Questions on the backgrounds and priorities. Many members i asked about military training, readiness, Technology Implementation as well as the state of military bases and specific projects in their home states. This is two hours and 20 minutes. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] i guess we are one minute late. The Committee Meets today to consider the nomination of mrs. Barbara barrett to be secretary of the air force, and mr. Ryan mccarthy to be secretary of the army. Thanks for being here today. We have the standard questions, whether you like about your to answer. Would you answer audibly so it can be heard . And appreciate it very much. Do you adhere to the applicable laws and resolutions governing topics of interest . Yes. Yes. Will you ensure your staff complies with deadlines established for requesting communications including for the record . Yes. Will you cooperate in providing witnesses and briefers in response to congressional request . Yes, senator. Will those witnesses be protected from reprisal from the testimony and briefing . Yes, senator. Do you agree it confirmed to appear and testify upon request before this committee . Yes, senator. And do you agree to provide documents including copies of electronic forms communication in a timely manner when requested by a duly Constitutional Committee or to consult with the Committee Regarding the basis for many good faith into late or denial in providing such documents . Yes, senator. Lastly, have you assumed a duty spider taken any actions which would appear to the outcome of the confirmation process . No, senator. As was often said, i really believe were in the most dangerous situation weve been in in this world, in my lifetime, and even if i ever thought i would say i thought back wistfully of the dates of the cold war, i would think would have have a really bad. So do have a serious problem with the president and weve a National Defense strategy bring that i cant believe that. All right. We dont have our book with us, are in the s book. This is kind of unique. Something with the democrats and republicans got together and gives total agreement on the strategy that we would use. And so we are locked in pretty much to that, china and russia has passed us in key areas or catching up in others its the time when we had our lunch superiority that we dont have any more. We dont know how thats changing. Its a moving target. When President Trump assumed Office Americas main focus was counterterrorism but today the United States is properly focus on the security challenges that we face. Years of budget cuts and the obama sensation left our military and readiness crisis. Last Administration Even that we could cut our Defense Budget by hundreds of billions of dollars fighting to midportion everything which are not. However, that isnt the case. This is a surprising thing. I see senator wicker is not here yet, but he came up with a document that after check it out i believe it to be true, that during the time that we were kind our budget, between fiscal years 20102015, by some 25 , china was increasing during that time theres my 83 . People are not aware of this. They dont know thats going on. These cuts left a military with got a good start. We did in fiscal year 18, this could your we made some great advances and we want to continue those advances so we are looking forward to todays hearing. If the two of you will be, if confirmed, will play a major role in fixing some things are broken right now. Senator reed. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. I joined about me secretary mccarthy and ambassador barrett to this mornings hearing. Also id like to of your families, jennifer, david and kathleen. Likewise ambassador Barrett Family is also in attendance. We are all police you can view this morning. Secretary mccarthy come as we consider nomination i know you have a wealth of experience and defense policy and yes, sir admirably as the undersecretary of the army. If confirmed you will be responsible ensuring that the Army Continues to innovate know to support the National Defense strategy. As the undersecretary you were close with secretary esper and with the Army Senior Military leadership to establish a cross functional teams focus on the armys major modernization priorities. As those astonishing command as a single man for full modernization efforts. I would ask you show with the committee what youve learned from these efforts. Delivering cuttingedge capabilities to war fighter is critical for country to compete with the near. Threat. Modernize military platforms will be pointless at the do have the training necessary to prevail on the battlefield. As such reddish veins are resized. I hope youll share with the members what you will do to ensure the army and marine is focus of greatness if youre confirmed by the senate. Finally, handinhand with red is the army success the dependent upon the men and women who serve in uniform as will the civilians working in the department of the army. The armys the army is that cheg recruitment goals as the only cause causes remain focus on quality of soldiers. If youre confirmed i trust you will closely monitor the situation. Ambassador barrett, if confirmed youll face a number of Critical Issues confronting the department of the air force. You will be leading air force during a major transition that the air force and guidance to salvage a spaceport. Doing this curricula great influence on our ability to challenge nearpeer competitors. The air force has been involved overseas since 9 11 and has been waiting under the day today strains under the high tempo. Given concerns about supporting the readiness of our deployed and nondeployed forces, the next sectors efforts of managing improvements to the force and supporting structure will be critical. It seems to me the secretary sey should be focusing on improving readiness of the existing force. In addition to improving readiness, the next secretary must focus on modernization. Over a number of years may seem to have expressed concerns about the size and relative modernization of the air force. As comic as it is to reach the number of aircraft whereby, by more aircraft is not enough. The air force must also buy the right types of aircraft. The air force is on special of modernizing several capabilities including the groundbased Intercontinental Ballistic Missile force, and demands Battle Management System Program which has a network of existing and new era in space based. Finally the Service Sector is not in a great chain of command but the Service Sector plays a critical in the budget and requirements decision that drive programs. This committee will look to you for your contributions and bouncing air force resources against air force needs, and ensuring they get the Acquisition Workforce the Department Needs to get the job done. Again let me thank you, mr. Chairman for only the syrian and i look forward to hearing from the nominees. Thank you, senator reed. I see terry mccarthy, an introduction of you is not really necessary. He worked for what, two years as a undersecretary in the same position . You know it well. However, we do have senator nixon has requested to introduce ms. Barrett, and i know you dont object to that. Senator nixon. Thank you, chairman, Ranking Member reed. Its great privacy before this going to edit his fellow arizona and a personal friend, ambassador Barbara Barrett as a nominee to be the next secretary of our air force. Many of us know barbara for os x a competent and leadership spanning from the business world, academia to international diplomacy. A few of these include the deputy federal aviation administrator serving as u. S. Ambassador defendant, her time with u. S. Mission of the united nations. These positions make her a phenomenal choice to lead the branch but are unique experiences are what make her the best choice to lead our air force at this important time in history. First and foremost shes a pilot herself so she thinks in three dimensions. She always looks up and shares a passion for flying with the air when she would leave. Next she is fast management expense including leading teams to change. In fact, as interim president of the Thunderbird School of Global Management she was responsible for producing the next generation of global thinkers and leaders. This will be vital for air force as we that to Great Power Competition and the threats they post the world. Shes been a key member of the Aerospace Community giving her first hand understanding of how to navigate commercial partnerships in order to get her error meant the quality equipment, technology and best practices they need when they needed and waiting to do. Shes worked at several organizations, air force looks to for analysis, like serving a seal of the aerospace corporation, a nonprofit based in california that operates federally funded research and develop a center. She served on the board of brand which one the most inferential think tanks in the military space. When asked to serve on the defense business board, barbara tackle the tough task of improving Business Practices in the dds holder this kind of macrolevel analysis expense will enable her to Enter Air Force to meet and defeat any threat anywhere anytime. Shes been involved in many institutions focus on advocacy and education for air and space pic serving on the boards and national air and space his income sally ride science and the space foundation. Nearest and dearest to my heart is ambassador barrett played an Important Role in what are the biggest paradigm shifts the military is experienced in the last few decades, expanding air combat roles for women. As a only the no pilot serving the defense advisory committee, she was incidental in recommending women be allowed to compete for and fly in combat. In fact, the leadership of this very committee opposed the recommendations at the time. Dont read the full senate overruled and i dont take that personally but paving the way for thousands of women like me to serve a a country with distinction in air combat. We none of the wisdom of these in part because of these changes are military is more effective and more lethal than ever before, taking the best man for the cockpit even if shes a woman. If because of individuals like ambassador barrett that is able to get the air force academy and be the first to fly in combat and later command a fighter squadron. This led other airmen being able to meet their goals but none of these first one possible not for the expense, efficacy and a grid of women like ambassador Barbara Barrett opposing new solutions to update a way of thinking. Im grateful, barbara for her work to allow women like me to step up and serve our country that also are to continue the proud tradition of arizona women in aerospace. Today as we sit in a fight makes the type of important decisions, these types of decisions i continue to be inspired by her example. Who isnt afraid to question the status quo can always look for improvements, think strategically and acknowledged sometimes doing things away the ball is been done the past not be good enough anymore. Its a personal understanding of what airmen need for intimate knowledge of their citizenship that supports them come for competence and passion for air and space domain and i can say to search for new, better more Innovative Solutions that make ambassador barrett the best candidate to lead our air force today and tomorrow. Finally, i can place to get to know barbara as a friend and i believe she is a perfect fit for this job and i advocated to President Trump for the nomination and im grateful that he is nominated her. From our use of friendship i cn tell you shes a woman of character, vision, smarts and the true leader who cares deeply about our country, our military and our air force. With all shes accomplished, she did not have to enter this call. She is not seeking this call. Yet she was willing to give these years of her life to share her a immense experience and lead our air force into the future. Barbara truly embodies the air force core values of integrity first, service before self and exited overdue. And both inspire our airmen as a train and fight to keep the state. I wholeheartedly support her nomination. I hope each member will join me. Thank you, mr. Chair and Ranking Member reed for the opportunity to make the introduction and with that is my pleasure to introduce my friend, ambassador Barbara Barrett. Thats great. Thank you, senator nick sally. Dutiful introduction. We will now have Opening Statements from our nominees. And keep in mind your entire statement will be made part of the records i dont need to go through the whole thing. Just abbreviated as best you can and invite you to introduce in your friends or family with, to support you this morning. Secretary mccarthy. