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Thank you , Senator Kelly . Senator 

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Tuberville , please . Thank you , Mr 

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Chairman . Good morning General . Good 

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morning . Thanks for being here . Thank 

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you for your service and just talking 

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to you yesterday , you moved over 20 

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times in your career . I don't think a 

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lot of people understand , you know , 

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the complexity of that with the family . 

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So thank you for your service , General . 

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I think most of us up here agree that 

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other than foreign countries , $32 

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trillion in debt is one of our biggest 

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threats to national security . We're 

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broke in the past . You have criticized 

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the department of Defense , complex 

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bureaucracy and have expressed a desire 

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to improve its inefficiencies by law . 

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The joint staff has capped at around 

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2300 personnel with some exceptions . 

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Can you clarify at this time ? How big 

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is our staff as we speak ? Do you , do 

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you have , do you have a , a number on 

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that ? Uh Senator ? I , I don't have an 

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exact number . I'll , I'll have to get 

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that for you , but I , I know it's 

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somewhere around 2000 years . Yeah . 

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Thank you . I'd appreciate that . You 

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know , the house ND A includes a study 

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to look at reducing the size of the 

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office . Do you have any suggestions on 

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where we could look to cut staff or 

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budget to help and not cut back 

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efficiency ? Not at the moment , as I 

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go into this position , if confirmed , 

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it will be one of the things I do take 

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a look at when I look across the joint 

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staff . And I'd also say , as we look 

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across the aspects of our military 

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departments that there's things we can 

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do to increase our efficiency and our 

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capability and capacity . Uh Those are 

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things I focus on . You know , the the 

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fy 23 budget for the joint staff was 

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around 1.2 billion and the budget 

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request for fy 24 is close to 1.3 

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billion . I I guess you're familiar 

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with that , right ? Not the level of 

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details of the joint staff budget 

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because I've been focused on the air 

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Force budget . Ok . Thank you . That's 

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pretty high . But uh I'd like , you 

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know , to give us kind of a rundown the 

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next time we see you in term in a 

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hearing in terms of where we're at with 

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that . Is it too much ? Not enough ? 

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You know , we do not want to cut back 

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our military . It is so important , but 

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we also want to be efficient in what we 

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use . So I'd appreciate anything that 

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you could do for us in terms of giving 

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us , giving us an update on what you're 

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gonna set your team up as because 

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you're gonna be the new leader . So uh 

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II I would hope you'd keep an eye on 

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that because that is a lot of money . 

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Uh I got an article yesterday that says 

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air force delays some moves , bonuses 

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as inflation cuts into personnel budget . 

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Could you explain that that came from 

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the Stars and Stripes Church Center uh 

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as we built our budget a couple of 

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years ago and uh you know , based on 

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the factors , we had the economic 

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factors as well as the force mix 

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factors based on uh different career 

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fields and different uh rank structure . 

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Um We typically will come back and , 

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and ask for reprogramming . Uh We , we , 

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we're working through the process of 

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reprogramming . So we don't go through 

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an Anti Deficiency Act and , and not 

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spend money we don't have . And , and 

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so part of this is for us to be able to 

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work with Congress to uh get the reform 

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in place . So we can actually uh all 

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the problems and uh impacts were 

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outlined in that article that we 

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communicated to the force here recently . 

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Um We can , you know , reverse and 

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minimize the impact to Iman and their 

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families uh throughout this , the rest 

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of this fiscal year . Yeah . And we all 

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know , I important how important it is 

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and I think most of us have talked 

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about it every day recruiting you and I 

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talked about that yesterday . Our 

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recruiting is in a tailspin in most 

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areas . Unfortunately . And , uh , with 

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an all volunteer , uh , military , uh , 

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we're gonna have to do better . We 

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gotta do better with salaries , 

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incentives , all those things to get 

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our young men and women involved and 

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interested in our military . Uh , I 

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think it's so important we can have all 

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the , all the upper echelon we can get . 

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But unless we have the people who 

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actually does the job on the ground and 

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in the plains on the sea , we're gonna 

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have huge problems because we live in a 

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dangerous world . So thank you for 

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taking this on . Uh It's gonna be a 

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hard job and any way we can help you . 

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Uh We're here to help . Thank you , 

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gentlemen . Thank you , Senator 

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Tuberville . Uh , Senator Warren , 

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please . Uh Thank you , Mr Chairman . 

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Good to see you again . General Brown 

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and congratulations on your nomination . 

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Mrs Brown . Welcome here today . So the 

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Department of Defense is full of 

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talented patriotic leaders who are 

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working hard to keep us safe even so 

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the Pentagon remains too cozy with 

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powerful defense companies that are 

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reaping huge profits from hundreds of 

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billions of dollars in government 

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contracts . When our top leaders leave 

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government service and head straight to 

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big paydays on the boards of the 

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department of Defense's largest 

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contractors or as defense industry 

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lobbyists , it sends the message that 

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the Pentagon is for sale . Now , during 

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his confirmation hearing before this 

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committee , Secretary Austin publicly 

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committed not to go to work as a 

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lobbyist for defense contractors after 

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he leaves his current job and I 

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appreciate the commitment and I believe 

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that the American people do as well . 

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If confirmed General Brown , you will 

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be the president's top military advisor 

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and your actions will set the tone for 

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the entire armed forces . So I'd like 

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to hear you make those same commitments . 

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General Brown , if confirmed , will you 

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commit to not going to work as a 

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lobbyist for a defense contractor for 

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four years after you leave government 

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service ? You know , Senator I'm 

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sensitive to the perceptions of a 

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conflict of measures that we discussed 

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in your office and I don't intend to 

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pursue opportunities in the defense 

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sector or a lobbyist upon retirement 

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from military service . Um You know , 

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my passion is in , is in leadership and 

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mentoring . Uh and that's where I want 

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to focus my uh my efforts after 

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military service of uh building the 

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next generation of leaders . I I 

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appreciate that and I will take that as 

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a yes , let's do the second part . Even 

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though I think you got the answer in 

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there . Lobbying isn't the only way 

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that former officials cash in on their 

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government service . Giant defense 

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contractors frequently hire former top 

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Pentagon officials in non lobbying 

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roles and add them to their corporate 

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boards . The former Pentagon official 

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gets paid handsomely and the defense 

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contractor touts their name in order to 

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get more contracts . General Dunford , 

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the former chairman of the joint chiefs 

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joined the board of Lockheed Martin dod 

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S top contractor less than five 

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months after leaving government service . 

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And so far he's received nearly a 

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million dollars in compensation in that 

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role . By contrast , Secretary Austin 

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pledged not to join the board of one of 

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these companies when he left government . 

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So General Brown , if confirmed , do 

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you commit to not receive compensation 

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from a defense contractor for four 

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years including compensation for being 

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a board member ? I uh I did the same 

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answer . I just uh highlighted . OK , 

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I'll take that as a yes . Then you know , 

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it's really important . I'm gonna take 

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you at your word on this and the 

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American people and I will hold you to 

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it . This is a matter of personal 

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integrity . Something that I know is 

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very important to you . I want to close 

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and use our remaining time by asking 

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about the impact of the holds on the 

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promotions and assignments of senior 

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military officers that the senator from 

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Alabama has imposed . The families of 

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these service members are held at a 

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standstill . They're unsure about where 

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to enroll their kids in school or 

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whether they need to arrange a move 

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across country or even somewhere else 

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around the world . General Brown , can 

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you just spend a minute here and talk 

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to us about the impact that 

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these holes are having on our 

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military families there . There's 

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several factors that I think about as , 

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as we're going through this and , and 

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how we are uh working to mitigate uh 

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the challenges associated with the 

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holes , there's aspects of uh radius 

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and the transition and leadership . Um 

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and for our young service members to 

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know who uh is in the position of 

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leadership that has , that's qualified , 

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has the experience to be there . And 

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not in some cases , putting a uh we 

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have , you know , strong deputies , but 

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at the same time , they don't have the 

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same level of experience . Uh going 

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forward . In addition to the senior 

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officers , there's a whole chain of 

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events that go down to our more junior 

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officers and that has an impact . It 

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has an impact on their progression in 

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their career field , potentially 

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because if one doesn't get promoted or 

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move on , then they , you know , 

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they're blocking a spot for someone 

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else . At the same time , we have 

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several members who have served 

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honorably and are ready to retire , but 

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they're going to , in some cases , stay 

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with us to help us mitigate that 

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challenge the area that hits us . Uh I 

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think , uh that we do need to think 

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about is how it impacts our families . 

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Um because it has an impact , not just 

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for the senior officer , but you know , 

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all their staff and all those below 

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them . Um It has an impact and as you 

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have it , it's whether it's schools , 

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whether it's employment or the fact 

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that they've already sold their home 

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because they thought they were gonna 

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move and now are living in temporary 

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quarters . Uh that creates a challenge . 

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The last thing I highlight on that is 

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my concern . There is future retention 

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because we have our more junior 

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officers who now will look up and say 

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if that's the challenge that I may have 

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to deal with in the future . Uh I may 

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wanna , I'm gonna balance between my 

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family and serving in a senior position 

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and we will lose talent , um , uh , 

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because of , uh , those , those 

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challenges and , uh , our , the spouse 

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network is alive and well , and the 

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spouses will compare notes and , uh , 

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you know , the member may want to serve 

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but the , the spouses , uh , and the 

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families get a huge vote and , and 

271
00:09:58,341 --> 00:10:00,508
while we continue , uh , to be able to 

272
00:10:00,508 --> 00:10:00,080
serve , and I thank my family for that 

273
00:10:00,090 --> 00:10:02,580
opportunity to like , I see Mrs Brown 

274
00:10:02,590 --> 00:10:05,179
nodding her head on this as well . You 

275
00:10:05,190 --> 00:10:07,289
know , if the senator from Alabama 

276
00:10:07,299 --> 00:10:10,140
continues his reckless action , he will 

277
00:10:10,150 --> 00:10:14,039
soon be holding 650 leaders who 

278
00:10:14,049 --> 00:10:16,160
have served their country , honorable 

279
00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:18,719
hostage . And as you rightly point out 

280
00:10:18,729 --> 00:10:21,090
that has effects on many more of the 

281
00:10:21,099 --> 00:10:23,520
best and brightest who have volunteered 

282
00:10:23,530 --> 00:10:26,549
to serve our nation . I heard the 

283
00:10:26,559 --> 00:10:28,337
senator say as he concluded his 

284
00:10:28,337 --> 00:10:30,559
questions that if there was anything he 

285
00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:34,239
could do to help you in your actions 

286
00:10:34,250 --> 00:10:36,361
and help the service that he would be 

287
00:10:36,361 --> 00:10:38,361
glad to do it , what he could do to 

288
00:10:38,361 --> 00:10:40,472
help is lift this stag before it does 

289
00:10:40,472 --> 00:10:42,750
more damage to our country . Thank you , 

290
00:10:42,750 --> 00:10:44,639
Mr Chairman . Thank you , Senator 

291
00:10:44,639 --> 00:10:46,861
Warren Senator . But please thank you , 

292
00:10:46,861 --> 00:10:48,806
Chairman . Uh good morning General 

293
00:10:48,806 --> 00:10:51,028
Brown and congrats on your nomination . 

294
00:10:51,028 --> 00:10:53,028
I enjoyed our meeting last month uh 

295
00:10:53,028 --> 00:10:55,194
just a few weeks ago in my office . Um 

296
00:10:55,194 --> 00:10:57,250
In that discussion , we talked about 

297
00:10:57,250 --> 00:10:57,150
the importance of securing the right 

298
00:10:57,159 --> 00:10:59,140
capabilities to deter our nation's 

299
00:10:59,150 --> 00:11:02,260
adversaries . And uh last week , my 

300
00:11:02,270 --> 00:11:04,460
office received a long awaited report 

301
00:11:04,469 --> 00:11:07,479
on divestment of F-15 aircraft 

302
00:11:07,770 --> 00:11:09,937
including at Seymour Johnson Air Force 

303
00:11:09,937 --> 00:11:12,270
base in my home state of North Carolina . 

304
00:11:12,820 --> 00:11:14,950
The , the report bears your signature 

305
00:11:15,619 --> 00:11:17,786
and it states that the Air Force plans 

306
00:11:17,786 --> 00:11:20,539
to divest the remaining uh 100 and 49 

307
00:11:20,780 --> 00:11:24,590
F-15 CS and Ds in the inventory and 

308
00:11:24,619 --> 00:11:28,330
100 and 19 F-15s leaving 

309
00:11:28,340 --> 00:11:31,479
fewer than 100 E models while 

310
00:11:31,489 --> 00:11:35,090
procuring 24 only 24 F-15 

311
00:11:35,099 --> 00:11:38,719
exs in each of the next two years . So 

312
00:11:38,729 --> 00:11:40,896
I'm concerned about the development of 

313
00:11:40,896 --> 00:11:42,785
a very capable fighter aircraft , 

314
00:11:42,785 --> 00:11:45,007
particularly F-15s with upgraded radars 

315
00:11:45,007 --> 00:11:47,280
and electronic warfare suites . These 

316
00:11:47,289 --> 00:11:49,511
are the most advanced fourth generation 

317
00:11:49,511 --> 00:11:52,059
fighters in the world with years of 

318
00:11:52,070 --> 00:11:54,500
service left . Uh It's particularly 

319
00:11:54,510 --> 00:11:56,510
concerning given the current threat 

320
00:11:56,510 --> 00:11:58,510
window and the fighter capacity gap 

321
00:11:58,510 --> 00:12:00,454
that I believe you've talked about 

322
00:12:00,454 --> 00:12:02,621
repeatedly . So the report states that 

323
00:12:02,621 --> 00:12:04,677
these cuts will be used to modernize 

324
00:12:04,677 --> 00:12:06,732
the force . My question is this what 

325
00:12:06,732 --> 00:12:08,899
combat capable platforms are ready and 

326
00:12:08,899 --> 00:12:10,899
available today and emphasize today 

327
00:12:10,899 --> 00:12:13,010
that can be procured now , not in the 

328
00:12:13,010 --> 00:12:16,440
20 thirties or the 20 forties . I I 

329
00:12:16,450 --> 00:12:18,969
understand your uh your your concern in 

330
00:12:18,979 --> 00:12:21,280
the aspect of as we look , this goes 

331
00:12:21,289 --> 00:12:23,400
back to the comment , I made a little 

332
00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:25,233
bit earlier about how we balance 

333
00:12:25,233 --> 00:12:27,456
capability and capacity and uh as we do 

334
00:12:27,456 --> 00:12:29,567
this , it's not just the uh the , the 

335
00:12:29,567 --> 00:12:31,678
platforms themselves , it's the other 

336
00:12:31,678 --> 00:12:33,789
aspects of our command and control in 

337
00:12:33,789 --> 00:12:35,900
terms of bringing some reconnaissance 

338
00:12:35,900 --> 00:12:35,669
capabilities that we will continue to 

339
00:12:35,679 --> 00:12:38,020
invest in to bring those forward . To 

340
00:12:38,030 --> 00:12:40,086
make each of the platforms , we have 

341
00:12:40,086 --> 00:12:42,086
more capable , not just for the air 

342
00:12:42,090 --> 00:12:44,034
force , but I'd say the same thing 

343
00:12:44,034 --> 00:12:46,201
across the joint force and it also has 

344
00:12:46,201 --> 00:12:48,312
to do with the munitions as well . Uh 

345
00:12:48,312 --> 00:12:50,423
Because of our procurement cycles for 

346
00:12:50,423 --> 00:12:52,646
each one of these , it's typically from 

347
00:12:52,646 --> 00:12:52,549
the time we get a budget and if we get 

348
00:12:52,559 --> 00:12:54,559
it on time , which is why that's so 

349
00:12:54,559 --> 00:12:56,781
important . It takes us about a year to 

350
00:12:56,781 --> 00:12:58,948
two in some cases , most times and not 

351
00:12:58,948 --> 00:13:01,115
two years to get that capability . And 

352
00:13:01,115 --> 00:13:03,448
so not only on the on the fighter piece , 

353
00:13:03,448 --> 00:13:05,615
but it's also the capabilities to make 

354
00:13:05,615 --> 00:13:07,837
those fighters more relevant and combat 

355
00:13:07,837 --> 00:13:09,948
capable as we go forward . And that's 

356
00:13:09,948 --> 00:13:12,115
how we're trying to balance between uh 

357
00:13:12,115 --> 00:13:14,226
between the two and make sure we have 

358
00:13:14,226 --> 00:13:16,392
the uh the analysis , the research and 

359
00:13:16,392 --> 00:13:16,119
development to make sure we're staying 

360
00:13:16,130 --> 00:13:18,186
ahead of the threat , which actually 

361
00:13:18,186 --> 00:13:20,186
adds to that as well in bringing uh 

362
00:13:20,186 --> 00:13:22,130
advanced technologies into some of 

363
00:13:22,130 --> 00:13:22,000
these uh some of the platforms and 

364
00:13:22,010 --> 00:13:24,232
capabilities . We're we're procuring uh 

365
00:13:24,232 --> 00:13:26,288
not just again for the Air Force but 

366
00:13:26,288 --> 00:13:28,343
really for the joint force as well . 

