WEBVTT 00:00.009 --> 00:02.009 I want to welcome our witnesses and 00:02.009 --> 00:04.065 thank them both for their service to 00:04.065 --> 00:06.120 our great nation . Today we kick off 00:06.120 --> 00:08.439 our review of the administration's FY26 00:08.439 --> 00:10.495 budget request for the Department of 00:10.495 --> 00:12.606 Defense , uh , with the United States 00:12.606 --> 00:14.772 Army . Unfortunately we still have not 00:14.772 --> 00:16.772 received any real information about 00:16.772 --> 00:18.829 that budget request , nor have we 00:18.829 --> 00:20.885 received any detailed information on 00:20.885 --> 00:23.107 the Army's transformation initiative or 00:23.107 --> 00:25.273 ATI . Uh , the secretary and the chief 00:25.273 --> 00:27.385 announced , uh , over a month ago . I 00:27.385 --> 00:29.607 believe I speak for most of the members 00:29.607 --> 00:31.607 of the committee when I say that we 00:31.607 --> 00:33.662 share your goal of developing a more 00:33.662 --> 00:36.119 modern , agile , and well equipped army . 00:37.040 --> 00:39.040 And the broad structure of the ATI 00:39.040 --> 00:41.540 sounds encouraging , uh , rapidly 00:41.540 --> 00:43.818 delivering modern warfare capabilities , 00:43.818 --> 00:45.860 organizing force structure , and 00:45.860 --> 00:48.580 eliminating waste and obsolete programs . 00:49.360 --> 00:52.259 But we need to see your homework . And 00:52.259 --> 00:54.259 overall this significance should be 00:54.259 --> 00:56.060 based on thorough assessment of 00:56.060 --> 00:58.139 requirements and it should include a 00:58.139 --> 01:00.220 detailed blueprint of the specific 01:00.220 --> 01:02.500 changes being proposed and how the army 01:02.500 --> 01:06.199 plans to implement them . We need those 01:06.199 --> 01:09.239 assessments and blueprints . We also 01:09.239 --> 01:11.480 need to provide , uh , we also need you 01:11.480 --> 01:13.800 to provide us a timeline for 01:13.800 --> 01:16.839 implementing ATI . These details will 01:16.839 --> 01:19.279 help Congress understand , evaluate , 01:19.319 --> 01:21.959 and ultimately fund your transformation 01:21.959 --> 01:25.139 efforts . The Marine Corps did well 01:25.139 --> 01:28.650 with Force 29 , uh , Force Design 2030 , 01:28.860 --> 01:31.082 and the army should follow that model . 01:31.082 --> 01:33.193 At the end of the day , we wanna make 01:33.193 --> 01:35.304 sure this overhaul is being driven by 01:35.304 --> 01:37.304 battlefield requirements and not by 01:37.304 --> 01:39.304 artificial budget constraints . I'm 01:39.304 --> 01:41.082 pleased to hear both of you are 01:41.082 --> 01:43.249 committed to fundamental reform of the 01:43.249 --> 01:45.360 Army acquisition processes . You will 01:45.360 --> 01:47.471 find this committee a willing partner 01:47.471 --> 01:49.471 in that effort . The battlefield is 01:49.471 --> 01:51.693 rapidly changing , but the capabilities 01:51.693 --> 01:53.804 we deliver to our warfighters are not 01:53.804 --> 01:55.638 keeping pace . Next week we will 01:55.638 --> 01:57.416 introduce a bipartisan piece of 01:57.416 --> 01:59.249 bipartisan legislation that will 01:59.249 --> 02:01.304 overhaul the acquisition process and 02:01.304 --> 02:04.050 refocus it around rapidly equipping our 02:04.050 --> 02:07.040 warfighters with modern capabilities . 02:07.529 --> 02:09.696 I look forward to working with both of 02:09.696 --> 02:11.529 you on this legislation . I also 02:11.529 --> 02:14.889 understand you both hope to use ATI to 02:14.889 --> 02:17.410 build a force more relevant to a 02:17.410 --> 02:20.130 conflict in the Pacific . While I long 02:20.130 --> 02:22.529 have long supported , uh , the pivot to 02:22.529 --> 02:24.889 Asia , I urge you not to lose sight of 02:24.889 --> 02:27.889 Europe . The US Army is the backbone of 02:27.889 --> 02:30.279 our presence there and that presence 02:30.600 --> 02:33.380 matters . Thanks to President Trump's 02:33.380 --> 02:35.339 leadership , our NATO allies are 02:35.339 --> 02:37.339 finally investing more in their own 02:37.339 --> 02:39.720 defense , but Europe's rearmament , uh , 02:39.860 --> 02:42.899 won't happen overnight . Withdrawing US 02:42.899 --> 02:45.580 brigades too soon would risk inviting 02:45.580 --> 02:47.636 further Russian aggression and leave 02:47.636 --> 02:49.636 our European NATO allies especially 02:49.636 --> 02:52.940 vulnerable . We cannot let that happen . 02:54.130 --> 02:56.369 Ultimately , to maintain readiness and 02:56.369 --> 02:58.369 achieve peace through strength , we 02:58.369 --> 03:00.536 must adequately fund the army . I look 03:00.536 --> 03:03.009 forward to working with you , uh , both 03:03.009 --> 03:04.953 to build the ready , capable , and 03:04.953 --> 03:07.009 lethal fighting force , uh , America 03:07.009 --> 03:09.065 needs to deter its adversaries , and 03:09.065 --> 03:11.009 with that I yield to my friend and 03:11.009 --> 03:13.120 colleague , the ranking member , Mr . 03:13.120 --> 03:15.398 Smith . Uh , thank you , Mr . Chairman . 03:15.398 --> 03:14.970 Thanks , uh , to our witnesses for 03:14.970 --> 03:16.970 being here today and , and for your 03:16.970 --> 03:18.970 service , and I substantially agree 03:18.970 --> 03:21.137 with pretty much everything , uh , the 03:21.137 --> 03:22.914 chairman just said . You know , 03:22.914 --> 03:24.970 obviously Army transformation is the 03:24.970 --> 03:26.970 headline and right off the bat I've 03:26.970 --> 03:26.490 spoken with both of you about this , 03:26.529 --> 03:28.307 but I wanna applaud both of you 03:28.307 --> 03:30.251 publicly for diving into that very 03:30.251 --> 03:32.418 difficult , um , subject . It needs to 03:32.418 --> 03:34.585 be done now the chairman's right , the 03:34.585 --> 03:36.640 details need to be worked out , um , 03:36.640 --> 03:38.529 but there is no question that the 03:38.529 --> 03:40.196 nature of warfare is changing 03:40.196 --> 03:42.251 dramatically . Uh , how do we adjust 03:42.251 --> 03:44.307 our force to meet those challenges ? 03:44.307 --> 03:46.473 Certainly we've seen , you know , what 03:46.473 --> 03:48.640 happened with , uh . Ukraine in Russia 03:48.640 --> 03:50.640 just in the last several days , you 03:50.640 --> 03:50.399 know , has gotten our attention about 03:50.399 --> 03:52.970 the vulnerabilities of existing systems 03:52.970 --> 03:55.240 and and the capabilities of drones and 03:55.240 --> 03:57.407 new systems . How does that inform the 03:57.407 --> 03:59.296 way we want to build our national 03:59.296 --> 04:01.462 defense structure ? So your efforts in 04:01.462 --> 04:03.559 that are broadly supported by this 04:03.559 --> 04:05.759 committee devils in the details , but 04:05.759 --> 04:07.870 you're heading in the right direction 04:07.870 --> 04:10.092 and we look forward to working with you 04:10.092 --> 04:12.037 to to make some of those changes . 04:14.899 --> 04:16.955 And I agree with the chairman on the 04:16.955 --> 04:19.010 budget consistently given um this is 04:19.010 --> 04:20.955 the the latest in my memory that a 04:20.955 --> 04:23.200 budget has ever come uh before Congress 04:23.200 --> 04:26.549 um well it's not here yet so latest and 04:26.570 --> 04:29.529 and continuing that that that record 04:29.529 --> 04:31.585 here as we go but even before that , 04:31.585 --> 04:33.640 you know , is , is well documented , 04:33.640 --> 04:35.696 you know , we've been passing CRs we 04:35.696 --> 04:38.029 haven't been doing consistent budgeting . 04:38.029 --> 04:40.196 Um , and you know that adds an element 04:40.196 --> 04:42.307 of uncertainty to the challenges that 04:42.307 --> 04:44.085 we've outlined . We need a more 04:44.085 --> 04:46.307 consistent budget process , I guess the 04:46.307 --> 04:48.362 only minor quibble I would have with 04:48.362 --> 04:47.910 the chairman's comments when he , when 04:47.910 --> 04:50.589 he said artificial budget constraints . 04:50.720 --> 04:52.942 Um , I think the budget constraints are 04:52.942 --> 04:55.070 real , um , and frankly one of the 04:55.070 --> 04:57.126 things . Things that I would like to 04:57.126 --> 04:59.181 see within the Department of Defense 04:59.181 --> 05:01.348 and frankly throughout government is a 05:01.348 --> 05:03.681 recognition of those budget constraints . 05:03.681 --> 05:05.848 We , we don't have an unlimited amount 05:05.848 --> 05:08.181 of money as we are $36 trillion in debt , 05:08.181 --> 05:10.292 um , we're apparently about to pass a 05:10.292 --> 05:12.514 budget reconciliation bill that's gonna 05:12.514 --> 05:14.737 add another 23 or $4 trillion to that . 05:14.737 --> 05:16.403 Um , we have very real budget 05:16.403 --> 05:18.403 constraints , and one of my worries 05:18.403 --> 05:20.514 across DOD , not just with the army , 05:20.514 --> 05:22.626 is we're just sort of keeping doing a 05:22.626 --> 05:24.681 whole lot , um , you know , we don't 05:24.681 --> 05:26.792 think we have enough ships , we don't 05:26.792 --> 05:26.279 have enough nuclear weapons , we don't 05:26.279 --> 05:28.390 have enough planes , and so we've got 05:28.390 --> 05:30.279 all these plans to fill that that 05:30.279 --> 05:32.335 cannot possibly be met by the budget 05:32.335 --> 05:34.557 constraints that we face . So again , I 05:34.557 --> 05:36.612 applaud the army for taking a little 05:36.612 --> 05:38.779 bit more of a realistic look at that , 05:38.779 --> 05:40.779 um , and I hope we can build off of 05:40.779 --> 05:42.723 that and , and . Forward one other 05:42.723 --> 05:42.454 really important issue obviously is 05:42.454 --> 05:44.621 recruitment and quality of life . This 05:44.621 --> 05:46.787 committee did a ton of work last cycle 05:46.787 --> 05:48.954 um to try to make sure that we support 05:48.954 --> 05:51.121 our service members and their families 05:51.121 --> 05:53.176 so we continue to recruit and retain 05:53.176 --> 05:55.255 the best forces we have . Also 05:55.255 --> 05:57.422 interested in your thoughts about what 05:57.422 --> 05:59.588 that force looks like in the modern uh 05:59.588 --> 06:02.015 battlefield . um , certainly we will 06:02.015 --> 06:04.535 always need uh war fighters , infantry , 06:04.635 --> 06:06.579 all of that . But technology is 06:06.579 --> 06:08.690 becoming so much more important . How 06:08.690 --> 06:10.912 does that change who we want to recruit 06:10.912 --> 06:13.135 and how we do our outreach to make sure 06:13.135 --> 06:15.190 that we have the people that we need 06:15.190 --> 06:17.357 serving in the army and throughout the 06:17.357 --> 06:19.468 military , and lastly I want to agree 06:19.468 --> 06:21.690 with the , the final point the chairman 06:21.690 --> 06:23.912 made about Europe specifically but more 06:23.912 --> 06:26.135 broadly . I , I've never been a big fan 06:26.135 --> 06:28.301 of the whole pivot to Asia idea . Uh , 06:28.301 --> 06:30.489 the idea that China is our primary 06:30.489 --> 06:32.809 challenge , I agree with , but that 06:32.809 --> 06:36.010 challenge is global . It's not just in 06:36.010 --> 06:38.809 Asia . Um , what happens in Ukraine is 06:38.809 --> 06:41.279 going to have a profound impact on how 06:41.279 --> 06:43.223 we deal with China as they are now 06:43.223 --> 06:45.390 partnering with Russia and North Korea 06:45.390 --> 06:47.829 and Iran . And also China's active 06:47.829 --> 06:50.149 everywhere in the world . This is a 06:50.149 --> 06:52.260 global competition , so I don't think 06:52.260 --> 06:54.482 we can afford to ignore the rest of the 06:54.482 --> 06:56.649 world and thinking that if we focus in 06:56.649 --> 06:58.816 Asia that will focus on the challenges 06:58.816 --> 07:00.871 that we meet . It needs to be a more 07:00.871 --> 07:03.205 comprehensive approach , uh , with that , 07:03.205 --> 07:05.260 um , I thank the chairman for having 07:05.260 --> 07:04.709 this , uh , hearing , and I look 07:04.709 --> 07:06.542 forward to the testimony and the 07:06.542 --> 07:08.876 questions . Thank you , and you're back . 07:08.876 --> 07:10.931 Uh , thank the ranking member . Uh , 07:10.931 --> 07:13.265 I'd like to now introduce our witnesses , 07:13.265 --> 07:15.153 um , the Honorable Dan Driscoll , 07:15.153 --> 07:17.320 Secretary of the Army , welcome . Uh , 07:17.320 --> 07:19.431 General Randy George , Chief of Staff 07:19.431 --> 07:21.598 of the Army , welcome . Uh , Secretary 07:21.598 --> 07:21.440 Driscoll , we'll start with you . 07:21.459 --> 07:23.348 You're recognized for 5 minutes . 07:24.589 --> 07:26.700 Chairman Rogers , uh , ranking member 07:26.700 --> 07:28.811 Smith , distinguished members of this 07:28.811 --> 07:30.645 committee , it is a privilege to 07:30.645 --> 07:32.756 address you today . I want to express 07:32.756 --> 07:34.422 my sincere gratitude for your 07:34.422 --> 07:36.589 unwavering support of our soldiers and 07:36.589 --> 07:38.756 their families . I'd like to start off 07:38.756 --> 07:40.700 this hearing with some good news . 07:40.700 --> 07:42.867 Yesterday , the United States Army met 07:42.867 --> 07:44.922 its fiscal year 2025 recruiting goal 07:44.922 --> 07:47.145 four months early , welcoming more than 07:47.145 --> 07:50.119 61,000 new recruits . These men and 07:50.119 --> 07:52.286 women are stepping up during a time of 07:52.286 --> 07:54.563 global uncertainty and complex threats . 07:55.019 --> 07:57.529 And those threats are real . When I 07:57.529 --> 07:59.751 went through my confirmation hearings , 07:59.751 --> 08:01.973 I pledged to be the soldier's secretary 08:01.973 --> 08:03.862 of the Army . That commitment has 08:03.862 --> 08:05.640 guided every single step of our 08:05.640 --> 08:07.140 approach so far . The Army 08:07.140 --> 08:09.085 Transformation Initiative has been 08:09.085 --> 08:11.140 conceived with the soldier in mind , 08:11.140 --> 08:13.085 and your partnership is absolutely 08:13.085 --> 08:15.251 critical as General George and I begin 08:15.251 --> 08:17.418 implementing this transformation which 08:17.418 --> 08:19.418 is now more urgent than ever . This 08:19.418 --> 08:21.585 week we witnessed a stark illustration 08:21.585 --> 08:23.918 of modern warfare in Ukraine and Russia . 08:24.459 --> 08:26.570 Reports indicate a coordinated strike 08:26.570 --> 08:28.792 against Russia's strategic bomber force 08:28.792 --> 08:31.149 using a swarm of over 100 inexpensive 08:31.149 --> 08:34.059 drones at a cost of a mere tens of 08:34.059 --> 08:36.020 thousands of dollars . Ukraine 08:36.020 --> 08:37.969 inflicted billions in damage , 08:38.369 --> 08:40.258 potentially setting back Russia's 08:40.258 --> 08:42.460 bomber capabilities for years . The 08:42.460 --> 08:44.900 world saw in near real time how readily 08:44.900 --> 08:46.733 available technology can disrupt 08:46.820 --> 08:49.979 established power dynamics . And drones 08:49.979 --> 08:52.257 are but one example of a broader shift . 