subjects, i believe it is right for me to step down from my position. the end date for my tenure is february 28, 2019, a date that should allow sufficient time for a successor to be nominated and confirmed as well as to make sure the department s interests are properly articulated and protected at upcoming events to include congressional posture hearings and the nato defense ministerial meeting in february. further, that a full transition to a new defense secretary of defense occurs well in advance of the transition of chairman of the joint chiefs of staff in september in order to ensure stability within the department. i pledge my full effort to a smooth transition that ensures the needs and interests of the 2.15 million service members and 732,079 department of defense civilians receive undistracted attention of the department at all times so they can fulfill
sufficient time for a successor to be nominated and confirmed, as well as to make sure the department s interests are properly articulated and protected at upcoming events to include congressional posture hearings and the nato defense ministerial meeting in february. further, that a full transition to a new secretary of defense occurs well in advance of the transition of chairman of the joint chiefs of staff in september in order to ensure stability within the department. i pledge my full effort to a smooth transition that ensures the needs and interests of the 2.15 million service members and the 732,079 dod civilians receive undistracted attention so they can fulfill their mission to protect the american people. i very much appreciate this opportunity to serve the nation and our men and women in uniform.
should allow sufficient time for a successor to be nominated and confirmed as well as to make sure the department s interests are properly articulated and protected at upcoming events to include congressional posture hearings and the nato defense ministerial meeting in february. further, that a full transition to a new secretary of defense occurs well in advance of the transition of chairman of the joint chiefs of staff in september in order to ensure stability within the department. i pledge my full effort to a smooth transition that ensures the needs and interests of the 2.15 million service members and the 732,079 d.o.d. civilians receive undistracted attention of the department at all times so that they can fulfill their critical round-the-clock mission to protect the american people. i very much appreciate this opportunity to serve the nation and our men and women in unif m
tallieded. 5,000 is below the level recommended by u.s. command to make sure taliban doesn t return. the general explains what he needs. for over a year, we have used guidance that we received at defense ministerial in nato in february of 2013 as our primary planning guide. that guidance was called for a force of eight to 12,000 nato forces to provide, train, advise, as sis at the afghan core level. reporter: that does not include several thousand more u.s. troops needed for counterterrorism operations. 5,000 u.s. troops would reflect a judgment that afghan forces are now up to the task of providing their own security. and remaining u.s. mission would focus mainly on counterterrorism, not training. we believe it is vitally important that we have a force that remains in afghanistan. there is nothing that shows commitment, like having people on the ground there every day. i think that provides confidence
it has never happened before, but why not now? heck. the white house is not pleased. today s action runs against both the majority will of the senate and our nation s interest. this waste of time is not without consequence. we have 66,000 men and women deployed in afghanistan, and we need our new secretary of defense to be a part of significant decisions about how we bring that war to a responsible end. next week in brussels, the united states will meet with our allies to talk about the transition in afghanistan at the nato defense ministerial, and our next secretary of defense should be there. for the sake of national security, it s time to stop playing politics with our department of defense and to move beyond the distractions and delay. allow this war hero an up or down vote, and let our troops have the secretary of defense they deserve. do you remember when the top democrat in the senate, harry reid, declared just a few weeks ago the democrats would not change the rules in the se