367
00:13:28,343 --> 00:13:30,288
Thank you general in your advanced 

368
00:13:30,288 --> 00:13:32,454
policy questions regarding the role of 

369
00:13:32,454 --> 00:13:34,066
special operations forces in 

370
00:13:34,066 --> 00:13:35,954
implementing the national defense 

371
00:13:35,954 --> 00:13:38,177
strategy you state . And I quote , soft 

372
00:13:38,177 --> 00:13:40,559
remains ideally suited to identify uh a 

373
00:13:40,570 --> 00:13:42,710
competitor's coercive capabilities in 

374
00:13:42,719 --> 00:13:44,719
the gray zone and counter them with 

375
00:13:44,719 --> 00:13:46,608
deliberate credible actions while 

376
00:13:46,608 --> 00:13:49,390
managing escalation . Given that end 

377
00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:51,344
quote , given that soft is ideally 

378
00:13:51,344 --> 00:13:53,929
suited and provides expanded low cost 

379
00:13:53,940 --> 00:13:55,884
and credible options for combatant 

380
00:13:55,884 --> 00:13:57,884
commanders and the president across 

381
00:13:57,884 --> 00:13:59,218
strategic competition , 

382
00:13:59,218 --> 00:14:01,429
counterterrorism and crisis response . 

383
00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:04,239
Would it be in your best military 

384
00:14:04,250 --> 00:14:07,090
advice ? Would you give the advice to 

385
00:14:07,099 --> 00:14:09,340
this committee to cut Special 

386
00:14:09,349 --> 00:14:12,590
Operations force structure ? Well , 

387
00:14:12,599 --> 00:14:15,460
that is something that if confirmed , 

388
00:14:15,469 --> 00:14:17,469
do a bit more analysis on , but I'd 

389
00:14:17,469 --> 00:14:19,302
also highlight the fact that our 

390
00:14:19,302 --> 00:14:21,247
Special Operations forces over the 

391
00:14:21,247 --> 00:14:23,469
course of the past 20 years of conflict 

392
00:14:23,469 --> 00:14:26,200
grew a fair amount . And as we 

393
00:14:26,210 --> 00:14:28,880
rebalance the force and think about all 

394
00:14:28,890 --> 00:14:31,001
the national security challenges that 

395
00:14:31,001 --> 00:14:33,334
we have to outline our defense strategy . 

396
00:14:33,334 --> 00:14:35,679
How can we balance that soft capability , 

397
00:14:35,690 --> 00:14:37,857
what it does today and what it will do 

398
00:14:37,857 --> 00:14:39,968
in the future ? Because the aspect of 

399
00:14:39,968 --> 00:14:42,134
soft , I think will be a bit different 

400
00:14:42,134 --> 00:14:44,301
from what we've done , particularly in 

401
00:14:44,301 --> 00:14:44,140
the Middle East for the past 20 years . 

402
00:14:44,900 --> 00:14:46,733
I understand that they just have 

403
00:14:46,733 --> 00:14:48,844
tremendous concerns what I've seen in 

404
00:14:48,844 --> 00:14:51,011
the president's budget . Um But let me 

405
00:14:51,011 --> 00:14:53,011
ask an ongoing question on the same 

406
00:14:53,011 --> 00:14:55,122
topic . Do you agree that soft play a 

407
00:14:55,122 --> 00:14:54,869
critical role particularly as it 

408
00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:56,824
relates to broader efforts to gain 

409
00:14:56,824 --> 00:14:58,824
influence advantage and leverage as 

410
00:14:58,824 --> 00:15:00,936
part of strategic competition ? Uh If 

411
00:15:00,936 --> 00:15:04,919
you do , thank you , changing 

412
00:15:04,929 --> 00:15:07,151
topics , military recruiting shortfalls 

413
00:15:07,151 --> 00:15:09,250
continue to be a grave concern as we 

414
00:15:09,260 --> 00:15:11,280
consider how the recruiting crisis 

415
00:15:11,289 --> 00:15:13,622
impacts our nation's military readiness . 

416
00:15:13,622 --> 00:15:15,678
In our discussions in my office , we 

417
00:15:15,678 --> 00:15:17,678
talked about diversity , equity and 

418
00:15:17,678 --> 00:15:19,622
inclusion policies that in my view 

419
00:15:19,622 --> 00:15:21,511
deter rather than encourage young 

420
00:15:21,511 --> 00:15:23,678
people to serve . I've heard from many 

421
00:15:23,678 --> 00:15:25,733
young and qualified individuals from 

422
00:15:25,733 --> 00:15:27,956
North Carolina who are hesitant to join 

423
00:15:27,956 --> 00:15:29,900
a force . They see it as extremely 

424
00:15:29,900 --> 00:15:32,067
political and defined by DE I policies 

425
00:15:32,067 --> 00:15:34,570
in August 22 you signed a memorandum 

426
00:15:34,580 --> 00:15:36,191
along with the Secretary and 

427
00:15:36,191 --> 00:15:38,080
undersecretary of the Air Force , 

428
00:15:38,080 --> 00:15:40,136
directing Air Education and Training 

429
00:15:40,136 --> 00:15:42,136
Command in the Air Force Academy to 

430
00:15:42,136 --> 00:15:44,247
achieve diversity and inclusion goals 

431
00:15:44,247 --> 00:15:46,469
broken down by percentages of both race 

432
00:15:46,469 --> 00:15:48,580
and . We talked about this . It was a 

433
00:15:48,580 --> 00:15:50,691
good discussion . Uh But I wanna give 

434
00:15:50,691 --> 00:15:52,691
you an opportunity to respond in an 

435
00:15:52,691 --> 00:15:54,747
open session . What's the purpose of 

436
00:15:54,747 --> 00:15:56,969
this memo ? The one from August to 2022 

437
00:15:56,969 --> 00:15:58,802
and how to such policies improve 

438
00:15:58,802 --> 00:16:00,913
recruiting . Uh bottom line . I think 

439
00:16:00,913 --> 00:16:03,136
that we should be suspect or suspect of 

440
00:16:03,136 --> 00:16:05,136
any policies that give advantage to 

441
00:16:05,136 --> 00:16:07,302
some groups at the expense of others . 

442
00:16:07,302 --> 00:16:09,524
But I'll give you opportunity senator , 

443
00:16:09,549 --> 00:16:11,771
the goal is to , is to tap into all the 

444
00:16:11,771 --> 00:16:13,859
talent across our nation . And that 

445
00:16:13,869 --> 00:16:16,239
memo uh outlined applicant goals . And 

446
00:16:16,250 --> 00:16:18,710
the goal there was to actually outreach 

447
00:16:18,719 --> 00:16:20,989
the broader aspects uh across the 

448
00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,167
nation and show them the opportunities 

449
00:16:23,167 --> 00:16:25,333
to join the force . What the memo also 

450
00:16:25,333 --> 00:16:29,030
says is there's a goal to um 

451
00:16:30,049 --> 00:16:32,340
allow those young people to understand 

452
00:16:32,349 --> 00:16:34,571
what the opportunities are , but to get 

453
00:16:34,571 --> 00:16:36,682
selected and to come into the Academy 

454
00:16:36,682 --> 00:16:39,359
ROTC or any other program , um It's 

455
00:16:39,369 --> 00:16:41,147
merit based and they have to be 

456
00:16:41,147 --> 00:16:43,480
qualified and meet the standard to join . 

457
00:16:43,729 --> 00:16:45,896
We've got to make sure we , you know , 

458
00:16:45,896 --> 00:16:48,062
provide the opportunity . We've talked 

459
00:16:48,062 --> 00:16:47,789
about . Uh I've talked personally about 

460
00:16:47,799 --> 00:16:49,743
recruiting the aspect , you know , 

461
00:16:49,743 --> 00:16:51,966
people only aspire to be what they know 

462
00:16:51,966 --> 00:16:51,700
about . And if you don't , they don't 

463
00:16:51,710 --> 00:16:53,932
know anything about the military and we 

464
00:16:53,932 --> 00:16:56,154
don't outreach to them , we may miss uh 

465
00:16:56,154 --> 00:16:58,210
some tremendous talent , but they've 

466
00:16:58,210 --> 00:17:00,609
got to be qualified um because we're a 

467
00:17:00,619 --> 00:17:02,675
national organization . Um and , and 

468
00:17:02,675 --> 00:17:05,219
that's the way we've operated uh for an 

469
00:17:05,229 --> 00:17:07,396
extended period of time and that's the 

470
00:17:07,396 --> 00:17:09,451
way we will continue to operate as a 

471
00:17:09,451 --> 00:17:11,618
military force . Thank you , General . 

472
00:17:11,618 --> 00:17:13,507
Thank you , Senator Bud . Senator 

473
00:17:13,507 --> 00:17:15,340
Peters , please . Thank you , Mr 

474
00:17:15,340 --> 00:17:17,396
Chairman General Brown . Good to see 

475
00:17:17,396 --> 00:17:19,396
you again and uh congratulations on 

476
00:17:19,396 --> 00:17:21,673
your nomination and thank you for your , 

477
00:17:21,673 --> 00:17:23,785
your years of service . General Brown 

478
00:17:23,785 --> 00:17:25,840
as , as uh we discussed uh for , for 

479
00:17:25,840 --> 00:17:27,729
the US to be able to successfully 

480
00:17:27,729 --> 00:17:29,785
defend uh against uh all the threats 

481
00:17:29,785 --> 00:17:32,119
that we face in the 21st century . It's 

482
00:17:32,130 --> 00:17:34,310
going to be absolutely vital that we 

483
00:17:34,319 --> 00:17:36,375
are as efficient as possible when it 

484
00:17:36,375 --> 00:17:39,060
comes to our force structure , as well 

485
00:17:39,069 --> 00:17:41,609
as understanding our limited manpower 

486
00:17:41,619 --> 00:17:44,180
resources . And as you know , very well , 

487
00:17:44,189 --> 00:17:46,089
our National Guard comprises a 

488
00:17:46,099 --> 00:17:48,540
significant portion of both our air and 

489
00:17:48,550 --> 00:17:50,550
ground combat capabilities . And 

490
00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:52,839
oftentimes these units actually have a 

491
00:17:52,849 --> 00:17:55,119
higher level of experience than their 

492
00:17:55,130 --> 00:17:57,640
active duty counterparts and are more 

493
00:17:57,650 --> 00:18:00,469
easily able to meet recruiting as well 

494
00:18:00,479 --> 00:18:03,130
as retention goals . The National Guard 

495
00:18:03,140 --> 00:18:05,099
is a critical part of our domestic 

496
00:18:05,109 --> 00:18:07,670
cyber response and mission assurance 

497
00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:10,219
duties and plays a key role I think or 

498
00:18:10,229 --> 00:18:12,810
I know between the Department of State 

499
00:18:12,819 --> 00:18:15,510
and local officials in a time when 

500
00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:17,810
innovation is absolutely critical . 

501
00:18:17,819 --> 00:18:20,194
National Guard installations are able 

502
00:18:20,204 --> 00:18:23,055
to easily host private sector partners 

503
00:18:23,064 --> 00:18:24,786
who are conducting testing and 

504
00:18:24,786 --> 00:18:27,185
evaluation of emerging technologies . 

505
00:18:27,385 --> 00:18:29,552
And every year , thousands of national 

506
00:18:29,552 --> 00:18:31,329
Guardsmen build closer ties and 

507
00:18:31,329 --> 00:18:33,552
increase interoperability with partners 

508
00:18:33,552 --> 00:18:35,607
and allies across the globe . To the 

509
00:18:35,607 --> 00:18:37,441
state partnership program . Camp 

510
00:18:37,441 --> 00:18:39,635
Grayling in my home state in northern 

511
00:18:39,645 --> 00:18:41,875
Michigan is a place where thousands of 

512
00:18:41,885 --> 00:18:44,685
us troops train alongside NATO and Indo 

513
00:18:44,744 --> 00:18:46,895
Payco partners every summer during 

514
00:18:46,905 --> 00:18:49,359
exercise Northern strike . And I think 

515
00:18:49,369 --> 00:18:51,591
it's just one example of the tremendous 

516
00:18:51,591 --> 00:18:53,758
capabilities our National Guard brings 

517
00:18:53,758 --> 00:18:55,810
to the total force simply put the 

518
00:18:55,819 --> 00:18:57,986
United States cannot compete with peer 

519
00:18:57,986 --> 00:19:00,410
competitors , combat long term 

520
00:19:00,420 --> 00:19:02,660
insurgencies , implement the National 

521
00:19:02,670 --> 00:19:05,800
defense strategy or overcome recruiting 

522
00:19:05,810 --> 00:19:07,849
and retention challenges without an 

523
00:19:07,859 --> 00:19:10,459
adequately resourced and empowered 

524
00:19:10,469 --> 00:19:12,802
National Guard . So my question for you , 

525
00:19:12,802 --> 00:19:14,636
sir is what investments does the 

526
00:19:14,636 --> 00:19:16,858
department need to make in the National 

527
00:19:16,858 --> 00:19:19,069
Guard to build and to maintain a force 

528
00:19:19,079 --> 00:19:21,135
able to meet the challenges that our 

529
00:19:21,135 --> 00:19:23,560
nation will face for the rest of this 

530
00:19:23,569 --> 00:19:26,989
century ? Well , Senator um II , I have 

531
00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:29,222
tremendous value of uh working with the 