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member reed, members of the committee, it is an honor to come before you today as the present so many for secretary of the army. I i have testified previously in front of this committee. I hold it in the highest regard. Want to thank secretary esper for sculptors for the president for for nominating me. Yesterday as we do every year we pause and remember the 9 11 attacks to all of the souls lost on that day and the subsequent 18 years of war. Just as the pentagon building still bears the physical scars of the attack, we will never forget. 18 years ago today i was beginning my preparation to the point of afghanistan invasion. That they finally changed my life and this brought me to this moment. Troops deployed in combat operations remain my primary focus. Id like to begin by recognizing my wife jennifer to join you today. She along with a daughter alexandra and the rest of my family serve as a bedrock to who i am as a person. It they provide you with strength and motivation to be the best husband, father and man that i can be. To my parents dave and kathleen i want to publicly thank them for the love, support and during guidance my entire life. And my sister, shannon and my brotherinlaw chase, thank you for being confidants and friends who were always there for me. While i want to thank the committee of the confidence of bipartisan support theyve shown the army and the department of defense for the committees top lundmark which provide the foundation for a budget deal that provide fiscal certainty in the fy 20 20 and fy 2021. We will work to maximize the utility of every dollar with ruthless privatization and safeguard of most treasured national resource, the minute women serving in the army, the eight civilians and the families. Im an avid supporter of the National Defense strategy and will continue the privatization necessary for it to be realized. The nds serves as our blueprint. Minimizing any potential turbulence as result of the transition of leaders. This strategy allows for a laserlike focus against Great Power Competition while institutionalizing the hard Lessons Learned in counterinsurgency of the Violent Extremist Organization fight. If confirmed, i will continue to champion the Army Strategy and vision with an emphasis on readiness, modernization, and reform. It is only to the care of our people that these priorities will be achieved if ive encouraged by their intention as number of performance. And fy 19 to army met over 100 of our retention goals without waivers. We are on track to achieve a revised goal without delusion and called it. If confirmed, i to ensure our soldiers and the films have the resources to thrive. This includes quality and safe housing, Reliable Health care and access to childcare you are taking care of the force leads to better quality of life, retention of worldclass soldiers and ultimately improved readiness. Im an equally committed to the prevention of Sexual Assault and harassment in our formations which tears of the very fabric of our institution. Leadership at every level must build a team of teams, protecting our brothers and sisters to our left and right. Reinforcing theres no place for suicide and Sexual Assault and harassment in our army. If confirmed, the Army Leadership will continue to build upon reform agenda with established over the last 24 months pick significant work remains to solidify the Modernization Enterprise and finish what we collectively started. Congressional support has helped the army and i look for to working with this committee and congas to fulfilling the responsibility of providing the best manned, equipped, and trained force our nation needs to meet its objectives. Im grateful for your consideration of my nomination and i and i look forward it to your questions. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Secretary. And ms. Barrett. Chairman inhofe, Ranking Member reed, distinguished members of this important committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you with acting secretary of the army ryan mccarthy. I appreciate your attention to her nomination. I hope to build a relationship with each of you should at the conference. I would like to thank the president for his nomination and the secretary of defense for the possible privileged to again serve our great nation. I would like to recognize my family who were here with me today. My husband craig, the love of my life and the kind of guy youd want your son to grow up to be. Also, my sisters jill and patty, and sisterinlaw lori all traveled from western pennsylvania. Send atomic sally, thank you for your kind introduction as the first woman senator mcsally the first woman to fly an aircraft engaged in combat begin a first in what is required of our airmen. I am grateful for your confidence and your friendship. This committee profoundly understands the threats Great Power Competition presents to our National Interests. As properly prioritize in the National Defense strategy. China and russia continually challenge free and open international order, and post their authoritarian models beyond their borders, and attempt to undermine longstanding alliances. A recent independent, bipartisan Strategy Commission appointed by congress concluded that the air force will be at the forefront of any future conflict. We cannot afford to lose our competitive edge. If confirmed, i would work with congress and the administration to build upon our manpower resources to meet our National Defense needs. The air force must not only retain its technical edge over potential adversaries but we must expand it. If confirmed, i will continue investments in modernization and advanced capabilities to better equip our airmen to prevail in the high end fight. While attending to readiness, modernization and reform, i will also work closely with our allies and deepen global partnerships. If confirmed, standing up a space force would be the key imperative. I believe we need a space force. In fact, in my opinion a domain specific service to organize, train and equip space forces is overdue. Most americans use space before the first cup of coffee in the morning. Space controls our electricity, water, Financial Transactions and, of course, navigation, information, in communication. While space is ubiquitous it is also invisible and often underappreciated. American National Power depends upon space at our potential adversaries know what. We must be prepared to defend critical space assets, increase the resilience of our Space Enterprise and be prepared to fight and win should deterrence fail. Finally, as we focus on organizing, training and equipment for combat we cannot ignore the Readiness Challenges close to home. We must support our airmen by addressing suicides Sexual Assault, housing, and quality of life. Much work has been done to address these serious issues and if confirmed i i would supportd fortify those efforts. Most americans top their kids in bed at night without a thought about foreign threat, because brave men and women in uniform stand ready. It is because of their sacrifices that we all sleep well. As an aviator i have a deep love and respect the air force and the men and women, uniformed and civilian, who serve, and their families. Our dad Robert Harvey mcconnell was a cowboy when he enlisted in the army corps of engineers during world war ii. Long ago he instilled the importance of Public Service and us. As a result ive always felt a duty to serve when called. I would consider this a supreme privilege and a pivotal responsibility to lead our airmen and serve as the 25th secretary of the air force. I look forward to your questions. Thank you, ms. Mayer. During my opening comments i talked a little bit about our lunch capabilities, and i regret that while we were light years ahead, to the Previous Administration we lost that edge and we now have china and are very much concerned about what theyre doing and they just keep rolling on, keep rolling on in developing technology that takes us a lot longer. We have a different system. They give them again, kill somebody. Thats not our system. I would first of all ask you if you agree with the most recent National Security space launch acquisition efforts within the air force and the senate focus on staying the course on the Armed Services prepare but as it is aligned today procurement. Thank you, mr. Chairman. We dont get to space without effective space launch. Fortunately in the recent past we develop not just a military and government capabilities but commercial capability as well. We still need to have government capability, and im fully supportive of continuation of that capability through the military. And also the fact that we stay in course in terms of our timing. Because any delay is going to put them that much for the head. Do you agree with that . Absolutely. Thats one of your top priorities. Absolutely. Thats good. I want to mention another thing because theres a misunderstanding. We know that the air force has talked about needing 72 fighter aircraft. When you came out with the 60f35 and f15s, the main problem we had at the time was the manufacturer, the contractor didnt have the capacity to get up any higher than that. Thats a moving target right now. We are not sure where that is. We have another situation, and that is on the f15, the f35s there out there, any we get right now would be block three and get block four becoming next year. Whats your feeling on this situation today as where we are and where are some of these problems affect our acquisition. While them on the outside dont have inside knowledge about it, from the briefings i received the f35 is our future and we need it. We need it and we need sustainably. Getting more of the f35s has been something that the air force has been working hard to do. If confirmed, i would look to continue that pushed. Ms. Barrett, i remember when we had to have 22 debates. The top ten. I dont want that to happen again. We shouldve learned that. Secretary mccarthy, you know, you know the job. Youve been the undersecretary for, how long . Twentyfive months. Twentyfive months. So you know some of the problems that are out there. We are not able to meet our recruitment goals this last time. Looking at what were trying to do now, what are the problems we have . Right that we have the best economy argue in my lifetime so thats your competition. How do you overcome that . Are you going to be able to meet your goals . And if not, whats the fallback . To your point, chairman, we missed on active go by 6500 in fy 18. Secretary esper and general milley set that is them and said we had to make a change. We change the strategy focus on 22 cities across the United States because we need a larger sample size. We need to get greater penetration in the demographics were restored to true. With 3. 6 unemployment, theres never been a benchmark like that for us to face since 1969, and that wasnt all drafty military. Unique study and competing quite frankly with the air force navy and marine corps. Everybodys friends if you will but we all are competing essentially the same pool. Weve gone out on the road. Army leadership is meeting with mayors and superintendent of schools, parks and recreation director scott beating Civic Leaders to help. We change our Marketing Strategy and we are putting more funding and effort into digital marketing. Weve made a dramatic change in also looking at our voice. 150 different operational specialties. As fast opportunity for americans to get an opportunity to get technical skills, money for education, and truly get out of and a private what they can reach the middle class which we often say in the army is the escalator to the middle class. So changing the message was a key and communicating with the country. I would anticipate you were initially trying to meet those goals, we didnt anticipate having the economy that we have today. We meet those targets well over a year in advance, chairman, so we had to make the adjustment. Its hard because we still need to grow. 60 of Combatant Commanders requirements are the army worldwide. We have to continue to grow while demand remains high. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman, and congratulations to the nominees. I enjoyed our visit yesterday. We talked about the concern of mine in this space area, which is the lack of rules as you point out, sort of invisible and the challenges of a rule less than five will get more significant the more investment we and other countries make. Theres an example last year an American Company was denied a license to launch satellites in the United States but then they circumvent the fcc ruling by going to india and logic satellites. There was a monetary penalty that was assessed against the company for doing that. We talked about issues of debris in space created by either accidents or efforts to use missiles to knock down defunct satellites that create debris that affect investment. As you contemplate, she had to be confirmed, what are your thoughts about what the trend to do to try to work with other nations to create a set of International Rules that could be enforced to try to protect the investments that we would make . Thank yous syndicate. That would be one of the important things that lies in the future. The air force is wanted to be a big part of that. It confirmed i would participate in the leadership. You indicated you are strongly support the space force. We did a good bit of that in the nda and that will likely survive relatively intact from the conference from everything im hearing. You have many priorities as you would take position to talk about how you would approach the implementation of the provisions that will be included in the ndaa on this. Look for to dissing the oute of those negotiations in congress, and building upon what congress directs. I would look forward to participating, if confirmed, in developing an agency that is focused on capability in space, not on building structural bureaucracy but instead building the capability for the war fighter and for the american public. Back to my first question. You would agree with me that it would be very difficult for us to protect our investment in space without some kind of a rulebased order that of the nations are agreeing with. Its hard to either have bilateral or unilateral rules in space because activities of other nations could jeopardize our investments. Just as our activities could jeopardize theirs and less as an international set of rules. I agree completely. Yes, we are vulnerable to the actions of others in that open territory. Thank you for that. Secretary mccarthy, ive been impressed with, well first, depressed with the challenges running them to housing but have been impressed with the armys enter about acknowledging secretary esper, i work with him on that and when the reason i i was happy to introduce them to the committee for his hearing was because of the work thats been done. It strikes me as a think about the work over the last few months including visits that i made to basis averaging including army bases, i looked at a lot of military Family Housing but havent looked at barracks for e4 envelope it if were going to be searched about the housing issues we have to make sure single individuals, many women are in their works in the lower ranks, some of the lower paid and most vulnerable, they also acceptable housing. We talked to some of the military Family Housing issues as the arm is grappling with those, what are you are going to take look at Housing Conditions for all of the troops including the e4 envelope who live at single members in barracks . We had to conduct a very thorough baseline to truly make sure we understood the problem. This has been bubbling back since the fall of 18. Secretary esper initiated an ig investigation back in february of this year. We recently released the results to the entire congress. There were a a series of recommendations about 90 of which we are going to implement. We had to get a better understanding of how we were managing the problem, and thats really whats going on the last couple of months. We have begun to move resources and better data and understanding of the health of all of the assets in the entire portfolio. And that would include the barracks for a Single Service member . Guest. We talked yesterday, final question, a recent study by the cdc indicate dod spends nearly 1. 5 billion a year a year and obesity related health care costs. This is national not just military issue. You have done, the army is implementing a new fitness standard across the force. We talked a little bit about how you would help implement those should you be confirmed. It really start on the front a. With extended the length of the sessions that once dacian unit training, basic income more repetition, more time for soldier to get fit before they arrived at a combat unit. Thats the 16 to 22 . Yes, sir. And from there we are working with the contractors that run our dining facilities to change the menus so were working across that continuum from fitness to out to eat and, quite frankly, i kind of get more sleep at night. Going across the entire health continuum, looking at how we can prove all of those areas but its a challenge for the country with over half the country with an obesity range. Weve just got to get healthier. And the military can set a good example as another area. In early, thank you very much, mr. Chair, and i yield back. Senator fischer. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Ambassador barrett and you and i spoke at my office, i felt we had a very good conversation about the importance of the 55th wing which is stationed at Offutt Air Force base ability the air force isr mission that that wing helps to perform. That being said, the isr Mission Performance air force is evolving and is evolving with the changing pace of technology and also with the threats that we face as a country. Given the importance of the information gained from the isr systems, how do you see the air force of growing and evolving this mission over time . And would you agree that future technologies such as Network Systems and the unmanned vehicles could work to enhance the proven platforms that we already have like the rc135 and other very highpowered isr assets . Thank you, senator. One or position in nebraska we see that its the keystone to the isr mission of the United States air force. That is a mission that is only going to grow. And modernize and incorporate more technology. So that is something that seems to like very much in the future of the United States air force. If confirmed, i i would hope to work with you in continuing that modernization. As we discussed at our private meeting that we had, that every Combatant Commander needs that information thats provided, every Combatant Commander that has testified before this committee, they mentioned the need for more isr. So would you commit to working with me and my colleagues to expand that isr infrastructure that we have so that we can put more of those assets into the field . Absolutely, as are needed by the air force. Thank you. I think you and i both agree also on the importance of modernizing the air force nuclear forces, and the Nuclear Command and control infrastructure on which they rely. I ask you if you would give me a commitment that you will make that Nuclear Modernization a ap priority if you are confirmed . Senator, i can make that commitment to you. Thank you. In your response to the committees advanced policy questions you note most of the systems in the Nuclear Triad have quote, exceed the original design lines, and they must all be modernized. This includes the groundbased strategic deterrent, and i know that its an area that if confirm you are going to be thoroughly reviewing. We are seeing calls for changes to the acquisition strategy, but i would encourage you to please keep in mind the lack of margin in the current schedule as you acquaint yourself the program. Do you agree that the highest priority needs to be moving forward to ensure that this program delivers on time and that we also meet the war fighter requirements . Senator, hymenaeus and moving forward on modernization of our Nuclear Capability is among the highest priority. I would say it is the highest. Our Nuclear Triad, the deterrent it provides is the bedrock of the security of our country. We understand that. Its that important. They too senator. Thank you. One of the fundamental issues that the air force will need to address is the question of whats the force structure and the force size thats going to be necessary in order to meet those goals former National Defense strategy . And put simply, we cannot afford to maintain an updated air force, one that is shaped by a lowend conflict when we are looking at great power, a petition, now and into the foreseeable future. I then a vocal proponent of the air force ive been a vocal proponent of the air force, that planned that is there to grow the size of the air force and we think the mix of aircraft that we have. But im concerned that without resourcing and also without limitation, plans like this in the on the shelf. They go by the wayside. I do not believe we can afford this, to see that happen. What is your vision for the future force size and for the future mix thats in the air force . Senator, a great deal of effort was put into an analysis of what is the air force we need by my predecessor. I would think thats not something thats destined for the shelf, but instead destine for implementation. What is exactly 386 squadrons, i dont, i dont know, but it would be something that trend that i would be paying a great deal of attention to so that we can have the force structure that we need to pursue and achieve the mission. Thank you, ambassador. And thank you, mr. Secretary, for your willingness to continue to serve this country. Thank you. Thank you senator fischer senator heinrich. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Ambassador barrett, appreciate you meeting with me yesterday and i want to follow up on the same ground. I want to focus specifically in this case on some new mexico projects but im sure youll hear about projects all over the country from my colleagues. My state was one of the hardest hit by the present reached recent in run around the congressional defense appropriations process. Specifically, the administrations plan would cut about 85 million from an mq9 formal Training Unit at Holloman Air Force base. A new building that is desperately needed to effectively train all of our mq9 operators. Were you aware that we train 100 , 100 of the active reserve and international mq9 operators at that facility . Senator, i was not aware of the. Are you aware of the fact that current trainees are resorting to using duct tape to patch holes in the walls and ceilings of their train facility . No, senator. Because i think we can do better than that. Did you know that because of these conditions, these operators are actually the only combat aircrews in the entire air force that are forced to train in an unclassified, unsecured in five . No, senator. If this project doesnt receive that money, what would be a approach to make sure it receives the money it needs . Senator, i understand that the funding has been deferred, and i would hope that appropriate funding is achieved. And trend that i would be deeper is not the word we really use of any of it its either appropriate or its not appropriate at. When it is reprogram it is no longer appropriate. For the use that congress wrote into the appropriations bill. I am just trying to get a sense you how were going to get these kind of projects back on track. The priority remains very high for the project as i understand it, and i been on the outside so its not something that i was a participant in, but i do believe that the priorities have to change an and be sometg that would be look to for funding and appropriate action. And i would be attentive to that as secretary, if confirmed. Acting secretary mccarthy, it wasnt just our air force bases that were affected by these transfers of funds, these cats here the administration also cut and information assistance at the missile range. This is enacted, if that funding isnt received, what would be the impact on White Sands Missile range and overall Information Operations . As we discussed in the office call, we are making investments in white sands to support efforts in our modernization priorities with hypersonic. The project specifically was to be awarded in fy 20 timeframe. So what were going to do is look at options and we put in the 21 fiscal year to make the adjustments to try to do what we can to recover schedule and work with contractors. For both of you, needless to say, i was more than disappointed by these actions. It makes it very hard well, it makes it obvious that mexico is not paying for this, mexico is not paying for the wall. And instead we have real cuts that have a very real price to be paid in our military readiness, even if it only costs us a single year, which is at best, and real impacts on the backs of our men and women in uniform and their families. I would love to know from both of you if you understand just how caustic ignoring congressional intent can be to the kind of relationship that should exist between the administration and congress. Senator, i would look to build a relationship with congress that would be such that we could work carefully and closely, despite adversarial issues, and things like conditions, scarcity of resources and Important National strategic assets, if confirmed. Congratulations. Thank you, Victor Mccarthy for your current service. Your past service. Look forward to working with you both in the years ahead. Mrs. Barrett, earlier this week, week, just a few days ago, a number of f15 and 35 bombed north of baghdad. The Task Force Said they were used to disrupt isis ability to hide in thick vegetation. Ive real concerns about using a fifth generation aircraft to strike a bunch of terrorists hiding in the bushes. Suitable in an