Space Command where they may actually become issues in space. Nro recently opposed plans to propose dod Space Development agency. I understand the anaerobic wants to continue a mission to build reconnaissance satellites for the military however, the dod sees an opportunity to resolve challenges by embracing new commercial approaches to building large consul constellation satellites. You, once again, i would be interested in your view wehow you plan to assure minimize duplication unnecessarily we minimize unnecessary duplication. Thank you for the statement. We will now have an Opening Statement starting with you, dr. Scolese. Your entire statement will be made part of the record. You are recognized. Dr. Scolese chairman inhof fisk, im member honored to appear before you. Additionally, i am very pleased to be here today with general raymond as it is critical that the u. S. Space command and nro work closely together to ensure the security of our country and our allies. I was poorly i was privileged to meet with the members of the committee. I also would like to thank the Committee Staff because i know there is tremendous preparation that goes into any hearing. I am honored to have been nominated by the president. I am also grateful that acting secretary of defense shanahan and director of national s in me toce coat serve this capacity. I look forward to working with you. Profoundly grateful to have my wife of 38 years, diane, with major today, i will for children and her spouses, and children who were not able to be with us today due to prior commitments. Their unconditional support means the world to me. I want to remember my parents, who passed away many years ago. My father was a typewriter repairman, my mother was a secretary. They encouraged my sister and i to go to college so we would have many opportunities. I think about them daily. I was born and raised in buffalo, new york. As a teenager, i was in hard that the machines that made recent flourish and possible. I spent a lot of time that made Space Exploration possible. I spent a lot of time building rockets. A path that led me to be here today as nominee for the director of the nro. I am proud to have had 40 years of service in the nuclear navy nasa. I am fortunate to have been involved with diverse systems such as nuclear submarines, and this craft which have been instrumental in protecting our security. During my last three decades at nassar, i have held various positions involved in design, development, acquisition at lunch and operation of these systems space systems, large and small. I have developed satellites and systems to meet the requirements of nasa and other organizations. The Lessons Learned were incorporated into plans of the resulted in improved performance no and other organizations. Nasa, noaa and other organizations. An organizations people are at the heart of its success. At nasa, i had the opportunity to manage large and diverse workforces. Nothing can be accomplished without the talented men and women who are motivated to accomplish the missions. Confirmed, i am committed to fostering an environment at the nro that welcomes diversity, invites new concepts, and energizes a workforce every day. This includes training and retaining a worldclass workforce allowing the nro to provide space capability. The capabilities that it has provided have been instrumental to maintaining the united lead. strategic if confirmed, look forward to working closely with the committee and the entire congress to leverage our opportunities and address our challenges and to seek your support to ensure that the nro continues developing and delivering critical intelligence to policymakers am a war and analysts. Ce if confirmed, i will uphold the National Reconnaissance offices obligation to congress and to the american people. Thank you to the distinction members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. And look forward to answering your questions. Thank you, dr. Scolese. General raymond . Thank you. Distinguished members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. It is truly an honor to be nominated to lead the United States Space Command and air force Space Command. I am also appreciative of the opportunity to testify with dr. Scolese. Our being here together shows how critical the relationship between the department of defense and the nro is today and will be in the future. If it is ok, i would like a minute to introduce my family as they are here with me today. I am an extremely lucky man. I am blessed with a great and supporting family. My beautiful wife molly and in a couple of weeks, we will celebrate our 32nd anniversary. She has dedicated her life for taking care of two families, our family, and our air force and joint family, she works tirelessly looking after christina, amy, and gary. Christina and amy graduate from iowa state and are both employed, which is a great thing. Stings Marketing Manager in minneapolisst. Paul in minneapolis and amy is a third grade teacher in des moines, iowa. Sitting next to them is the little brother very. Gary, the youngest. Finished his freshman year at Yale University where he is majoring in economics and is a tight end for the gale football team, number 84. Go bulldogs. Let me think the president for nominating me for this position. I want to thank general dunford for expressing his confidence in my ability to lead. If confirmed, i look forward to working closely with this committee and congress to address the complex challenges that we face as a nation. Ill keep my comments brief because i am looking forward to the questions, but let me say there is great alignment in our nation today in air, and cyber. Our National Security flex this and access and freedom to maneuver is a vital Natural National interest. With this alignment and the support of congress, we have accelerated our efforts to meet the nearterm imperatives of this war fighting domain. Thescope and complexity of threat to our Space Capabilities are real and are concerning. We no longer have the luxury of operating in a peaceful benign domain and we no longer have the luxury of treating space superiority as a given. Although spaces were fighting domain, our goal is to deter conflict from space. The best way i know is to prepare to fight and win if deterrence failed. World and best in the if confirmed, my job would be to make sure the advantage continues well into the future. The source of our great strength are our airmen, sailors, soldiers, and marines. I am privileged to lead americas sons and daughters who volunteer to serve the country in times of need and i take this responsibility seriously and will assure you that if confirmed, i pledged to continue to uphold sacred trust to the utmost of my ability. I look forward to your questions. Thank you very much. Wasy Opening Statement, i concerned with your Public Statements regarding the establishment of the united and thepace force responsibility of with the nros which has done such a good ib for a long time