532
00:19:29,222 --> 00:19:31,222
Air National Guard uh throughout my 

533
00:19:31,222 --> 00:19:33,389
career and uh having uh had them under 

534
00:19:33,389 --> 00:19:35,111
my command and , and uh combat 

535
00:19:35,111 --> 00:19:37,469
operations as well as uh um serving as 

536
00:19:37,479 --> 00:19:39,849
the Air Force chief of staff . I think 

537
00:19:39,859 --> 00:19:41,915
the key that with a couple of things 

538
00:19:41,915 --> 00:19:43,859
that we have to think through as a 

539
00:19:43,859 --> 00:19:45,748
joint force and if confirmed as a 

540
00:19:45,748 --> 00:19:47,803
chairman is to ensure that our guard 

541
00:19:47,803 --> 00:19:49,915
members have the capabilities um with 

542
00:19:49,915 --> 00:19:52,930
the resources . Um and uh that is 

543
00:19:52,939 --> 00:19:55,439
modernized so they can be a front line 

544
00:19:55,449 --> 00:19:58,099
institution to be ready to go whenever 

545
00:19:58,109 --> 00:20:00,530
the nation's called . Uh And then at 

546
00:20:00,540 --> 00:20:02,373
the same time , it's some of the 

547
00:20:02,373 --> 00:20:04,540
personnel programs , we have to ensure 

548
00:20:04,540 --> 00:20:06,762
that we're taking care of those members 

549
00:20:06,762 --> 00:20:08,818
and their families , uh particularly 

550
00:20:08,818 --> 00:20:10,929
knowing that they change status uh as 

551
00:20:10,929 --> 00:20:13,096
they go on and on to d or get deployed 

552
00:20:13,096 --> 00:20:15,040
back and forth , the better we can 

553
00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:17,262
smooth those processes um that helps us 

554
00:20:17,262 --> 00:20:19,429
out . And then the last thing I I kind 

555
00:20:19,429 --> 00:20:21,540
of highlight is the work we do on the 

556
00:20:21,540 --> 00:20:23,707
active side and how we ensure that the 

557
00:20:23,707 --> 00:20:26,410
process to retain that talent and bring 

558
00:20:26,420 --> 00:20:28,531
it over into the guard or the reserve 

559
00:20:28,531 --> 00:20:30,829
component . And there's areas that 

560
00:20:30,839 --> 00:20:32,783
sometimes we make it a little more 

561
00:20:32,783 --> 00:20:34,839
difficult than it has to be . We may 

562
00:20:34,839 --> 00:20:36,672
lose an opportunity with a great 

563
00:20:36,672 --> 00:20:38,839
service member who decides to go do 

564
00:20:38,849 --> 00:20:41,219
something else . But the value that the 

565
00:20:41,229 --> 00:20:43,451
uh our guard provides , whether it's uh 

566
00:20:43,451 --> 00:20:45,673
because of their , their goal status of 

567
00:20:45,673 --> 00:20:47,729
the , you know , the civilian career 

568
00:20:47,729 --> 00:20:49,729
and their military career . Um I've 

569
00:20:49,729 --> 00:20:51,729
been a great proponent of the state 

570
00:20:51,729 --> 00:20:53,618
partnership program that has done 

571
00:20:53,618 --> 00:20:53,040
tremendous work for our allies and 

572
00:20:53,050 --> 00:20:56,079
partners . And so the Guard , um both 

573
00:20:56,089 --> 00:20:58,430
the Air and the Army Guard are , are 

574
00:20:58,439 --> 00:21:01,439
great assets to our joint force , right ? 

575
00:21:01,449 --> 00:21:03,616
It's good to good to hear that General 

576
00:21:03,616 --> 00:21:05,727
Brown . Uh when , when you assume the 

577
00:21:05,727 --> 00:21:08,060
position of uh Air Force chief of staff , 

578
00:21:08,060 --> 00:21:10,390
you issued a directive for airmen to 

579
00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:14,030
accelerate change or lose . You 

580
00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:16,310
describe this concept as a necessity 

581
00:21:16,319 --> 00:21:18,097
for the air force to be able to 

582
00:21:18,097 --> 00:21:21,739
dominate uh in a very dynamic , rapidly 

583
00:21:21,750 --> 00:21:24,430
changing security environment . As 

584
00:21:24,439 --> 00:21:27,040
chairman , if confirmed , you would 

585
00:21:27,050 --> 00:21:29,161
have great influence on bringing this 

586
00:21:29,161 --> 00:21:31,390
type of attitude to what is perhaps the 

587
00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:33,790
most risk adverse bureaucratic 

588
00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:36,319
organization in the world . So my 

589
00:21:36,329 --> 00:21:38,496
question for you , sir is what are the 

590
00:21:38,496 --> 00:21:40,273
biggest challenges that you can 

591
00:21:40,273 --> 00:21:42,162
identify to having the department 

592
00:21:42,162 --> 00:21:44,385
embrace this culture , which I think is 

593
00:21:44,385 --> 00:21:47,400
essential of accelerating change ? Well , 

594
00:21:47,410 --> 00:21:49,521
one of the areas that I've found is I 

595
00:21:49,521 --> 00:21:51,632
tried to do this as the uh and I have 

596
00:21:51,632 --> 00:21:53,799
made some progress and I've been happy 

597
00:21:53,799 --> 00:21:55,966
with some of the progress I've made in 

598
00:21:55,966 --> 00:21:55,949
certain areas as the Air Force Chief . 

599
00:21:55,959 --> 00:21:57,959
But at the same time , uh there are 

600
00:21:57,959 --> 00:22:00,237
some areas that I'm not as happy about . 

601
00:22:00,270 --> 00:22:02,680
Uh the challenge there is having all of 

602
00:22:02,689 --> 00:22:04,949
our service members understand the big 

603
00:22:04,959 --> 00:22:07,569
picture and why this is so important , 

604
00:22:07,579 --> 00:22:09,746
why we need to modernize and what's at 

605
00:22:09,746 --> 00:22:12,239
stake . And from that perspective , 

606
00:22:12,250 --> 00:22:14,083
then you step away from your own 

607
00:22:14,083 --> 00:22:15,972
parochial interest and then we do 

608
00:22:15,972 --> 00:22:18,194
what's best , not just for your part of 

609
00:22:18,194 --> 00:22:20,306
the organization , but what's be best 

610
00:22:20,306 --> 00:22:22,472
for the entire organization ? That's I 

611
00:22:22,472 --> 00:22:24,472
I've approached it as the Air Force 

612
00:22:24,472 --> 00:22:26,639
Chief of staff , if confirmed . That's 

613
00:22:26,639 --> 00:22:26,550
exactly what I approach it as a 

614
00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:28,727
chairman , as a joint chief and having 

615
00:22:28,727 --> 00:22:30,838
served as a joint chief , I've had to 

616
00:22:30,838 --> 00:22:32,949
be able to do the same . We got to be 

617
00:22:32,949 --> 00:22:35,060
able to do that a bit more across the 

618
00:22:35,060 --> 00:22:37,227
force and , you know , put what's best 

619
00:22:37,227 --> 00:22:39,449
out front for the force to ensure we're 

620
00:22:39,449 --> 00:22:41,560
doing the right things to protect the 

621
00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:43,782
nation in our national interest . Thank 

622
00:22:43,782 --> 00:22:46,116
you , General . Thank you , Mr Chairman . 

623
00:22:46,116 --> 00:22:45,209
Thank you , Senator Peter , Senator 

624
00:22:45,219 --> 00:22:48,420
Mullin , please . Thank you , Chairman . 

625
00:22:48,430 --> 00:22:52,310
Um And uh going kind of on the same uh 

626
00:22:52,319 --> 00:22:54,310
lane that Mr Peters was , but 

627
00:22:54,319 --> 00:22:56,375
necessarily not necessarily the same 

628
00:22:56,375 --> 00:22:58,459
question , but talking about uh the 

629
00:22:58,469 --> 00:23:02,000
accelerating change or lose um when you 

630
00:23:02,010 --> 00:23:04,770
had , when you had , uh originally um 

631
00:23:04,780 --> 00:23:06,947
drafted that as the Air Force Chief of 

632
00:23:06,947 --> 00:23:09,002
staff , you outlined the urgent need 

633
00:23:09,002 --> 00:23:10,947
for technology advancement in your 

634
00:23:10,947 --> 00:23:13,169
accelerator or change or lose comment . 

635
00:23:13,459 --> 00:23:16,170
Um An important factor in the , in our 

636
00:23:16,209 --> 00:23:18,265
ability to outpace our competitors , 

637
00:23:18,265 --> 00:23:20,320
the health of our defense industry . 

638
00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:22,719
Are you um are we able to actually 

639
00:23:22,729 --> 00:23:25,140
leverage them in an accurate way to be 

640
00:23:25,150 --> 00:23:27,810
able to have the same mentality to uh 

641
00:23:27,819 --> 00:23:30,150
as you said , accelerate change or lose 

642
00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:32,609
with the industrial base in the current 

643
00:23:32,619 --> 00:23:35,959
state that it's in II I do think we can . 

644
00:23:35,969 --> 00:23:38,310
And here's the uh the thing I found is 

645
00:23:38,319 --> 00:23:40,486
a service chief for the past two years 

646
00:23:40,486 --> 00:23:42,708
after our acceler change or lose that . 

647
00:23:42,708 --> 00:23:44,819
Uh It's not a flip of a switch . It , 

648
00:23:44,819 --> 00:23:47,339
it's a bit of a bit of a culture change . 

649
00:23:47,349 --> 00:23:50,239
It takes a bit of time to get it bought 

650
00:23:50,250 --> 00:23:52,417
into the force and start to move . And 

651
00:23:52,417 --> 00:23:54,550
so what I have seen is aspects of the 

652
00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:56,616
defense , industrial base aspects of 

653
00:23:56,616 --> 00:23:58,893
the defense industry to start to shift . 

654
00:23:58,893 --> 00:24:00,893
We've been able to do it in certain 

655
00:24:00,893 --> 00:24:03,116
programs . A couple of programs for the 

656
00:24:03,116 --> 00:24:05,282
Air Force , the B 21 program is a good 

657
00:24:05,282 --> 00:24:05,180
example . Sentinel is a good example . 

658
00:24:05,339 --> 00:24:07,339
Next generation , air dominance are 

659
00:24:07,339 --> 00:24:09,228
good examples where we've taken a 

660
00:24:09,228 --> 00:24:11,339
different approach to drive ourselves 

661
00:24:11,339 --> 00:24:13,506
in a different direction . I would say 

662
00:24:13,506 --> 00:24:15,617
the same thing with the A works where 

663
00:24:15,617 --> 00:24:17,783
we've been able to build relationships 

664
00:24:17,783 --> 00:24:19,728
with smaller companies and smaller 

665
00:24:19,728 --> 00:24:21,895
technologies and have them play in the 

666
00:24:21,895 --> 00:24:24,006
competitive space because that's what 

667
00:24:24,006 --> 00:24:26,061
happens outside of the Department of 

668
00:24:26,061 --> 00:24:25,790
Defense . And so we've been able to , 

669
00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:29,339
to , to make some uh some advancements 

670
00:24:29,349 --> 00:24:31,405
in those areas . Um But you're still 

671
00:24:31,405 --> 00:24:33,293
gonna have the , you know , major 

672
00:24:33,293 --> 00:24:35,516
defense acquisition programs that are a 

673
00:24:35,516 --> 00:24:38,160
bit broader , but we are making 

674
00:24:38,170 --> 00:24:40,392
progress and that's something we got to 

675
00:24:40,392 --> 00:24:42,503
continue to do and have confirmed the 

676
00:24:42,503 --> 00:24:44,614
same energy I put in as the Air Force 

677
00:24:44,614 --> 00:24:46,726
Chief of staff on accelerating change 

678
00:24:46,726 --> 00:24:46,589
is the same thing you expect from me uh 

679
00:24:46,599 --> 00:24:48,821
as a chairman , if I , I couldn't agree 

680
00:24:48,821 --> 00:24:50,821
more , I mean , in , in the private 

681
00:24:50,821 --> 00:24:52,821
sector , in any sector , we have to 

682
00:24:52,821 --> 00:24:55,155
accelerate change or you do fall behind . 

683
00:24:55,155 --> 00:24:57,210
So I agree with what you're saying , 

684
00:24:57,210 --> 00:24:59,432
but how do you keep the industrial base 

685
00:24:59,432 --> 00:25:01,488
nimble without sacrificing um legacy 

686
00:25:01,488 --> 00:25:03,766
systems and knowledge at the same time ? 

687
00:25:04,069 --> 00:25:06,180
Well , I think part of this is um the 

688
00:25:06,180 --> 00:25:08,347
aspect of how we write our contracts , 

689
00:25:08,347 --> 00:25:10,630
how we incentivize uh the and set the 

690
00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:12,696
business model uh realizing that our 

691
00:25:12,696 --> 00:25:15,079
defense companies , I have , excuse me , 

692
00:25:15,089 --> 00:25:17,311
we have stakeholders and they've got to 

693
00:25:17,311 --> 00:25:19,311
report too . Um and but at the same 

694
00:25:19,311 --> 00:25:21,311
time , uh we've got to make sure we 

695
00:25:21,311 --> 00:25:23,422
provide the combat capability for our 

696
00:25:23,422 --> 00:25:25,478
joint force , right ? And so it it's 

697
00:25:25,478 --> 00:25:27,700
important for us to come together . And 

698
00:25:27,700 --> 00:25:29,922
so we're not talking past each other or 

699
00:25:29,922 --> 00:25:32,145
debating them , you know , on different 

700
00:25:32,145 --> 00:25:34,200
sides of the aisle , on , on this or 

701
00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:33,369
different , different sides of the 

702
00:25:33,380 --> 00:25:35,380
perspective . It's really how do we 

703
00:25:35,380 --> 00:25:37,380
come together and figure out how we 

704
00:25:37,380 --> 00:25:39,213
move forward , right . The way I 

705
00:25:39,213 --> 00:25:41,436
operate is , uh you know , basically on 

706
00:25:41,436 --> 00:25:43,602
a Vin diagram , there's some things we 

707
00:25:43,602 --> 00:25:43,410
agree about , let's get those and move 

708
00:25:43,420 --> 00:25:45,198
those forward and the things we 

709
00:25:45,198 --> 00:25:47,198
disagree about how then do we break 

710
00:25:47,198 --> 00:25:49,087
down those barriers and then help 

711
00:25:49,087 --> 00:25:51,142
improve and part of that is building 

712
00:25:51,142 --> 00:25:53,142
relationships with industry . Um So 

713
00:25:53,142 --> 00:25:55,253
they understand where we're going and 

714
00:25:55,253 --> 00:25:57,476
where uh what they're trying to achieve 

715
00:25:57,476 --> 00:25:59,698
and then we can work together to ensure 

716
00:25:59,698 --> 00:25:58,880
we're doing what's right for the nation 

717
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:01,889
switching gears a little bit . Um 

718
00:26:01,889 --> 00:26:04,056
Nearly everyone that comes in front of 

719
00:26:04,056 --> 00:26:06,056
this committee this year has talked 

720
00:26:06,056 --> 00:26:07,944
about the challenges we have with 

721
00:26:07,944 --> 00:26:09,833
recruiting . Uh There's also been 

722
00:26:09,833 --> 00:26:11,778
obviously comments about having to 

723
00:26:11,778 --> 00:26:14,000
change our posture a little bit because 

724
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:16,250
our lack to build actually uh man , 

725
00:26:16,260 --> 00:26:18,371
some of the systems that we're trying 

726
00:26:18,371 --> 00:26:20,371
to move forward with or some of the 

727
00:26:20,371 --> 00:26:22,593
areas that we're trying to grow in . Um 

728
00:26:22,593 --> 00:26:24,760
But at the same time during COVID , uh 

729
00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:27,280
we had let 8000 capable servicemen and 

730
00:26:27,290 --> 00:26:30,880
women go uh for their for not wanting 

731
00:26:30,890 --> 00:26:32,810
to get the vaccination as more 

732
00:26:32,819 --> 00:26:34,930
technologies come out . We think that 

733
00:26:34,930 --> 00:26:37,097
they probably had the right to do so . 

