Transcripts For CSPAN2 Confirmation Hearing For Navy Secretary Air Force Chief Of Staff Deputy... 20240713

Staff, and deputy secretary of defense. Our hearing will come to order. The Committee Meets today to of ther the nomination ambassador to be the secretary of the navy. And Charles Brown to be chief of staff of the air force. And dr. Anderson to be deputy undersecretary of defense. We thank you all for being here. Appreciate the contributions you have made. All three of you have impressive careers and we appreciate the fact that you are coming back again. Things arese necessary. I have to ask you the required questions. I would like an audible yes or no on each question. Have you adhered to the laws and wrecked lesions governing thelations governing nation . Yes. Will you comply with requests for communication . Yes. Will you cooperate in providing witnesses in response to congressional requests . Yes. Will those witnesses be protected from reprisal for their testimony . Yes. Do you agree if confirmed to give honest testimony to this committee . Yes. Do you agree to provide documents including email in a timely manner when requested, or consult with the Committee Regarding any basis for delay . Yes. Any duties assumed or undertaken any actions which would appear to presume the outcome of confirmation of the process . No, sir. Well, i have to tell you that right now you are taking these positions in i believe the most threatening times of our lives. Committee has done our best to ensure that dod has the authorities and resources it needs to implement a defense strategy. The committee has been working on thee than a year Privatized Housing crisis that has directly affected morale. I originally thought that came to surface at a particular air force base in oklahoma. I was assuming this was a problem just in one air force base. Later, i found out no, it is all of oklahoma. All of our bases. We have done a good job. We really have, in pursuing that. I know all three of you will be somewhat related to the problems out there. I am sure you will go out of your way to try to keep the progress we have made so far successful. As Senior Leaders of the department of defense and in the positions for which you have been nominated, you will have great power in taking care of our people. One thing i would like to say and you will get this from other o, we are World Leaders in the National Defense strategy. Before i turn it over to mr. Reed, this is unusual in one way. We all have families i know we would like to be here. They cannot be here. I understand they will be stillng, but you can introduce them. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Theuld also like to welcome members and thank them for their service. I also want to thank the families who i know are watching today. Hereow you would not be without your families. Ambassador, you have been the since 2017 and have served more than 27 years in the navy and navy reserve. You had a success Business Career in health care and communications. Count, you are currently a triple hat as commander of the Pacific Air Forces and as the executive director of air combat operations staff. With 130ommand pilot combat hours. And you have served as assistant secretary of defense since august of 2018. You have realized many accomplishments in education, academic and administration in both the government and private sectors. Again, thank you. Is an to note this unusual nomination because we are considering a military nominee with two civilian nominees. Normally, we would not do this, but these are unusual circumstances. I appreciate everyone accommodating this unique hearing. Let me also take a moment to pay tribute to our Service Members their families. Ofare saddened by the loss life due to covid19 throughout our military. This should be a wakeup call to the navys actions regarding covid19. First, you must address the effects of the ongoing pandemic on the navy. I want to hear about your vision for the future and what lessons you have learned from your predecessors mishandling of the roosevelt demonstrates how quickly deployments can be. Tressed i am interested in hearing what this tells us about the navy and marine corps. A looks like it would support fleet of 300 ships, but that would be in most minds, inadequate. Sorry about that. Lets start with Opening Statements. You are recognized for Opening Statement. Thank you, i was getting into big of a hurry. Justinou, mr. Chairman, was members of the committee. Today is a big day for me. Perhaps the most important of my professional life. But there have been three other big days in my life. That i would like to share with you this morning to help you learn and inform you of who i am. July 8, 1980. A typical hot day aboard the u. S. Naval academy in annapolis, i stood with over 1000 of my classmates to take the sacred oath of office that began, like many of you, a career of service to our nation. For over 40 years, first in the uniform of the navy, which took me around the world and into combat, later as a councilman in a small town in pennsylvania, as a Senate Staffer to arlen specter, and most recently, as u. S. Ambassador, i dedicated my life to the motto of our navy, honor, courage, commitment. Those are not merely words to me or a slogan, those are the guide stars by which i have lived my life. June 6, 1994. 14 years later, the 50th anniversary of the landings at the day, i stood on the beach at normandy with my aging father. He had been a Young Private in the first wave. The third Landing Craft touched the sand that morning in 1944. My father, like most of his generation, did not talk much about that day, but as we stood there, he recounted how he had come ashore off the boat that don, watching his friends drop to his left and right. I asked him, among all the chaos and death that morning, how he was able to go on. He replied, it was my duty. He would be himself severely wounded, shot in the head in his service to our nation. Served tobnegation is reinforce, in my heart, my head, and my soul, honor, courage, and commitment. On the 75th anniversary of the same landing at dday, i again was able to stand on that sacred beach at normandy, but this time without my father, who passed away in 2006. Instead, this time, serving as ,he link to my 12 year old son who never met his grandfather, only a few of those who were there that morning with my dad were left. But harrison and i endeavored to shake each of their hands, recalling their sacrifices, so we could live in freedom. The same who, like my dad, went before me, guided by honor, courage, and commitment, three simple but important words that have always guided my actions. I am humbled to up your before you today to be considered as the 77th secretary of the United States navy. Honor of the sacred those who have gone before me, whether petty officer dori miller at earl harbor or corporate jason dunham in iraq, i think the president for his trust and confidence in me. As a child of the midwest, i was taught to be frank. Diplomatic, of course, as it is required of an ambassador, but direct. It is that its me to say that the department of the navy is in rough waters. Due to many factors, but primarily the the failure of leadership. Inther the ship collisions 2017 judicial missteps, or the crisis recently aboard uss roosevelt, they are indicative of a breakdown in the trust of those leading the service. I have witnessed this type of crisis before in 1989. I was aboard the Aircraft Carrier uss america sailing alongside the battleship iowa when an explosion killed 47 sailors. That was followed by the scandal at tail hook. These were dark days for the navy. However, they taught me two things. The department is resilient, and it all starts with culture. Repeatedly in my career, successful organizations have a strong culture which starts with leadership. As i witness following the aforementioned events on the early 1990s, a proud heritage of service and pride, which the department emphasized for inspiration and affirmation and, if confirmed, will again. While i recognize the challenges for all they are, i am ready. I have learned across a myriad of roles, through military service, a congressional staffer, and now as a diplomat, i have been preparing my entire life for this moment, always guided by honor, courage, and commitment. I have many people to thank, like my mentors. I would not be here if not for my mother, who is 87 and watching me this morning, who taught me that to work hard, you can accomplish anything in america. Finally, the continued love and support of my beautiful wife melissa and my wonderful children, grace and harrison, who have sacrificed so much for me to serve, but also they sacrifice for our nation. Blessed me god blessed me by bringing them into my life. Thank you chairman, ranking member, members of the committee. I look forward to answering your questions. Thank you, thats a beautiful statement. General brown, you are recognized. I am grateful and humbled by the opportunity to be with you and my nominees this morning. I expressed my appreciation for this committee for their support and advocacy for the air force, its airmen, and families. I would like to take a few moments to acknowledge my family who could not be with us today, but are watching online. First, my wife of nearly 31 , who has been committed to the families of airmen, focus on quality education for military children. Our two sons, our older little lives in tampa, and ross, who lives in tennessee. Sean and ross have an instrumental to my best to my success and there is no way i would be here without their love and support. I would like to acknowledge my number one fan, my mother. The most influential officer in my career, my father, a vietnam veteran who retired after 30 years of service as a colonel. I appreciate them, the influence of my older brother, had on me and my family before his passing. I would like to thank President Trump, secretary esper for their confidence and support and nominating me to be the next air force chief of staff. Dunkel feet and off as they conclude 37 years of service to our nation. It has been an honor to serve with the gold fiends and we wish them the best as they start their next chapter. Members of this committee, in 2018, National Defense strategy provided the department of defense with clear, actionable, and attainable goals to deter and win. For the past 11 years, ive served in leadership positions. China, russia, north korea, iran, they are all outlined in the National Defense strategy. If confirmed, im committed to the air force achieving irreversible momentum to an limitation of the National Defense strategy and integrated force. At the top of that list is to work with secretary berry to take the appropriate steps to ensure the success of the United States spaceports. Currently, im committed to realizing the concept and development. If confirmed, i look forward to working with the chairman, vice chairman, and 22 increase our operability. Joint chiefs to increase our operability. Compete, deter, and when, people need to generate combat power. If confirmed, im an advocate for collaboration between acquisition professionals and Industry Partners to unleash innovation so the war fighter has access to the most capable and stateoftheart assets sooner than later. I suspect it will be tough decisions regarding legacy programs and modernization. Consider riske to assessments, balancing air forces combat requirements while investing in capabilities to prepare us for future challenges. I will remain committed to the wellbeing of our airmen families. It is imperative to provide and the quality of life, and environment where all can reach their full potential. Nominatedonor to be as the next air force chief of staff. If confirmed, i look forward to working with this committee and the congress to organize, train, and equip our air force to ensure the security of our national interest. Thank you for this opportunity and i look forward to your questions. Thank you, general brown. We will now hear from dr. James anderson. You are recognized. Of therman, members committee, it is an honor to be here today. Im thankful for your confidence for the confidence President Trump and secretary esper nominated me. I would not be here today without the support of family, friends, and mentor to helped me throughout my career. In me the instilled value of hard work, honesty, and respect for others. My sister and her family continue to provide much love and