and respect that but i would like to know the reason for making a bold statement at that time because at that time, i dont think he knew the details of the proposed organization and what youre feeling is at this time. Is criticallyt important that the nro collaborate with all elements, particularly the reformed Space Command as part of the confirmation, general raymond and i spoke together about what that would look like. General raymond informed me that they have a great relationship between the nro and air force Space Command. I look forward to continuing that relationship and making it stronger so we can serve the nation better. Thats good. I would also that the nro has proven itself after some 15 plus years of dedication and Mission Force as announced sending space. Cquisition organization how will you keep the nro on its continued half of excellence . The reason i ask the question is a driving reason behind the idea is to make sure our allies and adversaries, those around the world know we are just as active and more active in our then our adversaries of china and russia. It is important they see we are doing this in a coordinated, concerted effort and do you have any response to that . What is your idea to keep ourselves ahead of the group . Dr. Scolese it is critical we maintain our technological advantage over our adversaries. Understand it, has responsibility for developing endtoend systems for providing overhead reconnaissance and it is critical we demonstrate to the world that we are constantly evolving and developing our systems and fusing new technologies, working with partners inside and outside the government, convert industry to make sure we have a resilient and increasingly resilient and capable constellation of systems that can provide overhead reconnaissance. Sen. Inhofe good, and that all of our adversaries, everyone understand that. General raymond, the specific alar we are talking about towere fighting command is an area surrounding the worth but without outages equal to or greater than 100 kilometers, 54 nautical miles. This is an established standard were begins and when forces are commanders a, they will remain unsigned to under control of the u. S. Space command and thus unless otherwise directed. General raymond, given the expansive alar you will be responsible for how will you to andnize operations from the space war fighting domain, especially with other embattled commanders. Do you see any problem or competition with other Combatant Commanders that are out there . Gen. Raymond thank you for the question, senator. Absolutely not on the competition. Space is a physical war fighting domain. I think this recognition of an confirms that. If confirmed, i will work hard to integrate more geographic combatant around the world. This elevation of the joint force Space Commander to unified command helps that and if confirmed, all of the plans we have that we are working on is to put integrated planning each of those combatant commands to allow for that seamless integration between u. S. Space command and other combatants. Of you have both articulated very well that point and that is what all of us at the sight of the table are wanting to see, to make sure we know and everyone else knows we will do it better than our adversaries. Senator reid thank you for your testimony. As i indicated in my Opening Statement, as the head of a new unified u. S. Space command you have to operate under the principles of integration yet the vast majority of your personnel arent u. S. Air force personnel. How do you plan to go about that . The thenow, department has an organized and war fighting function. Today, i am here to testify on two halves. The first is an organized training and the second had his u. S. Space command hat in the war fighting hat. Is i amould say to you convinced that in the future if we are going to get into a conflict with a peer competitor, we will have to fight and win for space superiority and that will require the total force. That is not just the space fight, but the joint force army, ivy, air force, marines and am confident this will feed the goal forward. As part of that, you will be trying to integrate training exercises, virtual exercise initially but ultimately, physical exercise as part of unified command. Absolutely and we will continue to do that in the future. We do that stay under the unified strategic command. Sen. Reed dr. Scolese, in your response to the citys a. P. Q, operational decision on satellite should not be made by the commander of u. S. Space command, but by the nro director even during a natural conflict. General raymond provides a different answer, stating he can see a time when we need to change the current status quo. Can you both clarify where we have to head to have a court knitted response, particularly in a conflict situation coordinated response, particularly in a conflict situation . It is imperative we Work Together and train and work when we do endt up in a conflict situation, that we know how we will operate and who will operate and we have to do that together so i am committed, if confirmed, to working with general raymond and u. S. Space command to make sure we have a court knitted effort, understand what each others roles and responsibilities are particular depending on the situation we are involved in. Stressful point, in a time, someone has to have the last word. You can coordinator as much as you want, but there might be difference of opinion. You maintain the nro director should have the final say in deployment al hunt . At all times . It depends on the situation were involved in. Gen. Raymond there is a chain that if protecting and defending u. S. And as directed ally partnering commercial space is the responsibility of u. S. Space command. Today, we work very closely with the nro. Today on a daytoday effort, we operate at unity of effort. I am convinced that as we stress this and go forward to the exercises of the previous question, we need to make sure there is the property ar proper relationship. 