Half. Good morning, we are going to call this committee to order. Thank you all for being here to discuss your fy 2024 budget priorities, i think this is your last appearance before this committee, we extend a particularly warm welcome to you and wish you the best in your upcoming retirement, and we dont really care whether you retire in maine or montana. [laughter] but either place will work. You can move back and forth, rather than kansas. [laughter] at any rate, i want to say thank you for what you guys do. The National Guard has all has always done more with less. The Weapon Systems in vehicles and aging i. T. Infrastructure and facilities. The men and women that you lead have one foot in civilian life and the other foot in the military. They juggle their homes, families, duties. While serving their countries here and abroad. The workload is not decreasing and the Ongoing Mission on the southwest border and your support to military command demonstrate exactly that. Over the last five years the National Guard has shrunk by more than 40,000 Service Members. You are not immune from recruiting challenges that are active duty military nor are you immune from the separate impacts of government shutdowns, continued resolutions, and it is my sincere hope that with the threat of the government default, hopefully averted, we can now make progress on passing the budget on time, get it out of the cycle of annual continual resolutions. I want to hear how you are managing these challenges and how you are providing a ready modernize guard and reserve forces well as ensuring the healthy Work Life Balance in the military career for these men and women. Once again, i want to thank you for being here, i want to thank you for your testimony ahead of time. Before you begin that testimony i want to turn it over to susan collins. Senator. Sen. Collins thank you very much, mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing on the National Guard and reserve component fiscal year 2024 budget request. As the chairman is well aware, im very concerned about the budget request and its adequacy. The soldiers of the guard and reserve child in the just serve in the proud tradition of the minute men who fought for the very founding of our country. In fact, the one 33rd engineer battalion of the main National Guard has been an unbroken line of service from 1760 to this very day. Thats the distinction of which we have of which we are all very proud in the state of maine. The United States military is not able to fight a war without the garden and reserve. For the past two decades, the guard has accounted for nearly half of deployments to iraq and afghanistan. The guard has also taken the brunt of supporting the department of Homeland Security along the southern border since 2018. And they will continue to do so until our border is finally secure. They need to properly resource, ready, wellequipped and in integrated guard and reserve component cannot be more clear. The guard Safe Partnership program is also an essential International Security operation tool. Today, guard units have formed the 88 partnerships with 100 countries around the world. The maine guards partnership with montenegro paves the way for the countries exception to nato in 2017. Yes, the president s budget request cuts the guard and reserve budget by 3 billion compared to fiscal year 2023. Enacted levels impeding both modernization and readiness. As the general has previously shared with the committee, the National Guard represents a lower cost option to deliver deterrence and compat power. I understand all of you have considerable equipment shortfall and none of you have parodied with the active components in terms of fielding the most modern capabilities available. Congress has repeatedly needed to provide the National Guard and reserves without todays vehicles, platforms, and aircraft that were excluded from the inadequate budget request. Finally, the committee is aware that to transition dod, the Ongoing Mission at the border from active duty to guard or reserve units. I would welcome an update from our witnesses, stem some with status of that plan and what the plans are to pay for those deployments. I look forward to your testimony and join the chairman in thinking each of you for your service. We will start out with chief of the National Guard bureau. Chairman, Ranking Member collins and esteemed members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. Your investment in the National Guard is built has built a ready, capable force, vital to our Nations Defense and communities in times of crisis. Thank you for your support. I would also like to recognize the efforts of my wife kelly and our Senior Enlisted AdvisorTony Whitehead for their support and partnership in addressing soldiers, airmen and family needs. As a communitybased force with the authorities to perform almost any mission ensuring healthy and resilient guardsmen and families is not only our highest priority, it is foundational to all we do. This is my third time before you on behalf of soldiers, airmen and families of the National Guard. Over the past three years, we performed over 28 million responding to emergencies of every kind. As i speak, guardsmen are supporting typhoon relief operations in guam. In the last three years, the National Guard has rescued or saved 18,826 individuals. In the midst of all those events , every one of our overseas deployments. This included the