734
00:26:37,097 --> 00:26:39,208
But how do we bring those individuals 

735
00:26:39,208 --> 00:26:40,986
back into the fold now that the 

736
00:26:40,986 --> 00:26:43,250
pandemic is quote over uh and get them 

737
00:26:43,260 --> 00:26:45,760
back plugged in uh and reinstate them 

738
00:26:45,770 --> 00:26:47,937
to where they should be if they choose 

739
00:26:47,937 --> 00:26:50,119
to come back . Uh each of the services 

740
00:26:50,130 --> 00:26:52,241
uh uh has a uh process that all those 

741
00:26:52,241 --> 00:26:54,352
members who want to return and they , 

742
00:26:54,369 --> 00:26:56,790
you know , review their um um coming 

743
00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:58,800
back into the service you support , 

744
00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:01,022
bringing them back in on , on a case by 

745
00:27:01,022 --> 00:27:03,133
case basis with the uh review is done 

746
00:27:03,133 --> 00:27:02,760
by the service . What would be the case 

747
00:27:02,770 --> 00:27:04,939
by case ? I mean , uh so what are red 

748
00:27:04,949 --> 00:27:07,359
flags for you ? Well , in some cases , 

749
00:27:07,369 --> 00:27:09,369
it may be , it was there were other 

750
00:27:09,369 --> 00:27:11,202
factors beyond just the uh COVID 

751
00:27:11,202 --> 00:27:13,480
vaccination that may prevent them from . 

752
00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:15,536
But it was just if it was based just 

753
00:27:15,536 --> 00:27:17,480
specific on the refusal to get the 

754
00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:19,702
COVID vaccine , you , you , you support 

755
00:27:19,702 --> 00:27:19,390
bringing them back in . I I'd be 

756
00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:21,456
supportive but I defer to those that 

757
00:27:21,456 --> 00:27:23,789
are uh going through the cases before I . 

758
00:27:23,789 --> 00:27:25,567
Uh well , obviously , being the 

759
00:27:25,567 --> 00:27:27,789
chairman , you're gonna have a big sway 

760
00:27:27,789 --> 00:27:27,219
in it . If you say , hey guys , let's 

761
00:27:27,229 --> 00:27:29,340
bring these guys back in . If this is 

762
00:27:29,340 --> 00:27:31,451
the only thing that was on their mark 

763
00:27:31,451 --> 00:27:33,618
and you say let's bring them back in . 

764
00:27:33,618 --> 00:27:33,300
I think most people probably follow 

765
00:27:33,310 --> 00:27:36,969
that leadership somewhat true , but I'm 

766
00:27:36,979 --> 00:27:39,090
not in the command chain as the uh it 

767
00:27:39,090 --> 00:27:41,257
confirms the chairman , I'm not in the 

768
00:27:41,257 --> 00:27:41,000
command chain there , those commanders 

769
00:27:41,010 --> 00:27:43,343
that make those uh make those decisions . 

770
00:27:43,343 --> 00:27:45,454
Um But uh I will provide my advice on 

771
00:27:45,454 --> 00:27:47,732
how best to approach uh moving forward . 

772
00:27:47,732 --> 00:27:49,732
Well , Thank you for your service , 

773
00:27:49,732 --> 00:27:51,954
ma'am , Miss Brown . Thank you for your 

774
00:27:51,954 --> 00:27:54,066
service too and support him along the 

775
00:27:54,066 --> 00:27:56,177
way . Uh We really appreciate you and 

776
00:27:56,177 --> 00:27:58,288
the sacrifice you made in raising the 

777
00:27:58,288 --> 00:28:00,621
family while he was serving the country . 

778
00:28:00,621 --> 00:28:02,677
Um , and all the 20 moves and making 

779
00:28:02,677 --> 00:28:02,660
the house , uh , uh , a true home for 

780
00:28:02,670 --> 00:28:04,781
him to come to and feel comfortable . 

781
00:28:04,781 --> 00:28:06,837
So , thank you for that . Uh , sir , 

782
00:28:06,837 --> 00:28:08,781
appreciate , uh , your service and 

783
00:28:08,781 --> 00:28:10,892
appreciate the conversation we had in 

784
00:28:10,892 --> 00:28:10,760
my office . Look forward to working 

785
00:28:10,770 --> 00:28:13,640
with you . Thank you , Senator Mullen . 

786
00:28:13,650 --> 00:28:15,949
Uh Senator Rosen , please . Uh Well , 

787
00:28:15,959 --> 00:28:18,070
thank you , Mr Chairman and thank you 

788
00:28:18,070 --> 00:28:19,903
General Brown for again for your 

789
00:28:19,903 --> 00:28:22,070
service to our nation willing to serve 

790
00:28:22,070 --> 00:28:24,126
in this critical role . Always thank 

791
00:28:24,126 --> 00:28:26,181
the , the family members who uh they 

792
00:28:26,181 --> 00:28:28,403
serve right alongside with you . So I , 

793
00:28:28,403 --> 00:28:31,380
I uh echo uh Senator Mullin on that 

794
00:28:31,390 --> 00:28:33,699
boxing up 20 homes . Uh It can't be 

795
00:28:33,709 --> 00:28:36,229
easy but um I do want to make a quick 

796
00:28:36,239 --> 00:28:38,350
comment before my questions because I 

797
00:28:38,350 --> 00:28:40,295
do want to say , um I start off by 

798
00:28:40,295 --> 00:28:42,579
saying that I am deeply concerned by 

799
00:28:42,589 --> 00:28:45,089
the fact that your swift confirmation 

800
00:28:45,099 --> 00:28:47,939
is being held up along with hundreds of 

801
00:28:47,949 --> 00:28:50,530
others of senior military promotions , 

802
00:28:50,540 --> 00:28:52,651
including those in my state of Nevada 

803
00:28:53,229 --> 00:28:55,400
that wouldn't be acceptable for any 

804
00:28:55,410 --> 00:28:57,640
reason . But it's even more outrageous 

805
00:28:57,650 --> 00:28:59,706
that these holds are to get rid of a 

806
00:28:59,706 --> 00:29:01,640
policy that protects our service 

807
00:29:01,650 --> 00:29:04,030
members reproductive rights . And so 

808
00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:06,569
this extreme anti choice agenda , it's 

809
00:29:06,579 --> 00:29:08,635
jeopardy , jeopardizing our national 

810
00:29:08,635 --> 00:29:10,550
security in order to impose 

811
00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:12,671
restrictions on our service members , 

812
00:29:12,671 --> 00:29:14,979
reproductive freedoms enough is enough . 

813
00:29:14,989 --> 00:29:17,156
We need to fill these critical roles . 

814
00:29:17,156 --> 00:29:19,100
And I would like to see you have a 

815
00:29:19,100 --> 00:29:21,211
quick confirmation . And so I'm gonna 

816
00:29:21,211 --> 00:29:24,069
move on to that general . Um My 

817
00:29:24,079 --> 00:29:26,023
colleagues have been talking about 

818
00:29:26,023 --> 00:29:27,968
maintaining our technological edge 

819
00:29:27,968 --> 00:29:29,968
because we know that there's global 

820
00:29:29,968 --> 00:29:31,968
competition for skilled workforce , 

821
00:29:31,968 --> 00:29:34,023
declining investments in R and D and 

822
00:29:34,023 --> 00:29:36,190
dod contracting challenges in the stem 

823
00:29:36,190 --> 00:29:37,920
workforce gap . They are all 

824
00:29:37,930 --> 00:29:40,630
impediments to our uh to eroding our 

825
00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:42,640
defense technological edge with our 

826
00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:44,807
adversaries . Meanwhile , we also know 

827
00:29:44,807 --> 00:29:46,751
that China is investing heavily in 

828
00:29:46,751 --> 00:29:48,418
advanced technologies such as 

829
00:29:48,418 --> 00:29:50,751
artificial intelligence , biotechnology , 

830
00:29:50,751 --> 00:29:52,807
quantum computing that we talk about 

831
00:29:52,807 --> 00:29:55,265
accelerate change or lose . And that's 

832
00:29:55,275 --> 00:29:56,997
why this Congress I introduced 

833
00:29:56,997 --> 00:29:59,064
bipartisan legislation with Senator 

834
00:29:59,074 --> 00:30:01,675
Blackburn to establish a pilot program 

835
00:30:01,685 --> 00:30:04,135
to accelerate the scaling production 

836
00:30:04,145 --> 00:30:06,239
and acquisition of advanced 

837
00:30:06,250 --> 00:30:08,194
capabilities for national security 

838
00:30:08,194 --> 00:30:11,069
through a public private partnership 

839
00:30:11,260 --> 00:30:13,890
that is going to incentivize American 

840
00:30:13,900 --> 00:30:16,410
investment in small business that are 

841
00:30:16,420 --> 00:30:18,087
working on innovative defense 

842
00:30:18,087 --> 00:30:20,253
technologies . And so this legislation 

843
00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:22,502
has been included in both the House and 

844
00:30:22,502 --> 00:30:24,724
Senate versions of the NDA A for fiscal 

845
00:30:24,724 --> 00:30:27,160
year 2024 . So building on the some of 

846
00:30:27,170 --> 00:30:29,829
the prior questions , General Brown if 

847
00:30:29,839 --> 00:30:33,270
confirmed , um how might the public 

848
00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:35,447
private partnership that catalyze this 

849
00:30:35,447 --> 00:30:37,502
investment and advanced capabilities 

850
00:30:37,502 --> 00:30:40,060
really enhance our um competitiveness 

851
00:30:40,069 --> 00:30:42,640
with China ? Well , if if confirmed uh 

852
00:30:42,650 --> 00:30:44,817
what it does for us is it actually has 

853
00:30:44,817 --> 00:30:46,706
us to be able to tap into all the 

854
00:30:46,706 --> 00:30:48,650
technical uh capability within our 

855
00:30:48,650 --> 00:30:51,589
nation . And uh that's why the the 

856
00:30:51,599 --> 00:30:53,321
aspect of these public private 

857
00:30:53,321 --> 00:30:55,432
partnerships are so important because 

858
00:30:55,432 --> 00:30:57,488
there are certain things that happen 

859
00:30:57,488 --> 00:30:59,655
outside the Department of Defense that 

860
00:30:59,655 --> 00:31:01,655
provides great capability that will 

861
00:31:01,655 --> 00:31:03,821
solve some of the operational problems 

862
00:31:03,821 --> 00:31:06,043
that we are faced with , that will help 

863
00:31:06,043 --> 00:31:08,210
us better defend the nation . And that 

864
00:31:08,210 --> 00:31:10,321
partnership to me is so important and 

865
00:31:10,321 --> 00:31:12,210
it's the aspect of how do we come 

866
00:31:12,210 --> 00:31:14,488
together and build these relationships , 

867
00:31:14,488 --> 00:31:16,880
create the dialogue and solve problems 

868
00:31:16,890 --> 00:31:20,300
together that benefit both the private 

869
00:31:20,310 --> 00:31:22,939
sector but also the public sector and 

870
00:31:22,949 --> 00:31:25,227
particularly the Department of Defense . 

871
00:31:25,227 --> 00:31:27,560
Thank you . I want to move now on to 

872
00:31:27,569 --> 00:31:29,770
combating Iranian aggression because 

873
00:31:29,780 --> 00:31:32,739
just last week , Iranian naval vessels 

874
00:31:32,750 --> 00:31:35,119
attempted to seize two foreign flagged 

875
00:31:35,130 --> 00:31:36,699
commercial tankers right in 

876
00:31:36,709 --> 00:31:39,579
international waters . Notably , this 

877
00:31:39,630 --> 00:31:41,780
incident involved an Iranian Navy 

878
00:31:41,790 --> 00:31:44,770
warship , not an Iranian Revolutionary 

879
00:31:44,780 --> 00:31:46,680
Guard Corps vessel , which is a 

880
00:31:46,689 --> 00:31:49,369
troubling escalation . So to address 

881
00:31:49,380 --> 00:31:51,469
Iran's growing naval aggression , I 

882
00:31:51,479 --> 00:31:53,479
introduced with Senator Ernst , the 

883
00:31:53,479 --> 00:31:55,312
Maritime Act which is bipartisan 

884
00:31:55,312 --> 00:31:57,257
legislation that would require the 

885
00:31:57,257 --> 00:31:59,201
Department of Defense to develop a 

886
00:31:59,201 --> 00:32:01,449
strategy with our partners and allies 

887
00:32:01,459 --> 00:32:03,459
in the Middle East to counter these 

888
00:32:03,459 --> 00:32:06,300
maritime threats posed by Iran . So 

889
00:32:06,310 --> 00:32:09,369
General Brown if confirmed , how would 

890
00:32:09,380 --> 00:32:11,890
you confront Iranian aggression in all 

891
00:32:11,900 --> 00:32:13,956
forms and how would you leverage the 

892
00:32:13,956 --> 00:32:16,067
regional partnerships fostered by the 

893
00:32:16,067 --> 00:32:18,750
Abraham Accords to deter Iran's malign 

894
00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:21,810
actions as senators confirmed it's 

895
00:32:21,819 --> 00:32:25,060
building on the My my vast experience 

896
00:32:25,069 --> 00:32:27,125
particularly in the Middle East . Um 

897
00:32:27,125 --> 00:32:29,291
But if you , you mentioned the Abraham 

898
00:32:29,291 --> 00:32:31,458
Accords and what I do see is a greater 

899
00:32:31,458 --> 00:32:33,513
cooperation across the , between the 

900
00:32:33,513 --> 00:32:35,625
nations within the Middle East . It's 

901
00:32:35,625 --> 00:32:37,736
something we have to continue to help 

902
00:32:37,736 --> 00:32:39,958
support . Part of that is ensuring that 

903
00:32:39,958 --> 00:32:42,013
as we do this , we're also providing 

904
00:32:42,013 --> 00:32:44,013
them the capabilities to be able to 

905
00:32:44,013 --> 00:32:46,069
support efforts to push back against 

906
00:32:46,069 --> 00:32:48,180
Iranian aggression in all forms . And 

907
00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:51,278
we've been able to do that in the past . 