4 directs the departments to come back together with recommendations and we will test that and bring that back as part of the spd 4 process. Sen. Reed i have a few seconds remaining, but a few years ago, there was a comment that the acquisition process was not well courtney did between the nro and Space Command at the time. I alluded in my Opening Statement that the proposals by dod to acquire commercial satellites and put up a consolation constellation, the nro post. Opposed. Willmight be something we have further compensations on the general raymond, do you see your role of being able to develop and launch satellites in cooperation with but not exclusively through nro . Gen. Raymond we have actually made progress on this in the last couple of years. We had a lack Satellite Program we were going to launch was a followon to the satellite and when we did the analysis, that pat light wasnt going to meet mission needs. Nro had a satellite they were building and that was what we need. We canceled that program and partnered with the nro in combined efforts to be able to do that. For ag a capability better value. I will continue that effort. There is Great Partnership to be had and when you can leverage each others capabilities depending on the capability we are developing. Sen. Reed there will be occasions where dod satellite will be more effective for the war fight effort and if you felt that way, you would try to insist upon it . I would insist on a great working relationship. What i have learned in my current position over to enact years is when the air force and nro come in lockstep, we are hard to beat. When we are separated, we dont do as well. Sen. Reed for the record, i will give you a chance, a shout out to the bulldogs. The cyclones . Gen. Raymond the cyclones. Can i give a shout out to the Clemson Tigers . Thank you for your appearance and congratulations on your nomination. General raymond, i want to go to comments you made in your Opening Statement. We can no longer assume space will be a peaceful and benign domain. He further said we cannot longer take for granted space superiority. Can i ask a basic westerns a lot of americans want answered. How did this happen . How did we get to this point . We are the best in the world wespace, it is the first or took space and integrated it. My whole career has been integrating space capability. They provide war fighters great advantage. There is nothing we do in a war fight that isnt enabled by space. Our adversaries have had a front row seat to our many successes and seen the advantages they provide us and dont like what they see and they are rapidly developing capabilities to negate our use of space and the advantage that provides. Sen. Cotton we talk about near peer competitors but we live in a world with nations and those nations have names in specific places. That madehe countries these strides over the last 30 years . Gen. Raymond there is a full spectrum of capabilities, everything from reversal jamming to highend. By jamming piece was put out nations but the concern nations with the ability to medically destroy our satellites kinetically destroyed our satellites is russia and china. Sen. Cotton on the border of then the countrys fourthlargest army using space and technology and said we will never let that happen to us . Heard to say it is china understands how we integrate space to great effect. Sen. Cotton he talked a little about the capabilities. Can you explain what those capabilities are . Theyre space weapons would be . Gen. Raymond ill put it in plain language and in a closed hearing, i can go into more detail that everything from reversible jamming of gps satellites that our nation relies on and our joint force relies on, communication satellites. The ability to communicate across sensors, they can jam of those satellites. The ability as demonstrated by china in 2007 to launch a missile from the ground and destroyed one of their own satellites. It blew the satellite into 3000 pieces of debris. Or are concerning activities on orbit. I will tell you the scope and complexity of those threats are alive and well. Sen. Cotton can you say more about what you mean about concerning activities on orbit . Gen. Raymond i prefer to do that in a closed hearing. Sounds pretty dire, like a dire threat. Gen. Raymond it is a threat that is concerning and that is why this committees work to determine and i appreciate the focus on this committee that you have put to this issue. It is really important that we make some changes to stay ahead of the growing threat. I am comfortable today we are the best in the world but we need to move fast and with your support, we will get there. Sen. Cotton thank you, i ask these questions not because the committee isnt aware of them but i know there are other senators who may not be an a lot of the American Public who doesnt recognize how serious the threat is from china but thatrussia in space, and every single soldier, sailor, airman, marine, and coast guardsmen on the ground or in the air depends on our space. Already. Superiority. Dr. Scolese, i will turn to you. At nasa, you have been a proponent of inserting commercial technology into programs. Can you talk about your experience and assess the risks and benefits of Building Partnerships with private industry to accomplish the nros mission and to the extent you see those risks, what you can do to mitigate them . Dr. Scolese certainly. I see principally benefits, the commercial sector is developing technologies and adopting some technologies that will allow us capabilitiesear that can improve our resiliency. By providing similar information if it is needed. At the same time, i think commercially, we have the opportunity also to lower the cost. We have been very successful in buying offtheshelf spacecraft there is no thing as offtheshelf that proven to be very effective in performance and therefore, it has reduced the cost of our system and time of delivery so the government can focus on the x visit instruments needed to go off and measure, whether it is space activity or ground activities. At the same time, there are challenges. Theave to understand supplier base, intellectual property is protected and information that we provide is protected in a useful way. It can all be done very effectively if a good acquisition process that nasa has and the nro has, as well. Sen. Cotton thank you, gentlemen. Senator king . King you two gentlemen have spoken repeatedly this morning about coordination and cooperation. Could you go further and characterize the relationship. Is it vendorcustomer . How responsive is nro to the needs of the department of defense . I want a little more specificity about how this actually works. Are there weekly meetings . To reprise one of senator reeds questions, what happens if there is a disagreement . Confirmed, iif will look into the specific details. My understanding now is the relationship as general raymond has mentioned is very good and getting better. Sen. King i want to know what that really means. Youve got to give me more than that. Is it weekly telephone conversations . Is it exchanges of memos . Telling me the relationship is good doesnt tell me how it really works. Dr. Scolese if confirmed, i give you absolute details of it. I dont know the specific frequency of those meetings sen. King do you view the department of defense has your customer . Dr. Scolese absolutely. The nro is responsive to the needs of the department of defense and the Intelligence Community. Requirements all management from other agencies. Collaboratively to decide what can and cant be accomplished. The nro and the air force and department of defense worked together, the utilization of ranges, launch vehicle procurement and operation. Year tohree times a have those meetings so there is a lot of coordination that goes on as just part of the natural system that i am aware of. Sen. King my second question would be about if we are trying to unify, consolidate, and rationalize the