support. My children inspire me every day, watching them grow and mature is the best part of being a parent. Wife, who isnk my watching these proceedings from a quiet hamlet we call home in northern virginia. The sacrifices pentagon positions demand, that include before dawn departed after dusk returns. Her love and support make every thing worthwhile. My professional experience helped prepare me for this opportunity since my confirmation as assistant in augustof defense, 2018, i have worked to implement our National Defense strategy. Deputyirmed, as undersecretary of defense, i will continue these efforts in a google. In a new role. I worked mostly in middle east issues in International Security affairs. My professional experience has taught me the value of asking hard questions and the importance of seeking practical solutions. I taught National Security topics and several civilian and military educational institutions to include the George C Marshall center for Security Studies in germany. Working at this reinforce the importance of working with allies. Early in my career, i served three years in active duty as a marine Corps Officer in the late 1980s, and express that imprint it me the importance of teamwork. The opportunity to work alongside dedicated professionals and the defense of our great country inspired me then just as it does now. The current covid19 crisis has brought on many new challenges for the department. The quality team at the pentagon working with its partners across the interagency has risen to the occasion and continues to provide the secretary of defense with quality advice and support. Im privileged to be part of this team. It apartment up defense issued its National Defense strategy in january 2018 and it remains. The document outlines iras to ensure our competitive advantage amid the demands of longterm strategic competition. If confirmed, i will do my best to help implement the strategy and a Cost Effective and timely manner. The men and women in uniform emma as well as their civilian thunder parts, deserve no less from their Senior Leaders. I look forward to your questions. Thank you very much. We will start off where we ended momentarily. Thator reid and i feel since we are going to be confining questions to five minutes, we will have a second round of questioning, if it is all right with our witnesses. To start off with you, ambassador braithwaite, it has been controversial, and briefly, when you think about the fact that the budget that has been support a 300 ship navy, most people would say it needs to be bigger than that. Size do you, what think we ought to have . Mr. Braithwaite it needs to be minimally 355 ships, hopefully beyond that. Is a brief answer, i appreciate that. Why i agree with you. You brought this up and i appreciate the fact that you are talking about this is the plan that we have been following since it came out, three years ago. The general was committed to that, i would like to have you make further comment, even though you have made one about this, and your commitment to following in this as your pattern. Im very committed to the National Defense strategy in my current position. I have spent a lot of focus because four of the five challenges are in our region. Sen. Inhofe appreciated very much. Anderson, i have talked to you about this before. This is something ive been concerned about and we went through all those years without forgottenit is a continent, and now those things that we were guessing are happening or have happened. Looking now at what china and russia is doing in that content. China, thats the first time they have started a major insulation someplace other than their own city limits. We know what is happening there. I would like to have you say in this remaining time that i have come outdoor thoughts about the role of africa and what your intentions are, your opinions concerning that continent. Dr. Anderson thank you, senator. Afrikaans was established a few. Ears ago, over a decade ago it plays an Important Role in our National Defense strategy. Course,mplicated, off andhe intrusion of the prc to an extent the Russian Federation on the continent. Take moves by the chinese a variety of forms to include establishing a military base, its First Overseas Military base, ingenuity. We are watching that carefully as well as a lot of their efforts elsewhere on the continent. Predatory all the economic things they are doing, workers therert and exploit local economies and make economies dependent upon them, economically and financially. What ourtching closely competitors are doing on the continent. Russia is involved in the libyan conflict and it is unfortunate situation there. In terms of the department of defense, looking closely at all it combatant commands to ensure we have the right mix of forces, right posture throughout the continent. Under secretary espers leadership, we are doing that. There haveort been press reports that we are cutting and running, we are abandoning africa, and those are false. We are looking hard at rightsizing and making those decisions. One decision secretary esper has made is to allocate the Security Assistance enforcement gate, which we think is a good example of getting the right forces into theater. Sen. Inhofe you are right they came in and there has to be an examination, constant examination on the placement of trips around the world. Senator browns and i were in africa senator browns and i were in africa when the decision iat senator rounds and were in africa when the decision was made. Forth andary came said, thats a place where we cannot do that. I think that thats a question to you is, do you agree with the secretary on the continent of africa . With secretary esper, he is taking a hard look at this. He has not made any final decisions. But i would expect those will be forthcoming. Another part of this effort is we are working closely with allies and partners and we encourage our european allies to assume a greater goal on the african continent as they have interest there as well. Sen. Inhofe senator reid. Thank you very much. You have made a clear and Opening Statement that the navy chain of command is in disarray. Nothing illustrates that more than the roosevelt situation. When an accra terry and acting secretary of the navy is calling a carrier commander and trying to work on problems with them, something is wrong. Commanders immediate superior is rooms down the hall, and there is no communication something is wrong, it goes to to the culture of the navy, it goes to reliance upon the chain of command by civilian authorities, getting advice and supporting them. Position, in your keeping your eyes and the navys and focused on the threat the fleet at sea and all the force and not being distracted by some of the things that happen in washington. But what specific steps are you going to take to correct this situation . Chain of functioning command, without a culture of , the and confidence platforms are irrelevant. I would agree with you and i think you for the question. As i learned over the course of my career in the public and private sector, culture trumps everything. As a fitness entrepreneur said, culture eats strategy for breakfast. Culture is the one thing that creates for an organization a sense of belonging, a sense of good order and discipline, is my number one priority, if im confirmed, to restore the appropriate culture in the United States navy. Culture exists, i want to say it is broken, i think it is been tarnished, i think the events over the last several years have helped see that occur, and if im confirmed, i will make sure i get at that, predicated on good order and discipline, empowering people to understand their responsibilities along the chain of command, as you and i talked about yesterday, as well as setting the tone here from the highest level. It is contingent upon leadership first to establish that and hold those who are responsible throughout the chain for the same. Thank you. I think this dialogue will continue many months forward. Brown, one of the big issues that will face you Going Forward is the issue of sustaining cost. We buy expensive platforms, but those expenses sometimes pale in comparison to sustaining those equipment. Do you have any sense of what you are going to do to tackle this problem . Do you recognize this as a serious issue . Gen. Brown i do recognize this as a serious issue. If confirmed, the key part for me is to be working closely with our Industry Partners on how we bring down sustaining costs. At the same time, we work to address some of our processes to ensure that we are able to manage the cost. We cant just modernize and not sustain. We have to do both to lament the National Defense strategy. To implement the National Defense strategy. Onwe signed an agreement february 29 with respect to afghanistan. The situation has changed dramatically. Could you comment on how these theges might have affected goals, the eventual departure of u. S. Forces in some type of reconciliation, and also comment on the fact that implicit in the agreement is our continued support of Afghan Security forces to the tune of billions of dollars a year. Is that likely, if we no longer have troops on the ground . Your comments briefly. Im sorry. Since february, have seen mix results in terms of taliban compliance to the agreement. They have refrained from attacking u. S. And coalition troops, they have refrained from attacking major urban centers, attackingave been unprecedentedn an level our afghan partners. This is greatly concerning to us. Proceed totinue to our level of 8600 within 135 days, which is approximately mid july. The department has made clear , reductionsthat will be conditioned based. Closely as the situation unfolds. In this context, assuming conditions allow further drawdown, we remain committed to our afghan partners. Price,ve paid a heavy the afghan National Defense security forces, they have been doing most of the fighting since 2015 and we have been supporting them in and assist role. It is my view that Going Forward we need totan, continue to maintain a level of commitment in terms of our assistance to them so they can continue to help defend their country. Sen. Reed thank you. Sen. Inhofe senator fischer. Thank you, mr. Chairman. General brown, the air force is responsible for two of the three legs of our Nuclear Triad and it is carrying out a number of programs that are vital to modernization of the deterrent sup test, such as the b 21, ptsd, longrange weapons, as well as our Nuclear Command and control and communications architecture. Do you believe these programs and the overall modernization of our Nuclear Deterrent is necessary . Gen. Brown most definitely. Sen. Fischer we often hear calls of disarmament to and, this committee has also heard several of our last strut, commanders testify that there is no margin left in our schedule for recapitalization. Is it your understanding that further delay is not an option and that these programs must proceed on schedule if we are going to continue to be able to field an effective deterrent . Gen. Brown i am in complete agreement. Sen. Fischer i understand the air force is considering aborting the dbs the gbsd contract early. I know the margin in that program is concerning and congress has pushed the department to find ways to accelerate it to ease the burden on the schedule, if the air force determines it is a viable option, i want to express my support for that. Yesterday, we had a good conversation about the future of the air force and the need to adapt in the face of the growing challenges that are posed by our adversaries. Given those threats, do you believe that air force is large enough to accomplish the missions required by the National Defense strategy . Gen. Brown to an extent. In the immediate term, i think we are, but we still have to be able to go to the 386. Anything less than that incurs wrist. To move faster so we can compete against our adversaries are important aspects to help with the National Defense strategy. Sen. Fischer we talked about that. Being able to balance the capability along with the capacity that is needed as well, and when you look at the new platforms and new technologies that will be coming that are here now and will be coming and how critical the use of those platforms are for us in meeting that challenge, can you elaborate on that and maybe get into how we establish a balance something i think about, even to get to at trying 386, if we dont achieve 