08:52.580 --> 08:55.609 The army needs to keep pace . In my 1st 08:55.609 --> 08:57.665 3 months as Secretary General George 08:57.665 --> 08:59.220 and I have been immersed in 08:59.220 --> 09:01.220 understanding why the army has been 09:01.220 --> 09:03.442 slow to innovate . Our soldiers are not 09:03.442 --> 09:05.665 the problem . I've met with them in the 09:05.665 --> 09:07.498 Middle East , Europe , along our 09:07.498 --> 09:09.553 southern border and at installations 09:09.553 --> 09:11.387 across the United States . Their 09:11.387 --> 09:13.553 strength , dedication , and unwavering 09:13.553 --> 09:15.887 commitment to this nation are inspiring . 09:15.887 --> 09:18.053 We ask a great deal of them , and they 09:18.053 --> 09:20.169 consistently deliver . Nor is the 09:20.169 --> 09:22.520 ingenuity of American industry at fault . 09:22.849 --> 09:24.960 Our tech sector continues to thrive , 09:24.960 --> 09:27.293 driven by innovation , entrepreneurship , 09:27.293 --> 09:30.169 and a willingness to embrace risk . So 09:30.169 --> 09:32.530 where does the problem lie ? As 09:32.530 --> 09:34.697 secretary , I have found that the army 09:34.697 --> 09:36.863 has become calcified , having suffered 09:36.863 --> 09:38.752 from years of inefficiency , slow 09:38.752 --> 09:40.530 moving processes , and wasteful 09:40.530 --> 09:42.363 spending . Program lobbyists and 09:42.363 --> 09:44.474 bureaucrats have overtaken the army's 09:44.474 --> 09:46.641 ability to prioritize soldiers and war 09:46.641 --> 09:49.200 fighting . We must all work together to 09:49.200 --> 09:51.311 ensure the army is ready to fight and 09:51.311 --> 09:53.270 win . The Army Transformation 09:53.270 --> 09:55.326 Initiative will make us into an army 09:55.326 --> 09:58.380 that is lean , agile , and relentlessly 09:58.380 --> 10:00.979 focused on empowering its soldiers . An 10:00.979 --> 10:02.757 army that embraces innovation , 10:02.757 --> 10:04.646 collaborates effectively with the 10:04.646 --> 10:06.590 private sector and prioritizes war 10:06.590 --> 10:09.690 fighting readiness above all else . To 10:09.690 --> 10:11.357 achieve this vision , we must 10:11.357 --> 10:13.468 streamline our acquisitions process , 10:13.468 --> 10:15.357 reclaim our right to repair , and 10:15.357 --> 10:17.190 cultivate a culture that rewards 10:17.190 --> 10:19.412 innovation and calculated risk taking . 10:19.412 --> 10:21.523 We must also empower those closest to 10:21.523 --> 10:23.246 the fight to actually make the 10:23.246 --> 10:25.246 decisions . The Army Transformation 10:25.246 --> 10:27.468 initiative is our first step to achieve 10:27.468 --> 10:29.679 this vision , but this transformation 10:29.679 --> 10:32.520 hinges on your support . We are asking 10:32.520 --> 10:34.576 this committee to empower us to make 10:34.576 --> 10:36.520 these changes while providing your 10:36.520 --> 10:38.631 constitutionally mandated oversight . 10:38.631 --> 10:40.687 We are asking for the flexibility to 10:40.687 --> 10:42.853 make decisions that keep pace with the 10:42.853 --> 10:44.909 rapid advancements in technology and 10:44.909 --> 10:47.076 the evolving nature of warfare . We're 10:47.076 --> 10:49.242 asking for this committee to work with 10:49.242 --> 10:51.270 us to maximize the value of every 10:51.270 --> 10:53.492 dollar appropriated to best support our 10:53.492 --> 10:56.609 soldiers . I ask this because it is my 10:56.609 --> 10:59.039 duty , both as Secretary of the Army 10:59.039 --> 11:01.206 and as an American citizen , to ensure 11:01.206 --> 11:03.206 that every dollar the army receives 11:03.206 --> 11:05.206 contributes to defending this great 11:05.206 --> 11:07.150 nation of ours . I know we are all 11:07.150 --> 11:09.206 committed to our soldiers , to their 11:09.206 --> 11:11.261 success , and to providing them with 11:11.261 --> 11:13.595 the overwhelming advantage they deserve . 11:13.595 --> 11:15.317 Thank you , and I welcome your 11:15.317 --> 11:17.570 questions . Thank you , uh , General 11:17.570 --> 11:21.140 George , you're recognized . Chairman 11:21.140 --> 11:22.918 Rogers , ranking member Smith , 11:22.918 --> 11:25.196 distinguished members of the committee , 11:25.196 --> 11:27.307 thanks for the opportunity to be here 11:27.307 --> 11:29.418 with you today . I wanna start off by 11:29.418 --> 11:31.696 saying just how proud I am of our army . 11:31.696 --> 11:33.418 I'm proud of our troops in the 11:33.418 --> 11:35.584 Indo-Pacific on the southern border in 11:35.584 --> 11:37.640 the Middle East , in Europe , and of 11:37.640 --> 11:39.751 everything our army has done over the 11:39.751 --> 11:41.751 past year to respond to wildfires , 11:41.751 --> 11:43.862 floods , and even a bridge collapse . 11:43.862 --> 11:46.084 We have formations all around the world 11:46.084 --> 11:48.196 conducting missions and exercises and 11:48.196 --> 11:50.529 innovating with our partners and allies . 11:50.529 --> 11:52.418 When not deployed , our units are 11:52.418 --> 11:54.529 conducting tough , realistic training 11:54.529 --> 11:56.640 at their home stations and our combat 11:56.640 --> 11:58.473 training centers . Our army is a 11:58.473 --> 12:00.640 professional team that remains focused 12:00.640 --> 12:02.862 on its war fighting mission , and young 12:02.862 --> 12:05.084 Americans want to be a part of it . And 12:05.084 --> 12:06.862 this is evidenced by our strong 12:06.862 --> 12:09.084 recruiting numbers this year and as the 12:09.084 --> 12:11.196 secretary mentioned , we have already 12:11.196 --> 12:13.418 met our recruiting mission for the year 12:13.418 --> 12:15.529 and we still have our most productive 12:15.529 --> 12:17.696 months ahead of us . And while I'm I'm 12:17.696 --> 12:19.918 proud of our army . I also know we have 12:19.918 --> 12:21.807 work to do . We know the world is 12:21.807 --> 12:23.696 changing commercial technology is 12:23.696 --> 12:26.479 rapidly evolving , especially AI and 12:26.479 --> 12:28.479 autonomous systems , and this is 12:28.479 --> 12:31.640 impacting the character of war . We 12:31.640 --> 12:33.696 understand that we must transform to 12:33.696 --> 12:35.862 stay ahead of our adversaries , and we 12:35.862 --> 12:39.549 need to get better by 2026 and 2027 , 12:39.840 --> 12:43.429 not by 2030 . Over the last year using 12:43.429 --> 12:46.309 existing FY24 funding some of our units 12:46.309 --> 12:48.365 transformed in contact , which means 12:48.365 --> 12:50.531 they experimented with changing how we 12:50.531 --> 12:52.642 train , fight , man , and equip while 12:52.642 --> 12:54.531 they were deployed or in training 12:54.531 --> 12:56.642 environments . This was a great proof 12:56.642 --> 12:58.587 of concept . It confirmed that our 12:58.587 --> 13:00.476 formations are capable of rapidly 13:00.476 --> 13:02.549 improving their lethality . One 13:02.549 --> 13:04.660 transformation and contact brigade in 13:04.660 --> 13:07.390 Europe was 300% more effective in 13:07.390 --> 13:09.390 lethal targeting in training . 13:10.289 --> 13:12.345 Transformation and contact taught us 13:12.345 --> 13:14.400 some valuable lessons about what our 13:14.400 --> 13:16.622 army should be buying and how we should 13:16.622 --> 13:18.622 be buying it and we're just getting 13:18.622 --> 13:20.789 started . We're gonna make the changes 13:20.789 --> 13:22.733 we can at our level so that we can 13:22.733 --> 13:24.511 continue to dominate the modern 13:24.511 --> 13:26.567 battlefield . For instance , we will 13:26.567 --> 13:28.622 cancel programs that are obsolete or 13:28.622 --> 13:28.619 not what our war fighters need . 13:29.400 --> 13:31.067 Develop and adapt war winning 13:31.067 --> 13:33.369 capabilities by modular open 13:33.369 --> 13:35.320 architecture designs that can be 13:35.320 --> 13:38.020 iteratively updated . Cut and 13:38.020 --> 13:40.353 consolidate headquarters . For instance , 13:40.380 --> 13:42.900 we're gonna reduce GO structure , cut 13:42.900 --> 13:45.067 1000 positions from the headquarters , 13:45.067 --> 13:47.233 Department of the Army staff , and add 13:47.233 --> 13:49.289 modern business systems that we know 13:49.289 --> 13:51.539 will make us more effective . And 13:51.539 --> 13:53.706 finally we will power down authorities 13:53.706 --> 13:55.817 and funding so that commanders in our 13:55.817 --> 13:58.039 fighting formations have what they need 13:58.039 --> 13:59.706 to make their teams and their 13:59.706 --> 14:01.650 communities successful . What I've 14:01.650 --> 14:03.817 learned from being in the seat is that 14:03.817 --> 14:05.983 it is our job as leaders to do what we 14:05.983 --> 14:08.206 can with the budget that we have . I've 14:08.206 --> 14:10.317 been talking about the need for agile 14:10.317 --> 14:12.549 funding for UAS counter UAS , and EW , 14:12.729 --> 14:14.929 and we need more flexibility in those 14:14.929 --> 14:17.809 areas . Technology is changing too 14:17.809 --> 14:20.090 rapidly . We've got to be able to buy 14:20.090 --> 14:22.849 capabilities rather than specific 14:22.849 --> 14:25.016 programs so that we can always get our 14:25.016 --> 14:27.071 war fighters the best available tech 14:27.071 --> 14:29.182 and equipment for the fight . This is 14:29.182 --> 14:32.559 where we could use your help . We are 14:32.559 --> 14:35.159 quickly approaching our army's 250th 14:35.159 --> 14:37.215 birthday . This will defend has been 14:37.215 --> 14:40.039 our motto for 250 years , and I'm 14:40.039 --> 14:42.261 looking forward to celebrating our long 14:42.261 --> 14:44.640 legacy of duty . More importantly , our 14:44.640 --> 14:46.960 soldiers are ready today to defend our 14:46.960 --> 14:49.016 country , and we will do our part to 14:49.016 --> 14:51.359 ensure they have what they need to be 14:51.359 --> 14:53.470 successful in that enduring mission . 14:53.890 --> 14:56.001 We appreciate all of your support and 14:56.001 --> 14:58.334 we're looking forward to your questions . 15:00.159 --> 15:02.381 Thank you both . I recognize myself for 15:02.381 --> 15:04.548 the first set of questions . Uh , as I 15:04.548 --> 15:06.603 mentioned in my statement , uh , the 15:06.603 --> 15:08.603 committee , uh , is willing to work 15:08.603 --> 15:10.659 with you on ATI , but we need to see 15:10.659 --> 15:12.881 your math . When can we expect the full 15:12.881 --> 15:14.992 details of , uh , exactly what you're 15:14.992 --> 15:18.320 proposing ? Uh , um , um , 15:19.010 --> 15:21.232 the way that we envision ATI and how we 15:21.232 --> 15:23.066 have described it throughout the 15:23.066 --> 15:25.288 formations is this will be an iterative 15:25.288 --> 15:27.454 process and so , um , there will be no 15:27.454 --> 15:29.399 one date where everything with our 15:29.399 --> 15:31.566 first batch of ATI will be completed . 15:31.566 --> 15:33.732 We will be hopefully , uh , doing what 15:33.732 --> 15:35.788 the best companies in America do and 15:35.788 --> 15:37.954 learning as we go . The the very first 15:37.954 --> 15:40.369 batch of um cuts that General George 15:40.369 --> 15:42.591 has referenced where we are pushing our 15:42.591 --> 15:44.702 soldiers back out to the formations , 15:44.702 --> 15:46.758 those are in process the when we are 15:46.758 --> 15:48.925 looking at the , the , the assets that 15:48.925 --> 15:50.869 we have and what we are buying and 15:50.869 --> 15:52.980 where we don't want it , um , we have 15:52.980 --> 15:55.147 started to work with those . Companies 15:55.147 --> 15:54.724 who are providing things to empower 15:54.724 --> 15:56.946 them with the information about what we 15:56.946 --> 15:59.057 do want so a lot of that's in process 15:59.057 --> 16:01.113 when we're looking at our depots and 16:01.113 --> 16:03.168 where we are manufacturing things in 16:03.168 --> 16:05.280 our organic industrial base , we have 16:05.280 --> 16:07.335 just started that process of putting 16:07.335 --> 16:09.391 together the plans for what could be 16:09.391 --> 16:11.724 the right solution , but our commitment , 16:11.724 --> 16:13.835 uh , is that we will share it as soon 16:13.835 --> 16:15.835 as we have , um , reasonable drafts 16:15.835 --> 16:17.668 with this committee to take your 16:17.668 --> 16:17.525 feedback to help make it stronger and 16:17.525 --> 16:20.919 better . So will it be reflected in the 16:20.919 --> 16:24.760 president's FY26 budget ? Many of the 16:24.760 --> 16:27.679 cuts and the the the the lack of 16:27.679 --> 16:29.901 requests for obsolete equipment will be 16:29.901 --> 16:32.559 reflected in that budget . OK . Do you 16:32.559 --> 16:34.950 expect to cancel any programs , uh , 16:35.119 --> 16:38.400 for which the money was in the uh FY25 16:38.400 --> 16:42.299 CR ? We , we are not , we are not 16:42.299 --> 16:44.521 doing that right now , Congressman , we 16:44.521 --> 16:46.743 are , we , we've been in the process of 16:46.743 --> 16:48.799 going back through with businesses , 16:48.799 --> 16:50.855 things that we are doing right now , 16:50.855 --> 16:52.688 but as the secretary mentioned , 16:52.688 --> 16:54.521 looking forward , uh , there are 16:54.521 --> 16:56.688 several examples and I know we've been 16:56.688 --> 16:56.469 over and we're happy to come over and , 16:56.539 --> 16:58.539 you know , brief everyone . On what 16:58.539 --> 17:00.539 we're doing with the transformation 17:00.539 --> 17:02.817 transformation um initiative in detail , 17:03.010 --> 17:05.232 uh , but these are systems that I think 17:05.232 --> 17:07.454 we've long talked about that we know we 17:07.454 --> 17:09.454 don't need in our formation are not 17:09.454 --> 17:11.510 gonna help us win on the battlefield 17:11.510 --> 17:13.566 and we can go down those in detail , 17:13.566 --> 17:15.621 but they , those aren't in the 25 CR 17:15.621 --> 17:17.788 then . The things that you're thinking 17:17.788 --> 17:19.677 to my knowledge , uh , Chairman , 17:19.677 --> 17:21.677 there's nothing that's in there . I 17:21.677 --> 17:23.566 mean we just had a conversation , 17:23.566 --> 17:25.899 everything that we've , you know , keep , 17:25.899 --> 17:25.650 um , I'll give you one example we don't 17:25.650 --> 17:28.250 wanna buy Humvees , you know , and we 17:28.250 --> 17:30.472 haven't asked to buy Humvees , but that 17:30.472 --> 17:32.694 was in our budget . And we , you know , 17:32.694 --> 17:35.109 we're obviously continuing with FY 25 17:35.109 --> 17:37.331 because that's what we were directed to 17:37.331 --> 17:39.498 do with our budget . The only reason I 17:39.498 --> 17:41.442 ask these questions , I just worry 17:41.442 --> 17:43.609 about you being locked in , you know , 17:43.609 --> 17:43.469 if whatever you're wanting to do is not 17:43.469 --> 17:45.869 in the FY26 budget , then you may have 17:45.869 --> 17:47.591 some constraints that that are 17:47.591 --> 17:49.702 unnecessary . Yes sir , and we worked 17:49.702 --> 17:51.829 with , um , in this budget creation 17:51.829 --> 17:54.630 process we have included the the entire 17:54.630 --> 17:56.852 Pentagon leadership in this and so it , 17:56.852 --> 17:59.074 it should be reflecting the 26 budget . 