space enterprise, why not just fold nro in but in part you answered it in your prior answer. You have other customers. You have the cia, the Intelligence Community. You have to work with nasa. General raymond, your thoughts about number one, how the information relationship works and whether you are satisfied with nro as your vendor . Gen. Raymond we are completely integrated. It is not a relationship we operate in the same operation center. We talk routinely every second of the day. Over the last couple of years, we built a strategy that we cosigned between us and the nro, operations we have cosigned between us and the nro. We share programs and organizations. Requested aave you capability and nro says we cant or wont do that or cant afford it . Experienced in my in my current role, i have not experienced that. Sen. King that is important and to me, speaks to the fact that there is a relationship. Gen. Raymond it is the best it has ever been and ill tell you, if confirmed, i will commit to this. Togood as it is, in needs get better and i look forward to working with dr. Scolese if we are confirmed. It is nationally critical. We have to come in as a united front. Sen. King it is critical not only in terms of the department of defense and Space Command, but in terms of the relationship with the Intelligence Community because that is part of the essence of what the senate provides. I am tempted to ask what was hyman rickover really like. You worked with him early in your career. Dr. Scolese he selected me for the nuclear navy. You can imagine, he was a legend. I wasnt. He was a great person to work for and i would be glad to share some stories with you when we have some time. Sen. King i would like to know what lessons were learned by one of the giants of military history. Thank you for your service. Senator scott. Sen. Scott thank you for your service. Experience have you had where china is stealing intellectual property . Are we able to stop it . What has been your experience . My experience is china is stealing our property. Are this is a national imperative that we do something to stop this. Ceding our operational advantage if we do not. We have tried to stem the tide of that, reduce the targeting footprint and making sure our contracts have the right link to make sure we have the theretions in place and are other things i would talk to you in a closed hearing about but it is of importance to our nation that we address this. Sen. Scott they are constantly doing it . Gen. Raymond that would be my answer, yes sir. Sen. Scott when i joined the navy one of the first and they told me was the chain of command. You really feel like between the nro and u. S. Space command, there is someone in charge . Someone knows who is going to be responsible . Experience my again, i am not in the nro right now but from nasa in the unity of effort, it is important to work closely together and whatnd with each each organizations responsibilities are and depending on the situation, knowing who takes the lead in that particular activity and that comes from lots and lots of training. Nasa. That regularly at most of our stuff is unity of effort as we work with the air force and the nro but also universities and other countries to go off and take advantage of their capabilities so we can advance our capabilities and constantabilities and integration and working together to make sure we understand those. It has proven to be effective. Sen. Scott you feel the same way . Gen. Raymond there are two circles. Nro has their mission set and we have hours. The threat is bringing those overlap of protect and defend. Thatve an organization jointly manned focuses on that and we trained together and wargame together. I am comfortable today but as i mentioned to stress it. We need to continue to exercise higher states of awareness and make sure that works. I am committed if confirmed to continue that and work very closely with my leadership with the National Reconnaissance office and this committee to make sure we get it right going forward. Sen. Scott if both of you are confirmed, do you you know your responsibility. At the end of 12 months, you could say whether you succeeded or not . I believe so. I am confident enough. Sen. Scott you believe congress has given you the tools and directions you need to fill your mission . To the best of my understanding, yes. With the support of congress, over the last three years, we have seen significant budget on space. Focused i appreciate it. It is imperative we get this right and i am comfortable we have the resources we need to protect and defend these critical capabilities. Sen. Scott thank you both for your service. Thank you, senator scott. Peters general raymond, when this committee had a theing in april to consider u. S. Space for scum i expressed some concerns to general dunford i had regarding the creation of the space force and that it would consolidate all space equities into a single force provider and like senator seed, i want reed, i want to ensure that integritys of Goldwater Nichols and ensure that command Work Together to foster a joint environment which is absolutely critical. Has athe air force preponderance of space equities, it is important to remember that the u. S. Army is the largest user of Space Capabilities and needs the understanding of all of the of all of the services is something that is going to be important going forward. Responded to my question by saying, i think it is it imperative that on command and control in our planning that we leverage when each of our services bring. General raymond, specifically how will you design and develop four Structure Plan to leverage of these services, and potentially, how will a potential space force impact the planet you will be doing . Gen. Raymond first of all, space is a joint business. You have to have joined business. What we have with general Space Command, but i have been nominated for, will have a service component, army, navy, force, Marines Service component will be part of that. They had operators in each one of those services. They develop capabilities that are integral to their service. They developed war fighters that understand how to take the capabilities and integrate them into great effect, and with my view, you actually strengthen the joint requirement hand of the commander, and if confirmed for that position, my role would be elevated and would be very instrumental. We cannot win this fight without the full joint team. Sen. Peters i would also like to ask a question about doctrine. The Space Command offered logistical support, as you are well aware, but it is involved a great deal, due to great power confirmation. How youlike to know prepare our estate assets for a warfare, and i would let us know what is the underlying war fighting doctrine for how we operate given this new environment . Reel america withraymond sir, i agree what you set up front, and a doctrine that we have had to date has all been about providing services in a benign environment. Under