386, we smaller but more capable. Effectively youre getting close to 386. With that its not just the anned platforms its teaming. Ned to cease our rain and our range and strike capability. Working u feel about with our allies . Ive been a great deal of i have a band nd of relationship with our partners. We share interest and value with. Yourself you see if youre confirmed within the system to be able to platformsthat any new re incorporated and are wisemaner, butn a also, in a manner that it forever . Take senator, thats one of the things im focused on, having fighter for the past number of years in these key we actually w do speed up the process. Want to get something into the hands of our in fighters versus nothing the hands of our war fighters 18 years down the road. Thank you, general. Hank you to the other two well. Al as thank you, mr. Chairman. Shaheen. E general brown, i want to begin with you. I had an opportunity to speak a general earlier this week. As youre probably aware, the 157th air refueling wing at peace guard base in New Hampshire, the First National guard to receive the new k46 tanker. I had an opportunity to be there arrived. First tanker the issue closely. He general seemed satisfied that the problems with the tanker were fixed, but clearly several years away from having tankers that are the refueling that we want them to do so can you tell us how if confirmed you program on track and ensure that its ready to go as soon as possible to do its refueling mission . Senator, i think one of the one, oles i have is to work with our acquisition professionals and move forward work with boeing. There is a new c. E. O. To the general, he was pretty serious about delivering that capability so personally, building a relationship with the c. E. O. Of boeing so we can have frank particularly if it gets offtrack but the goal is get it it ontrack and into our hands as quickly as possible. Thatank you, i was pleased the new c. E. O. Seems more willing to fix this than previously. Ambassador, our nations four our hipyards handle Aircraft Carriers and submarine. They are the backbone of our we need to and modernize the shipyards and increase the dry dock capacity. Im a supporter of the navys Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Plan which was in february 2008. I wonder if you could tell me if ou have had an opportunity to review the plan, and if so, can you share your thoughts on the investing in the navys public Shipyard Infrastructure . Yes, senator, thank you very much. Ive spent some time up at the portsmouth andin ive always been impressed by commitment to and our National Security that the employees exhibit every day. Maintenance is one of those been the t has never thing that the navy has been very focused on. In always more interested building new ships and new airplanes. Other ve like any situation where deferred maintenance becomes something you get to later. Served at the Philadelphia Shipyard before they closed that, it taught me up close and ry personal. It becomes a double edged sword not only do you defer the amount of resources required but you e the ships, also defer the requirements to upgrade the actual shipyard. Chance to look at it. I agree with it, over a 20year period. Ill look to make that a riority as we move forward because as i shared with senator kaine, whenever you have a to a pier not doing its job thats a waste to the axpayers and as a good steward we have an obligation to make sure those ships, aircraft and sub reigns are out doing their jobs. Thank you. Im pleased to hear youve visited the shipyard. Come back. ll i am sure you know in New Hampshire we take part ownership just as maine d does. Senator kaine isnt the only one who is following this issue very closely. Sorry, an angus. Because you mentioned the importance of the shipyard, clearly, their effectiveness is that that shipyard is considered the most productive country. I had an opportunity to talk to everal of the workers there t their concerns with covid19 pandemic and as youre aware there are a number of eople there who have tested positive. We lost a Shipyard Worker and they are very concerned about aving the right personal protective equipment the masks that they really need when they are working in close yard, and if e that cant be provided, that may be considered for those people working in those dangerous circumstances. That you mmit to me will look into this and see if we can ensure that the people working on our subs have the protective equipment that they need to do their jobs . Senator, absolutely. I can tell you that one of the most impressive things that ive weeks isn the last few working with the assistant secretary gertz who has patriotism me the that these workers have displayed each and every day. They have gone into harms way continued to ensure that our hips are ready and deplorable and that speaks a lot to their character. Its incumbent upon me if im to make sure they get the equipment and the safety gear that they would need in that job. E able to do thank you very much. Chairman. Mr. Thank you. Senator rounds. You. Hank gentlemen, thank you all for your service to our country. Our al brown, i enjoyed phone call yesterday and i thank you for your acceptance of my that if youre ellsworth airisit force base. I would appreciate you sharing with the committee the you shared with me regarding two programs. First, could you explain the allowing a f not capability gap for the bomber if e of the legacy fleet it continues to age, while we wait for the b21 to come online. Secondly, can you give us your perspective on what we need to to ensure that the full body of f35s is made to be able to situation that we had dramatically we reduced the bio of the f22 fighters. B21 and on bombers. The b21 rt is delivered on time. At the same time, maintaining our apability we have with current bomber force. I do not want to get to a point road we have a fork in the and have to make a tough call so if we can keep all of those on track so we dont have any gaps, thats an important aspect to me. For the f35, the key part, it earlier, is sustaining cost and the cost for flying. The general has met with various contractors and has commitments working with the Program Office to bring those costs down but bringing those costs down makes us more ffordable to be able to actually buy the f35 that we ntend to have and we can provide the capability we require for the air force. Thank you. Kind of rown, i was surprised, i was not aware that he air force unlike the army nd the navy, the air force budget contains a significant pass through element where funding passed through the air other dod s way to agencies, that then execute it. I also understand that the air exercises no control over and receives no benefit from funding. In fact, in the fy2020 budget hat were executing right now the department of navy budget top line is about 206 billion. Department of the armys top line is 177 billion. The department of the air 205 billionline is p. However, once you discount in the air ough force budget, the air forces true top line budget is about the lowest of the three military departments. Basically about 3. 2 of the army passed through and about 1 of the navys budget as i understand sit passed through. Would like your perspective on this particular practice, and to hing that you would like comment on. Senator, im aware of the and its contained in the air force budget. Im very transparent, and i like transparency so i think its nice to be able to be reflective of the budget that the air force is actually responsible for. O if confirmed, im happy to look into that aspect of our budget and work with the various address it. You. Hank ambassador, in looking back over yesterday we had a very ood phone conversation and i appreciated that. To whatnow, im similar youll probably hear from senator aine and shehan, i have some concern can, although i dont have any depots my home state of south dakota, i think its important that we talk about the ability a 375 ship navy with depot capabilities, my concern s while weve seen some improvements in some areas of maintenance in the navy, in fact, i congratulate the navy on bringing up on their fa18s, any have brought those up to 80 capability rate right now. When we talk about the nuclear that weve got, weve got fur of them that are dock. G for dry the uss boise may have been in dry docking for refueling for seven to eight years. Youve got three more behind it waiting as well. Perspective onur what we do with regard to depot to tenance and with regard accelerating and getting that that the roperty taxpayers paid for back into operational condition in a more timely fashion. You, senator, and i did enjoy our conversation yesterday. The uss boise, which is not only unfortunate unacceptable. I understand that the department looking a turn and is into how they might work with some other private yards to as we but i believe discussed yesterday, when you look at all the priorities and ou assess those, just like we do around our kitchen table, ith our families, of the requirements that we have, they have to balance. Shipbuilding, maintenance, education, training, everything across the board. Look forward to the opportunity to have that opportunity, if confirmed, to look into this. Is always been something thats been deferred, that i have experienced in my career, as a pilot, there were oftentimes, many times, available ft werent and we ended up being on the flight schedule and then removed schedule. Light i did get some good news, that the rate is moving upwards as you indicate, surface y for our platforms. We were at 20 Completion Rate two years ago. To 40 on its way to 70 this before name covid19. I believe whats been put into place is moving in the right that ion and ill ensure remain vigilant so that we get o where we dont have these ships in the cue, and we get them back out to the tip of the spear, senator. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Senator blumenthal. You, mr. Chairman. Thank you to each of our for ees for your service your service to our country. Waite, i think youre absolutely correct about to focus on culture in these choppy waters as youve i rectly described them and welcome your commitment to changing the culture and possible g any perception on the part of our ailors that there is a culture of retaliation against reporting of questionable udgment or, for example, infection on any of our ships with covid19. Stated that very forthrightly yesterday in our conversation. Also welcome your offer to come back to groton, where time in the past, and your commitment stated yesterday, and i would like you that you m it now, believe that we ought to be constructing two marines per so as to reach the required and that we maintain enhance our predominance in the underwater domain. Yes, sir, senator. As we discussed yesterday, as a who spent a lot of time hunting soviet submarine i with our y closely subsurface force. Is beyond ionalism reproach. They are extremely important to our National Security. Believe we should work towards 66 boats, as you and i and ill be a big advocate for that. And for the construction, hopefully, of that second submarine, fy2021, because its right now on the unfunded priority list. Yes, sir. Your commitment to aking sure it is built, the electric boat. And also, the sensitivity that youve demonstrated and the to our work force there, because they are as vital as our men and women in uniform. Us to have the ability to make sure that our men and women in uniform do not fair fight that they have hat predominance in undersea warfare, and in that connection, making sure that maintenance of uss hartford and uss john potentially available for work, so we can maintain the tability of that work force in groton. Yes, sir. I believe the Industrial Base is part of the equation towards National Security, and there is ensure stability. Again, i saw this living for Navy Shipyard the in philadelphia. Work force , the begins to not be as capable. Understanding the demands to ensure that we can and back to out the tip of the spear. Groton, as tion in in many manufacturing sites and paces in the United States right now, can be very perilous. Many of theto many, workers there, who sometimes threatened because of inadequate personal protective of pment but also because the need for better staging, and siting of workers, which is very difficult to do in building of arine because the level precision and skill is so demanding. Like your commitment