17:59.089 --> 18:01.359 I know you did mention the desire to 18:01.359 --> 18:03.470 have the right to repair . We want to 18:03.470 --> 18:05.581 be helpful with you on that . So , so 18:05.581 --> 18:07.581 do know that you need to be getting 18:07.581 --> 18:09.920 with us about exactly how you see that 18:09.920 --> 18:12.280 being constructed statutorily , and we , 18:12.359 --> 18:14.800 we will be helpful as you know , the 18:14.800 --> 18:17.140 acquisition system that we have now is , 18:17.189 --> 18:20.920 is just antiquated and and needs to be 18:20.920 --> 18:23.031 modified and the ranking member and I 18:23.031 --> 18:25.760 are making acquisition reform the 18:25.760 --> 18:28.150 number one priority in this year's NDAA . 18:28.729 --> 18:31.640 Uh , what specific authorities or 18:31.640 --> 18:34.069 support do you need from Congress , uh , 18:34.160 --> 18:37.680 to fix it ? I'll , 18:37.760 --> 18:40.719 I agree with you , Chairman . Um , one 18:40.719 --> 18:42.830 of the things that we're looking at , 18:42.830 --> 18:44.997 there's a lot of and how we're gonna , 18:44.997 --> 18:46.997 you know , look at restructuring as 18:46.997 --> 18:49.219 well as there's a lot of commercial off 18:49.219 --> 18:49.160 the shelf stuff that we should be 18:49.160 --> 18:51.439 adopting , um , and so we should be 18:51.439 --> 18:53.550 able to , you know , be structured so 18:53.550 --> 18:55.661 that we're adopting certain equipment 18:55.661 --> 18:57.772 that we know the commercial sector is 18:57.772 --> 18:59.828 moving very fast . Other stuff we're 18:59.828 --> 19:01.995 gonna have to modify we talk about the 19:01.995 --> 19:04.106 infantry squad vehicle is one example 19:04.106 --> 19:06.272 of that . We just modify that a little 19:06.272 --> 19:06.119 bit it's largely a commercial product . 19:06.810 --> 19:10.089 Um , uh , program and then there's 19:10.089 --> 19:12.369 obviously develop I think where we need 19:12.369 --> 19:15.979 the most help is in agile funding we , 19:16.369 --> 19:18.689 we know that on drones , autonomous 19:18.689 --> 19:22.680 systems , EW , and specifically to the 19:22.939 --> 19:25.130 incident that in uh Russia that the 19:25.130 --> 19:27.849 secretary highlighted counter UAS we 19:27.849 --> 19:30.016 need to be , you know , we need to not 19:30.016 --> 19:32.182 buy , you know , one program or record 19:32.182 --> 19:34.349 I think program or record is kind of a 19:34.349 --> 19:36.630 uh an old term . And we need agile 19:36.630 --> 19:38.574 funding to be able to buy in those 19:38.574 --> 19:40.686 what's , you know , as the technology 19:40.686 --> 19:42.686 changes buy them the best available 19:42.686 --> 19:44.797 thing that's on the market . Well , I 19:44.797 --> 19:46.797 agree and and we need to make those 19:46.797 --> 19:48.910 things history and it's gonna be 19:48.910 --> 19:50.743 difficult . It's gonna require a 19:50.743 --> 19:53.390 culture change in the department . We 19:53.390 --> 19:55.760 are wanting to impose that culture 19:55.790 --> 19:57.846 change , but we're gonna need you to 19:57.846 --> 20:00.469 want to do it too , uh , to make this 20:00.469 --> 20:03.030 system , uh , viable in the future that 20:03.030 --> 20:05.363 I'll yield , uh , to the ranking member . 20:05.363 --> 20:07.141 Uh , thank you , Mr . Chair . I 20:07.141 --> 20:09.252 completely agree on the agile funding 20:09.252 --> 20:11.252 piece and within the budget process 20:11.252 --> 20:13.419 it's gonna be really important to have 20:13.419 --> 20:15.586 close coordination between whatever it 20:15.586 --> 20:15.160 is the president's budget winds up 20:15.160 --> 20:17.327 being and then how Congress deals with 20:17.327 --> 20:19.382 that to reflect those priorities and 20:19.382 --> 20:21.438 try to give you that agile funding , 20:21.500 --> 20:23.479 but Mr . Secretary , on the Army 20:23.479 --> 20:25.719 transformation plan . If you could sort 20:25.719 --> 20:29.000 of just quickly explain that what what 20:29.000 --> 20:31.056 programs are you getting rid of what 20:31.056 --> 20:33.278 programs are you adding ? I mean we can 20:33.278 --> 20:35.333 all sort of get the idea that drones 20:35.333 --> 20:37.278 are a problem , survivability is a 20:37.278 --> 20:39.520 problem , but how does that translate 20:39.520 --> 20:41.839 into what we're going to put money into 20:41.839 --> 20:43.950 and what we're not going to put money 20:43.950 --> 20:46.117 into going forward ? Um , I'm happy to 20:46.117 --> 20:47.895 answer it and so basically Army 20:47.895 --> 20:49.839 Transformation initiative . Does 4 20:49.839 --> 20:52.172 things . There are 4 buckets of actions , 20:52.172 --> 20:52.040 and then I'll circle back to the 20:52.040 --> 20:53.818 buckets to answer your specific 20:53.818 --> 20:55.984 question . The first bucket of actions 20:55.984 --> 20:58.151 is the United States Army , as General 20:58.151 --> 21:00.262 Georges mentioned , has not wanted to 21:00.262 --> 21:02.373 buy a number of programs and products 21:02.373 --> 21:04.540 for the last couple of decades in some 21:04.540 --> 21:06.762 instances , and , and they keep getting 21:06.762 --> 21:08.929 them . And so it was basically working 21:08.929 --> 21:08.430 with the Pentagon leadership 21:08.430 --> 21:10.597 undersecretary of Defense Heeth , uh , 21:10.597 --> 21:12.541 and President Trump to say . Hey , 21:12.569 --> 21:14.791 let's do what's right for soldiers . We 21:14.791 --> 21:16.736 don't need to buy these assets and 21:16.736 --> 21:18.791 resources are limited . Let's stop . 21:18.791 --> 21:20.958 Can you give us a couple of examples . 21:20.958 --> 21:23.180 Humvee , obviously Humvee is one . JLTV 21:23.180 --> 21:25.347 is one . The the Booker tank , uh , is 21:25.347 --> 21:27.236 an example of kind of a sunk cost 21:27.236 --> 21:29.458 fallacy in action . We wanted to design 21:29.458 --> 21:29.369 a light tank . We ended up with 21:29.369 --> 21:31.480 something that was the medium . If no 21:31.480 --> 21:33.647 one really liked it . The manufacturer 21:33.647 --> 21:35.813 wasn't particularly happy with it . We 21:35.813 --> 21:35.459 weren't happy with it . What would have 21:35.459 --> 21:37.681 historically occurred there is we would 21:37.681 --> 21:39.848 have kept buying it , um , and what we 21:39.848 --> 21:42.015 said is we went to the leadership , we 21:42.015 --> 21:41.329 said . Look , we , we got this one 21:41.329 --> 21:43.607 wrong . We , the army have to own this . 21:43.607 --> 21:45.773 The wrong answer is not to keep buying 21:45.773 --> 21:47.940 it . It's instead to stop the spending 21:47.940 --> 21:50.273 and go buy the things we want . Exactly . 21:50.273 --> 21:50.209 So what are the things you want ? So 21:50.209 --> 21:52.489 the things we want are drones , light , 21:52.569 --> 21:54.847 a tradeable commercially off the shelf . 21:54.847 --> 21:56.958 We want counter drone technology . We 21:56.958 --> 21:59.236 want our soldiers to have a data layer . 21:59.236 --> 22:01.402 So the very basic function of war will 22:01.402 --> 22:03.236 require our people to be able to 22:03.236 --> 22:05.402 communicate over the horizon with each 22:05.402 --> 22:07.513 other with our sensors and our things 22:07.513 --> 22:09.513 near instantaneously . When we read 22:09.513 --> 22:11.569 about things like generative AI that 22:11.569 --> 22:13.736 cannot work in warfare until we have a 22:13.736 --> 22:15.958 very good data layer and so we , we are 22:15.958 --> 22:17.680 very optimistic that there are 22:17.680 --> 22:19.625 commercial solutions available and 22:19.625 --> 22:21.847 we're working to do that , um , so that 22:21.847 --> 22:21.660 would be the second bucket . The third 22:21.660 --> 22:24.579 bucket would be right to repair as the 22:24.579 --> 22:28.180 chairman mentioned the army , one of 22:28.180 --> 22:29.902 the visits we went on , it was 22:29.902 --> 22:32.124 horrifying to me that the soldiers were 22:32.124 --> 22:34.236 showing us this exquisite equipment . 22:34.236 --> 22:36.458 That had been off the line for nearly a 22:36.458 --> 22:38.513 year and they knew how to 3D print a 22:38.513 --> 22:40.736 part to it and the part cost $2 and for 22:40.736 --> 22:42.958 1 year they couldn't use this equipment 22:42.958 --> 22:44.958 and it's at scale and we , we , the 22:44.958 --> 22:46.791 army have been a bad customer to 22:46.791 --> 22:48.569 ourselves and so there are some 22:48.569 --> 22:50.513 corrections along that and then uh 22:50.513 --> 22:49.699 another thing General George mentioned 22:49.699 --> 22:52.180 in his intro is we've , we've done a 22:52.180 --> 22:54.291 lot of these things to ourselves . We 22:54.291 --> 22:56.513 have too many people up in headquarters 22:56.513 --> 22:58.569 not wearing helmets , not out in the 22:58.569 --> 22:58.180 formations , not doing what they . 22:58.292 --> 23:00.348 Signed up to want to do and so we're 23:00.348 --> 23:02.459 gonna push those soldiers back out to 23:02.459 --> 23:04.681 the formation . Just one quick thing on 23:04.681 --> 23:04.192 that maintenance question . Do you , 23:04.223 --> 23:06.902 are you using AI for predictive 23:06.902 --> 23:09.069 maintenance to help with that piece of 23:09.069 --> 23:11.483 it as well ? Uh , so , um , we want to , 23:11.603 --> 23:13.603 we're running some experiments , so 23:13.603 --> 23:15.603 very specifically , I don't know if 23:15.603 --> 23:17.714 anyone's seen the Meta , uh , Ray-Ban 23:17.714 --> 23:17.682 glasses that are available . They're 23:17.682 --> 23:20.243 400 or $500 . We have requested , we 23:20.243 --> 23:22.299 are purchasing some of those . We're 23:22.299 --> 23:24.465 gonna have our Humvee mechanics . Wear 23:24.465 --> 23:26.465 them and collect 1 uh 1000 hours of 23:26.465 --> 23:28.632 repair footage and what we believe may 23:28.632 --> 23:30.632 happen is we can train a generative 23:30.632 --> 23:32.854 model so that when you're wearing those 23:32.854 --> 23:34.743 glasses you may not actually be a 23:34.743 --> 23:36.854 Humvee mechanic , but you may be able 23:36.854 --> 23:38.910 to do 90% of the repair requirements 23:38.910 --> 23:41.076 and so we're trying to run experiments 23:41.076 --> 23:43.187 as quickly as possible to do that and 23:43.187 --> 23:45.354 your 4th bucket , our fourth bucket is 23:45.354 --> 23:45.225 the pushing soldiers back out , getting 23:45.225 --> 23:47.114 rid of the bureaucracy in our own 23:47.114 --> 23:49.760 formation that we caused . OK , um , 23:49.770 --> 23:52.103 how does long range fires fit into this ? 23:52.103 --> 23:54.159 I know this is something that you've 23:54.159 --> 23:56.214 been that the army's been working on 23:56.214 --> 23:58.326 focusing on for a while , obviously , 23:58.326 --> 24:00.381 you know , the , the further you are 24:00.381 --> 24:02.603 from a target , the less vulnerable you 24:02.603 --> 24:04.603 are , um , drones are an example of 24:04.603 --> 24:06.659 sort of a long range fire in its own 24:06.659 --> 24:08.770 way . Um , is it just gonna be drones 24:08.770 --> 24:08.400 or are there other systems you think 24:08.400 --> 24:10.456 are gonna be necessary to be able to 24:10.456 --> 24:13.000 deliver from distance ? Um , sir , I'll 24:13.000 --> 24:15.222 take , I mean , I was gonna add there's 24:15.222 --> 24:17.222 a couple of other things that we're 24:17.222 --> 24:16.900 looking at , you know , on the 24:16.900 --> 24:20.459 reductions , uh , 864 deltas is another 24:20.459 --> 24:22.859 one . It's twice as expensive . Um , we 24:22.859 --> 24:25.609 know we're moving towards autonomy . Um , 24:25.619 --> 24:29.300 we had , uh , uh , an RCV which is a uh 24:29.300 --> 24:31.660 big heavy autonomous system , and again 24:31.660 --> 24:34.329 we should be looking to commercial , uh , 24:34.339 --> 24:36.617 industry to help us with that . It was , 24:36.617 --> 24:38.783 you know , way too expensive . Um , so 24:38.783 --> 24:40.895 there's a lot of things that are that 24:40.895 --> 24:42.950 are on that list . We are looking at 24:42.950 --> 24:45.117 long range fires , and I will tell you 24:45.117 --> 24:44.569 this is another thing where I think we 24:44.569 --> 24:46.849 have to be , you know , get industry 24:46.849 --> 24:48.969 involved . We are getting ready to do 24:48.969 --> 24:51.191 some tests , um , this summer with long 24:51.191 --> 24:53.191 range missiles that are 1/10 of the 24:53.191 --> 24:55.136 price . And when you start talking 24:55.136 --> 24:57.302 about magazine depths and this is back 24:57.302 --> 24:59.580 to your initial comments on , you know , 24:59.580 --> 25:01.747 understanding that you have a budget , 25:01.747 --> 25:01.550 I think we've all learned that we've 25:01.550 --> 25:04.329 have to live within . A budget we can 25:04.329 --> 25:06.930 get things uh invest in things that are 25:06.930 --> 25:08.986 much more cost effective and I think 25:08.986 --> 25:11.208 that's where we need the flexibility to 25:11.208 --> 25:13.319 do that and just as I'm as I'm out of 25:13.319 --> 25:15.541 time here I wanna make that point there 25:15.541 --> 25:17.763 are a lot of smaller companies that are 25:17.763 --> 25:20.349 developing drones . This hypersonic 25:20.349 --> 25:22.589 missiles are fact that are so much 25:22.589 --> 25:24.811 cheaper than what a lot of the programs 25:24.811 --> 25:26.867 of record that we've been working on 25:26.867 --> 25:28.867 for a while . It's just independent 25:28.867 --> 25:28.670 people who've gone out there and 25:28.670 --> 25:30.503 developed the technology and now 25:30.503 --> 25:32.726 they've got a really , you know , cheap 25:32.726 --> 25:34.726 thing to . We need to really access 25:34.726 --> 25:37.003 those things if we're gonna be able to , 25:37.003 --> 25:39.226 to deal with our budget constraints and 25:39.226 --> 25:38.839 get to where we need to be . Thank you , 25:38.849 --> 25:41.520 Mr . Chairman . Thank the ranking 25:41.520 --> 25:43.298 member . Chair now recognizes a 25:43.298 --> 25:45.576 gentleman from South Carolina . Wilson . 25:45.770 --> 25:47.770 Thank you very much , Chairman Mike 25:47.770 --> 25:49.937 Rogers , for your leadership and thank 25:49.937 --> 25:52.103 both of you for your , uh , service to 25:52.103 --> 25:54.326 our country , which is so appreciated . 