nations final days in afghanistan, where National Guardsmen helped defend the kabul airport and assist with allies refuge. One of our other missions is the joint Multinational Training Group in ukraine. In concert with californias 30 year state partnership with ukraine, our guardsmen helped establish a Training Center after russia part first invasion in 2014. Focused on combat arms and Lessons Learned from our National Guard trainers were some of the last to leave ukraine before russias unprovoked invasion. A few months after the war began, we reestablished our Training Group and have been training our partners every single day since then. Today, every Combatant Commander leverages our state Partnership Program which was recently mentioned now includes 100 nations around the globe. Always ready, always there, it is not just our motto, it is our promise to america that we have kept for almost 386 years. In the 2800 communities we call home, they know whenever or wherever a disaster occurs, the National Guard will be there because we already are. As i begin my final year as chief, there are still many things we must accomplish to ensure the National Guard remains always ready, always there. Today i have shortened that list to four priority areas. Versus our air National Guard units who have been performing Space Missions for 28 years. In 1947 when the air force was established, the air guards squadrons were established concurrently. Todays air force is the envy of the world. In 2019 when the space force was formed, it did not address nearly 30 of its operational squadrons that reside in the National Guard. With 1000 personnel and 14 units, we are almost all truths and no tail. These highly skilled airmen are absolutely vital to the success of the Space Mission. Dislike our air force, we want to todays space force to be the envy of the world. The second is Premium Health care for currently serving guardsmen and reservists. There are many things we can search in times of emergency, but medical readiness is not one of them. Access to care is critical to readiness. The number one concern i hear from guardsmen and recruiters when i visit our states and territories. To help recruit and retain the most talented, skilled and ready force, all National Guard servicemembers regardless of status need medical coverage. This is a matter of readiness and duty to the guardsmen who serve and sacrifice for our nation. We are working closely with the Defense Health agency to clarify the number of guardsmen this would impact and what current programs could be reduced or eliminated so we could activate the readiness benefit it can provide. The third is recapitalization of our air guard fighter squadrons. We have 25 fighter squadrons in the air guard and our nation needs every single one of them. By working with the air force and congress, we believe there is a path recapitalize all 25 squadrons to the f35, and a renewed is newest f16. This would help the air force divest older platforms and retain the capability, capacity and structure it needs for war fighting requirements. Lastly, i ask for your support in meeting the intent of the National Guard empowering act. To be a full member of the joint chiefs of staff and properly represent our 430,000 guardsmen and their families, our vice chief cannot do that effectively is a subordinate to his peers. In closing, i want to thank you again for the National Guard we have today. All we do would not be possible without your support that you provide to our soldiers, airmen and families. I look forward to your questions. Next, general daniels. Chief of the army reserve. Chairman tests are, distinguished members of the committee, on behalf of the 100 90,000 soldiers and civilians of the army reserve, major lumbar going die thank you for this opportunity to testify and for your continued support for our soldiers, civilians, families and other employers. Present in 20 time zones and five continents, the army reserve makes up nearly 20 of the total armys personnel and just 5 of total Army Operations and maintenance budget. We provide key units and capabilities of nearly half of the armys maneuver support and a quarter of its mobilization category while sustaining the mobilization and deployment of more than 10,000 soldiers and civilians annually. As a federal response partner, the army reserve maintains a ready posture for defense support authorities by providing critical dual use capabilities such as petroleum distribution, Water Purification and railroad operations. In an extremely challenging recruiting environment, our highest priority is sustaining the resources required to recruit and retain the best. Today and into the future. We also rely heavily on the support of families and communities as well as the willingness of employers to share their best talent. By changing our culture to refocus on tough, realistic training done safely, we are helping to bridge the knowledge divide between the military and the american public. This creates better answers for civilian soldiers who want to share with their communities. As we build the army of 2030, we are grateful for the authorization send appropriations that invest in our people, enhance readiness and accelerate equipment modernization to maintain superiority over any potential threat the need for reserve component duties cannot be overstated and is long overdue. That is why we support dutys proposal to fundamentally redesign the