908
00:32:51,278 --> 00:32:53,444
But as you highlight the world and the 

909
00:32:53,444 --> 00:32:55,611
threat has gotten more complicated and 

910
00:32:55,611 --> 00:32:57,667
so we cannot rest on our rurals . We 

911
00:32:57,667 --> 00:32:59,778
got to continue to work hard with our 

912
00:32:59,778 --> 00:33:01,833
partners in the region and give them 

913
00:33:01,833 --> 00:33:03,944
the capabilities and the uh and , and 

914
00:33:03,944 --> 00:33:06,111
also working with them as well because 

915
00:33:06,111 --> 00:33:08,167
we got to be part of the solution as 

916
00:33:08,167 --> 00:33:10,056
part of the United States and our 

917
00:33:10,056 --> 00:33:12,278
military force as well . Thank you . Um 

918
00:33:12,278 --> 00:33:14,333
I want to talk a little bit again on 

919
00:33:14,333 --> 00:33:17,140
our um capacity to really meet the 

920
00:33:17,150 --> 00:33:19,329
challenges going forward . And we know 

921
00:33:19,339 --> 00:33:21,800
that cyber challenges are huge . We 

922
00:33:21,810 --> 00:33:24,410
know in the private sector , uh really 

923
00:33:24,420 --> 00:33:26,800
huge to get that employment , get the 

924
00:33:26,810 --> 00:33:29,400
skilled technologists and we know that 

925
00:33:29,410 --> 00:33:31,521
in the military as well . And as I've 

926
00:33:31,521 --> 00:33:33,688
noted before , this committee numerous 

927
00:33:33,688 --> 00:33:35,632
times , our nation does face these 

928
00:33:35,632 --> 00:33:37,299
unprecedented cyber attacks . 

929
00:33:37,299 --> 00:33:39,410
Consistent shortage of talent , cyber 

930
00:33:39,410 --> 00:33:41,839
talent pose a significant threat to our 

931
00:33:41,849 --> 00:33:44,380
security . Uh I have a bill to find 

932
00:33:44,390 --> 00:33:46,739
solutions such as my civilian Cyber 

933
00:33:46,750 --> 00:33:49,010
Security Reserve Act . It was , was 

934
00:33:49,020 --> 00:33:52,260
included this year as an Ndanda A for 

935
00:33:52,270 --> 00:33:55,250
fiscal year 2024 to provide the dod 

936
00:33:55,260 --> 00:33:57,479
with qualified civilian personnel to 

937
00:33:57,489 --> 00:33:59,699
support the department's cyberspace 

938
00:33:59,709 --> 00:34:01,609
operations and ensure we have the 

939
00:34:01,619 --> 00:34:03,959
talent needed to defeat deter and 

940
00:34:03,969 --> 00:34:06,080
respond to malicious cyber activity , 

941
00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:08,302
especially at times of greatest need to 

942
00:34:08,302 --> 00:34:11,250
provide surge capacity . And so , uh I 

943
00:34:11,260 --> 00:34:13,427
know my time is just about up , but if 

944
00:34:13,427 --> 00:34:15,482
you could answer quickly , how might 

945
00:34:15,482 --> 00:34:17,649
nontraditional cyber reserve models be 

946
00:34:17,649 --> 00:34:19,989
a possible pathway to recruit personnel 

947
00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:22,222
who might not otherwise choose to serve 

948
00:34:22,222 --> 00:34:24,870
full time , but um possess those 

949
00:34:24,879 --> 00:34:27,260
valuable cyber skills . Uh Senator , it 

950
00:34:27,270 --> 00:34:29,580
allows us to tap into the great talent 

951
00:34:29,590 --> 00:34:32,959
and across our nation and uh allow us 

952
00:34:32,969 --> 00:34:35,080
to , to address uh national security 

953
00:34:35,090 --> 00:34:37,312
needs and building those relationship I 

954
00:34:37,312 --> 00:34:39,534
think are going to be important uh as a 

955
00:34:39,534 --> 00:34:41,646
nation as we go forward . Thank you . 

956
00:34:41,648 --> 00:34:43,648
Thank you , Senator Rosen , Senator 

957
00:34:43,648 --> 00:34:45,704
Cotton . Please , General Brown . Uh 

958
00:34:45,704 --> 00:34:47,704
welcome and congratulations on your 

959
00:34:47,704 --> 00:34:49,592
nomination and thank you for your 

960
00:34:49,592 --> 00:34:51,759
decades of service termination and Mrs 

961
00:34:51,759 --> 00:34:51,739
Brown , thank you for your decades of 

962
00:34:51,750 --> 00:34:54,510
service as well . Um There's been a lot 

963
00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:56,464
of conversation this morning about 

964
00:34:56,464 --> 00:34:58,464
munitions . I want to continue that 

965
00:34:58,464 --> 00:34:58,209
conversation because I view it as one 

966
00:34:58,219 --> 00:35:01,020
of the most vital uh challenges the 

967
00:35:01,030 --> 00:35:04,629
department faces today . Um Obviously , 

968
00:35:04,639 --> 00:35:06,750
this is in the context of our support 

969
00:35:06,750 --> 00:35:09,250
for Ukraine uh in its defense of its 

970
00:35:09,260 --> 00:35:10,982
own territory against Russia's 

971
00:35:10,989 --> 00:35:13,699
unprovoked War of aggression . Um 

972
00:35:14,250 --> 00:35:17,580
General Brown did , has the Ukraine or 

973
00:35:17,590 --> 00:35:20,620
caused the challenge to our uh 

974
00:35:20,629 --> 00:35:22,949
munitions and defense industrial base 

975
00:35:22,959 --> 00:35:26,489
or is it exposed some of the fragility 

976
00:35:26,500 --> 00:35:28,699
and cracks in the defense industrial 

977
00:35:28,709 --> 00:35:32,350
base ? I I would say it would , it has 

978
00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:34,469
exposed and the reason I say that I 

979
00:35:34,479 --> 00:35:37,389
just based on experience when I was a 

980
00:35:37,399 --> 00:35:39,621
command commander for the United States 

981
00:35:39,621 --> 00:35:41,788
Central Command during the defeat ISIS 

982
00:35:41,788 --> 00:35:43,510
campaign , we had some similar 

983
00:35:43,510 --> 00:35:46,189
conversations back in 2017 , I time 

984
00:35:46,199 --> 00:35:50,149
frame when North Korea was very 

985
00:35:50,159 --> 00:35:53,149
active . Um we did some reviews and it 

986
00:35:53,159 --> 00:35:55,459
highlighted it then . Um now it's 

987
00:35:55,469 --> 00:35:57,639
highlighting it even more so and it's 

988
00:35:57,649 --> 00:35:59,871
the aspect of why it's important for us 

989
00:35:59,871 --> 00:36:01,600
to , to not only invest in the 

990
00:36:01,610 --> 00:36:03,721
platforms , we going to invest in the 

991
00:36:03,721 --> 00:36:05,499
munitions that they have enough 

992
00:36:05,499 --> 00:36:07,610
stockpile , particularly the advanced 

993
00:36:07,610 --> 00:36:09,332
munitions that are uh are most 

994
00:36:09,332 --> 00:36:11,332
effective . Um Those are the things 

995
00:36:11,332 --> 00:36:14,090
that we continue to do . Um uh not only 

996
00:36:14,100 --> 00:36:16,322
from the department but also as we work 

997
00:36:16,322 --> 00:36:18,433
with Congress to , to highlight those 

998
00:36:18,433 --> 00:36:20,489
needs . Yeah , I I agree with that , 

999
00:36:20,489 --> 00:36:22,433
that the war in Ukraine is exposed 

1000
00:36:22,433 --> 00:36:24,489
those cracks in the fragility of the 

1001
00:36:24,489 --> 00:36:26,656
defense industrial based on cost . And 

1002
00:36:26,656 --> 00:36:28,822
of course , those concerns are part of 

1003
00:36:28,822 --> 00:36:30,878
the broader context of China and the 

1004
00:36:30,878 --> 00:36:32,933
threat that it pos to Taiwan and our 

1005
00:36:32,933 --> 00:36:35,044
ability to deter communist China from 

1006
00:36:35,044 --> 00:36:37,100
going for the jugular in Taiwan . Uh 

1007
00:36:37,100 --> 00:36:39,322
One important question here is to think 

1008
00:36:39,322 --> 00:36:41,544
about the kinds of munitions we've been 

1009
00:36:41,544 --> 00:36:43,544
providing to Ukraine . Um , and the 

1010
00:36:43,544 --> 00:36:45,767
kinds of munitions we provide to Taiwan 

1011
00:36:45,767 --> 00:36:47,878
or that we might provide or might use 

1012
00:36:47,878 --> 00:36:49,878
ourselves in , in the future . Um , 

1013
00:36:49,878 --> 00:36:51,989
speaking broadly , um , are the , the 

1014
00:36:51,989 --> 00:36:54,156
munitions used in Ukraine versus those 

1015
00:36:54,156 --> 00:36:56,211
that might be used in Taiwan ? Are , 

1016
00:36:56,211 --> 00:36:58,433
are those completely the same , totally 

1017
00:36:58,433 --> 00:37:00,489
different or somewhere in the middle 

1018
00:37:00,489 --> 00:37:02,600
but closer to one pole or the other ? 

1019
00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:04,767
Uh I'd say they are somewhat different 

1020
00:37:04,767 --> 00:37:06,711
just based on the environment that 

1021
00:37:06,711 --> 00:37:08,933
they're operating in . Um But there are 

1022
00:37:08,933 --> 00:37:10,933
some uh you know , uh some that are 

1023
00:37:10,933 --> 00:37:13,044
similar , I think the key part for us 

1024
00:37:13,044 --> 00:37:15,267
is to ensure and this is one reason why 

1025
00:37:15,267 --> 00:37:15,250
we in this year's budget submission , 

1026
00:37:15,260 --> 00:37:17,371
we had multi year procurement and the 

1027
00:37:17,371 --> 00:37:19,482
more year procurement was to actually 

1028
00:37:19,482 --> 00:37:21,704
make sure that we actually not only had 

1029
00:37:21,704 --> 00:37:23,816
the missions we're going to buy , but 

1030
00:37:23,816 --> 00:37:25,816
also , you know , the facilities as 

1031
00:37:25,816 --> 00:37:27,871
well as the workforce and the supply 

1032
00:37:27,871 --> 00:37:29,871
chain and , and that's the value of 

1033
00:37:29,871 --> 00:37:31,982
having these , these multi year set , 

1034
00:37:31,982 --> 00:37:31,870
some predictability for defense and 

1035
00:37:31,879 --> 00:37:34,101
industrial base . So it's not an up and 

1036
00:37:34,101 --> 00:37:36,157
down with each budget cycle and that 

1037
00:37:36,157 --> 00:37:38,268
will help us better , you know , help 

1038
00:37:38,268 --> 00:37:40,379
them better plan and uh and ensure we 

1039
00:37:40,379 --> 00:37:42,212
have the capability not only for 

1040
00:37:42,212 --> 00:37:44,379
ourselves , but as we also think about 

1041
00:37:44,379 --> 00:37:46,657
our allies and partners as well . Well , 

1042
00:37:46,657 --> 00:37:48,601
I'm I'm glad you raised multi year 

1043
00:37:48,601 --> 00:37:48,250
procurement because I think that that's 

1044
00:37:48,260 --> 00:37:50,316
been something that could have could 

1045
00:37:50,316 --> 00:37:52,482
help address this problem . It's not a 

1046
00:37:52,482 --> 00:37:54,371
silver bullet , but it could help 

1047
00:37:54,371 --> 00:37:54,310
address it to be clear . Multi year 

1048
00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:56,376
procurement though isn't necessarily 

1049
00:37:56,376 --> 00:37:58,905
about saving money for the department , 

1050
00:37:58,915 --> 00:38:00,915
but about giving predictability and 

1051
00:38:00,915 --> 00:38:02,965
certainty to the companies across 

1052
00:38:02,975 --> 00:38:04,764
America that assemble or make 

1053
00:38:04,774 --> 00:38:06,774
components for these munitions . Is 

1054
00:38:06,774 --> 00:38:08,830
that correct ? That's correct . It's 

1055
00:38:08,830 --> 00:38:08,754
about building capacity . It's about 

1056
00:38:08,764 --> 00:38:10,820
buying down risk in the future . You 

1057
00:38:10,824 --> 00:38:13,774
can't put a price tag on risk . You 

1058
00:38:13,885 --> 00:38:15,829
know , ideally you do want to save 

1059
00:38:15,829 --> 00:38:18,163
money , but in the big scheme of things , 

1060
00:38:18,163 --> 00:38:20,274
it's actually you got to actually get 

1061
00:38:20,274 --> 00:38:19,834
the facilities built first . That's 

1062
00:38:19,844 --> 00:38:21,844
going to be some capital investment 

1063
00:38:21,844 --> 00:38:23,844
that you can then when you start to 

1064
00:38:23,850 --> 00:38:25,961
produce , uh that's where you may get 

1065
00:38:25,969 --> 00:38:27,858
some of the savings in the future 

1066
00:38:27,858 --> 00:38:30,080
because if you're sitting at the head , 

1067
00:38:30,080 --> 00:38:32,136
not of the United States military as 

1068
00:38:32,136 --> 00:38:34,191
you will have confirmed , but rather 

1069
00:38:34,191 --> 00:38:33,959
say at the head of a major defense 

1070
00:38:33,969 --> 00:38:37,050
contractor like Lockheed , um or 

1071
00:38:37,060 --> 00:38:38,727
Northrop or even one of their 

1072
00:38:38,727 --> 00:38:41,239
subcontractors who say makes parts for 

1073
00:38:41,250 --> 00:38:44,419
the rocket motors or the explosives or 

1074
00:38:44,429 --> 00:38:47,949
the steel . Um Those are major capital 

1075
00:38:47,959 --> 00:38:50,070
intensive investments if you're going 

1076
00:38:50,070 --> 00:38:52,403
to expand a line or even add a new line . 