25:54.326 --> 25:56.548 Uh , we're in a cold war that we didn't 25:56.548 --> 25:56.489 choose between dictators with rule of 25:56.489 --> 25:58.600 gun invading democracies with rule of 25:58.600 --> 26:01.425 law . Putin began this with the 26:01.425 --> 26:03.425 invasion of Ukraine and the Chinese 26:03.425 --> 26:05.584 Communist Party continues to build 26:05.584 --> 26:07.806 itself up and expand and modernize with 26:07.806 --> 26:10.405 capabilities and rapidly expand while 26:10.405 --> 26:12.704 we are actually reacting to the changes 26:12.704 --> 26:15.285 in the battle space . This is as Iran 26:15.285 --> 26:17.007 is developing a nuclear weapon 26:17.007 --> 26:19.640 capability . To achieve death to Israel , 26:19.800 --> 26:21.770 death to America , and we've seen 26:21.770 --> 26:23.826 change this weekend , and the change 26:23.826 --> 26:26.319 this weekend was indeed a victory by 26:26.319 --> 26:28.030 the people of Ukraine , uh , 26:28.040 --> 26:30.719 eliminating , uh , Soviet bombers that 26:30.719 --> 26:32.886 have been built , uh , for the purpose 26:32.886 --> 26:34.997 of , uh , in the Cold War , the first 26:34.997 --> 26:37.319 Cold War to vaporize the people of 26:37.319 --> 26:39.520 America and Europe , and now those 26:39.520 --> 26:41.439 bombers are gone . uh , what an 26:41.439 --> 26:43.606 extraordinary achievement . So we need 26:43.606 --> 26:45.828 to adapt and . Uh , you're gonna find , 26:45.828 --> 26:47.772 uh , bipartisanship here . This is 26:47.772 --> 26:49.772 remarkable . OK , I agree with Adam 26:49.772 --> 26:51.995 Smith , uh , that we need to be working 26:51.995 --> 26:53.717 together on less expensive but 26:53.717 --> 26:55.939 effective drones and they might even be 26:55.939 --> 26:58.272 produced in Ukraine , but wherever they , 26:58.272 --> 27:00.161 uh , come from , or then they can 27:00.161 --> 27:02.383 license them here , whatever it takes , 27:02.383 --> 27:04.217 uh , Secretary , Driscoll , uh , 27:04.217 --> 27:06.050 recently the president signed an 27:06.050 --> 27:08.161 executive order assigning the army as 27:08.161 --> 27:10.383 the lead for deploying advanced nuclear 27:10.383 --> 27:12.550 reactors and military installations by 27:12.550 --> 27:16.380 2028 . And uh I'm generally I see 27:16.380 --> 27:18.420 uh America benefits from President 27:18.420 --> 27:20.900 Trump's vision and leadership in this 27:20.900 --> 27:23.067 development in South Carolina with the 27:23.067 --> 27:25.067 Savannah River site that I have the 27:25.067 --> 27:27.122 opportunity to represent and I'm the 27:27.122 --> 27:27.020 only member of Congress who's ever 27:27.020 --> 27:29.076 worked at Savannah River site . Um , 27:29.076 --> 27:31.131 nuclear capability is very important 27:31.131 --> 27:33.353 and with that in mind , how is the army 27:33.353 --> 27:35.520 prioritizing micro nuclear reactors as 27:35.520 --> 27:37.459 a nuclear as a national security 27:37.459 --> 27:39.869 imperative . To ensure resilient 27:39.869 --> 27:42.359 interrupted power for critical defense 27:42.359 --> 27:44.810 infrastructure and uh over and over 27:44.810 --> 27:47.143 again we can see that small mo reactors , 27:47.349 --> 27:49.650 microreactors will be an important 27:49.650 --> 27:51.650 opportunity . What is the status of 27:51.650 --> 27:54.859 development ? Um , we , we couldn't 27:54.859 --> 27:56.692 agree more , so , uh , contested 27:56.692 --> 27:58.939 logistics is going to be when you look 27:58.939 --> 28:00.995 at what just happened in Russia this 28:00.995 --> 28:03.106 past weekend and the ability of these 28:03.106 --> 28:04.828 cheap drones to , um , contest 28:04.859 --> 28:06.979 logistics lines . The army owns that 28:06.979 --> 28:09.090 and has historically owned that . And 28:09.090 --> 28:11.312 what , what we will need to do is for a 28:11.312 --> 28:13.368 lot of the new tools that are coming 28:13.368 --> 28:12.979 out directed energy , they have 28:12.979 --> 28:15.500 incredible energy requirements . You're 28:15.500 --> 28:17.500 gonna have to have spikes of energy 28:17.500 --> 28:19.556 come through the lines that just are 28:19.556 --> 28:21.278 not set , um . The the current 28:21.278 --> 28:23.389 technology is not sufficient for it , 28:23.389 --> 28:25.750 and we are standing up groups to um run 28:25.750 --> 28:27.806 the same experiments we were talking 28:27.806 --> 28:29.972 about we were trying to do on uh small 28:29.972 --> 28:32.250 nuclear and the micronuclear reactions . 28:32.709 --> 28:34.765 I , I wish you well on that indeed I 28:34.765 --> 28:37.550 know a perfect 310 square mile site on 28:37.550 --> 28:39.550 the east coast , the largest secure 28:39.550 --> 28:41.606 site , uh , site on the east coast , 28:41.606 --> 28:43.828 and it's not actually in Alabama , it's 28:43.828 --> 28:46.319 in South Carolina . And um and so 28:46.319 --> 28:48.680 production could be very well there uh 28:48.680 --> 28:50.849 and uh additionally , Mr . Secretary , 28:51.119 --> 28:53.286 uh , to better understand , I'm really 28:53.286 --> 28:55.452 grateful as a guard member former Army 28:55.452 --> 28:57.675 guard member myself , to understand the 28:57.675 --> 28:59.563 impact of the Army Transformation 28:59.563 --> 29:01.563 initiative on the National Guard in 29:01.563 --> 29:03.619 particular , the Army National Guard 29:03.619 --> 29:05.397 has 4 AH 64 Apache battalions , 29:05.397 --> 29:07.508 including the 151st Aviation Regiment 29:07.508 --> 29:10.479 in South Carolina . Uh , what do you 29:10.479 --> 29:12.829 see as , uh , occurring and , uh , 29:12.839 --> 29:15.172 about the eliminating of such squadrons ? 29:15.172 --> 29:17.395 Uh , what about the divestment of the , 29:17.395 --> 29:20.880 uh , AH 64Ds and the elimination of the 29:20.880 --> 29:23.560 squadron ? And maybe the general should 29:23.560 --> 29:25.727 be answering . Yeah , I was gonna jump 29:25.727 --> 29:27.893 in on that one , Congressman , um . So 29:27.893 --> 29:29.893 I mentioned , you know , previously 29:29.893 --> 29:31.893 when Ranking member Smith asked the 29:31.893 --> 29:34.060 question , we're we are , uh , getting 29:34.060 --> 29:36.282 rid of the H64 Delta's expensive . What 29:36.282 --> 29:38.420 we're gonna do is cask and we're 29:38.420 --> 29:40.753 getting rid of those battalions as well , 29:40.753 --> 29:42.698 um , divesting of those battalions 29:42.698 --> 29:44.587 inside the active component . The 29:44.979 --> 29:46.930 National Guard will stay with 4 , 29:47.780 --> 29:49.947 Apache battalions . What you'll notice 29:49.947 --> 29:52.113 is is that you'll get the , the newest 29:52.260 --> 29:55.819 864 Echo aircraft . So part of this has 29:55.819 --> 29:58.349 been . Is making sure that we divest 29:58.349 --> 30:00.349 ourselves of the old more expensive 30:00.349 --> 30:02.405 aircraft and we're gonna upgrade our 30:02.405 --> 30:04.571 fleet and this is across all of them . 30:04.571 --> 30:06.682 Same thing with um the guard is gonna 30:06.682 --> 30:09.989 see uh mic models re replacing Lima and 30:09.989 --> 30:12.510 Victor models on the UH 60s and so 30:12.510 --> 30:14.621 that's what we're , that's what we're 30:14.621 --> 30:16.788 looking at doing and uh hey , as you , 30:16.788 --> 30:18.732 uh , divest yourself of the , uh , 30:18.732 --> 30:21.010 Apaches , uh , a great ally of America , 30:21.010 --> 30:23.177 Jordan , uh , would be happy to accept 30:23.177 --> 30:25.177 them . Uh , and this would actually 30:25.177 --> 30:27.454 back up another remarkable achievement , 30:27.454 --> 30:29.677 and that is the removal of the dictator 30:29.677 --> 30:31.989 Bashar al-Assad in Syria to be replaced 30:31.989 --> 30:34.211 by a government that's working in every 30:34.211 --> 30:37.920 way to um uh have a relationship with 30:37.920 --> 30:40.142 Israel , possibly the Abraham Accords , 30:40.142 --> 30:42.364 uh , to provide stability , and one way 30:42.364 --> 30:44.476 to do that is for , uh , Jordan to be 30:44.476 --> 30:47.920 even more enhanced . I yield back . I 30:47.920 --> 30:50.087 appreciate the , uh , the general from 30:50.087 --> 30:52.087 South Carolina raising the issue of 30:52.087 --> 30:54.142 nuclear power production . You may , 30:54.142 --> 30:55.976 may recall that last week , uh , 30:55.976 --> 30:57.976 President Trump and Secretary Hicks 30:57.976 --> 31:00.198 talked about not only President Trump's 31:00.198 --> 30:59.819 initiative to get more nuclear energy 30:59.819 --> 31:01.930 production in the United States , but 31:01.930 --> 31:04.097 particularly Secretary Hicks has to do 31:04.097 --> 31:06.263 some reforms in the Defense Department 31:06.263 --> 31:08.319 to help deal with our , uh , need to 31:08.319 --> 31:10.375 get off the grid . Uh , I have asked 31:10.375 --> 31:12.486 Representative Harrigan to lead the , 31:12.486 --> 31:14.652 the language in this year's NDA to put 31:14.652 --> 31:16.849 some pilot programs where we use SMRs 31:16.849 --> 31:18.960 on some of our bases and , and depots 31:18.960 --> 31:21.182 as a proof of concept . I would ask you 31:21.182 --> 31:23.182 to work with him on fashioning that 31:23.182 --> 31:25.127 legislation to make it as broad as 31:25.127 --> 31:27.238 possible because we really would like 31:27.238 --> 31:29.238 to see this concept proved . I know 31:29.238 --> 31:31.571 it's something the Department of Energy , 31:31.571 --> 31:33.849 uh , embraces as well . Uh , with that , 31:33.849 --> 31:35.849 I will now turn to a gentleman from 31:35.849 --> 31:38.016 California , Mr . Garry Mindy . You're 31:38.016 --> 31:39.849 recognized . Uh thank you , Mr . 31:39.849 --> 31:42.180 Chairman and ranking member Smith . uh , 31:42.219 --> 31:45.650 you laid out the challenge that we have 31:45.900 --> 31:48.260 in working with the army in its 31:48.260 --> 31:50.540 transformation , and we simply don't 31:50.540 --> 31:52.762 have the information that we need , and 31:52.762 --> 31:54.540 we look forward to getting that 31:54.540 --> 31:56.707 information . Uh , we will be doing an 31:56.707 --> 31:59.839 NDAA in the next 1.5 to 2 months . So , 31:59.849 --> 32:03.560 um Are you prepared to prepare us ? 32:03.819 --> 32:05.930 I'll let that hang out there a couple 32:05.930 --> 32:08.930 of things um that I wanna go into , uh , 32:08.939 --> 32:11.459 on the readiness subcommittee , we are 32:11.459 --> 32:14.680 always concerned about logistics . And 32:14.680 --> 32:17.050 I want to raise the issue of logistics , 32:17.250 --> 32:19.329 particularly in Europe as well as in 32:19.329 --> 32:22.650 the Pacific . How does your 32:22.969 --> 32:25.410 army transformation initiative deal 32:25.410 --> 32:29.319 with the sustainment of material 32:29.319 --> 32:32.839 supplies uh in the Indo Pacific , uh , 32:32.849 --> 32:36.329 specifically the uh APSs , um , are 32:36.329 --> 32:38.607 they gonna continue ? What is the plan ? 32:39.290 --> 32:42.010 Uh , if you don't have it , then we 32:42.010 --> 32:44.449 must continue to find out what is going 32:44.449 --> 32:48.369 to be . I , I , I think , um , 32:48.380 --> 32:51.219 from a high level absolutely ATI , the 32:51.219 --> 32:53.386 intent of it in the bucket two of what 32:53.386 --> 32:55.497 we need to buy , we know that we have 32:55.497 --> 32:57.540 got to , um , spread out our 32:57.540 --> 33:00.099 prepositioned stocks , so , uh , it is 33:00.099 --> 33:02.099 no longer going to be sufficient to 33:02.099 --> 33:04.300 have big warehouses with a lot of 33:04.300 --> 33:06.578 American equipment sitting as a target , 33:06.790 --> 33:08.739 um , those will be incredibly 33:08.739 --> 33:10.859 targetable by the enemy and what we 33:10.859 --> 33:13.081 need to do is continue to invest in and 33:13.081 --> 33:15.248 explore drone technology that can do a 33:15.248 --> 33:17.359 lot of these . Micro movements for us 33:17.359 --> 33:19.303 and spread out our stocks and so I 33:19.303 --> 33:21.526 think as it specifically relates to the 33:21.526 --> 33:23.526 APS um we are trying to think about 33:23.526 --> 33:25.581 different ways to have our equipment 33:25.581 --> 33:27.748 prepositioned around the globe and the 33:27.748 --> 33:29.748 tools that we can create with micro 33:29.748 --> 33:31.970 movements to get them into the hands of 33:31.970 --> 33:31.775 soldiers . I would assume that micro 33:31.775 --> 33:33.775 movement if it happens to be in the 33:33.775 --> 33:37.415 Pacific would require um the army's . 33:38.160 --> 33:41.439 Uh , vessels , maritime vessels which 33:41.439 --> 33:44.239 seem to be continually declining in 33:44.239 --> 33:46.880 their availability . So would that be a 33:46.880 --> 33:49.102 piece of it or are you going to give up 33:49.102 --> 33:51.199 those ships ? We , we are looking we 33:51.199 --> 33:53.199 are looking at that congressman . I 33:53.199 --> 33:55.255 mean , to your previous question , I 33:55.255 --> 33:54.959 wanted to , you know , go back . 33:55.000 --> 33:56.833 There's a lot of things . One is 33:56.833 --> 33:59.167 autonomy is going to do a lot of things , 33:59.167 --> 34:01.222 you know , we got there's autonomous 34:01.222 --> 34:03.278 systems right now that are unloading 34:03.278 --> 34:05.333 vessels and moving very large things 34:05.333 --> 34:07.222 and I think what that we can , we 34:07.222 --> 34:09.278 should look at that some of the most 34:09.278 --> 34:11.389 dangerous things . Um , that I did in 34:11.389 --> 34:13.333 Iraq and Afghanistan were resupply 34:13.333 --> 34:15.556 operations and so whatever we can do to 34:15.556 --> 34:17.500 make sure that we are , you know , 34:17.500 --> 34:19.667 reducing that , um , we are looking at 34:19.667 --> 34:21.667 hybrid electric when we're out just 34:21.667 --> 34:23.833 seeing the , the ISV and we had an ISV 34:23.833 --> 34:26.209 heavy that actually could , uh , the GM 34:26.209 --> 34:28.479 defense makes it could actually , um , 34:28.489 --> 34:32.399 power our talks for 5 or 6 days 34:32.610 --> 34:34.610 and so then you're not , you know , 34:34.610 --> 34:36.443 bringing fuel for that will work 34:36.443 --> 34:38.499 anywhere in the world . It certainly 34:38.499 --> 34:40.499 will work in the Pacific . And I do 34:40.499 --> 34:42.721 think , um , we were down in Austin and 34:42.721 --> 34:44.888 I think some others in here saw what , 34:44.888 --> 34:44.809 you know , there are systems right now 34:44.809 --> 34:46.698 that are being built , autonomous 34:46.698 --> 34:48.920 systems , um , the same , they're gonna 34:48.920 --> 34:51.769 be much , uh , less expensive they can 34:51.769 --> 34:54.629 still deliver . Um , wherever you're at 34:54.629 --> 34:56.240 in the world in the maritime 34:56.240 --> 34:58.419 environment , land or air , and I , I 34:58.419 --> 35:00.530 think that that's where we need to be 35:00.530 --> 35:02.697 investing again again that takes agile 35:02.697 --> 35:04.919 funding to make sure that we don't lock 35:04.919 --> 35:07.030 ourselves into a program and continue 35:07.030 --> 35:09.197 to buy things that maybe we won't need 35:09.197 --> 35:11.141 in a couple of years . Speaking of 35:11.141 --> 35:13.308 agile funding , one of the things that 35:13.308 --> 35:16.540 uh The army brought to our attention in 35:16.540 --> 35:19.540 the last 3 years was the um . 