u. S. Strategic command worked to, we have revise that doctrine, and it is no longer good enough just to launch a satellite, get it on orbit, and work the integration piece. We have to be able to protect and defend it, and if confirmed, if the u. S. Space command commander will be working that going forward. Sen. Peters a work in process but what you need to focus on, clearly. Gen. Raymond yes, sir. Sen. Peters how would you work with allies as other Combatant Commanders do now . Gen. Raymond sir, allies are critical for space. Had tocally, we have not worry about that, because it was a benign domain. That is not the case today. Over this past year, we have transitioned our c2 from a joint center to a combined center. We have increased the training for allies and partners. We train, we exercise, and we working together. Wargamed together. Iedhave put payloads on all satellite capability faster and cheaper, so that is a big emphasis in this area. Pleased with the advancements we have made, but there is still a lot of work to do. Sen. Peters thank you. Dr. Mcilwain thank you, chair inhofe thank you, senator peters. S. Senator hawley. Sen. Hawley thank you. Let me discuss operational concepts for that. Operationalss concepts, i assume that they will be developed in light of the National Defense strategy in the priorities placed there on great composition, in particular with china. Is that accurate to say . Gen. Raymond that is accurate. Hawley how will is be sure that it is facilitating and i inhibiting . Gen. Raymond i think it actually facilitates. If you look at the role of a Combatant Commander that is singularly focused on space, not creating a second or third party, but singularly focused and elevating at the level, provides the opportunity to influence joint acquirement, influence joint documents, influence joint con ops, that is where the strength of the u. S. Space command. Let me ask you specifically, the indo specific strategy report was released friday, and it offers a number to the most stressing potential scenario to confront the joint force it uses strategic ends. Will you expect in a state of poems onto in our forces, and how would you respond appropriately to address the kind of a threat . Gen. Raymond i think it is clear, senator, china, in the case of the pacific, has influenced how we go into space in a joint operation, and there is nothing we do today, in the pacific region, from humanitarian to higher and conflict that is not enabled by space. Historically, we have not had to worry about protecting those capabilities during that is often enough today. Were working through u. S. Strategic command to do planning together, exercising together, and make sure we provide a supportive commander for the capabilities that they need, and if confirmed in this job, that will be the role of u. S. Space command as well, to continue to work with an indopaycom. Sen. Hawley if you are confirmed, how would you plan to coordinate to make sure our Nuclear Forces maintain access to those functions . Gen. Raymond u. S. Space command and u. S. Strategic command will have a strong partnership, especially early on as we establish this command, this command will be reliant on capabilities from u. S. Strategic command as it will be establishment threats i think space capability, talking about deterrence, provides additional benefits and opposing costs. Require arsation will very strong consultation with u. S. Strategic command and everything will Combatant Commander in our nation has a mission for deterrence and that integration into 21st century deterrence will be critical. Sen. Hawley can you Say Something more general about that, but will and what the particular you bring to the table on that . How do you see your role they re . Gen. Raymond if confirmed as the u. S. Space commander, my role will be carrying out missions as assigned commodity sure it can protect individuals capabilities. If we can, and we well, and we can do that in the future. That can help change the calculus of an adversary. Sen. Hawley on the topic of satellites, thinking now about cyber attacks, we know that even though satellites are located office obviously physically in , they are vulnerable to cyber attacks, to ground controls. How do you plan to coordinate cybercomr column to to deter potential attacks . Gen. Raymond the relationship between u. S. Space command and u. S. Cyber command will be critical. Embed ananning to planning and element at u. S. Cyber command to measure we can work very closely on the cyber defenses for space, and is confirmed, i will place withork very closely general nakasone. Sen. Hawley thank you. Chair inhofe thank you, senator hawley caret senator shaheen. Shaheen thank you. Dr. Scolese, under your watch an asset, you have seen two complex programs blown out of control theboth cost and schedule, orbiting and posed and the james read based telescope. West development 8. 8 billionosting dollars, and it will not be launched until 2021. So can you talk about what lessons we have learned from both of those experiences and how you can share what you have learned in this new role, and whether there are any lessons for nasa we should be looking at as you transition to a new position . Dr. Scolese certainly, senator. In fact, one of the things that i can always i was a chief was to go offsa and look in detail as to what was causing cost overruns and delays. Unfortunately, both were programs that started well before i started that study or , we hadcompleted the developed nine guidelines, if you will, strong Lessons Learned, that we have employed various programs, partially on program and parsley on the james webb telescope, but on programs that started after 2010. Our success has been very good. Recognizes that programs after about 2010, 2011 had come in on cost and on schedule. Some of the things that we had determined that were absolutely forward, and we brought is a clear understanding of the requirements and the capabilities of the system to get an agreement early on with requiringnts organization as a developing organization as to what can be done. I am going to run out of time, but i want to submit questions for the record. Dr. Scolese i would be glad to do that. I can get moreo information, but one corollary, i know some of the questions or problems were due in part to poor workmanship on the james webb, so to what extent is the workforce prepared to do the job and we are asking them to do on some of these nasa programs . And Space Programs . Sen. Shaheen i understand. It is something we are concerned about, and it is something we have deployed more people into the facility. We have worked with the company to make sure that the proper applied, andeing we find that in our congressional mechanisms and oversight mechanisms. We have safeguards. Our safeguardst to ensure we have a highly capable and trained workforce. Sen. Shaheen thank you. I think this will be a challenge as we are setting up a new phase space force as well. General raymond, as