that you will encourage electric oat and require them, in fact, to meet the best standards of safety and, in fact, encourage and other agencies responsible for safety to set emergency standards when necessary to protect workers in situations. Senator, this comes back to omething i believe is at the core of any relationship, whether between you, me, or anybody. Important, so i look forward to the opportunity, if confirmed, to reestablish that trust inside the navy, up and of command, but and the trust leadership in the public yards as well. F confirmed ill work with the leadership at electric boat and all the private contractors to that that we establish trust. Finally on the issue of trust which is critical i welcomed to commitment yesterday follow the recommendations of he Ongoing Investigation regarding the captains removal him to command if thats the appropriate thats now under way. I would recommend an Inspector General investigation which may necessary but thank i or your commit commitment in that regard as well. Believe, as we discussed yesterday, that whenever youre confronted with a challenge like this its best to pause, facts, and then make the right decision. I learned that in flight school, a young naval aviator, that whenever bell or whistle went pist the most important thing do you is sit on for you do is sit on your hands for two seconds. O you can assess the problem correctly before shutting down the wrong system. Thank you very much. I look forward to supporting your nomination. You, senator. You. Hank thank you, gentlemen, for being with us today. We appreciate your time and to give a and i want special shout out to your families as well. We wish they could be here with you. I know they are with you in spirit. Braithwaite, we had a great conversation yesterday and given may another day we could have solved many of the worlds problems but i appreciate your and attention to a number of very important issues and regions. Of the discussion that i found very fascinating was our perspective not only as a naval officer but also as an ambassador now, and serving in norway, and the close proximity to russia, youve been able to intentionse russias in that region, and you went on o describe the posturing of russia as well as, we talked comparing china and what russia is doing compared with china, and where they would to see themselves positioned globally. If you could share that iscussion, using your perspective as a naval officer and an ambassador, and where you to be positioning russia, y in regards to and then in regards to china. Well, thank you for that question, senator. And especially for your time yesterday. Enjoyed our conversation as well. I have spent a lot of time in arctic, both as a u. S. Ambassador as well as a naval come to nd ive appreciate that part of the for the importance, and especially as it emerges its becoming more important to everybody. Dont realize because we dont see it here in the continental United States senator sullivan sees ate little bit up in alaska but the chinese and russians are the where, especially chinese. Would you be alarmed at the amount of chinese activity off norway in the high orth, and we need to be oreskovi that. Ent to we spoke a couple of years about. Is to be as hope relevant again on the world stage. Or have all believe come to understand that china dominant on the same world stage. Pressed hard upon norway to be part of that calculus. The northern sea route, between the most Northern City in norway coming across the russia you can reduce the amount of commerce moved out of european markets by half. China has launched a charm try to win norway over. Them, or tryingg o force them to withdraw the Nobel Peace Prize to chinese dissident. The norwegians, proud, ndependent people, they stood up against the chinese and they suffered for that economically china now recognizes the importance, securing a western sea nus and a northern route and they are up there, and trying to, again, win over the of northern norway. The United States navy, as you senator, is at , the vanguard of that. It provides some of the only be able to be a power projection in that part of the world. Were there. We currently have three destroyers that are sailing united th both the kingdom navy as well as the navy, to ensure that that power projection xists, and deterrence is part of the calculus for those of us in nato. I think we need to continue to do that. To be vigilant. We continue to be present and adequate size n navy to be there. I appreciate that. Eneral brown, just very briefly, as only have about a minute remaining, air force does very valuable support to our ground forces. Hose of us who are Ground Pounders really do appreciate force ver but our ground commanders in the jay tax are fully integrated with our air precision firede especially our soft, which is a close tieshat i have to. As the air force focuses on fifth ing their generation platforms and fighting in a near pier contested environment rather uncontested environment that they are very used to right ow, what will that training look like for that next generation of pilots and crews going to work forces to ound incorporate their needs as youre doing that . Part of the work we have to with the rest of the joint team is understanding their and maneuver, how we Work Together. One of the key aspects that as an air force s to provide some of the control aspects to support, how were able to connect, so the part for me is to understand or our Sister Services what is their highest priority so we can Work Together on that versus going our own way. Most to me is the important thing i can do, is understand what they need to do. How im able to support and vice versa. Very good. Commander general clark is very appreciative of the work es been able to do, and the transition of some of those platforms to socom. We hope that great relationship continues. You. K thank you. Senator kaine . You, mr. Chair. Allay any confusion soed, the ve been Naval Shipyard is in maine. That. T want to clear up we talked about the gbg being were k horse, a ship in the middle of a multiyear 20182022. In i hope you will give serious a second ion to ultiyear starting in 2023 for two reasons. One, its significant taxpayer bulk, as hen we buy in you were, and also, it helps to of the he stability Industrial Base. Will you commit to giving serious consideration to that possibility . Absolutely, senator. As you and i discussed, the ggd51, the greyhound of the backbone. Truly the its something weve relied upon as a department for the power that platform provides. And as a former Group Purchasing executive, i couldnt agree with you more, in a group approach. Hats great for the people of america and being good stewards to the taxpayer, senator. Thank you, appreciate that. Were in the midst of this crisis the navy has deemed both its public and private shipyards essential in terms of continuing their work. Hand, two points. Necessarily, there have been delays and contract delays of the interruption in the work caused by the illness. Youll work with and secretary lord on flexibility in the contracts and perhaps additional unding in order to compensate the yards for working around this difficult situation. Senator, i believe weve all a lot through this crisis and we have a lot more to learn. Very firmed ill work closely with secretary gertz to ensure that we have the placed appropriately god forbid if we were ever to encounter anything like this again. And flexibility in terms of deadlines. Yes, sir. Has not been as great as i was concerned. Were at about 80 and well that. Back from thank you. The other piece of that is, has deemed navy these facilities essential, its meant that their workers, mostly gone to work, and had to, and i hope that you with both the public yard officials but also the Companies Involved with the to be sure that they have the capability to keep their workers safe under these circumstances and the lexibility in terms of production schedules and such, in order to facilitate safe these patriotic americans that are going to work very day to keep our country safe. I think if weve learned anything in this, senator, weve the fact that there are patriots in every sector of this country, as a healthcare executive, seeing what the healthcare people have done and how they have stepped up and put their lives at risk to serve others, and its the same with the Shipyard Workers, who have same. The many of us are able to quarantine ourselves. They have not been. Continued to be out there on the front lines, and have demonstrated like our uniform do n in every day, of their patriotism to our r commitment National Security. Thats something that i hold responsibility, if im confirmed, is to ensure for their safety as well. Yard aser its a public in portsmouth or the private ard in bath, as you and i discussed, ill look to support those efforts, senator. Thank you, i really appreciate that. Mens very important to the and women that work at those yards. Brown, quickly, i think one thing i hope you will not ose focus on is the execution of the b21 contract. Rocky know, weve had a road in recent decades with procurement contracts. This one seems to be i hope that you will commit to paying close attention to the progress of that so we dont have to come back here and talk about massive overruns and delays, or any overruns and delays. Thats exactly michael to goal to my goal my make sure it stays on track. If we could have all the airplanes in the world, but they cant be refueled to get to mission, weve got a failure of ability to project power. General powers predicted a gap of five to 10 years. I hope that will be a focus of your attention. I consider that an urgent matter. It will be. Thank you. Senator cramer . Thank you, mr. Chairman, and thank you for your service and being here today. My best to your families, as well. We look forward to seeing and meeting them all. Were proud of you and we know they are. I wanted to visit with you. Thank you for the conversation yesterday. Appreciate the consistency of your answers. Toppreciate your commitment senator fischer, relating to the Nuclear Fleet keeping monetization on track, on time. Also to senator rawlins, relating to the bombers. As you know, we have both of those. The general will be there next week. We know thats not among not only our highest priorities, but per the National Defense strategy. Also that ihings was pleased about was your answer to senator rawlins, relating to the past. Rawlins, the rest of the committee, i am working with the Committee Staff on separating that, 9 billion or so from the air force budget. I just think it is so important, as to your commitment to aresparency that we transparent not only to policymakers, but to the public as we try to gain their trust to the degree we need to protect too many details of that budget that can be put into the dod. Getwe can put that that done this year. With that, one of the things you talked about, that impressed me coming from you, and it was you who initiated the point about the relationship with academia, community, as well as the air force. In grand forks, we have a wonderful relation with the university of north dakota sciences there, flight school, as well as uis program, as well as space. And would love to get you up there as soon as possible to show you all of that when the time is right and we can do it in a safe manner. Would love to get your commitment to that as soon as practical. Yes, senator. Like toith that, id also visit and get your input on something somebody else brought up earlier related to the northern and to the arctics. We think of the arctic, we think of proximity, with all due respect to the navy, proximity to those important adversaries. We also think about the Northern Tier basis. Love your input on how you might thatn Arctic Mission involves Northern Tier air force bases. Basell, the air force has the ability to deter. Activitiesryday, the they do against the russians. At the same time, i also look at which you start to see competition there. The key aspect is how do we have a good understanding of whats going on in the arctic and how do we use our northern basis to compete and deter, and ideally win, if required . Very good. I have nothing further. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you. Senator kaine. Thank you, mr. Chair, and the city nominees. This is as strong a panel of nominees for positions as weve had before us, and i plan to support all of you. Admiral braithwaite, i appreciate our conversation the other way and i want to ask you a question. It just strikes me as unusual. You talked about the choppy waters that the navy has had from a leadership standpoint. This strikes me as unusual. The secretary of the navy, secretary spencer, someone i had high regard for, was essentially relieved in the middle of a personnel battle. Military discipline was being carried out against the navy seal, others it is coming forward with allegations, which is extremely difficult to do. The president decided to intervene in that military justice process. The secretary of the navy then, trying to maintain some harmony in the ranks, started to work with the white house to try and work that out. He was eventually relieved of the position. But he was involved in a personnel manner deep within the organization, one that was very, very important. The acting secretary of the navy was recently relieved for involving himself in an individual personnel manner. Captain crozier was doing what he thought he needed to do to keep folks on the roosevelt safe. There was an Ongoing Investigation into the situation on the roosevelt, but acting secretary mosley sort of predetermined that investigation, and made the decision on his own, apparently without the agreement of cno for captain crozier and his leadership of the roosevelt. These two incidents made me rethink the whole question of, what is the civilian secretarys responsibility . What should it be, with respect to personnel matters, that a civilian secretary would have policy broadly is obvious. We would want a civilian secretary to take that seriously. But it struck me that these two instances with civilian secretaries being involved in personnel decisions in ways i found unusual. Ive only been on the Community Test committee seven years and committee seven years and perhaps its been more common. What do you think your responsibilities are in respect to personal manners . The notion ofnk, a political appointee being engaged in personnel actions for people far down the chain of command, i would be concerned about that. How will you approach this issue, should you be confirmed . Senator, as you and i discussed yesterday, i have had the great good fortune to have served under some great secretaries of the navy. John lehman comes to mind. Is a mentor to me. Hes a mentor to me. I spoke with senator warner, two from your state, had conversations with him, as a matter of fact. Good order and discipline starts with the chain of command. Sacrosanct to military forces since the beginning of time. And if im confirmed, i will ensure that that is understood, from the secretarys office all the way to the smallest vessel in the United States navy and the United States marine corps. I believe our commanders, the ceos, the ships and commands command, will be accountable to those who serve under their leadership. I believe they should be empowered to do such. Again, i have lived my entire life believing in the chain of command, believing in ensuring the chain of command is informed, both up and down, and making sure that people have trust and confidence in that chain of command. Can i ask you, in the chain of command, do you see yourself, as secretary, intervening in personnel decisions that are fairly distant down the chain . No, senator. No, i dont. I believe that men and women in uniform, at all ranks, should have the opportunity and should have established the ability to ensure that they are making the decisions to lead their men and women appropriately. Thank you very much. Thank you, mr. Mr. Chair. We recognize senator hawley. Congratulations. Dr. Anderson, enjoyed speaking with you the other day, yesterday. The days all run together recently. The National Defense strategy has said the indo pacific is our priority theater. Current secretary has said the indo pacific, of defense, that is, is our priority theater. Do you agree with those assessments . Yes, senator, i do. Could you give us a sense of why . In the context of reviewing our strategy, which came out in 2018, we looked at changing circumstances over the last decade plus while we were very committed and focused on fighting violent extremism. During that time, our competitors, the prc took full advantage of our focus elsewhere and they have done a variety of things in both their respective theaters to strengthen their position and put our position at greater risk. So, looking at that, those trends, based upon the assessment, thats how we came to prioritizing the National Defense strategy. Lets talk about some of the difficult strategic choices that have to be made in order to prioritize the indo pacific, particularly as it relates to some,. Do we have an effective deterrent strategy to iran . And how can we improve that strategy without sending forces to the region . I think we established deterrence, at least in a conventional sense, against iran. Im very concerned about their continued backing of sheer militia groups shia militia groups, that have acted and may act again in the future with some degree of difficulties, in terms of achieving. But we do hold tehran hopefulble and we are that they get the message Going Forward that we are committed to our allies and partners in the middle east. Were going to protect our forces and were going to do the things we want to get done. Came into it without sending forces to the region . I believe we can. Theres undermining a peace deal in afghanistan. If the deal collapses, when do you think we should withdraw troops in the region . Talking hypotheticals, as i mentioned earlier, were going to reassess conditions Going Forward. I would think the deal would not collapse. They would have shown to at least commitment to at part of it. Hopefully they will honor the remaining portions. If they dont, well reassess and do what we need to do. What im driving at and what you and i discussed, and i appreciate our conversation, is this tension between our commitments at some common semcom and our theater. There no easy answers here. Certainly, i dont have easy answers. But this is going to be your job, finding and recommending answers. I want to underscore that it seems to me vital in this covid19 crisis and its direct relationship with china as the whole world is seeing the malign intent of the Chinese Communist party and the geostrategic danger of china. It is more imperative than ever that we find ways to focus on the prc as our pacing theater and pacing threat, and make hard choices. We cant do it all. W were not going to spend 2 trillion on defense. We have to make hard choices. Thats going to be part of your job. Just another point. Ive advocated, and weve talked about it, that would address requirements set out in the report. I think the European Defense initiative has seen great success. Id like to see us do something similar. If it is our priority theater, why wouldnt we embrace a similar Deterrence Initiative there as we have in yukon . Provided assessment has been delivered to congress. We owe you a briefing, both ost and the joint staff. Were prepared to do that. I agree the initiative has been successful. Made for is case to be considering a similar arrangement in the indo pacific theater. And if confirmed, i certainly pledge to taking a look at that. Thank you very much. I dont want you to feel left out. Ill have some questions for the record for you. Thank you for being here. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Senator ivory. General brown, i want to start by saying i was really encouraged to see the air force select Holloman Air Force base in new mexico as the preferred location for basing an f16 Training Squadron that has been temporarily stationed at the installation be 2017, and should should you be confirmed, i would be looking forward to address the pilot shortfall, and would suggest they continue to look to new mexico to solve its most pressing training testing and technological challenges. Obviously, thats not a question. Its a statement. But i think you understand. At with regard to my first question for you, general, youve provided answers in advance to policy questions for the committee ahead of todays hearing. And one of those questions asks specifically which capabilities the air force needs to develop to meet future challenges, to create a third offset as many have said. You listed artificial intelligence, machine learning, hypersonics, and energy among your top priorities. I could not agree more with those particular priorities. Should you be confirmed, how exactly would you press the air force to more rapidly develop importantlyst field these capabilities . One of the ways i look to do this is how we engage outside the air force in some cases. I think about the things i do on a daytoday basis when i search the internet and i look at something, the next page it shows up. Theres that capability out there. Its not always inside the department of defense. Its how we work with academia, how we work with industry. I just think we need to do more of it and take advantage of the capability we have in our nation. I want to ask you a little bit, as well, about the Space Rapid Capabilities office, which as you know, is charged with developing lowcost, Rapid Reaction payloads to maintain the United States critical advantage in space. Last march before this committee, general gold fina agreed, emphatically, space our seo is something thats working and should continue to act as an independent agency, just as it was designed to do when congress established that in 2018. Do you agree that space rco should remain an independent agency . I kind of deferred to general raymond since its under the space force. The good part about the Rapid Capabilities office, its somewhat separated from the bureaucracy of the bigger machine and can move a bit faster. Quite a bit faster, actually. And thats the point is that innovation is largely in part dependent on that independence. Command oft recent the Pacific Air Forces, youve been responsible for delivering air, space, and cyberspace capabilities to counter threats in the interspecific indo pacific. What are the general takeaways of the chinese capability and developments, with respect to hypersonics and director energy . Not as much as direct energy, but on hypersonics, i know they are making advancements, and just watching their daytoday intel and open source information. Right. Are you confident that we are developing and testing and fielding our capabilities fast enough to meet that threat . No, senator. Faster. We can go i think there are areas we can go faster and weve got to put our foot forward on some of these. Were owing to fail on some of these, but were going to learn when we fail as we go forward. I look forward to working with you on that. Thank you, senator. Senator. Thank you very much. Me, let me start with general brown. Youre an air force rotc graduate. Thats correct. Congratulations. Thank you. Some graduates had less stellar careers than yours, but im glad to see a fellow rotc here reach the chief of staff of the air force. Whered you do your Pilot Training . Wings air force base in arizona. Great, great. We trained pilots in mississippi also. Ive been to the base in mississippi. We dont need to have any fewer training bases, do you think . No, senator. Good. Look, glad to have you, and i want to be a real friend. Let me move on to ambassador braithwaite. Thank you for what you said about 355 ships. And i think you said thats the minimum. Yes, sir. You know, what we want to do is take this requirement that comes from the generals and the admirals and rely on the folks out there that tell us what the requirement is. There is word that theres another requirement, maybe on some tables in the pentagon that just having been havent been published, havent been supplied to us. And the number would be substantially more than 355. What do you know about that, ambassador . Senator, i understand that ost is looking into a conference of plant. If confirmed comprehensive plan. If confirmed, i do not have insight into that, but if confirmed, i look to a role as being the chief advocate to build a fleet greater than 355 ship. To build a need fleet that the top military brass, admirals and generals, tasked with keeping our country safe, tell us is needed, the minimum requirement thats needed. I think thats what weve done, and weve got great leadership on the committee, as a chair and raking member, who feel the same. Know, weve got a little bit of a dip. We say this about