1077
00:38:52,403 --> 00:38:54,570
And , and obviously you'd be concerned 

1078
00:38:54,570 --> 00:38:56,737
if you can't have multi-year certainty 

1079
00:38:56,737 --> 00:38:56,600
that that line is gonna be at full 

1080
00:38:56,610 --> 00:38:58,919
capacity . Is that right ? It's not 

1081
00:38:58,929 --> 00:39:01,151
only the , the line into capacity , but 

1082
00:39:01,151 --> 00:39:03,151
it's also the workforce , they sure 

1083
00:39:03,151 --> 00:39:02,790
they're gonna be available and the 

1084
00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:04,919
subcontractors to , to support , uh , 

1085
00:39:04,929 --> 00:39:07,096
the major aspect that you need to pull 

1086
00:39:07,096 --> 00:39:09,207
together . I , I think , uh , you and 

1087
00:39:09,207 --> 00:39:11,096
the department have convinced the 

1088
00:39:11,096 --> 00:39:13,040
authorize , uh , on this point . I 

1089
00:39:13,040 --> 00:39:15,040
think maybe the appropriators still 

1090
00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:16,873
need some convincing to do . I'm 

1091
00:39:16,873 --> 00:39:19,096
confident our chairman who also sits on 

1092
00:39:19,096 --> 00:39:18,889
the appropriations committee can carry 

1093
00:39:19,199 --> 00:39:21,088
your points to the appropriations 

1094
00:39:21,088 --> 00:39:23,199
committee . One final question I want 

1095
00:39:23,199 --> 00:39:25,366
to raise since it's been in the news , 

1096
00:39:25,366 --> 00:39:27,421
um , is , uh , what's sometimes been 

1097
00:39:27,421 --> 00:39:29,421
colloquially called as 155 over the 

1098
00:39:29,421 --> 00:39:31,310
last few days . That's 100 and 55 

1099
00:39:31,310 --> 00:39:33,532
millimeter artillery shell . That's one 

1100
00:39:33,532 --> 00:39:35,755
of the most basic shells that we use or 

1101
00:39:35,755 --> 00:39:37,866
that our Western partners use . We've 

1102
00:39:37,866 --> 00:39:40,032
spent about $1.5 billion on production 

1103
00:39:40,032 --> 00:39:42,350
of 155 shells over the last six years 

1104
00:39:42,360 --> 00:39:44,582
or I'm sorry , over the last six months 

1105
00:39:44,582 --> 00:39:46,638
to get to the point to quintuple our 

1106
00:39:46,638 --> 00:39:48,749
production rates . I've looked at the 

1107
00:39:48,749 --> 00:39:50,916
inventory numbers which in combination 

1108
00:39:50,916 --> 00:39:52,971
with donations from other allies and 

1109
00:39:52,971 --> 00:39:55,193
partners don't appear to be approaching 

1110
00:39:55,193 --> 00:39:57,304
concerning levels yet . Um We've also 

1111
00:39:57,304 --> 00:39:59,360
heard in this committee from several 

1112
00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:01,582
leaders that 155 production rates right 

1113
00:40:01,582 --> 00:40:03,693
now are sustainable . Um Do you think 

1114
00:40:03,693 --> 00:40:05,527
that we are currently low on 155 

1115
00:40:05,527 --> 00:40:08,179
millimeter artillery shells ? Uh I , I 

1116
00:40:08,189 --> 00:40:10,411
have not looked at it that closely . Um 

1117
00:40:10,411 --> 00:40:12,522
I , I'd have to come back to you with 

1118
00:40:12,522 --> 00:40:14,633
uh maybe a question for the record on 

1119
00:40:14,633 --> 00:40:14,489
that one . Ok . Could you do that 

1120
00:40:14,500 --> 00:40:17,199
please ? Uh and , and if confirmed also , 

1121
00:40:17,209 --> 00:40:19,320
uh if you conclude that we are not in 

1122
00:40:19,320 --> 00:40:21,409
fact low , could you perhaps as your 

1123
00:40:21,419 --> 00:40:23,530
role , the principal military adviser 

1124
00:40:23,530 --> 00:40:25,586
to the president share the news with 

1125
00:40:25,586 --> 00:40:27,363
him because I think he may have 

1126
00:40:27,363 --> 00:40:29,419
misspoke somewhat uh in an interview 

1127
00:40:29,419 --> 00:40:31,586
recently . Thank you , General Brown . 

1128
00:40:31,586 --> 00:40:33,530
Thank you , Senator Cotton Senator 

1129
00:40:33,530 --> 00:40:33,149
Schmidt , please . Thank you , Mr 

1130
00:40:33,159 --> 00:40:36,320
Chairman . Good morning General General . 

1131
00:40:36,330 --> 00:40:38,899
Do we have too many white officers in 

1132
00:40:38,909 --> 00:40:41,770
the Air Force ? Senator , what I really 

1133
00:40:41,780 --> 00:40:43,836
look at is the uh quality of all the 

1134
00:40:43,836 --> 00:40:45,947
officers that we have and , and , and 

1135
00:40:45,947 --> 00:40:48,169
we look at the , the aspect of everyone 

1136
00:40:48,169 --> 00:40:51,179
who's qualified um meets uh meets the 

1137
00:40:51,189 --> 00:40:53,750
qualifications uh is , is promoted . 

1138
00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:56,278
Well , I would agree with you but that , 

1139
00:40:56,278 --> 00:40:58,500
that is , that answer is not consistent 

1140
00:40:58,500 --> 00:41:00,389
with your August 9th memo in your 

1141
00:41:00,389 --> 00:41:03,179
August 9th memo , you said that you 

1142
00:41:03,189 --> 00:41:05,189
signed on to that there should be a 

1143
00:41:05,189 --> 00:41:08,419
reduction essentially of about 9% of 

1144
00:41:08,429 --> 00:41:11,320
the white officers . That's 5400 , 

1145
00:41:12,250 --> 00:41:15,429
the two , we have 5400 , you know , too 

1146
00:41:15,439 --> 00:41:19,399
many white officers . And this is the 

1147
00:41:19,409 --> 00:41:22,729
real impact I think of this desire of 

1148
00:41:22,739 --> 00:41:24,906
the administration and I'm saddened to 

1149
00:41:24,906 --> 00:41:27,128
see this in this memo of this , of this 

1150
00:41:27,128 --> 00:41:29,379
obsession with sort of race based 

1151
00:41:29,389 --> 00:41:31,389
politics being interjected into our 

1152
00:41:31,389 --> 00:41:35,350
military . How did you come up with the 

1153
00:41:35,600 --> 00:41:39,080
percentage of 67.5% of the 

1154
00:41:39,090 --> 00:41:41,820
officers should be white ? And how did 

1155
00:41:41,830 --> 00:41:44,060
you come up with 13% should be black . 

1156
00:41:44,159 --> 00:41:46,103
And how did you come up with ? 10% 

1157
00:41:46,103 --> 00:41:48,270
should be Asian ? And how did you come 

1158
00:41:48,270 --> 00:41:50,437
up with 1.5% should be American Indian 

1159
00:41:50,437 --> 00:41:52,548
and Native Alaskan . How did you come 

1160
00:41:52,548 --> 00:41:54,548
up with 1% being Native Hawaiian or 

1161
00:41:54,548 --> 00:41:56,603
other Pacific Islander ? And how did 

1162
00:41:56,603 --> 00:41:58,659
you come up with 15% of our officers 

1163
00:41:58,659 --> 00:42:01,290
should be Hispanic or Latino Senator . 

1164
00:42:01,300 --> 00:42:03,679
That is based on the , uh , that memo 

1165
00:42:03,689 --> 00:42:05,578
is on application goals , not the 

1166
00:42:05,578 --> 00:42:07,899
actual makeup of the force and those , 

1167
00:42:07,909 --> 00:42:10,139
those numbers are based on uh the 

1168
00:42:10,149 --> 00:42:13,590
demographics of the nation . Ok . Well , 

1169
00:42:13,850 --> 00:42:16,649
all right , there's 10% of our country 

1170
00:42:16,659 --> 00:42:20,320
is Asian American . So is that , is 

1171
00:42:20,330 --> 00:42:22,386
that the , is that where you came up 

1172
00:42:22,386 --> 00:42:24,497
with it just a , just a percentage of 

1173
00:42:24,497 --> 00:42:26,719
the population ? Uh essentially because 

1174
00:42:26,719 --> 00:42:28,441
a because right now the actual 

1175
00:42:28,441 --> 00:42:30,663
percentage , I mean , this is , this is 

1176
00:42:30,663 --> 00:42:32,886
where this is a ridiculous conversation 

1177
00:42:32,886 --> 00:42:35,052
to be perfectly honest because the why 

1178
00:42:35,052 --> 00:42:36,997
didn't you come up with or are you 

1179
00:42:36,997 --> 00:42:39,219
going to come up with the percentage of 

1180
00:42:39,219 --> 00:42:42,500
the overall force ? Did you contemplate 

1181
00:42:42,510 --> 00:42:45,540
that of how many , you know 

1182
00:42:45,989 --> 00:42:48,500
black Americans should be in the Air 

1183
00:42:48,510 --> 00:42:51,300
Force or how many Asian Americans 

1184
00:42:51,310 --> 00:42:54,120
should be in the air force ? Did you 

1185
00:42:54,129 --> 00:42:56,462
contemplate the total force percentages ? 

1186
00:42:57,510 --> 00:42:59,510
Senator ? What we looked at was the 

1187
00:42:59,510 --> 00:43:01,621
aspect of providing opportunities for 

1188
00:43:01,621 --> 00:43:03,510
anybody who wants to serve this . 

1189
00:43:03,510 --> 00:43:05,677
Listen , I if that were the , listen , 

1190
00:43:05,677 --> 00:43:08,580
um if that were what was in this memo , 

1191
00:43:08,590 --> 00:43:10,312
I wouldn't be asking you these 

1192
00:43:10,312 --> 00:43:12,570
questions , but we have in a memo 

1193
00:43:12,580 --> 00:43:15,560
signed by you that you think right now 

1194
00:43:15,570 --> 00:43:18,199
there are too many white officers . Um 

1195
00:43:18,209 --> 00:43:20,439
and , and this is a blanket statement 

1196
00:43:21,199 --> 00:43:23,143
and so I could go down the line of 

1197
00:43:23,143 --> 00:43:25,500
questioning of which of the 5400 white 

1198
00:43:25,510 --> 00:43:27,621
officers that we have too many should 

1199
00:43:27,621 --> 00:43:29,750
be fired because that is the actual 

1200
00:43:29,760 --> 00:43:31,982
impact of all this . I agree with you . 

1201
00:43:31,982 --> 00:43:34,204
Your story about wanting to be the best 

1202
00:43:34,204 --> 00:43:36,371
pilot in the air force , regardless of 

1203
00:43:36,371 --> 00:43:38,371
race . That is what the military is 

1204
00:43:38,371 --> 00:43:40,204
supposed to be . It's this great 

1205
00:43:40,204 --> 00:43:42,427
meritocracy . It's why there's uniforms 

1206
00:43:42,427 --> 00:43:44,538
and haircuts . And I , and I've heard 

1207
00:43:44,538 --> 00:43:46,649
so many of my colleagues talk about , 

1208
00:43:46,649 --> 00:43:48,760
you know , infusing abortion politics 

1209
00:43:48,760 --> 00:43:50,704
into this . That is exactly what's 

1210
00:43:50,704 --> 00:43:53,679
wrong . This administration has infused 

1211
00:43:53,689 --> 00:43:55,689
abortion politics into our military 

1212
00:43:56,419 --> 00:43:59,510
COVID politics , into our military de I 

1213
00:43:59,520 --> 00:44:02,979
politics into our military . And it is 

1214
00:44:02,989 --> 00:44:06,439
a cancer on a , on a , the best 

1215
00:44:06,449 --> 00:44:08,616
military in the history of the world . 

1216
00:44:08,616 --> 00:44:10,838
Those men and women deserve better than 

1217
00:44:10,838 --> 00:44:12,949
this , this idea that they have to go 

1218
00:44:12,949 --> 00:44:15,171
through these struggle sessions with DE 

1219
00:44:15,171 --> 00:44:17,393
I training because trust me , I believe 

1220
00:44:17,393 --> 00:44:19,616
that we ought to have the broadest pool 

1221
00:44:19,616 --> 00:44:21,782
of applicants and get the best and the 

1222
00:44:21,782 --> 00:44:24,005
brightest and we ought to be recruiting 

1223
00:44:24,005 --> 00:44:23,679
in , in various areas to make sure we 

1224
00:44:23,689 --> 00:44:25,745
have the best and the brightest from 

1225
00:44:25,745 --> 00:44:27,800
every community , regardless of your 

1226
00:44:27,800 --> 00:44:30,022
race or your gender or your ethnicity . 

1227
00:44:30,022 --> 00:44:33,780
But that's not what DE I is de I is a 

1228
00:44:33,790 --> 00:44:37,179
ideology based in Cultural Marxism . In 

1229
00:44:37,189 --> 00:44:39,560
somehow some way , we ended up in a 

1230
00:44:39,570 --> 00:44:41,969
place where a general in the Air Force 

1231
00:44:42,590 --> 00:44:45,899
is advocating for racial quotas , 

1232
00:44:46,159 --> 00:44:48,189
whether it be by applicants or the 

1233
00:44:48,199 --> 00:44:50,570
number of officers or maybe the , the 

1234
00:44:50,580 --> 00:44:52,636
total unit . And I just think that's 

1235
00:44:52,636 --> 00:44:54,649
wrong . I think that's the wrong 

1236
00:44:54,659 --> 00:44:57,290
approach . You have had a distinguished 

1237
00:44:57,300 --> 00:45:00,050
career and I thank you for your service . 

1238
00:45:00,060 --> 00:45:02,171
I just don't know how we can continue 

1239
00:45:02,171 --> 00:45:04,282
to have leadership that advocates for 

1240
00:45:04,282 --> 00:45:07,280
this divisive policy . And so I'll ask 

1241
00:45:07,290 --> 00:45:09,780
you also , there have been 8500 

1242
00:45:10,219 --> 00:45:13,459
military men and women fired because 

1243
00:45:13,469 --> 00:45:15,810
they chose not to get a vaccine if 

1244
00:45:15,820 --> 00:45:18,153
confirmed . What would you do to go out ? 

1245
00:45:18,153 --> 00:45:20,376
Not just they can reapply and there's a 

1246
00:45:20,376 --> 00:45:22,376
process to go out and recruit these 

1247
00:45:22,376 --> 00:45:24,479
folks back . What would you do to do 

1248
00:45:24,489 --> 00:45:26,656
that ? What would you do to accomplish 

1249
00:45:26,656 --> 00:45:28,878
that ? Senator if confirmed ? I provide 

1250
00:45:28,878 --> 00:45:30,878
them the opportunity to reapply . I 

1251
00:45:30,878 --> 00:45:33,100
just don't think that's good enough . I 

1252
00:45:33,100 --> 00:45:35,322
heard that from uh Secretary Austin . I 

1253
00:45:35,322 --> 00:45:37,433
just don't think that's good enough . 

1254
00:45:37,433 --> 00:45:37,229
We did a great disservice to this 

1255
00:45:37,239 --> 00:45:40,000
country by firing people because they 

1256
00:45:40,010 --> 00:45:42,610
made that decision . I think they ought 

1257
00:45:42,620 --> 00:45:44,953
to be reinstated with rank and back pay . 

1258
00:45:44,953 --> 00:45:46,898
I have not heard that from anybody 

1259
00:45:46,898 --> 00:45:49,009
that's come before this committee and 

1260
00:45:49,009 --> 00:45:51,176
I'm saddened by that . I , I think I'm 

1261
00:45:51,176 --> 00:45:53,231
out of time , Mr Thank you , Senator 

1262
00:45:53,231 --> 00:45:55,398
Schmidt , Senator Duckworth . Please . 

1263
00:45:55,398 --> 00:45:57,620
Thank you , Mr Chairman General Brown . 

1264
00:45:57,620 --> 00:45:59,564
Welcome to you and your family and 

1265
00:45:59,564 --> 00:46:02,129
congratulations on your nomination . I 

1266
00:46:02,139 --> 00:46:04,083
really enjoyed our discussion last 

1267
00:46:04,083 --> 00:46:06,306
month . Um I look forward to continuing 

1268
00:46:06,306 --> 00:46:08,250
to work with you on our military's 

1269
00:46:08,250 --> 00:46:10,361
readiness if you are confirmed , each 

1270
00:46:10,361 --> 00:46:12,083
of the military services faces 

1271
00:46:12,083 --> 00:46:14,250
challenges in meeting recruiting goals 

1272
00:46:14,250 --> 00:46:16,417
in past due to historically small pool 

1273
00:46:16,417 --> 00:46:18,361
of eligible recruits and that pool 

1274
00:46:18,361 --> 00:46:20,417
continues to shrink . That's why I'm 

1275
00:46:20,417 --> 00:46:22,583
introducing the Enlist Act to begin to 

1276
00:46:22,583 --> 00:46:24,620
remedy this issue . My legislation 

1277
00:46:24,629 --> 00:46:26,685
enables the Department of Defense to 

1278
00:46:26,685 --> 00:46:28,879
expand its recruiting pool to include 

1279
00:46:28,889 --> 00:46:31,060
long time residents of this country . 