you know, our state has the sphere in terms of responding to disasters, and we rely on a National Guard to addresses in helping back, just as our military has increasingly relied on regard for the last decade. So a number of those have guard units, 16 of them, that currently perform space missions. I was pleased by the Committee Approved the in the aa, acknowledges that the National Guard will have a role in the usas force, and i wonder if you can talk to us about how we can ensure that the guard has a role in the new space force. Gen. Raymond it is extremely important. We rely them as you said, sooner, very heavily on the National Guard and the air force reserve forces. That is going to continue. They operate really critical capabilities. They provide a capacity, a resource capacity as well, and we will be relying on them for years into the future. They are seamlessly integrated. Sen. Shaheen thank you. Well, i am out of time, but i will ask you this again, about the challenges that we implement that in a way that is effective. Chair inhofe thank you, senator shaheen. Senator wexford. Xford thank you, mr. Chairman, and thank you we each for being here, and congratulations on your nomination in your careers. It is always nice to see your families when they come in with you during this. I am these senators he mentioned the acquisitions and procurement process, and dr. Scolese, you and i had a great conversation about this yesterday and the importance of changing some of those protocols, and i will pick up right where she left off, because i think it is a written to inform the record of how you would use some of your that you have developed in looking at acquisitions to have a broader effect, if you will, on space force, so if you want to elaborate just a few seconds on that, i think it would be helpful to the record. Gen. Raymond yes, senator. One of the things we do at the goddard Space Flight Center is endtoendo end responsibility from the development to the end of life mission. That enables us to develop teams to look across the internet find the best way to achieve the mission in terms of achieving the requirements that are desired and in meeting the cost and schedule goals. I believe bringing that concept at the nro, which from my experience in working at the nro and the lessons we have learned, working on multiple different spacecraft and design, can help us further improve the acquisition process. Sen. Blackburn i appreciate that, and i think looking for those deficiencies, the streamlinings, and of course helping these projects come in and either on or under to theis important process, because it enables us to do more and see some of the r d that is languishing and needs to be done. Andlso discussed robotics the utilization of robotics for satellite maintenance, and some of your lessons that have been learned from dealing with offshore oil wills, and to inform the record, i wish you would speak for a moment about that. Dr. Scolese certainly. We have use robotics from servicing Space Technologies to i should say that the other way around, from building the space station to servicing the hubble telescope, and it has been a collaboration between humans and robotics. Now looking at robotics to do that and work with engine industry and develop the technology, which is developing a commercial capability that we are pleased to see, and we are advancing to make sure that the United States stays in the lead in robotics and space robotics in particular. Keepingckburn well, in valley, whether it is dealing with the robotics and the maintenance or looking at Space Command in general, raymond, i want to come with you on this, consider the development of Space Command, in linkage an Interoperability Committee the inue with cybercom, space, and the link between, keeping that secure, we need to look at recruitment and retention and making sure there are no development complex. Ofhave discussed this issue recruitment with them, so general raymond, tell me what we are going to do first and foremost make sure we are not retaining talent and continuing to retain talent but recruiting talent. Gen. Raymond yes, thank you, senator. That is a great question. , over theat is a grea last couple of years, the focus discussion and the National Interest on space has really elevated the conversation and has really we have people knocking on our door wanting to come work for us. Excitement, and this is a bad term to use, but an explosion of Space Capabilities that are being developed, and they are excited about it. Witham not concerned today being able to recruit. In fact, i see the trend going in a very positive direction. Sen. Blackburn awesome. We hope you keep that up. I noticed some of the media covers this weekend with operation rocket, some of the College Students gathered in tennessee, mr. Chairman, and they were trying to get a rocket off of the ground. I like seeing that on genuity that on genuity at ingenuity at work. Chair inhofe thank you. I have got to mention you are on a good role with me until you mentioned cleansing. It happens every time. I understand. Thank you so much to both of you for your service. General raymond, i do want to follow up a little bit with what senator shaheen talked about with the guard unit, because you sure are aware, especially having spent so much time at maxwell, we have got some guard units in alabama that are doing some critical spacebased missions. In october, you issued a memo about prioritized air force reserve components in which indicated and allocate space control squadron. Can you elaborate a little bit on that and what your plans might be for the guard units, incorporating following up more information was senator shaheen said . Gen. Raymond senator, in my current role as the joint air force commander, we operate space control capabilities. On the activeduty psychomotor very limited numbers, so we are increase and expand the mission set to the squadron today or this past year, and this is one of the benefits will again come of elevating the space to unified i thinkt commander there would be more requirements that we will be able to elaborate. Sen. Jones at this whole space so to speak, you will be looking at headquarters. What is a requirement on what criteria are you looking at for a permanent establishment of a Space Command headquarters . What criteria . Gen. Raymond as we look at the stratcombesthat has led, there will be for priorities of front, and we will chain ofhe train o command, and it will be to deter, and deterrence, we do not want to get into a fight in Space Command to be able to deliver capabilities to the joint war fighter, to defend us capabilities, and then to be able to develop war fighters, and i developing war fighters a twopart thing. You have to have a war fighting ethoes, you need welldefined but you needed to presently get after those four priorities. Sen. Jones thank you, general. That youse, i take it are a believer that the innovaro should stay separate from the nro should