35:20.709 --> 35:23.189 Support necessary to upgrade the 35:23.189 --> 35:26.229 barracks . Here within the United 35:26.229 --> 35:28.459 States and in other places , Europe as 35:28.459 --> 35:31.000 well as the Pacific . I know that about 35:31.000 --> 35:33.320 a billion dollars of that money that we 35:33.320 --> 35:37.270 put together for upgrading the barracks 35:37.580 --> 35:41.439 has been agilely funded . Away from the 35:41.439 --> 35:45.429 barracks ? To be used on the 35:45.429 --> 35:48.919 border . So what about the barracks ? 35:49.040 --> 35:51.096 Have you forgotten about them or are 35:51.096 --> 35:53.469 they not important anymore ? I , I 35:53.469 --> 35:55.780 would say our our barracks again having 35:55.780 --> 35:58.159 grown up in , in those environments are 35:58.159 --> 36:00.469 very important to us . There are one of 36:00.469 --> 36:02.413 the things that we're working with 36:02.413 --> 36:04.469 Congress , I think that right now we 36:04.469 --> 36:06.691 are probably overpaying , um , for some 36:06.691 --> 36:08.913 of our barracks , and we passed that on 36:08.913 --> 36:10.691 to the , you know , to the MLCO 36:10.691 --> 36:10.669 committees and , and kind of detail on 36:10.669 --> 36:12.909 what we're doing . When I'm when I'm 36:12.909 --> 36:15.110 we're talking about agile funding for 36:15.110 --> 36:17.277 drones this and everything else , it's 36:17.277 --> 36:19.679 not colorless money we wanna . We want 36:19.679 --> 36:21.735 to be very specific that hey this is 36:21.735 --> 36:24.229 for drones , this is for EW , and this 36:24.229 --> 36:26.439 is for counter UAS and that's where we 36:26.439 --> 36:28.383 wanna make sure that that money is 36:28.383 --> 36:30.606 focused . Final 7 seconds of thought on 36:30.606 --> 36:32.772 my side is that yes we want we want to 36:32.772 --> 36:35.389 support you at your uh initiative . 36:35.560 --> 36:37.782 Very , very important to do that at the 36:37.782 --> 36:39.838 same time there are ongoing programs 36:39.838 --> 36:41.893 that are extremely important for the 36:41.893 --> 36:43.838 maintenance of the troops barracks 36:43.838 --> 36:45.727 being gentleman times expired . I 36:45.727 --> 36:48.060 recognized gentleman from Virginia , Mr . 36:48.060 --> 36:50.060 Whitman . Thank you Mr . Chairman . 36:50.060 --> 36:49.590 Secretary Driscoll , General George , 36:49.629 --> 36:51.296 thanks again for joining us . 36:51.296 --> 36:53.462 Appreciate your leadership . I do want 36:53.462 --> 36:55.407 to , uh , focus on , uh , the Army 36:55.407 --> 36:57.573 Transformation initiative . Appreciate 36:57.573 --> 36:59.573 you all doing that , uh , well past 36:59.573 --> 37:01.351 time . This dynamic movement is 37:01.351 --> 37:03.518 absolutely needed . Uh , the challenge 37:03.518 --> 37:03.030 for us though is to make sure that 37:03.030 --> 37:05.086 there's certainty going forward when 37:05.086 --> 37:07.308 this does involve people's lives , when 37:07.308 --> 37:09.419 it informs involves uniformed service 37:09.419 --> 37:11.586 members and the civilian staffs , they 37:11.586 --> 37:13.697 deserve to know what's going on . And 37:13.697 --> 37:15.697 when they don't , it creates a high 37:15.697 --> 37:17.530 level of anxiety . I have Tradoc 37:17.530 --> 37:19.752 headquarters in my district . It's part 37:19.752 --> 37:21.974 of the , uh , transformation initiative 37:21.974 --> 37:21.729 along with Army Futures Command . I can 37:21.729 --> 37:23.729 tell you that , uh , the rumor mill 37:23.729 --> 37:25.949 there is running wild . There is chaos 37:25.949 --> 37:28.110 there at Fort Eustace because there's 37:28.110 --> 37:30.270 lack of certainty . We owe it to our 37:30.270 --> 37:32.437 constituents and the folks that are in 37:32.437 --> 37:34.270 our . Our districts to give them 37:34.270 --> 37:36.270 certainty even if it is saying it's 37:36.270 --> 37:38.465 still continued to be under under 37:38.465 --> 37:40.576 consideration . I understand what you 37:40.576 --> 37:42.743 all went through in the transformation 37:42.743 --> 37:44.743 and contact efforts there to try to 37:44.743 --> 37:46.798 figure out how you're gonna organize 37:46.798 --> 37:48.854 brigades uh I understand that that's 37:48.854 --> 37:51.021 that's a good portion of what needs to 37:51.021 --> 37:53.021 happen in the transformation of the 37:53.021 --> 37:54.854 army . So first of all I want to 37:54.854 --> 37:54.364 understand , you know , what have you 37:54.364 --> 37:56.364 learned from that that you're gonna 37:56.364 --> 37:59.530 translate to the ATI . Second of all , 37:59.610 --> 38:01.166 as you're going through the 38:01.166 --> 38:03.277 transforming contact 2.0 , uh , which 38:03.277 --> 38:05.221 is ongoing , is it , is it fair to 38:05.221 --> 38:07.443 characterize that that that is going to 38:07.443 --> 38:09.499 be at least a foundational aspect of 38:09.499 --> 38:12.530 what happens with with ATI ? And are 38:12.530 --> 38:14.419 certain ATI decisions still under 38:14.419 --> 38:16.530 analysis because we gotta kinda get a 38:16.530 --> 38:18.474 good couple of different stories . 38:18.474 --> 38:18.449 General George , I talked with you and 38:18.449 --> 38:20.782 you said , hey , it's definitive , it's , 38:20.782 --> 38:23.060 it's one , commanding general position , 38:23.060 --> 38:25.171 a certain number of other positions . 38:25.171 --> 38:27.393 And then we hear wild speculation about 38:27.393 --> 38:27.129 all these other things that are out 38:27.129 --> 38:29.185 there and then on the backside we're 38:29.185 --> 38:31.018 being told , oh it's still under 38:31.018 --> 38:33.500 analysis . We , we , we just got to get 38:33.500 --> 38:35.611 the story straight . So anyway , so I 38:35.611 --> 38:37.944 wanted to get , get your perspective on , 38:37.944 --> 38:40.111 on where we're going with ATI , what's 38:40.111 --> 38:42.111 how is transforming and contact 2.0 38:42.111 --> 38:44.222 gonna inform that ? What are we doing 38:44.222 --> 38:46.444 as far as creating some certainty as to 38:46.444 --> 38:46.330 what this is going to be or what it's 38:46.330 --> 38:48.497 gonna look like ? I would rather , you 38:48.497 --> 38:50.719 know , hold it back and say we're still 38:50.719 --> 38:52.663 analyzing it and putting stuff out 38:52.663 --> 38:51.689 there and saying this is what it's 38:51.689 --> 38:53.800 gonna be about . So so transformation 38:53.800 --> 38:55.856 and contact , I think at its highest 38:55.856 --> 38:58.729 level , um , is taking a practice that 38:58.729 --> 39:01.062 a lot of companies in America have done . 39:01.062 --> 39:03.285 Uh , that , that has made us an amazing 39:03.285 --> 39:05.396 nation , but particularly companies , 39:05.396 --> 39:07.618 let's say that are venture backed it it 39:07.618 --> 39:07.209 is part of their model , and it's this 39:07.209 --> 39:09.487 idea of doing a minimum viable product , 39:09.487 --> 39:11.653 getting into the hand of your customer 39:11.653 --> 39:13.653 as quickly as humanly possible at a 39:13.653 --> 39:15.876 very small scale and then learning from 39:15.876 --> 39:17.987 them . And so what Transformation and 39:17.987 --> 39:20.098 Contact has done for us is it gave us 39:20.098 --> 39:22.042 lessons from the actual soldiers . 39:22.042 --> 39:24.042 Using the equipment that we thought 39:24.042 --> 39:26.153 might work , some of it did , some of 39:26.153 --> 39:28.376 it didn't we learn lessons when we sent 39:28.376 --> 39:30.376 equipment up to Alaska and it's -45 39:30.376 --> 39:32.598 degrees that that equipment just didn't 39:32.598 --> 39:34.820 work . We , we wouldn't have known that 39:34.820 --> 39:33.939 without getting it into the hands of 39:33.939 --> 39:36.540 soldiers and so almost all of Army 39:36.540 --> 39:38.484 transformation initiative has been 39:38.484 --> 39:40.770 informed by what soldiers have told us , 39:40.810 --> 39:43.699 and we expect that iterative cycle to 39:43.699 --> 39:46.219 continue ideally . Long past our time 39:46.219 --> 39:47.997 in these roles because what had 39:47.997 --> 39:50.163 happened historically to contrast with 39:50.163 --> 39:52.530 that was long procurement documents 39:52.530 --> 39:55.100 were created with hundreds and hundreds 39:55.100 --> 39:57.540 of requirements that then then by the 39:57.540 --> 39:59.651 time the document was signed , it was 39:59.651 --> 40:01.873 already outdated technology and then by 40:01.873 --> 40:04.096 the time it was actually fielded it was 40:04.096 --> 40:04.060 even worse and just what we're seeing 40:04.060 --> 40:06.227 on the battlefield that will no longer 40:06.227 --> 40:08.393 work um and then just to your question 40:08.393 --> 40:11.830 of um . Uh , ATI we hope has many 40:11.830 --> 40:14.070 iterations within the buckets that I 40:14.070 --> 40:16.181 described earlier to your colleague . 40:16.510 --> 40:18.621 Many and most of those we have gotten 40:18.621 --> 40:20.621 buy-in from Secretary of Defense He 40:20.621 --> 40:22.566 Seth and the president's team . To 40:22.566 --> 40:24.610 execute on those getting no longer 40:24.610 --> 40:27.120 purchasing obsolete equipment , buying 40:27.120 --> 40:29.610 the the new things that we need to the 40:29.610 --> 40:31.850 to the merging of a lot of the things 40:31.850 --> 40:33.739 that we're gonna have and pushing 40:33.739 --> 40:35.794 people out from headquarters back to 40:35.794 --> 40:38.017 the formations that planning we we have 40:38.017 --> 40:40.072 given the order to start to make the 40:40.072 --> 40:42.294 plans . It is currently ongoing and the 40:42.294 --> 40:44.406 moment we have it , uh , clear enough 40:44.406 --> 40:46.628 to share , we , we intend to , yeah , I 40:46.628 --> 40:46.489 just think it's , it's critically 40:46.489 --> 40:48.767 important to communicate that in a way . 40:48.767 --> 40:50.933 I don't have any issue with making the 40:50.933 --> 40:53.045 transformation that's necessary . But 40:53.045 --> 40:55.100 these are people's lives . These are 40:55.100 --> 40:54.840 people's families , so don't forget 40:55.129 --> 40:57.351 that these are people's lives that that 40:57.351 --> 40:59.573 are impacted by this , but the civilian 40:59.573 --> 41:01.851 force and the uniformed Services Force , 41:01.851 --> 41:03.907 they are incredible individuals that 41:03.907 --> 41:03.870 want to , you know , to do everything 41:03.870 --> 41:06.148 they can for the nation , but you know , 41:06.148 --> 41:08.148 putting them through this period of 41:08.148 --> 41:10.314 uncertainty is , is not really fair to 41:10.314 --> 41:10.050 them . So General George , I don't know 41:10.050 --> 41:12.161 if you have anything that you want to 41:12.161 --> 41:14.383 comment on . I , I just was gonna add , 41:14.383 --> 41:14.050 Congressman . You know , we always talk 41:14.050 --> 41:16.161 about lessons if they're , you know , 41:16.161 --> 41:18.272 we're really learned , you change how 41:18.272 --> 41:20.439 you train and operate , you change how 41:20.439 --> 41:22.550 you're organized , you change how you 41:22.550 --> 41:21.850 buy things . We've talked a lot about 41:21.850 --> 41:24.072 how we buy things , how we're organized 41:24.072 --> 41:26.406 is something that we have learned . You , 41:26.406 --> 41:28.628 you mentioned our mobile brigade combat 41:28.628 --> 41:30.683 teams . What we also noticed all the 41:30.683 --> 41:32.739 way up is that we had redundancy and 41:32.739 --> 41:32.290 what we were doing and how we were 41:32.290 --> 41:34.290 bringing things to the warfighter . 41:34.290 --> 41:36.234 That was a problem . With the Army 41:36.234 --> 41:38.290 Futures Command and trade doc , uh , 41:38.290 --> 41:40.346 and challenge and how we're training 41:40.346 --> 41:42.512 our people moving forward , how do you 41:42.512 --> 41:44.512 how quickly can you train FPV drone 41:44.512 --> 41:46.623 operators , you know , what , what do 41:46.623 --> 41:48.734 you need ? The other thing that we're 41:48.734 --> 41:50.957 looking at is our business systems . We 41:50.957 --> 41:53.123 are collapsing business systems from , 41:53.123 --> 41:55.346 you know , probably by 50% , and we are 41:55.346 --> 41:55.310 gonna be much more effective . 41:55.429 --> 41:57.262 Gentleman's time expired , and I 41:57.262 --> 41:58.873 recognize the gentleman from 41:58.873 --> 42:00.873 Massachusetts , Mr . Moulton . Mr . 42:00.873 --> 42:02.707 Chairman , thank you very much . 42:02.707 --> 42:04.651 Secretary Driscoll , thank you for 42:04.651 --> 42:04.510 being here . You have a bipartisan 42:04.510 --> 42:07.030 reputation for competence and lack of 42:07.030 --> 42:09.197 criminality , which is remarkably rare 42:09.197 --> 42:11.363 in this administration , so I hope you 42:11.363 --> 42:13.308 survive , and I thank you for your 42:13.308 --> 42:15.363 service , General George , thank you 42:15.363 --> 42:17.530 for your continued service as well . I 42:17.530 --> 42:19.419 want to associate myself with the 42:19.419 --> 42:21.474 chairman's opening comments , namely 42:21.474 --> 42:21.250 our bipartisan support for 42:21.250 --> 42:23.510 modernization and for using the Marine 42:23.510 --> 42:26.500 Corps's forcesign 2030 as a model . 