environment where we have total air dominance in the f 35s and pilots should be training for highend conflict against adversaries like china. Especially when theyre published a study that says f 35 supply chain does not have enough spare parts available to keep aircraft flying. Enough of the time to meet requirements. This congress has authorized appropriate money for an aircraft that would conduct such missions against threats in the middle east at a fraction of the cost while freeing up the f 35 and all those people that supported to train for those kind of conflicts. My concerns about using this kind of highend aircraft for a very low end flight given the strain that f 35 has on it right now. I cannot identify what went into the decision. I dont mean that particular operation. I mean a commonsense conceptual matter when we could be using lowend to conduct these missions and getting our f 35 pilots pilots ready for a fight against a competitor. We should be exploring that option more aggressively than we have in the past. I think so. Congress has said we want to see initial operating capability for this type of aircraft by 2023. I hope upon confirmation we can make that a priority. I look forward to taking leadership and looking forward to move that along more quickly. Operational missions that fit the equipment. Secretary mccarthy. When you were in the army in so many other people in the army back in the 2000s, they saw a lot of artilleryman conducting operations. It had lasting repercussions as our units now have kernels as they are driving around in humvees. Can you talk to us a little bit about the armys plan for both getting our Service Members ready to conduct the same highend fight against a major land power. Also, the new systems that will be coming in place for them to operate to kill the treaty and the successful tomahawk missile tests that occurred just a few weeks ago. Yes, sir. I attribute this to the leadership the last few years. Changing all the scenarios at home station as well as our Training Centers worldwide. Near threat scenarios that we would see against competitors. We changed our investment strategy. Number one priority with almost 9 billion to include north of a billion dollars in hypersonic missiles. Fast investment from our time and energy and training as well as the investment and material to bring technical operations to bring strategic fires back into the formations. We are also looking very hard within changing to fill out more fire units. A tremendous effort moving forward on the fire portfolio. Same regard with Missile Defense a great deal. Eighteen years. Lots of investments. Batteries coming online. There is improvement and its on its way. I am glad to hear that. We can start providing the soldiers with the longrange fire that they need. They were never part of that treaty in any event. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. I apologize this hearing committee. I had to attend. Secretary mccarthy, let me raise an issue. That Sexual Assault misconduct. I believe several years ago they took a step forward in terms of requiring an actual affirmative evaluation on the individual soldiers adherence to policies and training. I think what has happened because you literally check the box. The training, someone sitting at their desk and, again, checking exits and wise while they are probably playing free cell on another device. Company commander facetoface. There he important. It is not an issue of political correctness. Soldiers do not exploit other soldiers. They protect them. Can you comment on what you can do and hopefully inspire other services to do . Yes, sir. As we discussed in our office call, this is where they really want to look at changing the way we are training. Clearly, the trend is going in the wrong direction. Very encouraged by the feedback received from the general. Did an event up at west point a few weeks ago. He changed it. He brought in outside experts. Scenariobased training in front of rooms full of people. Getting away from the compliance on an ipad or powerpoint and making it much more interactive. The message we have been using are not working. Thank you. An issue youll have to tend to. I want to focus on another issue one that we spoke about at our meeting. It is becoming a more critical aspect. Their numbers suggesting that 6080 of the life cycle course of our platform is not the production course. This puts huge pressure on the f 35. Comments that are very insightful about how we use these aircraft. I am told 35,000 an hour to keep an f 35 in the air. We are going after some folks with this panel. It comes down to an issue, if it cost 35,000 an hour, how can we afford that Going Forward . Reducing the lifecycle course of the f 35. As we talked in the office, that would be getting those slight our costs down. That would be one of the things i would give a high priority two. An important element of the arsenal. We need the capability. For flight hours, it seems extremely high. I would use background that i have to work to get that weird to negotiate and build capabilities for the aircraft to be flown with less expense. One of the cost factors is that there is support for the f 35. Of course it has an acronym. Are you familiar with the Alice Program . At this point, it would be very difficult to talk about any specific changes that you would direct in terms of overall sustainment as well as specific relationship to the Alice Program. Details of that i am not privy to. That is exactly the kind of thing we should be paying attention to if i am confirmed. Thank you. Thank you, senator reed. Thank you, mr. Chair. Thank you both for being here today. Mr. Secretary, i appreciate your Prior Service and your willingness willingness to continue. A different role as an ambassador. Thank you for being willing to step forward. We advance. Thank you very much for that and for your wonderful families. Thank you for your company today as well. We appreciate that. We absolutely must push against and bring to an end the shift that we have seen and our military culture. It is difficult to stomach. I think those that are in positions of leadership and responsibility really need to see this through. Make sure that we are addressing the situation with the seriousness that it requires. Mr. Secretary, you spoke of west point and the event that general williams held there. I was able to participate in that event on this last monday. They had an honorable living standdown day. It was an entire day dedicated at west point to addressing this issue of Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault. It addressed the attitudes and behaviors that are inconsistent with our army values that are degrading readiness. We see that across the force. You are right in that they had role players and ways of challenging the cadets in their thinking. This event was very, very effective to see the looks on some of the faces of the cadets as they had to respond to the different scenarios. It was engaging their brains which is not what weve seen in the past with clicking through a bunch of powerpoint slides. I am excited to see the results as we move through this grand experiment and see if it works and shows a change in attitude. For both of you, if you are confirmed, what else would you like to see that would change the culture that we see existing in our military today. What else can we do to affect that change. When teams have more time to train together and they are with each other, they get to know each other better. Much of the challenges that ive seen in the last few months as a chief management officer, too much reporting. Too much compliance. We take them away from doing the core elements of the job. The things that i remember as a junior officer was how much i ate breakfast and lunch and dinner with my teammates. I was with them all the time. We did that in the pentagon. We breakfast, eat lunch, go to the gym. They know when im tired and need a cup of coffee. That is really what it comes down to. Started this about a year ago. Allowing more cohesive teams to be built. That is where the trust, the foundation of great units is where it is really codified. We need to do more of that. The type of interactive training you describe, that is what we do for anything and our business. Thank you. Ambassador. The scourge, as you described it, we entrust our military soldiers failures with extraordinary power. Senator, i have taken action. I investigated a Sexual Assault claim in a previous role and i fired a top leader for that action. It is a zero tolerance matter. I believe there is a value of having women in leadership roles where women feel comfortable to step forward if there are problems of that sort. I do appreciate it. I think both of you have hit on some key components. We need to know our teams, airmen and marines. Spending that quality time and exhibiting the leadership to make sure we are identifying those issues. Thank you both very much. I look forward to your confirmation. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman and think both of our nominees for being here. Thank you for your service and your willingness to serve. I think the senator alluded to this a minute ago. I want to go back to it. Weve had multiple hearings this year to uncover and address persistent and unacceptable problems our Service Members and families have experienced. We seen it in alabama. We seen it across the country. The root cause seems to be uncovered. Respect to services you hope to leave to members of congress and my staff. My take away from these reports is we are finally applying some really needed focus to get this right. We still have a long way to go. Hopefully that language will stay in there. I would like to ask each of you, can we get a commitment from each of you that if confirmed that you will continue the service, each of your services focus on addressing these issues and sharing our military members and families are provided the housing that they deserve, the transparency, responsiveness that we believe and i think all members of this committee believe are important to our family members and the wellbeing in our military in addition to modernization. I try to exhibit that very type of behavior week ago when we release the investigation to the entire congress. We have a series of recommendations from the ig that are in the same spirit as the legislation that you just referred to. We are taking appropriate actions that are starting to fall in place. We baselined ourselves against the problem. Quite frankly, it is not just the army, the entire department we work managing the contractor with the level that we should. Years ago, we took out the chain of command from the process. You cannot empower leaders if you take away their authorities and you take away their ability to measure the problems. We have to do better. This is a qualityoflife issue for our soldiers. Thank you. Ambassador. Much like the army i understand the United States air force has been doing significant effort and corrective action to deplorable conditions that our families have been subjected to. If confirmed, i would continue that and possibly accelerate the rate. Thank you. Secretary mccarthy, i will ask you first. It is probably appropriate for the ambassador as well. Going back to the question that the senator asked about specific programs and being deferred out of new mexico, we have only had one it seems like in the Anniston Army depot. Differing money and pushing money over to the southern border. It was a critical maintenance project. There are a lot of these projects and its a lot of money instead of focusing, i would like to ask the secretary, i am sure you are familiar with it, how that may affect anniston. In a broader view, i would like each of you to discuss your view on how the deferral of all of these projects as a whole and the possibility of future deferrals may affect the military. Lets take it away from the congressional appropriations process. Money that has been appropriated. Billions of dollars. The deferral with respect to anniston, we were going to award that project. It could potentially threaten schedule depending on when we could find another funding mechanism. It has presented some turbulence we are trying to manage our way through this. We will look at the various funding vehicles that we have. They are all very important. We intend to continue to work to find a solution. Exactly the same with the air force, senator. We would be looking to find funding for there is priority topics. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I talked a little bit about this. Thank you for your time. First off, i do not know you as well as senator mick sally. I am fully confident that you will do a great job. One of the areas we talked about was something that started in the air force. Almost 11 years ago now. 680 page document to define the nextgeneration handgun for the department of defense. The army says they finally had to take it over to get the job done, by the way. It went through a process that took about 10 years. It was finally selected and now it will take about 10 years to get it fully deployed when we will need the nextgeneration handgun. When i first started, i take in this document 680 pages and brought it before the committee. I had some folks say, but, it is only 40 pages of specifications. My question to them is our all the other pages intentionally left blank . Do they have requirements that the suppliers can just dismiss and only focus on those 40 pages . We all know the answer to that. I want to make sure that we figure out a way to acquire appropriate to the risk of whatever it is we are acquiring. I fully expect we had 300 pages long for the nextgeneration paperclip. I am not going to look for that, what i can see that. Tell me what you think we are already doing to address this. Give me your assurance that these sorts of things that could be put to more capabilities and better prepare our men and women in uniform, tell me a little bit about it and secretary mccarthy, i will touch on housing with you. Thank you, senator. The acquisition system has been broken, most would agree. I credit my predecessor for having really tackled that problem and evidence there from 10 years ago, lets hope that it is better now and it would be something that we look to get better if im confirmed during my tenure. Secretary wilson, i understand took took the approval process with the leadership from 14 approval levels to four. That cuts out who knows how much paper. A lot of hands moving through it and adds to the responsibility that each of those have for getting it right. Once you are confirmed, i would love to come over and visit with you so that we can sit down and look at these specific things around the business of the dod that we not only have to fix, but the Continuous Improvement initiatives that can convince me that we dont get it right at a point in time in 10 years from now we are back at this unacceptable process. Secretary ryan, you and i had a great discussion in the office. Its been great working with you i will support your nomination. Tell me what you experienced and the progress we are making on housing. Senator, i was disappointed. Went through the housing project, in particular particular. Some of the families that experienced some Carbon Monoxide leaks. One of the homes, in particular. The solutions were not adequate. The progress is not moving fast enough. I told you, i am back down there. I just did a town hall with about a couple hundred people. We had this remarkable phenomenon. We see a lot of Service Requests for the men and women in housing go down. We have got to continue to work on the systematic changes. Congress through sequestration, the Department Taking its eye off the ball. There is no one person to blame here. We have to continue to measure the progress. We spoke about the bill of rights. Just continuing to pound on this just let the families note that out for break here i plan on doing a townhall down there again in about a month. I hope they are working on those Service Requests. I look forward to working with also view on addressing on unacceptable Family Housing. I have full confidence that you all will get it right. Thank you. Senator king. Thank you. I want to acknowledge the service of both of you to our country. Welcome you to this committee. I am delighted with your qualifications and look forward to supporting both of you. With that said, i have a question. Secretary mccarthy, you may be better because you are in the pentagon now. Has a legal opinion been prepared by the general counsel of any of the military services or Defense Department on the legality of the use of these military Construction Funds for the border wall construction . Could you make that available to the committee . Yes, sir. I believe you have been given an illegal order. What is being done here is an gross violation of the constitution and the fundamental and suppose which is a separation of powers and a bestowing of the appropriation and spending power on the congress. It could not be more clear. No money shall be drawn from the treasury. In consequence of appropriations made law. That could not be more clear. The fig leaf that the administration is using, talks about troops being deployed in a national emergency. Even that does not fit. The troops, any expenditures and the taking out of military Construction Funds may be used for projects undertaken to support the troops. This project has nothing to do with supporting the troops. They are talking about roads or barracks or defensive positions to actually support the troops. I want to see that legal opinion i just cannot believe it hold any water. What shocks me is the failure of this congress to stand up for its prerogatives. If this goes through, it establishes a precedent that transfers a significant portion of the power to the administration. Not just this administration, but any administration. Hot this institution for many years. I appreciate that neither of you have a role in this. You are doing what the chain of command reports, but i believe that it is an illegal order and i would like to see that legal opinion that justifies what is going on here. One comment to the senators question, maybe the president misstated, he met new mexico is going to pay for the war. That is what is happening here. It is not right and its not in accordance with the provisions of the constitution. Secretary mccarthy. The army has been going through a lot the past two years. A lot has been accomplished. Whats gone right and whats gone wrong. What do you feel are the things that have worked the best and where do we still have gaps . We believe we have the organizational construct right. The three pillars in command. Acquisition officials. This cross functional design brings the stakeholders together so you can get unity command. And that is actually working. We have prototypes delivered in 18 months that we were testing. I fired the next gen weapon in fort bragg last july. We tested extended range canyon. The prototypes we are delivering and we are starting to yield results. Reducing the spam time is everything. Are there elements that we could be doing better. Of course, senator. Much of what we will see, the true test is if the prototypes are the ones we want and we want to scale them. How the decisions will be made from the future command at the seniormost level. We slap the table on a nexgen combat vehicle. Making those hard trades up top when you start to buy. We are not out of the woods yet, but there is rate progress in the way weve gone about the requirements process. Im sure you will stay on him just a couple of comments. You and i talked yesterday about the importance of maintenance. I think we should be doing a much better job in terms of readiness. Getting them, maintaining them, having maintainers. We have a maintainer shortage. Also, i would hope when you do the acquisition process, and this really goes for both services, we should be buying, a long with the platform, the intellectual Property Rights to all of the parts of that platform so that we can 3 d print our own parts rather than having to go back to the manufacturer having to go back to a supply chain that could be slow, expensive and inefficient. I hope that that will be part of your strategy. Up in rock island, illinois at the arsenal. Intellectual Property Rights as we work through that with major defense contracts. May require some support from the committees. You will certainly have it from the senator. Thank you very much. Intellectual property is the important part of what our acquisitions need to have. Thank you both very much. I appreciate it and look forward to working with you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you for answering the call arizona, the home to many important air force bases. The air force has been a proactive partner to identify bases of active air International Guard for normal levels of contamination. Some of these higher than normal sites are in arizona. North of Tucson International airport. Can i get your commitment confirmed that you will continue to partner with these local communities to address this issue . Absolutely. The relationship between our military facilities is important this contamination is a problem that is not unique to arizona, but confirmed. I am a strong advocate of the f 35 and a 10. We need both to make sure we have air dominance and superiority and protect our troops on the ground. Can i also get your commitment . How do you feel about that . Do you agree we need these capabilities for our war fighters. Both of those pieces of equipment and those weapon systems until there is a replacement to do that job. Those would be core to the air force. Great. I would love to host you so you can get an update firsthand. Really innovative. Looking at bringing down cost of maintenance and sustainment, they are doing lightning integrated teams. Training people to be more cross trained in different functions. It has really cut down on the number of people involved. The cost. The time period i brought this up to secretary wilson. They are very interested in it. I want to ask if i continue to have your commitment to assess that. How that could be used at other basis. Secretary mccarthy, its good to see you again. We talked about a number of different issues. One being the importance of, it has some unique capabilities for our center of excellence for intelligence training, for the electronic proving grounds. Unique astra buttes down there for our aseptic will capabilities. So important for our war fighters in the future. Weve talked about this. You continue to be committed to the importance and those unique missions that they have there. We come visit and see them firsthand. I will definitely come visit. Unique characteristics. The processing exploitation. That is a Core Foundation element. Targeting and moving information on the battlefield. It is a crown jewel for us. There is also unique elements there in the airspace that we have and the weather. Electronic approving grounds absolutely critical. Look forward to hosting you down there so you can see it firsthand. We had a long conversation about all those missions. Not just intel. Great. Thanks. One thing we have talked about is our range modernization. Long range strike. This applies to both of you. Approving grounds. I just want to give you guys a little bit of time that i have left. The importance of modernizing our testing and training ranges. As i mentioned in my comments before, we are testing these artillery. Part of the number one portfolio for longrange precision fires. These capabilities will have greater ranges in the value that weve had historically. The investments will be very important to us. Great. Keeping up with the capabilities that we have with the f3 five. We really do need to modernize them. A national jewel. I have been there to watch a performance. It is something that is rarely replicable. From my tenure, the faa, looking at the use of airspace is a really important matter. It is really a benefit to training for the United States air force. Thanks. I want to thank you both for your service and willingness at this really important time. I look forward to supporting your nomination confirmation. I hope that we do that swiftly. Thanks. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I would like to think both of you for being here. Continuing on the subject of logistics from our conversation a couple of days ago, i want to get further into the details with you. We talked about Great Power Competition in the vast differences we will need across the distances. I think we spoke specifically at the end of a region. An environment they will grow even more dire. I recently traveled to the pacific. I had a chance to talk with several commanders. We discussed dispersing u. S. Air assets in the region to counter Ballistic Missile attacks which require massive lift capabilities. What specific logistic capabilities would you prioritize to make sure we can support our commanders needs and situations like this. Can you please give me specific examples . Thank you, senator. The vast vast reaches are presented significant challenges it cant be met with ease. We have faces that have been helpful. Many of us know big european theater from world war ii, to american president s almost died. I made a point of going to those points in the pacific. Im sorry. I only have three minutes. Can you give me specific examples . Building the kc 46 to do fueling so that we expand our reach. We need greater reach by our fighters and bombers to have access in that area. Especially with the vast expanses. Working with our allies and build greater partnerships. Specifically how . Building partnerships. What are you talking about specifically . Both of those. The chief of staff of the air force visited the philippines and japan. Very specific to build greater friendships. I think that that is a part of the program. A way to have better cooperation flying when appropriate. Having our allies and partners flying american compatible equipment is a way that we expand our reach and our capability and vast region of that support. Tankers and refuel letters to our allies. When we talked, you said we would not need to worry too much about logistics in the areas that support f3 five if we put platforms to take over the role that they would play. I am afraid you misunderstood. It really is important for us to have access as well as space. Offering great new opportunities, but it does not replace our air reading and surface capability. That is good to know. I am still trying to get specifics from you. What are you talking about beyond, you know, know, increasing diplomatic efforts. The kc 46 will have midair refueling capability. Be met do you think we have enough in the pipeline now. As i understand it, i am am not in the building at this point. Im coming in from the outside. What ive seen and how ive been briefed, the intent is to get a great deal more, more modern midair. Relations to the air National Guard. C130 j. The model is especially important for more modern capability. As a replacement for the h model again, an asset that we are looking to acquire morals. I think that you are ending the program in the air force. At a time when the guard is still on the h models. It is something that i will spend more time and pay more attention to if i can be confirmed. Please, do. I also just want to close, thank you so much for meeting with me prior to the break. I hope you will continue to support the program thank you. Senator. A significant cut in the medical workforce. Likely to have a pretty Significant Impact on the quality of medical care provided as you know, already under specific constraint. Can you assure me if you are confirmed that you will work with me to address this problem. I would like to go down and visit the facility with you. As we work the merger is what we like to defer to, there are locations around the country where there is great healthcare and other more remote places where we are challenged with the distance. The size and scale of those facilities. As we make the transition, some of our more remote insulations will have challenges. That is a place where we are putting a tremendous amount of attention to get the appropriate amount of health care that they need. Absolutely. Switching topics, how do you vision the army helping to deny and help a against taiwan. Im thinking particularly and range of longrange precision fires. Our number one investment priority is from the tactical extended range artillery precision Strike Missiles which is a tech, i am sure outside of the treaty, those could have range and upwards of 600 kilometers, a hypersonic glide fighting missiles. We have an array of capabilities that will change the geometry within southeast asia. We can get the appropriate partnerships, basing rights with partners in the region, we can can change the geometry and basically have the fx to reverse any series and capabilities that have been invested like competitors. Thank you for that. I hear you saying i asked range missiles would significantly enhance the armys ability to perform that mission. Is that right . Let me ask you this on the same topic. How do you see the army working with other services . The marine corps to ensure that these associated capabilities are integrated with the rest of the joint force. On the hypersonic effort, in particular, we signed a signed a joint memorandum on agreement. We are all sharing data, synchronizing the buys of material and sharing the data within the test regime. How many shots we will take over the next 2436 months. A Great Partnership of working together. We are not looking at changing the fundamental requirements of how this will be deployed in combat operations. Dont want to slow it down. We will lock arms and go after it. That, in particular, we view the hypersonic effort, similar to, similar to the persian capability in the 80s. This could change the posture for us and various commands. Number one investment priority for us. Something that really started with secretary matus. Thank you. Let me ask you a question about air force priorities. On analysis as i understand. The investments, deterring china and secondarily russia. Can you give me a sense of how the air force is working with the other services to ensure resilience and contested environments and particularly at the pacific theater. Again, such a vast area. It is hard to get surface access to some of those areas. Alternate opportunities. C4 isr is especially dependent upon space. That is where the importance of defending, protecting our base assets really rises to the floor. If you are confirmed, how do you play the balance between the need to invest enough, airbase resilience, other critical enablers while simultaneously increasing the number of quadrants 2386. The balance is really the key issue. A resource constrained time. That is where we just have to establish priorities and make sure we dont minimize the vulnerability in any of those areas. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Senator bloomfield. Thank you both for your service. Thank you for visiting with me earlier in the week. Secretary mccarthy, you and i talked about military housing. I have no doubt about your very good intentions to make sure that the quality of housing is improved. Isnt the best way to terminate the contractors, shouldnt they be held accountable and shown at the army be taking some action against them, including potential criminal referral . As i have raised previously with general miller. You know there are steps to hold those private contractors accountable. They are clear violations of contractual violations and possible fraud. From the range of what you discussed just recently, delegating the authority and the incentive fee, maximum latitude to do what was needed to improve performance, with respect to criminal authority or potential fraud allegations, clearly, something, something we would investigate and pursue with vigor. The Inspector General of the army recently completed a report showing that the resident, 1180 of them who participated as you well know, two thirds of them, in that survey said they would this satisfy 48 of the 499 locations with Privatized Housing and residence that expressed concern with safety and Environmental Issues and the inspectors found that life, health and safety items, are not part of the current army housing inspection requirement they found 2013 army policy that specifically prohibited health and welfare inspections of Privatized Housing. Have you reversed that . I would like a report back, if possible, as soon as possible on what is being done to hold those private contractors accountable both civilly and criminally. Yes, sir. As soon as you want it. 45 days, if necessary. Thirty days, preferable. I know that you are focused on this issue and you will be as far as the air force is concerned. Ambassador, you and i discussed when you visited with me the issue of air force personnel that trump branded properties. This issue is far from new or novel. In fact, i raised it with the secretary when i found that in the First Six Months of this administration, 140,000 had been spent, almost 140,000 that trump rented properties. As you are aware that the air force recently ordered a Global Review as to how the Service Selects overnight accommodations for Service Members. I appreciate your commitment made to me. I hope you will restate it here to provide this committee with the air force investigation once it is complete. The secretary committed to me, to providing Additional Information about expenditures made by civilian and uniformed dod employees that Trump Properties. He has not provided that information. I will run new my request him. Will you provide a complete accounting to me and this committee about expenditure at trump rented properties. Absolutely. Do you agree that no taxpayer funds should be going to the president or his business as a result of stays by department of defense personnel at trump branded property. We should have generic rules and regulations that look to the best value and best acquisitions and those rules should be enforced equally. Will you commit to issuing a service wide policy to prohibit all air force personnel from using Trump Properties or military travel whenever operationally feasible. You and i discussed the appearance fully apart from the reality of the president profiting from the department of defense expenditures at properties he owns. Absolutely unacceptable. What we need to do is have rules and regulations that are applied evenly and do include appearances and those rules and regulations. They should not be specific to any particular owner. Would a clear policy, as you you have guessed it, against violations of both the domestic and Foreign Alliance clause prevent commanderinchief from profiting from department of defense expenditures . Senator, i understand the question and i understand the concern. If there were shareholders in a company that owns companies, should that be excluded from military housing or military involvement . Im asking you about the president of the United States who owns properties where the department of defense has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to the profit of the president of the United States in violation of United States constitution. I will take a look at the rules and regulations on that. And evaluate what policy should be issued. I hope you will provide a clearer answer for this committee. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I want to thank the nominees and their families for their service for this country weird previous service. Continuing service. Hi have enjoyed meeting with both of you and i look forward to confirming you. We need Senate Confirmed leadership in the pentagon that is very important. Let me start with a question in a region of the world im sure you will not be surprised. That is the arctic. America is an arctic nation because of alaska. I have some handouts. I can provide them to my colleagues as well. I think they were provided to you. There is a very significant russian buildup in the arctic. You can take a look at the handouts. Were you provided handouts . Almost daily, if you look at the other handouts, there are articles literally almost daily about what is happening in the arctic in terms of a russia china buildup. Just in the last couple of days in addition to what you have there as a handout. Article in the Washington Post said, forget greenland. A far more dangerous game is being played in the arctic. All within the last week. What does china want with the arctic given its new strategy. On the hill, the the hill newspaper just said, an article that started by saying the next cold war with russia may be a literal vice metaphorical one. So, before we dismiss President Trumps interest in greenland, we should consider that our great power rival china and russia aggressively seek arctic influence. This is daily. Ambassador, you have extensive experience in the arctic given your tenure to finland. Given the National Defense strategy focuses on Great Power Competition. Secretary pompeo gave a very well thought out speech on the arctic. I would like to get your views on what we should be doing their to protect our National Interest senator, did not do us any favors by flattening the globe. People lose track of how small the Northern Hemisphere is and how close those properties are. How close alaska is to going over the top into the siberian area. That is now both available in shipping as well as the persistent space access to those areas. That is an area where threats would potentially derive. I mentioned the secretary of state. This committee is certainly starting to raise awareness on this. I do think the Biggest Agency in washington that has not gotten the message on our strategic competition in the arctic is the pentagon. Some are getting it. The big lob of a democracy isnt yet. Can i get both of your commitments to come to alaska with me, see the arctic first hand with me in america and get your commitment to work with me and this committee which is very interested in a bipartisan way to work with these and make sure we are protecting americas Strategic Issues in this powerful rivalry in this arena. Yes, sir. Senator duckworth raised a very good question in regards to the logistics in the asiapacific. The air force looking at making decisions on basing of the kc 46. Alaska will have over 100 fifth generation fighters. F 35, f 32 within the next couple of years. No place on the planet earth will have that many combat coded fifth jen fighters. When the secretary went through his confirmation hearing, he mentioned that 100 fifth jen fighters that can reach three commands areas within hours would give the United States extreme strategic reach. Will you commit to working with me on that decision . This committee has laid out guidelines for the air force in terms of basing a kc 46. Absolutely, senator. Let me ask a question that relates to readiness. Mr. Secretary, the chairman to his credit has raised this readiness issue quite a lot. From 2010 until 2015 the department of Defense Budget was cut by 25 . My first three months in the senate in 2015 the Obama Administration was still cutting 50,000 additional activeduty army troops which, in retrospect looks like a strategically idiotic decision, but they did it anyways. Have you read this book . The army and marine corps gives it to all infantry officers. Yes, sir. Twice. I appreciate that. Can you talk a little bit about readiness and what happened in america in 1945 . We had the most feared military in the history of the world. Five years later we could not stop a third world peasant army from invading the south. It is something one of the greatest interns we have in the military is having many formations at the highest levels of readiness capability to meet national objectives. Thank you smacked senator peters. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Secretary mccarthy, as we discussed in my office earlier i have a sink and pee fast contamination problem in my state and there seems to be some ischemic asian going on between the department of the army and the National Guard bureau and the michigan National Guard, as well as the local community which is a problematic to have that level of medications. To give some background, the michigan National Guard summit at a time regard to the National Guard bureau in response to p foss contamination. There are homes in grayling, township that tested positive for very high levels of p foss due to contamination from the Camp Grayling army airfields. Its my understanding that request was made by the michigan National Guard through the National Guard bureau in the apartment of the army requesting funds to provide for a new water system for the residents affected but they held a town meeting for the residents in late july and made an announcement to the sound they would receive a new water system and received very positively. However, following the meeting my office was affected by the german army and told the army office of Legal Counsel determined funding cannot be legally provided to build this new water system. This is very problematic and we would hope youll forgive me and if confirmed, more specifically how would you work with the local community to ensure this issue is resolved . Senator, as discussed we sent a team of experts to make this clear that the mess was made by us but we have to clean this up. We worked out in a potential solution that did not work out mechanically and i vowed to you and all your constituents that we Work Together to get it done. I appreciate that commitment. We need to do it expeditiously as well. We will. Theres a provision in the house past nda grants the National Guard access to Defense Environmental Restoration Program to support p foss cleanup and is currently controlled by the department of army but if confirmed would you support giving the National Guard access to these accounts . Yes. Thank you. Invested her, i appreciate secretaries John Hendersons visit to michigan in my request and able to meet with residents facing the p foss contamination problem in and around the former wordsmith air force base answer both of you have a similar concerns of these committees and bowler of what goes on. I have sought to ensure the air force adequately budget for projected p foss contamination related needs and was disappointed, to say the least, that the air force diverted more than four and half million intended for cleanup to cover needs another site elsewhere in the nation. Will you quit work with congress to secure the races we need to fully address this contamination problem that exists not just in michigan but across country and how will you do that . Absolutely. I will commit to working with the senate if confirmed. It is so important for the air force to work well with communities and this is a contaminant that used in good faith not knowing the injury. Because now theres not a Health Standard established but its clear this contamination is a result of air force activity and if confirmed will work with congress to resolve it. Ambassador, im glad you brought up the Health Standard. Michigan and other states are not taking steps to establish enforceable Drinking Water and various cleanup standards in the absence of standards and we need federal standards but id like to better understand the circumstances in which the air force will recognize and meet Environmental Standards that are established by the individual state where you are operating. Air force has thus far committed to considering whether state laws will qualify as an applicable or relevant or appropriate requirement. I believe that is the way its worded. The circle of being a process but respectively for communities the field and waiting way too long certainly have been doing that around the air force its festering to say the least so to improve transparency will you commit if confirmed to work with me to understand when and why in the past the air force willingly met a state standard through the circle of process and how the air force will approach that moving forward . We will work with you senator if confirmed. Thank you. On behalf of the children recognize the new platform. Thank you. I appreciate each of you and the time spent visiting with us about what is in front of you. Thank you. Miss baratz, i come to you and continue the discussion we had about next june and work in technology and 5g. Its placement with the air force and the difference this will make for our war fighters and also for the r d being done and we are delighted to know that they are in tennessee will be one of the first to be completed. What id like for you to do is give us a view of the rollout for 5g capabilities and technologies throughout the air force . Senator, the air force is based on the analogy and the air force engages technology and provides Technology Provides were fighting capabilities through technology. G5 is a technology of the future in a very important part of what the air force is building into a new generations of capability. How will he approach the integration with existing technologies and looking at Artificial Intelligence in data . These are all very important to the new capabilities and how as we are modernizing our platforms and resources with nexgen problems are engaging in the 5g and Artificial Intelligence and augmented intelligence. We are seeing a lot of capabilities for the hypersonics and additional technologies that make our reach greater. Mr. Mccarthy, i have been concerned about some of the gaps and they are critical gaps. In our cyber defense. This will be all finally important as we look at 21st century warfare and look at interoperability and integration and working crossplatform with the readiness that you will find in the multifaceted utilization in ai with av and its the way you will have different platforms that you will be working from in multi locations. Why dont you talk about how you envision the army pursuing signet and aw and cyber . And how you see the army network fitting into or shaping the strategy . Senator, first we have to recruit more cyber experts its a very difficult skill set to recruit and even harder to retain. Weve used Solutions Across the Garden Reserve and found success there of trying to retain men women to stay in the army as they make move to the private sector because there remarkable. Established unique relationships for academia like at carnegie and this is as much a cultural indoctrination to the forces as well as finding the best and brightest in the hub of us to work with academia to find the best and brightest to help us look at how we apply these algorithms into our weapon systems. But that is foundational he thought our architecture but cant get the army to the cloud the standards and formats of data will not move seamlessly so this has become a big effort by us in Leadership Team to make sure we have the appropriate resources to move forward. The network is on our top six investment portfolios that is as much of the types of Telecommunications Systems we have as well as the space domain with orbital satellites so cross from people to material it is any monumental effort for the army of the last three years. We see it as a monumental effort for dod and total as well as for the air force and the army. We see buildings or building these systems is being a priority and the interoperability of the Network Capacity in those systems as being vital to 21st century warfare but i will just make one comment that you mentioned recruiting and retention. Yes, we are quite concerned about the Human Capital or lack thereof when it comes to technologies and whether it is hypersonics or Artificial Intelligence to work with babies or super computing, quantum computing and we do share the concerns that are there. Also, we share the concerns on pilot. I know each of you have a Pilot Shortage and will continue to raise that issue with you. I yield back. Thank you. Senator coronel. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I ask all nominees before the committees on which is at the following two questions. I will start with you, mr. Secretary. Cindy became a legal adult have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature . No. Madam ambassador. No. Have ever faced discipline or entered into a [inaudible] no, senator. No, senator mr. Secretary, in response to senator king regarding the legality of using combines for the board while you referred to a legal opinion who issue that legal opinion . Dod general. Is that the highest level for the legal opinion on whether or not this is okay but does the attorney general weigh in on the legality . Senator, i use the Legal Counsel in making this decision. I take it the legal opinion is that this is okay for the president to have done . For the 11 projects that we are running yes. If this is okay then i think we can expect more of this kind of for some of us who called this rating of military funds for various purposes that the president has in mind. If confirmed, what would you do to prevent the president from continuing to do this for continuing to raid military funds . Senator, when the request came down to support this effort the chairman conducted a military assessment and the value of the projects and thats where we ultimately determine the 11 in the security value so thats where we work in words your effort was to fight with what the president wanted to do and thats how you see your role . This was a lawful order and we intend to follow it. If the president wanted to do this further you will continue to support making reductions in duly funded projects by this congress and he will comply . On lawful orders we will comply with the president orders and provide the appropriate military advice about these projects and was associated with choice. What is your what about you what would you do to prevent the president from continuing to raid military funds for whatever projects he sees fit . I would look to work cooperatively with the senate but i would look also to conduct every action in compliance with the law and the constitution. My commitment would be to the constitution and that would be my guiding direction. I think a lot of us would want our military leaders to speak up against this kind of action by the president , legal or not. These are funded and at some point we can argue at some point whether this or this kind of reallocation what impact it has on readiness and National Security we talk about that but all of the funds are very necessary and relate to readiness and National Security. You financed a number of questions about military housing and we shared concerns regarding the lack of oversight that was done by the military in regard to housing so secretary mccarthy we refer to the id report and there were some recommendations in this report how many have been addressed at this time . I think we will execute just about all but 90 of them and i cant remember exactly the couple that we are working back and forth on but the preponderance of the recommendations will be executed. Can provide to this committee a list of the 20 recommendations and what the line is what you been doing redoing in regard s, senator. I did hear a commitment from you ambassador to fasttrack some of the things that you need to do from the air force side. I want to turn quickly to the matter of Suicide Prevention in the military and the quarterly suicide to report released says last month 1309 active duty service, 68 sailors, 16 airmen, 50 marines died by suicide last year and this is 40 more servicemembers than the Previous Year printed in the Navy Marine Corps and army this presented an increase