stay separate from other entities, is that correct . Sen. Shaheen yes, sir. 18ecognize there is a 0day study going on to better understand what that relationship needs to be. From your perspective, obviously intelligent plays a unique role, but are there other reasons some as you sit here today, that you nro shouldt the maintain, while having a great relationship, which is critical, but also an independent relationship from the Space Command . Dr. Scolese certainly the role anthe nro is to develop acquired system for others to use the results from, and i believe that, if confirmed, one of the best ways to do that is to have several organizations that are developing capabilities and technologies so that we can achieve that for the nation, but to wires close coordination ensure there is no that requires close coordination to ensure there is no duplication and we are taking advantage of capabilities. I think that the independence and the ability to coordinate with other organizations is also critical. Sen. Jones great. Thank you. Thank you both for your service, and congratulations. Mr. Chairman. Chair inhofe thank you, senator jones curtis senator tillis. Is thank you, general , dr. Scolese, for your service. A few months ago, general dunford said it is important what were doing, almost creating an analog between what we have with the marines in the navy. Do you think that is an interim toward a completely separate force, or is that the best direction to take the focus on the space domain . On the topic of the space force, i am very comfortable, and i appreciate very much the diligence that this committee has put on this topic. It is extremely important to our nation. I feel it is absolutely the right thing to do, to stand up , andstablish a space force i think it is absolutely the right thing to do to establish that underneath the department of air force. I think it helps reduce the bureaucracy that would be required. Sen. Tillis one about the sort of organizational rationalization . It is not like we are not paying attention to you mentioned in your opening comments, you feel like we are in a superior position, although i feel like the gap is narrowing. It is not like were not paying attention to that domain, it is just better than other agencies and dod. How much work to we have to knew to rationalize paths that need to be completed elsewhere, that entity . The raymond i think one of things that general dunford talked about what he was here on the 11th of april is the singularity of focus. It is important to have a commander that comes to work everyday focused on that domain, and if you look at Goldwater Nichols, the two functions, the function that i am here for today is the u. S. Space command, but on the space force side, i think singularity of focus for both of those functions will be important. You do not necessarily need to respond to this question, just more or less taken on as part of your mission. You are running a large, complex organization that develops and acquires sophisticated tools for you to complete your job. I hope that you will spend, while you are trying to figure out the best capabilities for us to maintain our position of superiority, i hope you will spend a lot of time on the plumbing, the acquisition processes, the prototyping processes, a timeline that we need to feel these capabilities so that we can drive cost out of the administration process, so that we can put more of our money, which is never enough, and to the capabilities that we keep our nation safe, so that is a charge for you to look at. Gen. Raymond it confirm, senator, i will look at, to get your point, you thought our operational advantage was eroding or shrinking, we have to move fast, that acquisition piece is part of it. Sen. Tillis thank you. Ese, do you have any family with you . Dr. Scolese i do, i have my wife with you. Sen. Tillis that is a major miss. Welcome to both of you. In your new role, one of the things, you have a lot of experience and insight, what do you think your key challenges will be . If confirmed among my key challenge will be to understand the operations of the nro. I have experience working with the technical side, if you will, the development of satellite systems and concepts with the nro and other organizations, including the air force and noaa, so that is one, and then of course building the strong relationship and continuing the strong relationships that have been established, and if committed, i am confirmed to working very closely with Space Command, space force, as it is set up, as well as all of the a of the organizations of t nro deals with, to improve and maintain the levels of collaboration and partnership that are needed to ensure the safety of our country. Sen. Tillis thank you very much. I look forward to supporting both of your nominations, and congratulations to your two gainfully employed daughters, general. By the way, when you look for an advanced degree, i have taken a few good people from nc state. You should look at that one. [laughter] chair inhofe thank you, senator tillis. Senator kaine. Kaine thank you for being with me. I want to ask a question about allies, and i want to ask a question about rules. Space is a domain, just like are a domain, and we are engaged all the time in land, sea, and air domains, doing joint exercising, joint training, and i have a kid in the marines and have been , and i am curious if we can talk about allies in space. China and russia our competitors. China and russi justia just did land exercises together. Atop a little bit about the space no man, what are we talking about in terms of allies, general raymond . Gen. Raymond thank you. That is a critical question, senator, and it is a focus area that we have been focused on for the last few years. We have historically not have the partnerships that we have made it in we operate capabilities together in our command and control center. We renamed it as the combined operation system, so we have our partners, canada, the u. K. , australia. We are also developing very close partnerships with france, germany, and japan. We exercise together, we trained together, we wargame together. We have taken our professional Development Forces that we used to develop our war fighters, and we have expanded the allied participation in that. So we have international sharing withments, relationships awareness data with nations around the globe. It is a big focus area. I do not want to declare victory, but we have made significant progress. To do what this command is going to have to do, if confirmed, i will absolutely commit to this committee that we will continue to work this really hard. Sen. Kaine great. This is something i might like to have a followup, indepth discussion on. I am really interested in this point. Now to dr. Scolese, rules, this may be taking advantage of a little bit of your nasa work as you come into nro. Right now, there are 4000 satellites circling the earth. Active, some of the inactive ones are pretty large. The estimates