42:27.199 --> 42:29.255 General George , you and I last year 42:29.255 --> 42:31.255 had an extended conversation in the 42:31.255 --> 42:33.310 skiff where you argued that the army 42:33.310 --> 42:35.477 didn't need to fundamentally change in 42:35.477 --> 42:37.532 response to modern threats . I cited 42:37.532 --> 42:39.699 examples of where the Marine Corps has 42:39.699 --> 42:39.679 reduced its reliance on tanks since 42:39.679 --> 42:42.280 we've seen $10 million tanks killed by 42:42.280 --> 42:44.840 $3000 drones . And replacing 42:44.840 --> 42:47.007 traditional artillery with rockets and 42:47.007 --> 42:49.284 missiles , but you argued against this , 42:49.320 --> 42:51.376 maintaining that you need everything 42:51.376 --> 42:53.431 you have both the geostrategic level 42:53.431 --> 42:55.431 and the operational level . And now 42:55.431 --> 42:57.431 you're saying that you want to make 42:57.431 --> 42:59.431 these changes . So what has changed 42:59.431 --> 43:02.929 over the last 12 months ? Um , I'm 43:02.929 --> 43:05.040 remembering back to that conversation 43:05.040 --> 43:07.151 and I think that was very specific to 43:07.151 --> 43:09.373 tanks and , um , one of the things I do 43:09.373 --> 43:11.207 think we still need tanks on the 43:11.207 --> 43:13.373 battlefield . Congressman , I do think 43:13.373 --> 43:15.373 that we need to update our tanks to 43:15.373 --> 43:17.485 make sure that they're basically it's 43:17.485 --> 43:19.707 software defined . I've talked to a lot 43:19.707 --> 43:19.050 of people around the world that know 43:19.050 --> 43:21.106 that we're gonna need that . That is 43:21.106 --> 43:23.217 not a capability that the Marines can 43:23.217 --> 43:25.439 provide , but that is a capability that 43:25.439 --> 43:27.606 that the army will , will likely , you 43:27.606 --> 43:29.661 know , need to be able to provide if 43:29.661 --> 43:31.717 we're in that kind of situation . So 43:31.717 --> 43:33.772 you still think you exactly the same 43:33.772 --> 43:35.828 number of tanks on ATI and what came 43:35.828 --> 43:37.661 out in our announcement is we've 43:37.661 --> 43:40.024 actually . We are reducing by 3 ABCTs 43:40.024 --> 43:42.824 and um and actually converting those 43:42.824 --> 43:45.455 units um again , that's in the guard , 43:45.824 --> 43:48.864 um , to mobile brigade combat teams 43:48.864 --> 43:51.031 that we want to do that very quickly . 43:51.031 --> 43:53.142 Same with , uh , with striker brigade 43:53.142 --> 43:55.197 combat teams , but , um , I do think 43:55.197 --> 43:57.584 we're gonna need , uh , armored mobile 43:57.584 --> 43:59.751 protection , uh , you know , that what 43:59.751 --> 44:02.084 we're going through , and again this is , 44:02.084 --> 44:04.417 uh , and we're wanting to do this quick . 44:04.417 --> 44:06.528 This isn't about 2030 , this is doing 44:06.528 --> 44:08.695 this rapidly . And making sure that we 44:08.695 --> 44:10.695 can change our formations . I think 44:10.695 --> 44:12.751 since that conversation we also have 44:12.751 --> 44:15.219 been um investing in drones , putting 44:15.219 --> 44:18.229 them in our formations , investing in 44:18.229 --> 44:19.951 autonomous systems that can do 44:19.951 --> 44:22.062 breaching . I think we're still gonna 44:22.062 --> 44:24.118 have to do all of those things we're 44:24.118 --> 44:25.951 seeing all of that on the modern 44:25.951 --> 44:28.007 battlefield right now . How how does 44:28.007 --> 44:27.790 the army's needs in the Pacific differ 44:27.790 --> 44:29.901 from those in Europe ? What role will 44:29.901 --> 44:32.669 tanks play in the Pacific ? Well , I 44:32.669 --> 44:34.725 can tell you that , uh , I know that 44:34.725 --> 44:37.350 the PLA , uh , has tanks . I mean 44:37.350 --> 44:39.517 people have tanks around the world . I 44:39.517 --> 44:41.572 think we need to be prepared with it 44:41.572 --> 44:43.739 again . We always talk about the great 44:43.739 --> 44:46.639 army Army is like the army is a global , 44:46.709 --> 44:48.820 it's a global army . I think that was 44:48.820 --> 44:51.042 brought up here earlier . We need to be 44:51.042 --> 44:52.987 ready to go where pacing is in the 44:52.987 --> 44:55.153 Pacific , right ? Excuse me the pacing 44:55.153 --> 44:57.320 threat is in the Pacific . No argument 44:57.320 --> 44:59.487 on the pacing threat . OK , then let's 44:59.487 --> 45:01.709 make sure our forces are designed to to 45:01.709 --> 45:03.765 to aim for the pacing threat and not 45:03.765 --> 45:05.765 continue to be calibrated to an old 45:05.765 --> 45:07.931 threat in Europe . It's great that the 45:07.931 --> 45:09.987 PLA has a lot of stuff that we don't 45:09.987 --> 45:12.153 have . I'd love to kill million dollar 45:12.153 --> 45:15.179 tanks from the PLA with $1000 drones 45:15.179 --> 45:17.830 from the United States . Fundamentally , 45:17.840 --> 45:20.040 why is the army 5 years behind the 45:20.040 --> 45:22.151 Marine Corps in this transformation , 45:22.151 --> 45:25.830 Secretary Driscoll . I , I , I think 45:25.830 --> 45:27.997 one of the first things General George 45:27.997 --> 45:30.274 and I did is we went to the West Coast , 45:30.274 --> 45:32.386 um , we , we , we went to JBLM , went 45:32.386 --> 45:34.608 to Seattle , talked to Microsoft , went 45:34.608 --> 45:36.497 to Silicon Valley and hit open AI 45:36.497 --> 45:36.300 Google . Just asking , why are you so 45:36.300 --> 45:38.522 far behind the Marine Corps ? So what , 45:38.522 --> 45:40.889 what we saw on that , um , visit was , 45:40.939 --> 45:43.161 I think that the United States Army had 45:43.161 --> 45:45.217 done a , it had a lot of bureaucracy 45:45.217 --> 45:47.383 that got in the way of doing the right 45:47.383 --> 45:49.383 thing . And I think um what we have 45:49.383 --> 45:51.550 tried to do is take the best practices 45:51.550 --> 45:53.717 from the Marine Corps's transition and 45:53.717 --> 45:55.772 try to implement those as quickly as 45:55.772 --> 45:57.772 possible . I appreciate that . uh , 45:57.772 --> 45:59.661 General George , on to the , uh , 45:59.661 --> 45:59.199 birthday parade where you're gonna have 45:59.199 --> 46:01.520 24 main battle tanks and 48 armored 46:01.520 --> 46:03.464 vehicles rolling down Pennsylvania 46:03.464 --> 46:05.409 Avenue as if it were North Korea , 46:05.409 --> 46:07.639 Russia , or China . What is the total 46:07.639 --> 46:10.919 cost to the unit at Fort Caravas of 46:10.919 --> 46:13.159 moving these vehicles to and from DC 46:13.159 --> 46:16.429 for the parade ? Um , congressman , I 46:16.429 --> 46:18.485 don't know the specific cost of that 46:18.485 --> 46:20.707 one movement . Well , I guess the total 46:20.707 --> 46:23.290 cost is $45 million . So would it be 46:23.290 --> 46:25.457 safe to say about $10 million just for 46:25.457 --> 46:27.659 that movement ? I , I wouldn't , I 46:27.659 --> 46:29.659 would hesitate to give you an exact 46:29.659 --> 46:31.770 number of what that movement cost . I 46:31.770 --> 46:33.826 mean , we have , I think , been very 46:33.826 --> 46:36.159 public in what it is that we expect the , 46:36.159 --> 46:38.437 um , the parade to cost , uh , overall . 46:38.459 --> 46:41.320 We are we are to our army birthday next 46:41.320 --> 46:43.620 year have you included to DC roads and 46:43.620 --> 46:46.189 that . Estimate . We have included , we 46:46.189 --> 46:48.189 have put out an estimate of what we 46:48.189 --> 46:50.245 think everything will cost Secretary 46:50.245 --> 46:52.245 Driscoll , you said in your opening 46:52.245 --> 46:51.800 statement that it is your 46:51.800 --> 46:53.800 responsibility to ensure that every 46:53.800 --> 46:56.022 dollar the army receives contributes to 46:56.022 --> 46:58.189 defending this nation and for us all . 46:58.189 --> 47:00.078 How does the parade contribute to 47:00.078 --> 47:02.300 defending the nation ? Congressman , we 47:02.300 --> 47:01.560 think it's an incredible once in a 47:01.560 --> 47:03.504 lifetime opportunity to expand our 47:03.504 --> 47:05.560 recruiting pool and tell the amazing 47:05.560 --> 47:07.782 story of the United States Army and the 47:07.782 --> 47:09.782 impact that it's had on the lives . 47:09.782 --> 47:09.520 Gentleman's time expired . Chair and I 47:09.520 --> 47:11.687 recognize the gentleman from Georgia , 47:11.687 --> 47:13.964 Mr . Scott . Thank you , Mr . Chairman . 47:13.964 --> 47:15.909 Gentlemen , welcome , uh , General 47:15.909 --> 47:17.909 George , you've heard me talk about 47:17.909 --> 47:19.687 this before , uh , Army Special 47:19.687 --> 47:21.631 Operations recruiting the 18 X-ray 47:21.631 --> 47:23.687 program . Uh , I'm concerned about a 47:23.687 --> 47:26.310 couple of specific instances where D1 47:26.310 --> 47:28.949 athletes that I know , uh , were not 47:28.949 --> 47:31.300 allowed to participate in the 18X 47:31.300 --> 47:33.590 program because they had , in one 47:33.590 --> 47:35.868 example , it was a piece of plastic in , 47:35.868 --> 47:38.090 in an ankle . These are , uh , I mean , 47:38.090 --> 47:40.201 when we're , when we're talking about 47:40.201 --> 47:42.479 athletes that are playing D one sports , 47:42.479 --> 47:42.429 more oftentimes than not , they're 47:42.429 --> 47:45.899 gonna have some type of , of injury and , 47:46.149 --> 47:48.429 uh , just want to encourage that we 47:48.429 --> 47:50.709 have flexibility in that 18 X-ray 47:50.709 --> 47:53.439 program so that these people that Have 47:53.439 --> 47:55.383 been able to perform at these high 47:55.383 --> 47:57.606 levels are allowed in and that we don't 47:57.606 --> 47:59.661 have this , they call it Genesis . I 47:59.661 --> 48:02.229 call it Exodus program , uh , kicking 48:02.229 --> 48:04.396 the very people out that we need going 48:04.396 --> 48:06.451 into our special operations forces . 48:06.830 --> 48:08.669 Just , um , one comment I think 48:08.669 --> 48:10.836 yesterday , uh , congressman , um , we 48:10.836 --> 48:12.947 got an update on recruiting and again 48:12.947 --> 48:15.113 we can look at this on our dashboard . 48:15.113 --> 48:18.189 I think we're over 99% or 18 X-ray for 48:18.189 --> 48:20.411 this year . So again , and we expect to 48:20.411 --> 48:22.578 get it's very important population for 48:22.578 --> 48:25.030 us . It's one of the 16 that the 48:25.030 --> 48:27.510 secretary and I track in in detail . So 48:27.510 --> 48:29.732 every time we get a recruiting update . 48:29.732 --> 48:31.439 I wouldn't argue one of the 48:31.439 --> 48:33.606 conversations we also just had was how 48:33.606 --> 48:35.772 are we , you know , look , we can look 48:35.772 --> 48:37.939 back into people's past much further . 48:37.939 --> 48:39.939 Um , to your comment on making sure 48:39.939 --> 48:41.939 that you know people that have been 48:41.939 --> 48:44.050 athletes , we have the waiver process 48:44.050 --> 48:44.030 and we got that , so we are definitely 48:44.030 --> 48:46.363 looking at that . And , and Congressman , 48:46.363 --> 48:48.586 I would just say what we've tried to do 48:48.586 --> 48:50.586 is , and this is back to the end of 48:50.586 --> 48:52.697 Tent Booker remark , we are trying to 48:52.697 --> 48:54.530 hold a mirror up and when we are 48:54.530 --> 48:56.641 inadequate , uh , we wanna say it and 48:56.641 --> 48:58.752 we wanna fix it . Our Genesis program 48:58.752 --> 48:58.360 is inadequate . Our waiver program is 48:58.360 --> 49:00.471 inadequate , and we are trying to fix 49:00.471 --> 49:02.582 it . And , and of all of the comments 49:02.582 --> 49:04.804 that you've made , uh , it was , it was 49:04.804 --> 49:07.027 refreshing to hear somebody say , hey , 49:07.027 --> 49:10.530 um . We , we already made a mistake in , 49:10.649 --> 49:12.871 in buying this system and we don't need 49:12.871 --> 49:15.093 it and we're going to cancel it because 49:15.093 --> 49:17.149 what I've seen over the last several 49:17.149 --> 49:16.969 years that I've been in Congress is , 49:17.080 --> 49:19.080 is we're going to spend whatever it 49:19.080 --> 49:21.989 takes to , To make a system work that 49:22.310 --> 49:24.532 in many cases we don't need , and , and 49:24.532 --> 49:26.699 I think if you look at the bureaucracy 49:26.699 --> 49:28.699 that surrounded the purchase of a 9 49:28.699 --> 49:28.669 millimeter pistol where it took 10 49:28.669 --> 49:31.949 years to pick , um , a pistol , which 49:31.949 --> 49:34.290 is a fine pistol , but the majority of 49:34.290 --> 49:36.457 the special forces teams that are able 49:36.457 --> 49:38.699 to pick their own weapon . Pick one 49:38.699 --> 49:41.032 that was readily available 10 years ago , 49:41.139 --> 49:43.540 uh , and , and they blame that on 49:43.540 --> 49:45.620 Congress , by the way , when , when 49:45.620 --> 49:47.731 ultimately it was the the bureaucracy 49:47.731 --> 49:50.020 in the Pentagon and , and the 49:50.500 --> 49:52.500 purchasing requirements that led to 49:52.500 --> 49:54.556 that . Yes , sir . I mean we've been 49:54.556 --> 49:56.611 incredibly risk averse as the United 49:56.611 --> 49:58.939 States Army , um , when General George 49:58.939 --> 50:00.883 and I talk about it , um , there's 50:00.883 --> 50:03.050 something called the caliracci paradox 50:03.050 --> 50:05.050 which is basically this idea . That 50:05.050 --> 50:07.161 humans are willing to uh take on risk 50:07.161 --> 50:09.439 for extra utility or happiness and joy , 50:09.439 --> 50:11.495 and we , the United States Army have 50:11.495 --> 50:13.717 done the opposite of that , and we have 50:13.717 --> 50:15.828 done a very poor job of uh being more 50:15.828 --> 50:15.425 risk loving than our civilian 50:15.425 --> 50:17.592 counterparts . I agree with you . So , 50:17.592 --> 50:19.814 so let's talk about it from the counter 50:19.814 --> 50:21.869 drawing investments . We know how to 50:21.869 --> 50:21.584 build them . We know how to , we've 50:21.584 --> 50:23.806 watched the Ukrainians do what they can 50:23.806 --> 50:26.028 do with them . We watched what they can 50:26.028 --> 50:27.917 do with the Russians . How do you 50:27.917 --> 50:30.959 envision . The investment in the 50:30.959 --> 50:34.360 counter drone measures moving 50:34.360 --> 50:37.780 forward with the private sector . So , 50:37.790 --> 50:39.846 so this is one of the things we talk 50:39.846 --> 50:42.310 about a lot and a lot of the technology 50:42.310 --> 50:44.429 needs to be scaled to figure out what 50:44.429 --> 50:46.949 is the right place on the cost curve in 50:46.949 --> 50:49.171 order to shoot something down and , and 50:49.171 --> 50:51.338 back to generative AI , the ability to 50:51.338 --> 50:52.949 process all of this data and 50:52.949 --> 50:55.005 information really quickly to figure 50:55.005 --> 50:57.116 out should you fire a 50 cal round at 50:57.116 --> 50:59.227 it or a $4 million . Exquisite , uh , 50:59.227 --> 51:01.338 defense tool . We , the United States 51:01.338 --> 51:03.560 Army are incredibly wealthy , but , but 51:03.560 --> 51:05.505 that is a hard portion and so what 51:05.505 --> 51:07.727 we're trying to do is develop solutions 51:07.727 --> 51:10.060 all , all along the cost curve . So I'm , 51:10.060 --> 51:09.804 I'm down to about a minute , but , but 51:09.804 --> 51:11.925 my vision on , on , on counter drone 51:11.925 --> 51:14.147 doesn't , doesn't involve , uh , taking 51:14.147 --> 51:16.369 it down with a projectile as much as it 51:16.369 --> 51:19.739 involves . Spectrum and other things 51:19.739 --> 51:22.860 that disrupt its ability to 51:24.229 --> 51:26.750 To reach its target , can I , um , it's 51:26.750 --> 51:28.917 gonna be , it's gonna be a combination 51:28.917 --> 51:31.194 of those things , Congressman . I mean , 51:31.194 --> 51:33.361 to the secretary's point , when you're 51:33.361 --> 51:32.590 looking at cost curve and you're 51:32.590 --> 51:34.701 looking at a bullet and you know we , 51:34.701 --> 51:37.110 it's cheap to do that and you may use 51:37.110 --> 51:39.332 other systems like we have a laser that 51:39.332 --> 51:41.388 can identify where to shoot that one 51:41.550 --> 51:43.550 particular bullet . So I think it's 51:43.550 --> 51:45.661 gonna be a combination we are looking 51:45.661 --> 51:47.439 at EW . there's obviously power 51:47.439 --> 51:49.550 challenges with that . We are looking 51:49.550 --> 51:51.383 at high power microwave . We are 51:51.383 --> 51:53.383 looking at EW . And just like we're 51:53.383 --> 51:55.606 talking about transforming in contact , 51:55.606 --> 51:57.717 we're getting it forward , testing it 51:57.717 --> 51:59.939 everywhere that we can . We have a very 51:59.939 --> 52:01.994 big exercise in Europe , um , called 52:01.994 --> 52:04.530 flytrap that's this month and next that 52:04.530 --> 52:06.752 we are having industry as being down to 52:06.752 --> 52:08.974 5 seconds . I , I respect both of you . 