current system, aligning benefits to duties performed and assuring us soldiers receive the entitlements they have earned. The reserve also appreciates Congress Efforts to improve access to childcare. However, access and quality and affordable childcare remains a challenge for our soldiers, especially during battle weekends. As the partnerships, continued congressional support will help enhance retention and readiness. Finally, as the army reserve looks to the future, leveraging the National Guard remains a key component of our modernization strategy. This funding enables the army reserve to fulfill missioncritical shortages. Command Sergeant Major lum barto and i are incredibly proud to lead the men and women in Americas Army reserve and i look forward to your questions. Thank you. Good morning distinguished members of the subcommittee. It is my distinct honor to report to you today alongside my peers on the status and vision of Americas Navy reserve. I would like to begin by recognizing my wife kim whose steadfast support typical of military spouses. I would also like to thank master chief tracy hunt for his tireless efforts. I would like to express my thanks and appreciation for my colleague dave ballin for his exemplary career of service in uniform. We are going to miss you, general. Finally, i called the committees attention to the 103 thousand sailors, 450 civilians, the families who sustain demand of the thousands of employers who enable the service of our citizens sailors. All are essential to the success of our reserve force. For more than a century, the reserve has reliably responded to needs in the recent past, the navy reserve provided response to the covid19 pandemic and surged nearly 500 sailors on short notice to support ongoing security crisis in europe. They were instrumental to the execution of noncombatant operations in sudan. Rapidly removing citizens from harms way. These activations highlight the flex ability, readiness and value our citizens sailors bring to the fight, get these contributions nearly hint at the demands of the navy reserve. The navy reserve is rapidly transforming to deliver a force designed, trained and ready to fight competently and boldly in sustained, multidomain high end warfare. The sinker sealer priority is simple, war fighting readiness. Modernizing reserve equipment, Training Systems and mobilization processes is critical to delivering this readiness and a mandate to ensure the readiness and availability of the Critical Response team, our service combatants demand. To ensure they are ready to activate on day one, the force must maintain parity with our counterparts in maintain relevant, modern equipment. Procurement of the julia aircraft to replace legacy airframes is the Navy Reserves number one equipment priority. In the past year, fleet logistics squadrons moved 96,000 passengers and 19 Million Pounds of cargo at a cost avoidance of 1 billion over alternative methods. However, the current c130 fleet is unable to meet requirements due to obsolescence issues. In conflict, the strain on supply chain would be an achilles heel to logistic requirements and operations. The juliet delivers increased capacity and cost savings due to fuel efficiency and reduced life cycle resulting in a reduction of 1000 per flight hour. In addition to equipment modernization, we are leveraging advancements to improve and modernize access to work and training and bring the navy reserve to the 21st century. These conference if improvements include hardware and software upgrades, the creation of digital workflows and the implementation of policies and processes that harness our greatest assets. The minds, talents and ideals of our sailors. In concert with these efforts, this exercises will leverage the navy reserve infrastructure to locally mobilize 50,000 sailors in only 30 days. Rapidly, accurately and to scale. Our reserve sailors are central and vital to our navys enduring war fighting advantage. We are committed to recruiting and retaining the very best of our society and equally committed to maintaining a culture of excellence, eliminating district behaviors, insuring sailor wellness and fostering a diverse, inclusive culture. Doing so is about war fighting readiness and enhances the asymmetric advantage generated by our winning team. I am grateful for the committees support of the naval reserve. Our efforts are made possible by the Timely Delivery of the appropriations bill that provides predictability to sailors, families, employers and our global Combatant Commanders. Distinguish memories of this committee, i remain humbled everyday by the commitment and contribution of our citizens sailors, dedicated civilians, supportive families and employers that collectively are your navy reserve. Thank you for your support and attention today. Thank you. Next we have general ballin. Distinguished members of the subcommittee, it is great to be here with you today. To share a conversation, a public conversation with Sergeant Major carlos reese. About your Marine Corps Reserves for congress has been a great partner to us as a service as we have been in the middle of this historic inflection point. To evolve the marine corps in order to meet the threats we have been directed to meet. Hopefully, my comments today provide extra contacts about what the Marine Corps Reserve has done to meet those demands. Time is what i want to emphasize. This is a Time Sensitive Task we have been given by