1280
00:46:31,340 --> 00:46:33,562
This could include many people who love 

1281
00:46:33,562 --> 00:46:35,451
this country and are dedicated to 

1282
00:46:35,451 --> 00:46:37,618
service like DACA recipients or people 

1283
00:46:37,618 --> 00:46:39,451
who originally came on a work or 

1284
00:46:39,451 --> 00:46:41,989
educational visa and have applied to 

1285
00:46:42,000 --> 00:46:44,590
stay permanently but can't receive an 

1286
00:46:44,600 --> 00:46:46,560
immigrant visa due to caps in the 

1287
00:46:46,570 --> 00:46:48,649
system . The Enlist Act will aid 

1288
00:46:48,659 --> 00:46:50,826
recruitment efforts by allowing highly 

1289
00:46:50,826 --> 00:46:52,881
skilled and motivated individuals to 

1290
00:46:52,881 --> 00:46:54,881
succeed in the military while still 

1291
00:46:54,881 --> 00:46:56,992
maintaining the department's security 

1292
00:46:56,992 --> 00:46:58,826
requirements and high enlistment 

1293
00:46:58,826 --> 00:47:00,992
standards . General Brown . During our 

1294
00:47:00,992 --> 00:47:03,159
discussion , you describe traveling to 

1295
00:47:03,159 --> 00:47:05,270
bases and meeting new Americans eager 

1296
00:47:05,270 --> 00:47:07,326
to serve in the Air National Guard . 

1297
00:47:07,326 --> 00:47:09,492
I'd like to know if you think that the 

1298
00:47:09,492 --> 00:47:11,492
Enlist Act and its expansion of the 

1299
00:47:11,492 --> 00:47:13,659
pool of possible recruits benefits the 

1300
00:47:13,659 --> 00:47:15,826
military recruitment efforts . And I'd 

1301
00:47:15,826 --> 00:47:15,425
also like to hear your perspective on 

1302
00:47:15,435 --> 00:47:17,635
the value that highly qualified 

1303
00:47:17,645 --> 00:47:20,159
immigrants bring to the military . Uh 

1304
00:47:20,169 --> 00:47:22,580
Senator uh as we talked about in , in 

1305
00:47:22,590 --> 00:47:26,129
your office . It's the , uh , I do 

1306
00:47:26,139 --> 00:47:28,219
think about those who , as you 

1307
00:47:28,229 --> 00:47:30,173
mentioned , love this country , uh 

1308
00:47:30,173 --> 00:47:32,285
wanna serve , wanna raise their right 

1309
00:47:32,285 --> 00:47:34,507
hand and take an oath of office or oath 

1310
00:47:34,507 --> 00:47:36,639
of enlistment . Um And the aspect of 

1311
00:47:36,649 --> 00:47:38,830
the opportunity for them to become uh 

1312
00:47:38,840 --> 00:47:41,620
citizens of the United States , it 

1313
00:47:41,629 --> 00:47:44,120
provides an opportunity , um because in 

1314
00:47:44,129 --> 00:47:47,070
many cases , they're very talented and , 

1315
00:47:47,080 --> 00:47:49,136
uh , you know , they want to stay in 

1316
00:47:49,136 --> 00:47:49,129
this nation . There is opportunities 

1317
00:47:49,139 --> 00:47:51,739
that uh the Enlist Act would help us uh 

1318
00:47:51,750 --> 00:47:54,560
in some recruiting and uh again , um 

1319
00:47:54,570 --> 00:47:57,570
talent that uh that resides in this 

1320
00:47:57,580 --> 00:47:59,747
nation that wants to serve and if they 

1321
00:47:59,747 --> 00:48:01,247
want to serve and meet the 

1322
00:48:01,247 --> 00:48:03,358
qualifications , I think they also be 

1323
00:48:03,358 --> 00:48:05,524
provided the opportunity . Thank you . 

1324
00:48:05,524 --> 00:48:07,636
I can't think of a better way to show 

1325
00:48:07,636 --> 00:48:06,939
love with this country . You want to be 

1326
00:48:06,949 --> 00:48:09,070
an American put on her colors , stand 

1327
00:48:09,080 --> 00:48:11,024
with shoulder to shoulder and help 

1328
00:48:11,024 --> 00:48:13,709
defend her . Um I'd like to thank my 

1329
00:48:13,719 --> 00:48:15,775
colleagues on this committee and the 

1330
00:48:15,775 --> 00:48:17,997
staff for their work on this year's NDA 

1331
00:48:17,997 --> 00:48:19,997
A which supports a strong and ready 

1332
00:48:19,997 --> 00:48:22,219
total force . I'm particularly proud of 

1333
00:48:22,219 --> 00:48:24,386
my nd A provision , expanding tri care 

1334
00:48:24,386 --> 00:48:26,275
coverage of assisted reproductive 

1335
00:48:26,275 --> 00:48:28,386
technology or art for current service 

1336
00:48:28,386 --> 00:48:30,441
members and their dependents studies 

1337
00:48:30,441 --> 00:48:32,552
show that service members have higher 

1338
00:48:32,552 --> 00:48:32,229
rates of infertility compared to the 

1339
00:48:32,239 --> 00:48:34,183
general population , which is only 

1340
00:48:34,183 --> 00:48:36,239
complicated by an overly restrictive 

1341
00:48:36,239 --> 00:48:37,979
dod policy and service members 

1342
00:48:37,989 --> 00:48:40,156
deployment schedules . General Brown , 

1343
00:48:40,156 --> 00:48:42,045
expanding , assisted reproductive 

1344
00:48:42,045 --> 00:48:44,211
technology services to female and male 

1345
00:48:44,211 --> 00:48:46,322
members of the uniformed services and 

1346
00:48:46,322 --> 00:48:48,267
their dependents without regard to 

1347
00:48:48,445 --> 00:48:50,445
conception , helps members to start 

1348
00:48:50,445 --> 00:48:52,389
their families that they've always 

1349
00:48:52,389 --> 00:48:54,612
dreamed of . Do you think expanding our 

1350
00:48:54,612 --> 00:48:54,435
service members access to this 

1351
00:48:54,445 --> 00:48:56,475
important health care is a positive 

1352
00:48:56,485 --> 00:48:58,818
recruiting and retention tool ? Senator , 

1353
00:48:58,818 --> 00:49:01,254
what I , what I believe about uh we as 

1354
00:49:01,264 --> 00:49:03,097
a senior leaders in the military 

1355
00:49:03,097 --> 00:49:05,208
responsibility to provide health care 

1356
00:49:05,208 --> 00:49:07,153
for our members . And when I think 

1357
00:49:07,153 --> 00:49:09,264
about providing health care , I don't 

1358
00:49:09,264 --> 00:49:11,375
try to determine , you know , aspects 

1359
00:49:11,375 --> 00:49:13,542
of what type of health care but health 

1360
00:49:13,542 --> 00:49:15,708
care at large . And we've done that in 

1361
00:49:15,708 --> 00:49:17,764
the past , we need to continue to do 

1362
00:49:17,764 --> 00:49:17,590
and support our military members and 

1363
00:49:17,600 --> 00:49:20,090
their families with the health care to 

1364
00:49:20,100 --> 00:49:23,149
ensure they're healthy and again , 

1365
00:49:23,159 --> 00:49:25,500
continue to serve and be part of the 

1366
00:49:25,510 --> 00:49:27,677
greatest fighting force in the world . 

1367
00:49:27,709 --> 00:49:29,876
Thank you , General . And earlier this 

1368
00:49:29,876 --> 00:49:32,290
year , I led an Indo Pacific cod um 

1369
00:49:32,300 --> 00:49:34,022
that reinforced to me just how 

1370
00:49:34,022 --> 00:49:35,578
important our alliances and 

1371
00:49:35,578 --> 00:49:37,633
partnerships are in the region . I'm 

1372
00:49:37,633 --> 00:49:39,744
going back there again in August . Um 

1373
00:49:39,744 --> 00:49:42,370
Philippines , Indonesia , Thailand . Um 

1374
00:49:42,379 --> 00:49:45,010
uh I think that these partnerships uh 

1375
00:49:45,020 --> 00:49:47,780
are incredibly important and I've asked 

1376
00:49:47,790 --> 00:49:49,957
the same questions of every um service 

1377
00:49:49,957 --> 00:49:52,123
chief who's come before this committee 

1378
00:49:52,123 --> 00:49:54,346
because I think we can be doing so much 

1379
00:49:54,346 --> 00:49:56,623
more to better these key relationships . 

1380
00:49:56,623 --> 00:49:58,846
Um General Brown , do you have you have 

1381
00:49:58,846 --> 00:49:58,659
deep experience in interacting with 

1382
00:49:58,669 --> 00:50:00,836
allies and partners in the Middle East 

1383
00:50:00,836 --> 00:50:02,947
in Europe ? And in the Indo Pacific , 

1384
00:50:02,947 --> 00:50:04,836
can you speak about your personal 

1385
00:50:04,836 --> 00:50:06,780
relationships with air chiefs from 

1386
00:50:06,780 --> 00:50:08,947
other nations and how that may benefit 

1387
00:50:08,947 --> 00:50:08,500
your role as chairman of the joint 

1388
00:50:08,510 --> 00:50:10,677
chiefs of staff if you are confirmed ? 

1389
00:50:10,939 --> 00:50:12,883
Well , Senator , it's when I think 

1390
00:50:12,883 --> 00:50:15,050
about it's all about relationships and 

1391
00:50:15,050 --> 00:50:14,989
it's the relationships I've been able 

1392
00:50:15,000 --> 00:50:17,278
to build with these various air chiefs . 

1393
00:50:17,278 --> 00:50:19,389
And uh in some cases , you know , the 

1394
00:50:19,389 --> 00:50:21,611
air chief is retired and New York chief 

1395
00:50:21,611 --> 00:50:21,080
comes in . So I have , uh you know , uh 

1396
00:50:21,090 --> 00:50:23,570
relationships in the retired community 

1397
00:50:23,580 --> 00:50:25,979
uh as well , but is also providing me 

1398
00:50:25,989 --> 00:50:28,156
opportunities to meet with the various 

1399
00:50:28,156 --> 00:50:30,378
chiefs of Defense . Um As I've gone and 

1400
00:50:30,378 --> 00:50:32,211
traveled around the world and to 

1401
00:50:32,211 --> 00:50:33,989
include the Indo Pacific and if 

1402
00:50:33,989 --> 00:50:36,211
confirmed as chairman , um I'll have an 

1403
00:50:36,211 --> 00:50:38,322
opportunity to , uh you know , deepen 

1404
00:50:38,322 --> 00:50:40,433
those relationships with other chiefs 

1405
00:50:40,433 --> 00:50:42,711
of defense . Um And that's the , again , 

1406
00:50:42,711 --> 00:50:44,933
the value of these relationships I have 

1407
00:50:44,933 --> 00:50:46,989
as an air chief will open the door . 

1408
00:50:46,989 --> 00:50:46,709
And if I don't know that chief of 

1409
00:50:46,719 --> 00:50:48,941
Defense , um having a relationship with 

1410
00:50:48,941 --> 00:50:51,052
that air chief actually helps to open 

1411
00:50:51,052 --> 00:50:53,108
the door and continue to build a new 

1412
00:50:53,108 --> 00:50:55,275
relationship with the chief of defense 

1413
00:50:55,275 --> 00:50:57,497
who I don't already know if confirmed . 

1414
00:50:57,497 --> 00:50:59,552
Thank you . And , and um Mr just one 

1415
00:50:59,552 --> 00:51:01,663
very quick 10 seconds . Thank you . I 

1416
00:51:01,663 --> 00:51:03,719
just wanted to clarify because I , I 

1417
00:51:03,719 --> 00:51:05,997
came in late . Um I apologize for that . 

1418
00:51:05,997 --> 00:51:08,304
Uh but I only heard um half of my 

1419
00:51:08,314 --> 00:51:10,514
colleagues questioning to you . And he 

1420
00:51:10,524 --> 00:51:12,415
seemed to say at the end that he 

1421
00:51:12,425 --> 00:51:14,481
thought that you were advocating for 

1422
00:51:14,481 --> 00:51:17,264
quotas quotas based racial quotas in 

1423
00:51:17,274 --> 00:51:19,274
and recruiting . And I just , I , I 

1424
00:51:19,274 --> 00:51:21,385
didn't think that that was the case . 

1425
00:51:21,385 --> 00:51:23,163
Is , is it more that you are my 

1426
00:51:23,163 --> 00:51:25,052
understanding is that you want to 

1427
00:51:25,052 --> 00:51:27,310
broaden the recruiting and allow 

1428
00:51:27,320 --> 00:51:29,542
anybody who wants to serve or qualifies 

1429
00:51:29,542 --> 00:51:31,598
to serve and making sure that people 

1430
00:51:31,598 --> 00:51:33,487
have access to service or are you 

1431
00:51:33,487 --> 00:51:35,709
actually implementing racial quotas and 

1432
00:51:35,709 --> 00:51:37,876
saying only certain number of Asians , 

1433
00:51:37,876 --> 00:51:37,129
certain number of black , certain 

1434
00:51:37,139 --> 00:51:39,250
numbers of whites can get recruited . 

1435
00:51:39,250 --> 00:51:41,139
Uh And we do not have quotas . Uh 

1436
00:51:41,139 --> 00:51:43,195
That's against policy for us to have 

1437
00:51:43,195 --> 00:51:45,361
quotas . Thank you for clarifying that 

1438
00:51:45,361 --> 00:51:47,306
General Senator Scott , please . I 

1439
00:51:47,306 --> 00:51:49,639
thank you , Senator Upward . Jeff first , 

1440
00:51:49,639 --> 00:51:51,861
uh Brown , thank you for your service . 

1441
00:51:51,861 --> 00:51:54,195
I wanna thank your wife for her service . 

1442
00:51:54,195 --> 00:51:56,306
Um And um , thank you for you . Got a 

1443
00:51:56,306 --> 00:51:58,417
stellar background . Uh I just , uh , 

1444
00:51:58,417 --> 00:52:00,583
got back from the Middle East . I went 

1445
00:52:00,583 --> 00:52:02,695
to , I was in Israel when , um , they 

1446
00:52:02,695 --> 00:52:04,750
had to go into Jenin and , uh , kill 

1447
00:52:04,750 --> 00:52:06,861
the terrorists that were uh targeting 

1448
00:52:06,861 --> 00:52:08,972
uh Israeli citizens . And everybody I 

1449
00:52:08,972 --> 00:52:11,083
talked to in Israel , all they talked 

1450
00:52:11,083 --> 00:52:13,195
about was the problems with Iran , uh 

1451
00:52:13,195 --> 00:52:15,417
went to Bahrain and uh they were , they 

1452
00:52:15,417 --> 00:52:17,729
were concerned about , um , you know , 

1453
00:52:17,739 --> 00:52:20,179
the menace of Iran and I went to , it's 

1454
00:52:20,189 --> 00:52:21,967
the same thing . Everybody is , 

1455
00:52:21,967 --> 00:52:23,967
everybody is concerned about what's 

1456
00:52:23,967 --> 00:52:25,967
going on with Iran also while I was 

1457
00:52:25,967 --> 00:52:28,189
over there , um uh the US Navy was able 

1458
00:52:28,189 --> 00:52:30,411
to , and you really have to admire , uh 

1459
00:52:30,411 --> 00:52:32,745
I think his fifth fleet , what they did , 

1460
00:52:32,745 --> 00:52:34,856
they , they stopped two ships from uh 

1461
00:52:34,856 --> 00:52:36,959
being taken over by Iranian uh uh 

1462
00:52:36,969 --> 00:52:39,939
forces and did a great job . Uh And , 

1463
00:52:39,949 --> 00:52:42,290
and , and so here's my question . Can 

1464
00:52:42,300 --> 00:52:44,419
you , and , and , and as far as I 

1465
00:52:44,429 --> 00:52:46,540
understand most of these tankers that 

1466
00:52:46,540 --> 00:52:48,651
are going through the state , her are 

1467
00:52:48,651 --> 00:52:50,707
not flagged in America , they're not 

1468
00:52:50,707 --> 00:52:52,762
owned by American companies . So can 

1469
00:52:52,762 --> 00:52:54,929
you talk about what's the value of the 

1470
00:52:54,929 --> 00:52:58,219
US military US Navy being there two ? 