52:08.974 --> 52:11.141 I do hope we're also , uh , looking at 52:11.141 --> 52:13.030 the Israeli sys laser system that 52:13.030 --> 52:14.974 they've put in place and , and the 52:14.974 --> 52:17.086 potential to bring that into the US . 52:17.086 --> 52:18.974 Great , I would point out that we 52:18.974 --> 52:20.752 helped pay for the research and 52:20.752 --> 52:22.863 development on that , uh , that laser 52:22.863 --> 52:25.086 research . We , we are gonna get a good 52:25.086 --> 52:27.141 deal , uh , but Israel is doing some 52:27.141 --> 52:29.030 phenomenal work on that iron beam 52:29.030 --> 52:31.030 technology . With that I recognized 52:31.030 --> 52:30.889 gentleman from Connecticut , Mr . 52:30.969 --> 52:32.802 Courtney . Thank you , uh , Mr . 52:32.802 --> 52:34.525 Chairman and thank you to both 52:34.525 --> 52:36.525 witnesses for , for being here this 52:36.525 --> 52:38.525 morning . I just wanna again follow 52:38.525 --> 52:40.691 briefly about . The comments the chair 52:40.691 --> 52:42.913 made uh about the budget process that's 52:42.913 --> 52:42.840 here , I mean , as we sit here today on 52:42.840 --> 52:44.840 June 4th , we're less than 4 months 52:44.840 --> 52:47.007 away from the start of the fiscal year 52:47.007 --> 52:49.062 and uh my staff actually did do some 52:49.062 --> 52:51.284 digging and if the budget was submitted 52:51.284 --> 52:53.396 today , which it hasn't , then , uh , 52:53.396 --> 52:55.284 that would still by itself be the 52:55.284 --> 52:57.396 latest budget submission in history , 52:57.396 --> 52:59.618 um , and certainly in in modern history 52:59.618 --> 53:01.729 as far as um the budget process . You 53:01.729 --> 53:04.062 know , the chair I think described , uh , 53:04.062 --> 53:06.284 very well that this , this committee is 53:06.284 --> 53:08.451 straining at the leash to get going in 53:08.451 --> 53:11.070 terms of getting , um , a mark for NDAA , 53:11.080 --> 53:13.429 and I know the appropriators are trying 53:13.429 --> 53:15.651 to sort of cobble together some type of 53:15.651 --> 53:17.873 appropriation process , but you're kind 53:17.873 --> 53:19.985 of shadow boxing at this point , uh , 53:19.985 --> 53:22.096 without a budget and again the two of 53:22.096 --> 53:24.262 you are not the the decision makers in 53:24.262 --> 53:26.439 terms of the . That final um release , 53:26.520 --> 53:28.409 but again I just think we have to 53:28.409 --> 53:30.576 continue to publicly pound away at the 53:30.576 --> 53:32.798 fact that um the OMB's gotta get moving 53:32.798 --> 53:34.798 and get that that document . I mean 53:34.798 --> 53:36.964 we're doomed at this point in terms of 53:36.964 --> 53:38.909 avoiding a CR . It , it , it seems 53:38.909 --> 53:41.020 pretty clear , uh , at this point and 53:41.020 --> 53:43.020 that doesn't help anybody , um , in 53:43.020 --> 53:45.131 terms of the mission that that you're 53:45.131 --> 53:47.464 trying to carry out again I just really , 53:47.464 --> 53:49.409 uh , Mr . Driscoll , I have just a 53:49.409 --> 53:51.550 quick question regarding , um . The , 53:51.639 --> 53:55.000 um , Flora uh program which again went 53:55.000 --> 53:57.167 through an excruciating process , um , 53:57.167 --> 53:59.278 and you know the decision's been made 53:59.278 --> 54:01.444 and it's time to obviously move out in 54:01.444 --> 54:03.389 terms of the , the that helicopter 54:03.389 --> 54:05.520 program again , the optimistic 54:05.520 --> 54:08.919 estimates are 2028 for delivery , you 54:08.919 --> 54:11.550 know , I think some of the more other , 54:11.879 --> 54:14.129 uh , guarded , uh , uh , predictions 54:14.129 --> 54:16.580 are 2030 . Uh , in the meantime , I 54:16.580 --> 54:18.691 mean , Black Hawks , um , are still , 54:18.699 --> 54:20.921 um , uh , you know , carrying out their 54:20.921 --> 54:22.866 mission . There was , uh , in last 54:22.866 --> 54:25.032 year's budget , uh , request for about 54:25.032 --> 54:27.143 24 , I believe , um , units , um , in 54:27.143 --> 54:29.255 that program , and again I think that 54:29.255 --> 54:31.477 at the time Flower was awarded , it was 54:31.477 --> 54:33.588 pretty clear it was gonna be a mix of 54:33.588 --> 54:35.810 the two in terms of , of that and I , I 54:35.810 --> 54:38.032 just would want to get your thoughts in 54:38.032 --> 54:40.255 terms of where you see that . That sort 54:40.255 --> 54:42.366 of formula , uh , today , yeah , so , 54:42.366 --> 54:44.532 um , great question , Congressman . So 54:44.532 --> 54:46.699 Flora is an incredible example I think 54:46.699 --> 54:48.810 of , uh , the army getting in its own 54:48.810 --> 54:51.060 way . The first demo or prototype or um 54:51.060 --> 54:53.860 exhibitor was flown in 2018 . Everybody 54:53.860 --> 54:56.082 loved it and we're sitting here in 2025 54:56.082 --> 54:58.219 without one . there's no other way to 54:58.219 --> 55:00.386 describe that than a failure . I think 55:00.386 --> 55:02.590 from where we sit today what General 55:02.590 --> 55:04.757 George and I have uh said to the floor 55:04.757 --> 55:07.189 manufacturers is this is an incredible 55:07.189 --> 55:09.300 opportunity to show America's might , 55:09.300 --> 55:11.300 America's strength , our ability to 55:11.300 --> 55:13.300 build things quickly . We need this 55:13.300 --> 55:15.467 asset and we need it now and so we did 55:15.467 --> 55:17.689 a call last week with the . CEOs of the 55:17.689 --> 55:19.856 vast majority of the subcomponents and 55:19.856 --> 55:21.745 what we are trying to do is set a 55:21.745 --> 55:23.967 stretch goal to have the first one roll 55:23.967 --> 55:26.189 off the line in one year . I don't know 55:26.189 --> 55:28.356 that we will hit it , but we are gonna 55:28.356 --> 55:30.467 do our , uh , darndest to try to show 55:30.467 --> 55:29.989 that we can do things quickly as a 55:29.989 --> 55:32.211 nation again . I think to your question 55:32.211 --> 55:34.322 on Black Hawks , nearly everything we 55:34.322 --> 55:36.433 are talking about in ATI and with our 55:36.433 --> 55:39.679 purchasing goals is um we believe that 55:39.679 --> 55:43.439 we are over indexed on exquisite slower 55:43.439 --> 55:45.661 pieces of equipment and what we have to 55:45.661 --> 55:48.514 do is design things that will pull . Us 55:48.514 --> 55:50.681 more towards some balance that balance 55:50.681 --> 55:52.915 will have autonomy so Flora could be 55:52.915 --> 55:55.415 flown autonomously . Black Hawks today 55:55.415 --> 55:57.582 cannot um we don't know what the right 55:57.582 --> 55:59.582 mix is , but we do know that we are 55:59.582 --> 56:01.748 just overindexed on these other things 56:01.748 --> 56:03.526 and so I think the work of this 56:03.526 --> 56:05.359 committee and us will be to have 56:05.359 --> 56:07.304 productive and , uh , um , tension 56:07.304 --> 56:09.415 filled conversations about where that 56:09.415 --> 56:11.582 right balance is going forward . Thank 56:11.582 --> 56:12.693 you , you're back . 56:15.590 --> 56:18.100 Uh , Chair , gentlemen , Lee , uh , 56:18.169 --> 56:20.058 yields back . Chair , I recognize 56:20.058 --> 56:21.891 General Lee from New York , Ms . 56:21.891 --> 56:24.058 Stefanik . Thank you , Mr . Chairman . 56:24.058 --> 56:23.989 Thank you , gentlemen for being here 56:23.989 --> 56:26.156 today . Secretary Driscoll , thank you 56:26.156 --> 56:28.045 for your service to our country , 56:28.045 --> 56:29.822 particularly your service in my 56:29.822 --> 56:32.045 district at Fort Drum . Uh , you know , 56:32.045 --> 56:33.878 you're well aware of Fort Drum's 56:33.878 --> 56:36.045 strategic importance and modernization 56:36.045 --> 56:38.267 efforts for the Army and how vital they 56:38.267 --> 56:40.489 are for our nation's readiness . Nearly 56:40.489 --> 56:42.545 every facet of the Wheeler Sack Army 56:42.545 --> 56:44.767 airfield has been modernized to support 56:44.767 --> 56:46.711 a rapid deployment force , and the 56:46.711 --> 56:48.489 airfield . 10,000 ft runway can 56:48.489 --> 56:50.656 accommodate any aircraft in the US Air 56:50.656 --> 56:52.770 Force inventory matching DOD's air 56:52.770 --> 56:54.850 defense capabilities to threats and 56:54.850 --> 56:57.290 deterring our enemies . Today , Fort 56:57.290 --> 56:59.449 Drum's Wheeler Sack Army Airfield has 56:59.449 --> 57:01.929 unfortunately a failing electric power 57:01.929 --> 57:04.096 system . And it's currently programmed 57:04.096 --> 57:07.229 for funding for FY 27 . I reached out 57:07.229 --> 57:09.120 to you via a letter about the 57:09.120 --> 57:11.287 importance of this issue , and I would 57:11.287 --> 57:13.453 just like your commitment to work with 57:13.453 --> 57:15.453 us about potentially moving up that 57:15.453 --> 57:18.040 critical funding to FY26 . Uh 57:18.040 --> 57:20.096 congresswoman , I deployed from that 57:20.096 --> 57:22.262 runway , uh , so I know it well . Um , 57:22.262 --> 57:24.373 I , I commit that we will take a look 57:24.373 --> 57:26.318 at it and follow back up with your 57:26.318 --> 57:28.484 office . Thank you so much . um Fort . 57:28.484 --> 57:30.484 has relied on energy from the local 57:30.484 --> 57:32.540 power grid since closing its on Post 57:32.540 --> 57:34.596 energy facility in 2023 . This is an 57:34.596 --> 57:36.818 issue my office has been engaged in for 57:36.818 --> 57:36.814 a number of years . The Army Corps of 57:36.814 --> 57:38.703 Engineers determined that a small 57:38.703 --> 57:41.495 modular reactor would be an optimal 57:41.495 --> 57:43.495 option to supply Fort Drum's energy 57:43.495 --> 57:45.662 needs . This is an issue that I worked 57:45.662 --> 57:47.828 with my colleague Congresswoman Tenney 57:47.828 --> 57:49.939 who shares Jefferson County with me , 57:49.939 --> 57:51.939 uh , in terms of representation . I 57:51.939 --> 57:54.051 would just like your commitment today 57:54.051 --> 57:56.273 to work with our offices to ensure Fort 57:56.273 --> 57:58.495 Drum returns to energy independence and 57:58.495 --> 58:00.439 security , including the potential 58:00.439 --> 58:02.273 deployment of this small modular 58:02.273 --> 58:04.439 reactor to the installation as soon as 58:04.439 --> 58:06.106 possible . Um , same answer , 58:06.106 --> 58:08.273 Congresswoman . I commit we'll look at 58:08.273 --> 58:10.273 it and follow up quickly . Uh , and 58:10.273 --> 58:13.469 then lastly , in a previous NDAA , my 58:13.469 --> 58:15.636 office worked to secure provision that 58:15.636 --> 58:18.669 required DOD to review their ability to 58:18.669 --> 58:21.030 conduct electronic warfare training and 58:21.030 --> 58:23.270 leverage this defense ecosystem in 58:23.270 --> 58:25.326 upstate New York that we have helped 58:25.326 --> 58:27.899 developed between Fort Drum and the Air 58:27.899 --> 58:30.121 Force Research Lab in Rome , New York , 58:30.121 --> 58:32.288 which I also represent . This has been 58:32.288 --> 58:34.455 an ideal environment and it led to the 58:34.455 --> 58:36.621 Army's decision to choose Fort Drum to 58:36.621 --> 58:39.070 host the 2nd . Multi-domain task force 58:39.070 --> 58:43.000 in 2025 and the PEO 58:43.000 --> 58:45.229 IEWNS is incredible work to partner 58:45.229 --> 58:47.520 with AFRL's Future Flag series of 58:47.520 --> 58:49.353 limited experimentation which we 58:49.353 --> 58:51.576 strongly supported and has led to great 58:51.576 --> 58:53.631 tactical outcomes . Can you speak to 58:53.631 --> 58:55.959 the importance of placing as much of 58:55.959 --> 58:58.360 the second multi-domain task force at 58:58.360 --> 59:00.600 Forttrum as possible to leverage this 59:00.600 --> 59:02.800 unique experimentation that will be 59:02.800 --> 59:05.120 continued between Rome and all the 59:05.120 --> 59:08.810 great work we're doing there ? Either 59:09.649 --> 59:11.149 I'll jump in on that one , 59:11.360 --> 59:13.416 Congresswoman , um , first , I think 59:13.416 --> 59:15.527 you know we did the big exercise last 59:15.527 --> 59:17.749 November , you know , up there , so I'm 59:17.749 --> 59:19.860 really proud of what 10th Mountain is 59:19.860 --> 59:21.916 one of been one of our most deployed 59:21.916 --> 59:21.729 units anywhere in the army , and 59:21.729 --> 59:24.070 they're doing a phenomenal job , um , 59:24.080 --> 59:26.302 right now , General Nam and , um , down 59:26.302 --> 59:28.247 on the border . I think what we're 59:28.247 --> 59:30.358 looking at is that every installation 59:30.358 --> 59:32.524 is gonna have to do what we started to 59:32.524 --> 59:34.580 do , you know , that you have helped 59:34.580 --> 59:36.580 with up at up at Drum . We're gonna 59:36.580 --> 59:38.580 have to be able to train EW . We're 59:38.580 --> 59:40.691 gonna have to be able to train drones 59:40.691 --> 59:42.858 and and working through that , um , so 59:42.858 --> 59:45.080 we're gonna have to expand all of those 59:45.080 --> 59:47.247 systems and we're certainly looking on 59:47.247 --> 59:49.469 this on the stationing we can come over 59:49.469 --> 59:51.524 and talk to you about that , um , in 59:51.524 --> 59:53.469 detail right now . I don't know if 59:53.469 --> 59:55.709 we've , uh . Made any changes or uh 59:55.709 --> 59:57.931 finalized any of that but happy to come 59:57.931 --> 59:59.820 over and walk you through that in 59:59.820 --> 01:00:01.653 detail I appreciate that this is 01:00:01.653 --> 01:00:03.653 something , yes , I appreciate that 01:00:03.653 --> 01:00:03.189 this is something my office has 01:00:03.189 --> 01:00:05.356 advocated for for a number of years to 01:00:05.356 --> 01:00:07.090 develop this defense ecosystem 01:00:07.090 --> 01:00:08.923 specifically in upstate New York 01:00:08.923 --> 01:00:10.868 because of our unique capabilities 01:00:10.868 --> 01:00:13.034 because of both Fort Drum but also the 01:00:13.034 --> 01:00:14.923 emerging technology that research 01:00:14.923 --> 01:00:17.060 that's being conducted at Rome AFRL . 