shipbuilding, also about aircraft manufacturing. Weve got a little bit of a dip coming from omb, and a lot of it is the function of the budget we had to all agree to to get a twoyear deal. The way i calculated, and also talking to the secretary of billion an extra 20 would restore the curve and get us about where we need to be, combining shipbuilding and aircraft manufacturing. I would just say to my colleagues and anyone listening, our economy has been in the tank and weve done some things in this congress that were necessary to get us over the hump, and weve found a way to appropriate the money and say we need to do it. In terms of the 3 trillion we spent on our economy, it strikes me its a relative bargain to try and come up with 20 billion, only 20 billion to get us back to where we need to be to where the top military leaders in our country tell us will keep us safe. That iould just say think the collective leadership in this town and in this building ought to help us come up with that. Now, theres also, ambassador braithwaite, there getting more out of your money. And i asked secretary gertz about block buys and a strategy to acquire more amphibious ships in the most costeffective manner. Do you agree with secretary gertz when he says that block buys are a great strategy, and will you continue to support amphibious ship procurement as secretary, ambassador braithwaite . Yes, sir, i do. As senator king and i discussed the same thing. Im a Group Purchasing health care executive. Plot buying is a good deal. Block buying is a good deal. Thank you very much. Impressive panel, mr. Chairman. I certainly agree. Senator. [inaudible] mic. Isie, your who currentlywn, serves as commander of pacific air force. I have questions for the nominees that come to the committees of which i sit. Id like responses starting with the investor. Adult,ou became a legal have you committed any harassment or assault of a sexual nature . No, i have not. No, senator. No, senator. Have you ever entered into a settlement based on this conduct . No, senator. No, senator. No, senator. The facility tank in hawaii is a Strategic Military asset consisting of 20 underground storage tanks, each holding 12. 5 million gallons of fuel. This installation is in the order of the hoover dam. This facility is positioned above a large aqua firm that supplies Drinking Water to a wapo. The fear a lot who oahu. Administered leak between the navy, the epa, and Hawaii Department of health. Although the navy has performed tank upgrades and water monitoring, concerns in the community remain. Can i get your commitment that if your confirmed, you will work with me to make sure that the safety of red hill is a priority so the local communitys Drinking Water is protected and the military may continue to use this resource . Senator, i lived there and ive been past the red hill facility many times. I understand the apartments to people of hawaii ash importance the importance to people of hawaii and to you. Thank you very much. Youve been asked a number of questions from my colleagues about the importance of the shipyard monetization. One of the four Public Shipyards is in hawaii. Thank you for your commitment to make sure the health and safety of the workers there, many of whom are civilians, are protected during this pandemic. Now, the currently out at the Pearl Harbor Shipyard is inefficient and must be updated. Pearl harbor is slated for a new dryer duct and a new dryer duct facility in the next several years. Funding this program will require a significant portion of the navys budget. Does the physical 2021 budget contain or continue funding for shipyard monitored his asian plans so it will be modernization plans . Itfrom what i understand, does include that over a 20 year period. Im not sure of the particulars, but i understand the importance of the Pearl Harbor Shipyard, and its importance, geographically. So, i look to work with the department of the navy, if confirmed, as we can prioritize those requirements. I would certainly like to work closely with you because there have already been some setting aside of some funding that was supposed to go for a dried up Production Facility to make the shipyard more efficient. Thats already been set aside in anticipation of a new drydock and for strict Production Facility close to the drydock so it makes more sense. I want to continue to work with you. Yes, saturday. Well, i would love to work with you because i havent started yet. [laughter] theyve beenson, working to deploy the defense radar in hawaii. The administrations review released in 2019, as well as its budget request from 20172020, the command and Missile Defense experts as they have all previously stated this radar is critical for the defense of hawaii against north koreas advancing longrange missile capabilities. Dr. Anderson is confirming that if you continue to support the recommendation to build the Homeland Defense radar consistent with 20 missiledefense review and its recommendations . Yes, satyr. Ike yes, senator. I commit to that. I have a few more questions to submit for the record and i think you all for being here again. Thank you very much. As we have seen in the beginning, were going to have a second round and recognize senator sullivan now for his first run. Now, senator sullivan is presiding. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. And gentlemen, i want to thank you for the meetings the last couple of days and also your very exceptional service, decades of service to our nation for all three view. I appreciate that all three of you. I appreciate that, and your families. I want to begin with my opening question i ask all nominees, which is will you commit to coming to the great state of alaska with me to see what Billy Mitchell, father of the u. S. Air force, called the most strategic place in the world . Can i get a commitment from each of you to do that even though i know youve all been there before . This is a new commitment as part of your new job. Ambassador . Senator, as we discussed yesterday, i look forward to going back. Yes, satyr. Yes, senator. Yes, senator. This report was cochaired by eric aleman and admiral gary ruff ed. One of the findings and recommendations of that report was that it was important to reverse an unhealthy trend whereby civilians, both in the pentagon and here in the and lesswere less involved in Critical Military decisions, like basing decisions across theaters. For that reason, this committee has weighed in on a number of basing decisions, such as the oconee spacing decision. General brown, i want to talk at length with you, as we did in my office the other day. 2018, this committee and congress put forward the characteristics they believe are important when looking at the basing decision. In a hearing in 2018, i ran through the characteristics mandated by congress, with secretary wilson and general goldfinch. Id like to see if your views line up with his. One of the things mandated by the congress, important to look at the kc 46 located near not just one, but several cocoms, if possible. Do you agree with that, general . Sorry. You do . Ok. The characteristics mandated by Congress Near outstanding training facilities, especially with fifth train fifth jen fighters. Secretary wilson and general goldstein said absolutely. Do you agree with that . I agree. The third one was being near facilities with large airspace for training, large runways, hangers, aircrews, maintenance, and very large fuel storage and distribution capabilities. Again, current chief of staff and secretary of the air force said that was important. Do you agree with that . I do. And in a hearing we had twice now, i asked the secretary of defense, particularly given the National Defense strategy with china, northsia, korea challenges, if you code s that were6 colocated with filer fighters in alaska, which is what were going to have, what message with that center adversaries, china, russia, north korea, iran . The secretary defense has twice now stated the message that would be sent is that would give the message to our potential adversaries that the United States has extreme strategic reach. Do you agree with that . I do, senator. Senator king mentioned an issue that just came up in a hearing just a couple months ago. General alliance mentioned in his Posture Statement that the air refueling statement is that number one readiness the number one readiness concern and continues to underpin the joint deploy ability to across mission areas, and thats critical. Kings mentionr of this being an urgent manner, what general lyons said, do you agree it makes sense, as general goldfield has said, to bed down decision in a location that allows them to be responsible for multiple threats and combatant commands . I agree it would give us the most possibility. Most flexibility. Does that allow the most flexibility . That is one of the areas that we look at to give the most reach, as you described in our conversation earlier this week. Im going to continue this line of questioning, but i see my time is up. Let me just ask one final one. Youre in charge. Im in charge. I guess i can do this. [laughter] does it make sense, on the flipside, to have a conus k 46 and a location focused only on one combatant command, and will be vulnerable soon to longrange precision weapons from our adversaries in the region . Senator, that probably does not because it increases the risk to the fleet. Thank you. Senator jones, i believe your next. Youre next. Let me see if i can get this on. There we go. Thank you, mr. Chairman, and thank you all for your willingness. Im going to make a couple statements, couple quick questions. Ill issue some questions for the record. Secretary anderson, i know youve had an interest in missiledefense. Obviously, that is important to alabama, so im likely to follow up with you on a number of topics that way. One of the things ive done on this committee is paid particular attention to the men and women in uniform, and not just an increase in the Nuclear Triad or monitoring our capabilities. General brown, i will say it is an honor to be part of your confirmation hearing is the first africanamerican chief of any branch. Examplele to provide an for other minorities, for women, i think is incredibly important. Ive had a special interest in the air force junior rotc program to encourage minorities and women. And weve got some language in the ndaa last year to spread that across to other branches. So, i look forward to hearing more from you at an appropriate time, concern about underrepresentation in minorities, women in more senior ranks in the air force. I think that is something that im sure without you having to verbalize it, you are committed to working on. Thank you for that. Ambassador braithwaite, we had a great talk a couple days ago. Thank you for that. I very much appreciated that. Mention,ng id like to comparable on behalf of compelled on behalf of my state, i was disappointed with the navys decision on the next generation frigate contract, which i believe the navy overlooks really obvious choices. In mobile, alabama, they have consistently proven a record of topquality, highly capable ships that came in on budget and on time for the navy. And we look forward to getting more information. I must say that having spent a couple years in the city, one can become quite cynical as we approach elections. It is a concern for mine, based on what happened in huntsville last year, when the Space Command decision was reopened after huntsville was one of the finalists on that, that we now have that frigate contract going to a state that is clearly a battleground state for the upcoming election. Im not making allegations, but as a lawyer, it just raises my sensitivity somewhat when i see that happen in overlooking a company that has come in, done so well with their contracts. But the other thing i want to mention, and ambassador, you and i talked about this. This would be for both you and general anderson. Wevehe last 10 years, seen a number of shootings at military bases. Fort hood, 14 dead in 2009. 2013, 12 dead at the Naval Shipyard. Again a shooting at when he 14 and four hood. Chattanooga, 2015. 