are that every year, other satellites come within 200 yards of it, it is supposed to be up for 150 years. The likelihood of a collision that could lead to a lot of space debris is pretty high. There are plans to put thousands of more satellites into space. There are also collisions in space, a defunct soviet era satellite collided with the u. S. Satellite, that is costly to us, but it also produces debris that endangers other satellites, china using an antisatellite weapons not down one of their defunct satellites to show that they can do it. It created debris. There is even a nasa i did not know this until recently there is a publication or aarterly that nasa puts out, nasasigns of a project called the kessler syndrome, where you have so many satellites and so much debris it could make, orbiting essentially collapse, because they would be too much debris, and prospect of collisions would be too high. This will affect what investments we should make, the likelihood of investment being wasted because of collisions. Is spaced just a wild frontier, where everybody gets to do whatever they want him and then all of our investments are in jeopardy . Was sort of rules should we be looking at, so that we can have the capacities you want for intel gathering or others without running the risk of losing our sides or tremendous commercial losses on the commercial side . Certainly there are rules that are supposed to be followed by nations and organizations regarding the generationagree of plot scaredon at the same time, the u. S. Government, the air force tracks a number of objects, and nasa very closely with and to ensure that we avoid collisions with the space station and other of our assets. The same is true working with the civil sector to make sure that our civil satellites are protected. Some of the rules require that satellites be disposed of. A number of the nasa satellites now in lower orbit are theireled at the end of useful life, go to storage so that they are out of the way of other satellites. The same roles are applied internationally. I know not everybody follows the rules. International engagement, the allies you mentioned earlier, can provide us with waste veteran enhance the security and the safety of our space environment. Sen. Kaine i will conclude that saying the two can link up, allies and rules, because there are scenarios, kind of wargaming scenarios, where you create debris by knocking out in active satellites, and in doing so, you disable other nations equipments. I think enforcement of the rules is something we will have to get into if were going to guard the investments we are making and the integrity of the intel operations. Thank you, and i look forward to supporting you both. Mr. Chairman. Chair inhofe thank you, senator kaine. Senator cramer. Sen. Cramer i wanted to discuss the difference between Space Command and space force. Specifically on the chain of command, as we laid it out in the markup for the ndaa. As you may know, i worked with the chairman and members of the committee in sponsoring specific provisions as it relates to the command of space force. What i tried to lay out as an incremental approach that allows for the space force to be another big but bureaucracy, at least over time, while we work wit through this, and hopefully it says it up for success. That was my goal and i think the committees goal. As you understand, the ndaa mark, should that eventually become life, and we know that it go, but there will be a dual hat commander of space force and Space Command for a year. After that year, of course, each would have their own commander. I do not know at that point if you can draw straws or how that worked work, but that is what we will be working through. And then answers up the change chain of command. My request for you today, could you explain and of course the agency, the department could wait yet in support of these changes, particularly the dual the direct supervision of the secretary, and those things, seat on the joint chiefs, but can you describe the differences as you see them, wind the department supported that, and why it is important that this coordination is important . Gen. Raymond thank you for the question. They will learn very clear that there are two functions when they reorganize the department. One is to organize, train, and equip, and the other is the war fighting function. Today, nominating for Space Command, which is the organize, train, and a quick hat, and the organizing Space Command, which is the war fighting had. Dual, if confirmed, i would have both a war fighting hat and and organizetrainequip hat. Today, in u. S. Space command, i have that same hat. Jointjoints had, the i have a joint role in the joint forces command. In that case, i have two separate out today, i have an air force staff that is organizetrainequip, and i have a Joint Forces Staff College fightinghat does war. So those that come together, two separate staff, one commander is a role that i am in today, and if confirmed by the committee, it would be a role but i would have in the future with the commander of air force Space Command and the commander of u. S. Space command. Sen. Cramer . All right so as it pertains to space force, then, a year from now, as it is in the current me first, andlet in all sincerity, think this committee for all the work you have done on this. You have put a lot of time and effort into getting this right. I fully am supportive of a space force. I think we need to elevate the organize, train, equip to a forc e level. I have not seen the bill. I have seen the summary of the bill, the press summary of the bill. Confirmed, iou, if look forward to working very closely with the committee and with my leadership to make sure that we get this right for our nation. Sen. Cramer it would be hard to ask for more than that. With that cannot yield back, and thank you both for your willingness to serve. Back, andat, i yield thank you both for your willingness to serve. Chair inhofe were going to call this meeting to a close, but we may want some comments. We thank you both for the time you spent. You have done a great job, and i look forward to working with you. Gen. Raymond thank you. Dr. Scolese thank you, sir. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2019] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [indistinct conversations] cspans washington journal congo live every day washington journal, live every news that affects you. First, a discussion about daca with ali noorani. Then, a discussion about tax reform with grover norquist. Live at 7 00 this morning. Join the discussion. Live wednesday on the cspan networks some the house returns at 9 00 a. M. Eastern. Member state of four bills related to ocean acidification. That is on cspan. With hosts a discussion senator Chuck Grassley and debbie stabenow. At 8 40 a. M. , the House Intelligence Committee holds a hearing on the National Security implications of climate change. 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