over the Previous Year and i would just like to ask im running out of time but what you all are doing specifically to prevent these suicides from happening so without getting into it right now this is a matter that we will follow up with you, both of you on. Thank you. Senator delivery and. Mr. Mccarthy, yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the 911 attacks and one that new yorkers will never forget. He went into afghanistan and encompassed our mission illuminating al qaeda leadership in decimating its command structure for the war went on for 20 years and continues to claim the lives of servicemembers with no clear end in sight. Is no longer the right strategy for country and it hasnt been for many years now. During recent peace talks with the telegram there has been a surge in violence and increase in combat operations in which our soldiers have lost their lives for this week the white house brought these talks to an abrupt end without stating any changes in policy or goals. As the Administration Policy of conducting diplomacy through twitter cause significant challenges for the army in afghanistan. Senator, with respect to the talks being ceased i think it was clear that command authority felt they do not have the conditions appropriate to enter the next phase of negotiations so i think it was the right decision to step back from the table and try to look at how you get to a framework to bring political and state. Once the army draws down our forces in afghanistan i believe there are tactics that we can employ to ensure afghanistan does not become a host to terrorist with the intent in the u. S. But to what extent can you in open session provide insights on your thinking . Senator, ive worked for the serving in all three of the last demonstrations and its clear we will have to have an advisory ability as well as counterterrorism strike capability to be there to help the Afghan Government continue to grow and mature. You have roughly two or three of the most of his gated terrorist organizations on the earth along the hindu kush mountains so we cant take a right of the ball until theres a time with as much greater maturity and strength within the Afghan Government. Id like to change issues to west point. The United States military academy at west point has played a central role in providing army with the next generation but west point condensed serve in wide variety of roles in the army so the quality of their training can have farreaching implications of the army moving forward. Are you confident that west point provides the kind of training to meet the future threats that these officers will face. Its remarkable how the west point education for these officers in their experiences that they get in there for years on the hudson one of the things the secretary in general worked hard on was the summer experience or where we worked on the fundamentals of true pleading at the platoon level so we made changes there and looking at how we are integrating them with rotc so we sent 40 cadets from west point to fort knox last year and will scale that over the next two years where we can get upwards of 500600 cadets go down the course of the summer and integrate the office for and the Stem Education is very strong at the academy but in particular cyber is become a much sought off mos and we are making adjustments to increase sophistication in the classroom but also really drill down into the fundamentals of true pleading so they become very good platoon leaders expect recently the secretary of defense diverted the point explain dollars in funding for military installation including the academy through engineering center. This was to pay for the administrations wall. [inaudible] the Engineering Department in the parking garage behind it specifically it would be an improved existing infrastructure that i personally got involved with in working with the budget when i went down or up there in the fall of 17 the deferral put us on a loose schedule to improving the facilities over time. Miss garrett, our military base remains under siege by Cyber Threats most notably from china and by estimates of process of prophets of dollars in losses. [inaudible] related in urgent need to modify its profit what is your level of confidence that the air force is doing its best prevent foreign infiltration and if you dont have time to answer you can submit it. Unless youd like to answer, mr. Chairman . Thank you. Senator shaheen. Could you answer it in writing. With the senators or chairman indulgence i would say that the air force would be happy to take a look at doing similar cyber review as of that navy did and spouse will report on that. Send a letter to my office. Thank you. Well, thank you, mr. Chairman. Congratulations acting secretary mccarthy and ambassador barrett for your nominations for these roles in your past service and willingness to continue to serve this country. I want to start with a question about pcs. I know that this is come out in the hearing but as i am sure you are aware on the first day as assistant secretary they announce secretion of the task force and i wanted to ask both of you if you are willing to commit to working to ensure we address the contamination on our military facilities . Yes, senator. [inaudible] take a leadership role on this. Thank you, ambassador. United stair force is working to clean up those contaminations. That is right. As we discussed yesterday and i appreciate the time that you both came yesterday the air force has been responsive to the issues that we had. At the former based in portsmouth, in New Hampshire we hope you will continue that cooperation and you will support the health study currently underway by the agency for substances and disease registry where thats a model site for that. Yes, i will do it. Thank you. And also, i hope you will both commit to urging the apartment of defense to come up with an alternative to the firefighting phone that it has these people as chemicals that have done so much to contaminate military sites. I will do that. , senator. Youre trying to find a commercial solution to replace existing capabilities but having a hard time meeting those perspectives back no, i understand that but as im sure you are aware the defense bill that we hope will pass this year includes directives to get that done in the next year. Ambassador barrett, i want to call your attention to a record quest from the New Hampshire National Guard to the air force medical support agency to conduct a Public Health study for individuals who have lived and worked and to determine if there are higherthanexpected rates for morbidity and mortality for cancer deaths or other Health Impacts because of work done. I know the study is currently in development and i call it to your attention and dont inspect you to have an answer on where we are today since youre not on the job yet but i hope youll make that a priority as you go forward in this assuming you get confirmed. Confirmed, id be happy. Finally, as we discussed yesterday we are very excited to have a first guard base received the new Aerial Refueling tanker and we have our first two are looking forward to the remaining ten that we will get with the first group and it certainly will do everything we can to urge boeing to make that a priority to get those out on time and without the challenges that they have had. One of the issues is that many of the people who we expect to ask those tankers have been transferred to other bases to continue to deal with our legacy tankers and i hope you will commit to ensuring that they get transferred back so we have the full force we need in order to continue to maintain the excellent record that the 157th refueling has had. We appreciate the great performance of that refueling rig and of course, we would apply our personnel where best needed but if there is indication that its a high priority. Thank you. I also understand ambassador that you have worked with the u. S. Afghan Womens Council and project and i know that you have supported making sure that afghan women can go back to their home country and be successful in business and in other areas. I wonder if you could talk about given that work how important you think it is for afghan women to be at the table in any peace negotiations ongoing. If you eliminate 50 a patient your question with a few laminate you will not have as good a product and women in afghanistan have been really underappreciated and completely abused in the past but with the u. S. Afghan council we worked with for the health, education civic what we of my generation called the civics and economic empowering of those women so they can play a full role in the society. That is important and hope to continue that. Thank you. Im sure you both are aware that we have passed a law called the women in peace and security act that guarantees women are supposed to be at the table and any complex negotiations that we participate and so i would hope that you both will do everything you can to ensure that happens in afghanistan and other places around the world. Secretary mccarthy. Just for the record secretary mccarthy i agree with you i think we need a Counterterrorism Group to continue in afghanistan regardless of what happens with all the troops because of the threats from isis and continued terrorist groups there. Thank you both very much. Thank you, senator shaheen. [inaudible] a lot of comments were made by different members inserting the activity and characterization of a reading or training and i feel i have been down there to observe that more than any other member of congress and i worked down there for 20 years and developed on the border and i know whats going on down there and as recently as two weeks ago the only member of our congress to be with the mexicans themselves in the three generals in charge of the orders i know whats going on and i know what they are doing down there. If all you have to do is talk to our guard and reserve and others down there with military to find out trading that theyre getting there is onthejob training is better training at their home base. Thats what all of them said at that time so i think to characterize that is training is totally inaccurate and i want that included in the record but we have a request from senator king for further questions. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Quick question. Proposed secretary barrett, the f35 historic construction before the level of competition china has reached the level that it has with our knowledge of their cyber intrusions i dont know if that happened but i would urge you order a survey of every single part of part of the f35 of what parts are made in china and with particular reference to software and electronics. I think thats a National Security imperative that we have not had our most advanced airplane in a position where it could be compromised by some intrusion into the supply chain coming from china and will you take a look at that . Yes, senator. Id be happy to take a look. Thank you. Any questions . Just to piggyback on it a little bit. I have had several conversations with folks who are working on the f35 who are concerned about what the next steps are with respect to turkey being removed from that program and where some of those parts that weve been relying on turkey are going to be made and how that will happen. Im not asking you for a response today but i would urge you to try to provide some direction for our other players in the f35 program so they understand what is supposed to happen next with respect to turkey and they are throwing the amount of that coalition. Thank you. Thank you, senator shaheen. Senator, any further comments . No, sir. Good. Let me say to our witnesses or nominees you did a great job and im looking forward to working with you and we are now adjourned. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] watch exclusive interview with house speaker, nancy pelosi, now online at cspan. Org. She discusses her relationships with President Trump and Senate Majority leader, mitch mcconnell. Right now its not about senator mcconnell. Hes been very clear but hes not doing anything president doesnt want and so thats where we are. I dont know why a leader in the senate would advocate his responsibility and weaken the institution for which he leads because the president doesnt want it. An interview with house speaker, nancy pelosi. Watch it now online cspan. Org or at 8 00 p. M. Eastern tonight on cspan. Our next guest is representativeur to the wild of pennsylvania and recently spoke on the house for aboutsu her personal experience with suici suicide. As some are aware today marks the one month anniversary of the death of my beloved life partn partner. What most people dont know is that carries death was a suicide. Carrie was 63 years old and he should not have had a care in the world. He was financially secure and had a warm, loving family and dozens of friends. He loved them all and yet