2019,ear, december of there was a shooting that killed four people at pensacola, including one of my constituents, caleb watson, who was killed in a terrorist attack there. Caleb was the officer on deck that morning. Is one of the first people to shoot an encounter. And although he was shot five times, he managed to make his way up to flag down First Responders and give an accurate description of the shooter. Tragically, he died in the hospital. Senators pretty and scott also and scott also lost young men. It does not seem like a lot considering the number of shootings across the country, especially with the number of deaths in the pandemic, but for the men and women who volunteer to serve and put their lives on the line for the service of their country, they should not have to die needlessly. I met with calebs father and brother and made a commitment to work with them to get to the bottom of what happened. I think there are a number of instances that could have saved calebs life, and perhaps others. The gao issued a report concerning recommendations on military bases. And im not quite sure that any of that has been followed at this point. Weve not seen any followup. My subquestion simple question i would like to get to the bottom of this, but just a simple question for both you, ambassador braithwaite, and general anderson. Are you committed to looking at those reports, those recommendations, to see if there are things we can feasibly do to prevent the need this killing of men and women in service, not only of the military, but of the potential civilians that are on these bases, as well . Lets try to implement those things and work with our office to try and see what we can do to better protect our men and women. Ambassador braithwaite . Absolutely, senator. I was stationed at pensacola. That its ended came incident came a little closer to me because one of my shipmates, his son was training there and was in that building and literally just left minutes before the shooting. Anybody who goes before any military installation has to show an id card, and it always gives you a sense of security, whether you come into this video this building or the pentagon around the world. So i pledge to you i will look into this. I understand some parts of the report are classified. In a followup to our discussion the other day, if i am confirmed, i look forward to looking at those reports and ensuring that we have the processes in place to protect the men and women, both in uniform and out, at the spaces. Thank you. General anderson . Commitment from you . I do. Finally, i would like to recommend to the committee, to the chairman and ranking members, that we possibly conduct a hearing on this at some point to look into the safety of our military men and women and civilians on these bases so these tragedies dont happen again. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you. On behalf of the chairman, senator duckworth. Thank you. Ambassador braithwaite, our nations first commanderinchief wisely observed that discipline is the soul of an army. As a former commander, i learned they are descended from the north start that we always fight with honor. Its how our military became the greatest fighting force the world has ever seen. While adhering to the loss of work and rejecting longtime conduct, it is harmful to its mission. Good order and discipline is truly the soul of the soul of United States military and that soul is now threatened by a commanderinchief who horrifies torture, betrays american allies, and celebrates were criminals and despots war criminals and despots. Theyve all proven incapable of withstanding erratic demands for petulant president who normalizes war crimes by offering degrading characterizations of Service Members, such as this disgraceful quote from President Trump. We train our boys to be killing machines and then prosecute them when they kill. By their inaction, top leaders enabled this commanderinchief, with threatens to command the armed forces into an undisciplined, brutal fighting force, devoted to for supporting one man and dismissive to the loss of war and constitutional principles. This is a danger to the professionalism of our great military. It is one thing to take the fight to the enemy and to bring down destruction upon them, but it is dangerous and beneath the professional standards of our military to conduct itself as if it is the personal force of a wannabe despot. There have been glimmers of leadership from within the administration. Former secretary of the navy used one of his last acts to inform trump that i cannot and good conscience obey an order that i believe violates this growth i took in the presence of my family, my flag, and my faith, to support the constitution of United States. He demonstrated leadership and not only sacrificing his position of power, but equally important, speaking truth to power to inform the people of the dangers posed by the current commanderinchief. Do you believe our men and women in uniform are just killing machines . Do you believe something more is required of them . Senator, i had an opportunity to talk about good order and discipline a little while ago. Like you shared that experience in uniform and understand the importance and it. I believe the men and women are patriots, first and foremost. Everyday. Strate that they go into harms way as you and i both did, and we have a sacred commitment to ensure that they have the resources they need, and ensure we protect their interest. You believe the law of war is fundamental to excuse me . Do you believe the law of war is fundamental to good discipline . We learned about that in the military. Do you think that is fundamental to good order and discipline in our military . Yes. Thank you. Do affirm the importance of respect of treating the enemy dead . Yes, of course. You believe taking a photo with a corpse of an isis fighter is respectful treatment of enemy dead . No, senator, i do not. Confirmed, how would you act to Service Members who violate like that . Anybody exhibiting dishonorable behavior will be accountable if im confirmed. How . Ensuring chain of command is followed and we uphold the sacred truth the chief just explained to us. Absolutely. Thank you. Do you believe public statements will negatively impact good order and discipline . I have straight very strong feelings about social media. Social media can influence anything at anytime, and people need to be mindful of that, no matter what they comment when they comment. Dont look, senator, i participate a lot on social media for that very reason. When i served as the vice chief of information, i advised many Senior Officers to do the same. There is a means an medium to be able to decay through to that, but theres also a lot of misuse. Thank you. Recognizing certain behavior can have good real impacts on good order and discipline, do think those who violate standards on social media should be held accountable . I do. How would you react if an active Duty Service Member publicly called the leadership of his or her service and other commanders a bunch of morands as Eddie Gallagher morons as Eddie Gallagher did last year . If they were responsible for the actions under the uc mj, it would be held accountable. Again, following good order and discipline and the chain of command you and i both served under. Thank you. Uphold American Trust values if leaders fail to act . Discussion. Its about reinstalling culture and those values in the navy. You are ready to do that . Talked about that earlier. Starts with trust up and down the chain of command. You and i know you cant just tell a young sailor, soldier, marine to go into harms way unless you have their trust. You gain their trust by the demonstration of being forthright in the way you communicate to them and ensure uphold goodain, discipline through the chain of command. If im confirmed, will ensure we build back trust up and down the chain, that we look to reestablish a strong culture based upon that trust, and that comes with strong leadership and understanding the responsibility and accountability of what being a leader means. And are you willing, should it come to it, be willing to resign your position if, in your good conscious, an order of the president violates a sacred growth you took in presence of your family, your faith, and your flight . Again, ive been asked this question and repeatedly stated that like with you, i raised my hand and took the oath of office and committed to uphold the constitution of the United States. I will continue to do that. Did,l, as both you and i at all ranks. Thank you. Im over time but i do have a question for dr. Anderson to submit for the record. Thats important without objection. Thank you. To roundgoing to go two unless senator mcsallys ready. Are you ready to go . Ok, senator mcsally. Thank you. I appreciate it. I have been watching from my office, social distancing, virtually. Its good to see you all. Congratulations on your nominations. Im sure thats no surprise to you. You may be aware that we put some requirements on previous ndaas, specifically we need fifth generation fighters. I love our f35s. We need our airmen to have air superiority, which we may look easy for so long. That we need the ferrari and the pickup truck. Even in highend warfare, we need the ability to protect the men and women on the ground with capabilities that are unmatched. Yourts good to see in testimony that you did talk about the importance of having the fourthgeneration in the future, including the a10. We put some requirements because of concerns about getting rid of it altogether, that there needed to be a fly off competition between the f35 and the a10, that there needed to be the full Operation Test evaluation report, and then another assessment following that, all happening in series before any planning or anything happening before retiring one more a10. Are you aware of the requirements we had related to this . In my preparation, ive been made aware. Good. I was concerned the proposal included phasing out some number of the eight and without regard to this requirements the a10 without regard to these requirements. These things have not happened yet. Were in ongoing discussions with your leadership and should you be confirmed, this is something were going to be engaging with you on. Can you talk about your views on this issue, where the a10 stands in the future of the air force, how long do you think it will be in the inventory, have important a niche capability like that is to protect men and women on the ground, often in complex and moving firefights, where we have air superiority but we need to have the best capabilities to keep them alive . I do believe the a10 will be around for a number of years. In order to maintain that fleet, make it affordable, were going to have to take some that are probably not doing as well and move them aside. One, we can maintain the fleet, but invest in the future. Weve got to do both, maintain the next 1520 years. At the same time, modernize with the capability, as well. Is it your perspective it will be around into the 20 40s, welloperating, which talk about . I cant say specifically 2040, but for the next 10 years. I think thats where the air force is headed. Look, if previous efforts had their way, they would all be in the boneyard. Were able to stop that from happening. I think theres a broad agreement we need the capability. Now theres a discussion about capacity. Right now, theres 281 in the fleet. Theres nine operational squadrons, five activeduty. Were going to have conversations on whats the right capacity, the right mix to keep this capability, not just for close air support, but also for combat, searchandrescue, often an overlooked mission the sandy fleet runs we have americans that need to be rescued. I look forward to continuing this conversation with you. Just know i was concerned about seeing efforts of drying it down before requirements we put in law were met. This is going to be an ongoing conversation. If confirmed, i look forward to the conversation. Ambassador, do you see china taking advantage of covid19 in their aggression in the South China Sea and other places, specifically with lack of presence of a carrier . And what is your observation about what china is doing in that region . It appears to me theyre taking advantage and trying to continue with increased aggressions because of coronavirus. What is your perspective . Thank you, sider, and i would senator, and i would agree with you. I think they are trying to flex their muscle. I do think currently the United States navy has over 90 ships deployed at sea that are covid free. I also know there are contingencies in place to meet requirements for Carrier Strike group Combatant Commander needs, including the roosevelt itself, which is on the others of the covid curve. So, if anybody underestimates the intents of the United States and its concern over National Security, including china, i think they will grossly underestimate our capabilities. Great, thank you. Im over my time. I appreciate it. On behalf of the chairman, senator reid. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Let me direct the same question to both. In your response to the standard questions, including providing all pertinent information all information upon the request of the committee, you said yes, you would. But in the written prehearing question, there was some qualifications. I want to be clear that the yes is unequivocal and that you will respond to every committee request dutifully and diligently. Is that accurate . Yes, sir, it is. Yes. Thank you very much. On behalf of the chairman, senator king. Thank you, mr. Chairman. First, on behalf of both senators and myself, i want to emphasize the emphasize the importance of the arctic as a strategic region. The opening up of the arctic ocean is a world historical event. Is the equivalent of the discovery of the mediterranean sea. Its an entirely new water body that was unavailable for human use except for the Indigenous Peoples for all of human history. Its enormous strategic importance. There are just any number of strategic imperatives, and it has not been a serious focus of the government for obvious reasons. The chinese have declared themselves a near arctic nation. Thats like maine saying its a near caribbean state, but theyve done it, and i think it indicates their intention. Not really a question, but i , attentionall of you must be paid to this very important strategic region. Ambassador, you know from your work and north norway how important that is, and how russia and china of course russia has the huge reporter russia and china are both expressing interest. You and i have had many discussions over the years and i know you share my concerns for the arctic. As you articulate, how it emerges. The great news is the United States navy has been up there for many, many years. You may not see them but they are up there. Come morens to navigable, we also need to make sure that our presence is noted. And we have not done that. Across all ust policies. U. S. Geo policies. I know our current role, working under the leadership of secretary pompeo, was put an emphasis upon this, as well as reading the guidance for arctic presence into the future. It will be a priority of mine, sir. For ambassador braithwaite and general brown, we talked to both of you about readiness and how many airplanes, ships are ready at any given moment. I would appreciate it if, for the record, and this may take time to consult with your new a harda goal, a target, 68 or 73 , whatever it is. Im a great believer in the adage if you dont have a destination, youll never get there. I i would look to both of you to give us a specific destination in terms of overall readiness and readiness for the specific platform. If you could do that, i would appreciate it. Mr. Anderson, i dont want to leave you out. One of my concerns is that all , andr Strategic Thinking this is a common place that we tend to fight the last war, and yet, the next war we fight may be cyber. I would like to get your opinion on preparation, cyber deterrence. This is where our country, like iran or north korea, it does not have the military capability but it could still strike at the heart of our country. Thank you, senator. The Department Takes the cyber domain very seriously for all the reasons you mentioned to do so. It is a domain of increasing importance that has become where we have been devoting Additional Resources or Cyber Mission teams. A generale, we have leading cyber command. We have issued cyber strategies, and we are defending forward. That is an important new approach. We are no longer on our heels cyber activityo by our competitors and adversaries. I would say that with defending forward and persistent engagement with the authorities we now have and the resources, trajectory, but we are also not at all complacent. I would also say that your leadership with project solarium has been very helpful on several levels, helping to make a somewhat esoteric topic more digestible to the public at large. I also know that project solarium, which a couple of my colleagues were able to participate in. I know there are a number of recommendations, so i look forward to, if confirmed, looking at those recommendations and seeing what more needs to be done. Thank you. I appreciate that. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Gentlemen, im going to finish up with a few more questions and then we will finish up this hearing. I have outlined a of what others have said the secretary of defense, secretary goldstein, this committee, congress. As you know, you may know there are other senior luke perry members who have made comments both privately and publicly about this one saying it is a. Obrainer as you know, this is an important matter for me. If general Billy Mitchell were still alive and making the decision on where to base the casey 46, where do you think he would base the aircraft . You can just give me a oneword. Nswer is this before or after the courtmartial . That was he was reinstated after he was courtmartialed. Senator mccain question him. A very strategic thinker, correct . Thats correct. Thank you. Topics want to switch with regard to the arctic, and i appreciate my good friend, senator king, and you already hurt others, and i think i have mentioned to all of you, there has certainly been an awakening of the strategic importance of the arctic. ,ur adversaries are not waiting as ambassador braithwaite has already mentioned. Russia, but also china, others. The great power competition, as we know, is upon us and really taking place in that part of the world. We have Strategic Interests there. We are in arctic nation because of my great state. Unfortunately, as ive mentioned to all of you, the pentagon has inn, really, the last agency town to realize this. This committee has stepped up in a bipartisan way over the last averal years, if mandating dod arctic strategy, authorizing the building of six polar class icebreakers. We have two right now. One is broken. In the last count i had 54, anduding nuclear significant capabilities with regard to weaponized icebreakers. Changeis starting to even at the pentagon. I would say general brown, certainly secretary barrett, general goldstein our understanding these issues. Spencer was a real advocate and understood this. Can i get the commitment of each of you to work with this committee on these important, strategic arctic issues, which, again, the pentagon has been slow to, but we think are important . Can i get a yes from each of you . Yes, senator. Yes, senator. Yes, senator. Ambassador, we talked specifically about the strategic importance of an arctic port. The nearest seaport with regard to our interest in the arctic, the Bering Strait where all this increased shipping traffic is happening is the port of anchorage. Alaska is a big state. That is 1500 miles away from the arctic circle. We have nothing else that can handle a destroyer, an icebreaker. Secretary spencer was a vocal advocate for the need of a strategic arctic port. If confirmed, can i get your commitment to also be a strong advocate for a need for strategic arctic port that can handle a destroyer or icebreaker . Yes, sir. Dr. Anderson, how about you . This is an important issue. As you know, it has been an issue again where the pentagon seems to be the last one to recognize the importance of this. Can i get your commitment if a strong to be advocate within the building the problem is the top level the generals, the secretaries get it. We get it, and yet, somehow, in building, of that big it stops these initiatives, which are important to protect our nations Strategic Interests. Can i get your commitment on that issue . Yes, sir. As you know, we testified before the subcommittee in march about those requirements. Im going to take a very hard look at this study that is coming out that we owe you me, and i commit to working with you on this issue. You owe us in my view, not a maybe, not a blowoff like the last time the pentagon looked at this. You owe us a commitment, and im expecting that. You have my commitment. By the way, general shaughnessy is another strong advocate. Numerous what has are called Regional Centers. You are probably aware of these. These are centers for strategic studies. We have one in germany that studies nato and our National Security interests there. Thatve one in hawaii studies the asia pacific. We have the William Perry center that is hemispheric. Latin america, north and south america here in d. C. The African Center that is also here, the Near East Center that is also here. These are dod Regional Centers. There is not one for the arctic, i think, to show the pentagons commitment there should be one. Im going to have language with senator makowski under bill that we have introduced along with senator king to have one. Can i get your commitment to work with this committee, which again has been leaving on the , leading on the arctic, to finally have a Regional Center, which we will be advocating for . A big fan ofm Regional Centers, having worked at the marshall center. I know the value added that they provide. If confirmed, you have my commitment to working with you on this issue. Do you believe we need a Regional Center on the arctic, given there is a Regional Center on literally every other part of the world with the exception of the arctic . Sender, i need to kind of iview the options senator, need to kind of review the options. I would have to assess is what we have is enough or not enough. Its not enough. I think theres a good case to be made for considering an Arctic Center in alaska. Dr. Anderson, i want to emphasize with you, to me, this is going to be a demonstration of if the pentagon finally gets it. Ive been in this job for five and a half years. It started with the obama arctic strategy, which i held up in a hearing with the secretary of defense and i called it what it was a joke. It was a joke. It was 13 pages, six of which were pictures. Russia was mentioned once in a footnote. It was a joke. Since that time, week, this committee, have been leading. We need the pentagon to lead and help us. I will be reviewing this at the pentagon supports this Regional Center or not, as to if you are finally getting serious about this. Can i get your commitment to take a very hard look at this and be on the front foot, not the back foot, the way in which the pentagon has been in these arctic issues since ive been here . Yes, sir. You have my commitment. One final question. As you and i talked about, theres training up in nebraska. ,irspace larger than florida maneuver space larger than delaware and see operating space larger than virginia. Myt one Training Range in space. The former commandant general was much more aggressive about training with the marine corps, and i have talked about much more air to air training and red flagged at j park. Can i get your commitment to take a hard look and i have talked about this with general berger, of course for a much more significant presence by the u. S. Navy, u. S. Marines in terms of training, possible deployments up to alaska, and then can deploy on ships to different parts of the arctic and asiapacific . You and i discussed last night in great detail, yes, i will. Great. Thank you, gentlemen. This has been a very important hearing. Consider putting that Arctic Center in maine. Im worried all the suggestions you make today, alaska may sink into the arctic coast. Maybe it should be two offices, one in alaska and one in maine. We will look hard at both. I do want to echo what so many other senators democrats and republicans stated today, you are all very wellqualified. This is a very distinguished panel of distinguished public servants. We appreciate that, and we look forward to your continued service for our nation, and we want to thank you again for your decades of service that you have already provided to the United States of america. This hearing is adjourned. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [indiscernible] the chaplain let us pray. Eternal master, you are our strength and song. We find sustenance in your might and joy in your creation. We praise you for the beauty of the earth and the glories of the heavens that bring blessings to our earthly pilgrimage. Da