1471
00:52:58,229 --> 00:53:01,020
That's number one , number two is our 

1472
00:53:01,030 --> 00:53:04,280
allies doing their part , right ? Or 

1473
00:53:04,290 --> 00:53:06,290
should we be doing less and let our 

1474
00:53:06,290 --> 00:53:08,830
allies uh deal with it ? Well , the , 

1475
00:53:08,840 --> 00:53:12,250
the the role of the US Navy in , in 

1476
00:53:12,260 --> 00:53:14,909
that region is along with the other 

1477
00:53:14,919 --> 00:53:18,320
services is to help provide security 

1478
00:53:19,159 --> 00:53:21,629
within the region , which actually may 

1479
00:53:21,639 --> 00:53:23,806
have a global impact . And so the role 

1480
00:53:23,806 --> 00:53:25,861
that the Navy plays to help the free 

1481
00:53:25,861 --> 00:53:28,489
flow of commerce that impacts not just , 

1482
00:53:28,879 --> 00:53:31,101
you know , the United States , but more 

1483
00:53:31,101 --> 00:53:33,323
broadly those countries in the region , 

1484
00:53:33,323 --> 00:53:35,435
but many of our allies and partners . 

1485
00:53:35,435 --> 00:53:37,546
And that plays a key role in our , in 

1486
00:53:37,546 --> 00:53:40,050
our participation there . I think we've 

1487
00:53:40,060 --> 00:53:42,116
got to stay involved with our allies 

1488
00:53:42,116 --> 00:53:44,338
and partners . And as you highlighted , 

1489
00:53:44,338 --> 00:53:46,338
many of the countries in the region 

1490
00:53:46,338 --> 00:53:48,393
have started to talk more about Iran 

1491
00:53:48,393 --> 00:53:50,393
and I think that's one of the areas 

1492
00:53:50,393 --> 00:53:52,449
that I having served there in United 

1493
00:53:52,449 --> 00:53:54,616
States Central Command several times . 

1494
00:53:54,616 --> 00:53:56,893
We've been focused on counterterrorism . 

1495
00:53:56,893 --> 00:53:59,060
You now think about the aspect of Iran 

1496
00:53:59,060 --> 00:54:01,209
in the national security documents , 

1497
00:54:01,219 --> 00:54:03,330
national security strategy , national 

1498
00:54:03,330 --> 00:54:05,386
defense strategy , the coalescing of 

1499
00:54:05,386 --> 00:54:07,386
all the nations . Now to talk about 

1500
00:54:07,386 --> 00:54:09,608
this provides us an opportunity to work 

1501
00:54:09,608 --> 00:54:11,830
more closely together in our collective 

1502
00:54:11,830 --> 00:54:14,520
efforts to deter the activities by Iran , 

1503
00:54:14,679 --> 00:54:16,901
whether it's in the strait of Hormuz in 

1504
00:54:16,901 --> 00:54:18,846
the Gulf or any other place in the 

1505
00:54:18,846 --> 00:54:21,310
Middle East . Uh Thank you . The um 

1506
00:54:22,229 --> 00:54:24,451
nothing they brought up is and a lot of 

1507
00:54:24,451 --> 00:54:26,562
them were , a lot of the leaders were 

1508
00:54:26,562 --> 00:54:28,285
concerned about what the Biden 

1509
00:54:28,285 --> 00:54:30,451
administration is doing with regard to 

1510
00:54:30,451 --> 00:54:30,439
trying to negotiate some , some sort of 

1511
00:54:30,449 --> 00:54:33,320
deal with Iran . And then once I get 

1512
00:54:33,330 --> 00:54:35,889
back , I hear that the FBI is 

1513
00:54:35,899 --> 00:54:39,489
investigating Rob Malay , um who recent , 

1514
00:54:39,500 --> 00:54:41,879
recently served as President Biden's 

1515
00:54:41,889 --> 00:54:45,300
special envoy envoy to Iran because his 

1516
00:54:45,310 --> 00:54:47,477
security clearance was suspended based 

1517
00:54:47,477 --> 00:54:49,143
on mishandling and classified 

1518
00:54:49,143 --> 00:54:51,310
information . So does this , does this 

1519
00:54:51,310 --> 00:54:53,421
concern you or can you concerned when 

1520
00:54:53,421 --> 00:54:55,643
we're , you have an , you're gonna have 

1521
00:54:55,643 --> 00:54:58,000
an obligation to try to defend um the 

1522
00:54:58,010 --> 00:55:01,159
transit and help Israel things like 

1523
00:55:01,169 --> 00:55:03,336
that . And then you've got over here , 

1524
00:55:03,336 --> 00:55:05,336
you've got the Biden administration 

1525
00:55:05,336 --> 00:55:07,447
trying to negotiate some deal that is 

1526
00:55:07,447 --> 00:55:07,340
going to possibly give Iran more 

1527
00:55:07,350 --> 00:55:10,179
resources . Well , the thing I do think 

1528
00:55:10,189 --> 00:55:12,330
about is the uh the role of how all 

1529
00:55:12,340 --> 00:55:14,340
parts of our government play in our 

1530
00:55:14,340 --> 00:55:16,340
overall deterrence . And , uh , you 

1531
00:55:16,340 --> 00:55:18,507
know , it's not just what the military 

1532
00:55:18,507 --> 00:55:20,173
does , it's what we do in the 

1533
00:55:20,173 --> 00:55:22,229
diplomatic space , what we do in the 

1534
00:55:22,229 --> 00:55:22,010
information space , what we do 

1535
00:55:22,020 --> 00:55:24,242
economically , I think all those things 

1536
00:55:24,242 --> 00:55:26,409
to work collectively together . And if 

1537
00:55:26,409 --> 00:55:28,576
confirmed as the chairman of the joint 

1538
00:55:28,576 --> 00:55:28,310
chiefs , I think I have a 

1539
00:55:28,320 --> 00:55:30,487
responsibility not only to provide , I 

1540
00:55:30,487 --> 00:55:32,598
need to provide the military advice , 

1541
00:55:32,598 --> 00:55:34,820
but I need to put it in the context and 

1542
00:55:34,820 --> 00:55:34,810
understanding uh the other factors that 

1543
00:55:34,820 --> 00:55:36,987
are in play as well . Ok . Thank you , 

1544
00:55:36,987 --> 00:55:39,098
Homestead Air Force Space . We talked 

1545
00:55:39,098 --> 00:55:41,209
about that when we met . Can you talk 

1546
00:55:41,209 --> 00:55:43,320
about the importance of uh continuing 

1547
00:55:43,320 --> 00:55:43,199
to find a mission for homestead uh Air 

1548
00:55:43,209 --> 00:55:45,320
Force Base ? Especially when you look 

1549
00:55:45,320 --> 00:55:47,431
at uh what now it looks like China is 

1550
00:55:47,431 --> 00:55:49,431
doing in Cuba . Do you ? So can you 

1551
00:55:49,431 --> 00:55:51,209
tell me what you believe is the 

1552
00:55:51,209 --> 00:55:53,431
importance of homestead ? Well , having 

1553
00:55:53,431 --> 00:55:53,310
spent uh four years at Homestead and a 

1554
00:55:53,320 --> 00:55:55,431
matter of fact , that's where my wife 

1555
00:55:55,431 --> 00:55:57,653
and I our first assignment after we got 

1556
00:55:57,653 --> 00:55:59,876
married . Um We have fond memories of , 

1557
00:55:59,876 --> 00:56:01,931
of , of being there . But uh to , to 

1558
00:56:01,931 --> 00:56:03,709
your question , it's the um the 

1559
00:56:03,709 --> 00:56:05,709
capability we have down in southern 

1560
00:56:05,709 --> 00:56:07,542
Florida . And uh you know , that 

1561
00:56:07,542 --> 00:56:09,764
reserve unit and having flown with that 

1562
00:56:09,764 --> 00:56:09,639
reserve unit when I was stationary 

1563
00:56:09,649 --> 00:56:11,871
active duty is still being able to have 

1564
00:56:11,871 --> 00:56:13,927
a capability . That's something that 

1565
00:56:13,927 --> 00:56:16,149
we're working internal to the Air Force 

1566
00:56:16,149 --> 00:56:18,316
to ensure that the homestead and , you 

1567
00:56:18,316 --> 00:56:20,538
know , still has a mission and we still 

1568
00:56:20,538 --> 00:56:22,649
have a platform to , to operate there 

1569
00:56:22,649 --> 00:56:24,871
and uh continuing dialogue that we will 

1570
00:56:24,871 --> 00:56:24,149
have and we'll have with you as well . 

1571
00:56:24,370 --> 00:56:26,537
Um And the Air Force will have uh with 

1572
00:56:26,537 --> 00:56:28,759
you as well as we look at homestead and 

1573
00:56:28,759 --> 00:56:31,092
ensure that we maintain a mission there . 

1574
00:56:31,092 --> 00:56:33,370
Right ? Thank you and , and thanks for , 

1575
00:56:33,370 --> 00:56:34,981
uh thanks for your service . 

1576
00:56:34,981 --> 00:56:37,148
Congratulations on your success when I 

1577
00:56:37,148 --> 00:56:39,203
joined the Navy . Um The uh it was a 

1578
00:56:39,203 --> 00:56:41,259
melting pot . It was a great melting 

1579
00:56:41,259 --> 00:56:43,370
pot . It , it gave you an opportunity 

1580
00:56:43,370 --> 00:56:42,379
to meet people that you probably would 

1581
00:56:42,389 --> 00:56:45,080
never meet . And uh I do , I don't 

1582
00:56:45,090 --> 00:56:46,979
believe in quotas . I don't think 

1583
00:56:46,979 --> 00:56:49,146
anybody should , but I do believe it's 

1584
00:56:49,146 --> 00:56:51,146
a great melting pot . And I , and I 

1585
00:56:51,146 --> 00:56:50,870
think if we can recruit more people 

1586
00:56:50,879 --> 00:56:52,990
from different backgrounds , we ought 

1587
00:56:52,990 --> 00:56:55,101
to be doing that but not , don't ever 

1588
00:56:55,101 --> 00:56:57,101
uh impact somebody's ability to get 

1589
00:56:57,101 --> 00:56:59,212
ahead because , you know , they might 

1590
00:56:59,212 --> 00:56:58,810
have a different skin color or 

1591
00:56:58,820 --> 00:57:00,987
background than somebody else , but it 

1592
00:57:00,987 --> 00:57:03,098
sounds like you completely agree with 

1593
00:57:03,098 --> 00:57:05,459
that . I do . Thank you . Thank you , 

1594
00:57:05,469 --> 00:57:07,870
uh , very much . Uh Senator Scott and 

1595
00:57:07,879 --> 00:57:10,046
General Brown . Thank you too . I just 

1596
00:57:10,046 --> 00:57:13,969
wanna uh raise or an issue 

1597
00:57:13,979 --> 00:57:17,840
or a discussion about this August uh 29 

1598
00:57:17,850 --> 00:57:21,699
2022 memorandum . It was uh designed 

1599
00:57:21,709 --> 00:57:24,280
to increase the pool of applicants , 

1600
00:57:24,629 --> 00:57:26,907
essentially the search for more talent . 

1601
00:57:27,209 --> 00:57:30,399
Uh It was not designed to set the 

1602
00:57:30,409 --> 00:57:32,409
composition there . Force . Is that 

1603
00:57:32,409 --> 00:57:34,631
accurate ? That's correct . It was only 

1604
00:57:34,631 --> 00:57:36,853
application goals . It was not designed 

1605
00:57:36,853 --> 00:57:38,798
to eliminate the opportunities for 

1606
00:57:38,798 --> 00:57:41,020
anyone . It was just looking to open up 

1607
00:57:41,020 --> 00:57:43,187
the opportunities for as many uh uh as 

1608
00:57:43,187 --> 00:57:42,459
we could and make sure we're out 

1609
00:57:42,469 --> 00:57:44,691
reaching to . And this uh memoranda was 

1610
00:57:44,691 --> 00:57:46,636
signed by the Secretary of the Air 

1611
00:57:46,636 --> 00:57:48,747
Force , uh the under secretary of the 

1612
00:57:48,747 --> 00:57:51,810
Air Force uh Space Operations Chief and 

1613
00:57:51,820 --> 00:57:55,360
also uh I believe that's it . So it was 

1614
00:57:55,370 --> 00:57:57,919
a combined effort by the leadership of 

1615
00:57:57,929 --> 00:57:59,985
the Department of the Air Force . Uh 

1616
00:57:59,985 --> 00:58:02,096
Yes , chairman , he was , I'd like to 

1617
00:58:02,096 --> 00:58:04,760
quote from the memorandum . Uh These 

1618
00:58:04,770 --> 00:58:07,679
goals are aspirational , aligning 

1619
00:58:07,689 --> 00:58:11,000
resources to invest in our long term 

1620
00:58:11,010 --> 00:58:14,860
objectives and will not be used 

1621
00:58:14,870 --> 00:58:17,909
in any manner that undermines our merit 

1622
00:58:17,919 --> 00:58:21,250
based processes . So the memorandum 

1623
00:58:21,260 --> 00:58:24,979
clearly declares that merit is the one 

1624
00:58:25,260 --> 00:58:28,020
standard by which you merit accession 

1625
00:58:28,030 --> 00:58:31,439
to the Air Force and a motion . 

1626
00:58:32,270 --> 00:58:34,492
Yes . And a matter of fact , if that uh 

1627
00:58:34,492 --> 00:58:36,826
that kind of statement was not included , 

1628
00:58:36,826 --> 00:58:39,048
I would have never signed that letter . 

1629
00:58:39,048 --> 00:58:41,850
Uh I completely concur and I know your 

1630
00:58:41,860 --> 00:58:43,971
character , you would not have signed 

1631
00:58:43,971 --> 00:58:46,304
the letter uh General Brown . Thank you . 

1632
00:58:46,304 --> 00:58:47,860
I look very forward to your 

1633
00:58:47,860 --> 00:58:49,916
confirmation . I think you will lead 

1634
00:58:49,916 --> 00:58:52,429
with distinction and set an example of 

1635
00:58:52,439 --> 00:58:54,959
professionalism skill . Uh That is 

1636
00:58:54,969 --> 00:58:57,669
continuing the example set by your 

1637
00:58:57,679 --> 00:58:59,568
predecessors . With that , I will 

1638
00:58:59,568 --> 00:59:01,050
adjourn the hearing . Thank you .