01:00:17.510 --> 01:00:19.232 Um , I also wanna invite you , 01:00:19.239 --> 01:00:21.295 Secretary Driscoll to come . Back to 01:00:21.295 --> 01:00:23.139 Fort Drum . Uh , I've hosted the 01:00:23.139 --> 01:00:25.472 president there where he signed an NDAA . 01:00:25.472 --> 01:00:27.472 I've hosted previous Secretaries of 01:00:27.472 --> 01:00:29.195 Defense . I've hosted previous 01:00:29.195 --> 01:00:31.306 Secretaries of the Army , and I would 01:00:31.306 --> 01:00:30.969 love to host , uh , and welcome you 01:00:30.969 --> 01:00:33.191 back to Fort Drum . Uh , it would be an 01:00:33.191 --> 01:00:35.247 absolute honor . Uh , my exo who was 01:00:35.247 --> 01:00:37.413 working with me , uh , when I got into 01:00:37.413 --> 01:00:39.747 office , just went up there and so , uh , 01:00:39.747 --> 01:00:41.913 I would be delighted to visit her with 01:00:41.913 --> 01:00:41.429 you . Great , thank you . I'll take you 01:00:41.429 --> 01:00:43.040 up on that and you'll back . 01:00:43.040 --> 01:00:44.707 Gentlelay's back here and I'm 01:00:44.707 --> 01:00:46.873 recognized gentleman from California , 01:00:46.873 --> 01:00:48.707 Mr . Carvajal . Thank you , Mr . 01:00:48.707 --> 01:00:50.929 Chairman . Uh , the army is fighting an 01:00:50.929 --> 01:00:53.096 internal battle with trying to balance 01:00:53.096 --> 01:00:55.040 modernization efforts with current 01:00:55.040 --> 01:00:57.096 needs . It seems that the army would 01:00:57.096 --> 01:00:59.207 like to modernize , but the system is 01:00:59.207 --> 01:01:01.373 slow to change . General George , what 01:01:01.373 --> 01:01:03.596 do you see as the army's most important 01:01:03.596 --> 01:01:06.399 asset ? Uh , I would say it's our 01:01:06.399 --> 01:01:08.879 people , Congressman , without a doubt , 01:01:09.000 --> 01:01:11.229 number one , for us and where we have 01:01:11.229 --> 01:01:13.340 to consistently focus is why we're so 01:01:13.340 --> 01:01:15.285 pleased with what we're doing with 01:01:15.285 --> 01:01:17.719 recruiting and why we're focused as as 01:01:17.719 --> 01:01:20.360 we are on making sure that we're also 01:01:20.360 --> 01:01:22.469 adapting them we're proud of what 01:01:22.469 --> 01:01:24.469 they're doing we're getting a great 01:01:24.469 --> 01:01:26.770 group in . Thank you , great answer . I 01:01:26.770 --> 01:01:29.600 agree with you uh in your testimony you 01:01:29.600 --> 01:01:31.879 mentioned that you are investing in 01:01:31.889 --> 01:01:34.199 installations including prioritizing 01:01:34.199 --> 01:01:36.409 barracks . It was recently reported 01:01:36.409 --> 01:01:38.530 that $1 billion of funding meant for 01:01:38.530 --> 01:01:41.290 barrack renovations is being redirected 01:01:41.290 --> 01:01:43.512 to the mission at the southern border . 01:01:43.810 --> 01:01:45.699 Will taking funding away from the 01:01:45.699 --> 01:01:47.754 barracks delay the timeline in which 01:01:47.754 --> 01:01:49.810 they are upgraded ? And do you think 01:01:49.810 --> 01:01:51.921 postponing these types of renovations 01:01:51.921 --> 01:01:54.370 will have an impact on the morale and 01:01:54.370 --> 01:01:58.360 retention ? Um , first , I mean , I 01:01:58.360 --> 01:02:00.949 just want to mention the retention word 01:02:00.949 --> 01:02:03.060 kind of triggered me here . We're , I 01:02:03.060 --> 01:02:05.270 think at 6 months in we met our 01:02:05.270 --> 01:02:07.492 retention goals for this year as well , 01:02:07.492 --> 01:02:09.826 so we're doing very well with retention . 01:02:09.826 --> 01:02:11.937 Um , of course we want to continue to 01:02:11.937 --> 01:02:14.103 improve our barracks and we're , we're 01:02:14.103 --> 01:02:15.992 gonna continue to do that . We've 01:02:15.992 --> 01:02:18.159 talked about that . A lot . I do think 01:02:18.159 --> 01:02:17.879 that that's another area we can 01:02:17.879 --> 01:02:20.250 probably spend our money better , um , 01:02:20.260 --> 01:02:22.159 in that there's a lot of uh 01:02:22.159 --> 01:02:24.381 restrictions that we have as far as how 01:02:24.381 --> 01:02:27.219 we're our costs are like 68% higher 01:02:27.520 --> 01:02:29.520 than what you would get outside the 01:02:29.520 --> 01:02:31.631 gate . We are looking at , um , we've 01:02:31.631 --> 01:02:33.687 done 3D printing and that's happened 01:02:33.687 --> 01:02:35.853 down in Texas of barracks that I think 01:02:35.853 --> 01:02:38.239 we can provide great . Systems beyond 01:02:38.239 --> 01:02:40.183 that I think what we're looking at 01:02:40.183 --> 01:02:42.739 holistically is that every installation 01:02:42.739 --> 01:02:44.961 is different and every installation has 01:02:44.961 --> 01:02:47.610 different requirements um when I was at 01:02:47.610 --> 01:02:50.080 up at Lewis , very different than you 01:02:50.080 --> 01:02:52.247 know than it is at Bragg and so that's 01:02:52.247 --> 01:02:54.580 where we're trying to be very . General , 01:02:54.580 --> 01:02:56.858 I appreciate the extensive uh response , 01:02:56.858 --> 01:02:59.110 but will redirecting a billion dollars 01:02:59.639 --> 01:03:01.679 impact the ability to do the 01:03:01.679 --> 01:03:04.669 renovations at the barracks ? It's just 01:03:04.669 --> 01:03:06.429 a yes or no answer . Obviously 01:03:06.429 --> 01:03:08.651 redirecting has an impact . You have to 01:03:08.651 --> 01:03:10.651 make choices , Congressman . So the 01:03:10.651 --> 01:03:14.610 answer is yes . If we took a billion 01:03:14.610 --> 01:03:16.721 dollars out of barracks , we would be 01:03:16.721 --> 01:03:18.943 able to fix less barracks . Thank you . 01:03:18.943 --> 01:03:20.832 That's what I was looking for and 01:03:20.832 --> 01:03:22.777 Congressman , uh , that this is an 01:03:22.777 --> 01:03:24.943 issue that it's OK . I'll get to you . 01:03:24.943 --> 01:03:27.221 I , I got the answer I was looking for . 01:03:27.221 --> 01:03:29.277 Secretary Driscoll . I assume you're 01:03:29.277 --> 01:03:31.221 aware of a parade coming up , uh , 01:03:31.221 --> 01:03:32.943 celebrating the birthday which 01:03:32.943 --> 01:03:34.888 coincides with another interesting 01:03:34.888 --> 01:03:37.129 birthday . The estimated cost of this 01:03:37.129 --> 01:03:40.409 is $45 million . It is interesting . It 01:03:40.409 --> 01:03:42.409 is an interesting time to spend 45 01:03:42.409 --> 01:03:44.330 million on a parade when all the 01:03:44.330 --> 01:03:47.610 services are subject to an 8% budget 01:03:47.610 --> 01:03:50.870 cut . If Congress wrote the Army a 01:03:50.870 --> 01:03:54.139 $45 million blank check , do you think 01:03:54.139 --> 01:03:56.195 you could find a better way to spend 01:03:56.195 --> 01:03:58.250 that money than a parade ? And could 01:03:58.250 --> 01:04:00.750 $45 million deliver any quality of life 01:04:00.750 --> 01:04:02.969 improvements or capabilities that the 01:04:02.969 --> 01:04:06.429 war fighters need ? Congressman , very 01:04:06.429 --> 01:04:08.485 sincerely , I think we as the United 01:04:08.485 --> 01:04:10.709 States have an amazing opportunity to 01:04:10.709 --> 01:04:13.229 tell a story of an institution that is 01:04:13.229 --> 01:04:15.340 older than our country itself . It is 01:04:15.340 --> 01:04:17.830 an institution I understand and I , I 01:04:17.830 --> 01:04:19.997 believe very specifically that telling 01:04:19.997 --> 01:04:21.941 that story will directly lead to a 01:04:21.941 --> 01:04:24.163 recruiting boom . That will fill up our 01:04:24.163 --> 01:04:26.163 pipeline for the coming years and I 01:04:26.163 --> 01:04:28.386 believe when we we are marketing budget 01:04:28.386 --> 01:04:30.163 we would spend to recruit those 01:04:30.163 --> 01:04:32.219 soldiers . I think our team believes 01:04:32.219 --> 01:04:34.441 that the investment of these dollars to 01:04:34.441 --> 01:04:37.294 tell that story will directly lead to a 01:04:37.294 --> 01:04:39.415 good measurable quantitative outcome 01:04:39.415 --> 01:04:41.830 for the army . So you're looking at 01:04:41.830 --> 01:04:45.219 this as a recruitment . Tool , yes , 01:04:45.419 --> 01:04:47.641 Congressman , and you think it's better 01:04:47.641 --> 01:04:49.863 spent there than supporting the quality 01:04:49.863 --> 01:04:52.141 of life for war fighters ? Congressman , 01:04:52.141 --> 01:04:54.252 I think we , we have to spend on both 01:04:54.252 --> 01:04:56.419 as General George said . I mean , we , 01:04:56.419 --> 01:04:58.419 we run our budget , um , we have to 01:04:58.419 --> 01:05:00.697 make these hard decisions all the time . 01:05:00.697 --> 01:05:02.808 I think it would be a massive tragedy 01:05:02.808 --> 01:05:02.540 to let this moment pass where we can 01:05:02.540 --> 01:05:05.370 tell this story and inculcate an entire 01:05:05.370 --> 01:05:07.481 generation of youth into this amazing 01:05:07.481 --> 01:05:09.648 story that is the United States Army . 01:05:09.909 --> 01:05:11.853 I find that very interesting , but 01:05:11.853 --> 01:05:14.076 thank you . The army is touting a total 01:05:14.076 --> 01:05:16.370 change to the force via deliberate 01:05:16.370 --> 01:05:18.379 information , transformation and 01:05:18.379 --> 01:05:21.000 acquisition reform . General George , 01:05:21.219 --> 01:05:23.275 are these efforts actually coming to 01:05:23.275 --> 01:05:26.179 fruition and can they be scaled to the 01:05:26.179 --> 01:05:28.235 level that you are expecting without 01:05:28.235 --> 01:05:30.401 interruptions to the service members ? 01:05:32.090 --> 01:05:34.312 Actually , uh , all the feedback that I 01:05:34.312 --> 01:05:36.534 get , Congressman , everywhere we go is 01:05:36.534 --> 01:05:38.646 that we need to do this faster , that 01:05:38.646 --> 01:05:40.812 we need to transform faster . I mean , 01:05:40.812 --> 01:05:42.923 the challenge is , you know , kind of 01:05:42.923 --> 01:05:42.489 the question back is , you know , can 01:05:42.489 --> 01:05:44.889 we do this back up here ? We need to , 01:05:44.929 --> 01:05:47.090 we do need to stop buying obsolete 01:05:47.090 --> 01:05:49.146 equipment . We're gonna need to make 01:05:49.146 --> 01:05:51.423 the changes . Gentleman's time expired . 01:05:51.423 --> 01:05:53.534 Chair and I recognized gentleman from 01:05:53.534 --> 01:05:55.646 Tennessee , Doctor DesJarlais . Thank 01:05:55.646 --> 01:05:57.757 you , Chairman and thank you both for 01:05:57.757 --> 01:05:59.868 being here today . Uh , gonna deviate 01:05:59.868 --> 01:06:01.812 from my original questions just to 01:06:01.812 --> 01:06:03.979 touch on drones considering , uh , you 01:06:03.979 --> 01:06:06.146 know what happened in Ukraine . Uh , I 01:06:06.146 --> 01:06:08.479 was just recently at Oak Ridge Y12 , uh , 01:06:08.479 --> 01:06:10.701 this past week and , and looking at the 01:06:10.701 --> 01:06:12.868 facility there and , and all the other 01:06:12.868 --> 01:06:15.034 facilities around the country that are 01:06:15.034 --> 01:06:17.600 critical to protect , uh , has the army 01:06:17.600 --> 01:06:19.919 stepped up its posture in response to . 01:06:20.399 --> 01:06:22.455 Uh , the threat from drones , I know 01:06:22.455 --> 01:06:24.677 domestically we have domestic terrorism 01:06:24.677 --> 01:06:26.899 acts and we know abroad we get attacked 01:06:26.899 --> 01:06:29.066 at our bases in the Middle East . Uh , 01:06:29.066 --> 01:06:31.232 what is the rules of engagement on the 01:06:31.232 --> 01:06:33.870 the military bases and high risk 01:06:34.919 --> 01:06:38.429 sites such as as our nuclear production 01:06:38.429 --> 01:06:38.919 sites ? 01:06:42.739 --> 01:06:44.961 So first I think you'll see congressman 01:06:44.961 --> 01:06:47.560 that um we this is an area we want that 01:06:47.560 --> 01:06:49.840 we are very focused on that we need to 01:06:49.840 --> 01:06:51.729 spend more money on again I would 01:06:51.729 --> 01:06:53.840 describe it as a capability portfolio 01:06:53.840 --> 01:06:56.007 where we don't need one system . I was 01:06:56.007 --> 01:06:58.062 kind of explaining that earlier it's 01:06:58.062 --> 01:07:00.284 gonna be a broad base of things that we 01:07:00.284 --> 01:07:02.396 need to do um how we're gonna do that 01:07:02.396 --> 01:07:04.618 in a combat zone is very different than 01:07:04.618 --> 01:07:04.590 how we would do that in the states , 01:07:04.600 --> 01:07:06.656 obviously . Doing that in the states 01:07:06.656 --> 01:07:08.656 and we're working um obviously with 01:07:08.656 --> 01:07:12.469 NorthCO you're talking about FAA FCC , 01:07:12.500 --> 01:07:14.667 you know , with , with everything else 01:07:14.667 --> 01:07:16.611 that's going on and so we're we're 01:07:16.611 --> 01:07:18.611 continually working through that um 01:07:18.611 --> 01:07:20.667 there is legislation , you know , on 01:07:20.667 --> 01:07:22.889 that as far as the 130I which I'm , I'm 01:07:22.889 --> 01:07:25.111 sure you're familiar with , um , that I 01:07:25.111 --> 01:07:27.222 think we need to make some changes to 01:07:27.222 --> 01:07:29.333 and , and we are , you know , working 01:07:29.333 --> 01:07:31.556 with NorthCO joint staff and OSD . Um , 01:07:31.556 --> 01:07:33.389 to get that up , but we are very 01:07:33.389 --> 01:07:35.556 focused on this , and as I mentioned , 01:07:35.556 --> 01:07:37.611 we're doing a very large exercise in 01:07:37.611 --> 01:07:39.722 this with all kinds of industry and , 01:07:39.722 --> 01:07:41.722 and everybody , um , this month and 01:07:41.722 --> 01:07:44.169 next . Um , and you showed us some 01:07:44.169 --> 01:07:46.336 examples of that when a large group of 01:07:46.336 --> 01:07:48.447 us visited you in Austin and , and in 01:07:48.447 --> 01:07:50.447 your opening statement , I found it 01:07:50.447 --> 01:07:52.447 striking how far , uh , focused the 01:07:52.447 --> 01:07:54.669 army has been on procurement , uh , and 01:07:54.669 --> 01:07:56.891 adaptability . Uh , as we've seen , the 01:07:56.891 --> 01:07:59.058 modern battlefield has undergone rapid 01:07:59.058 --> 01:08:01.169 changes over the past few years , and 01:08:01.169 --> 01:08:03.280 because of this , uh , the , the need 01:08:03.280 --> 01:08:05.899 to procure things better , faster , 01:08:06.189 --> 01:08:08.356 cheaper , and more reliable has become 01:08:08.356 --> 01:08:10.578 critically important as we work to keep 01:08:10.578 --> 01:08:12.745 our warfighters equipped for success . 01:08:12.745 --> 01:08:14.467 Uh , this has been something . 01:08:14.467 --> 01:08:16.578 Something that the committee has been 01:08:16.578 --> 01:08:18.689 laser focused on under the leadership 01:08:18.689 --> 01:08:20.800 of Chairman Rogers and ranking member 01:08:20.800 --> 01:08:22.689 Smith uh for this year's NDA . So 01:08:22.689 --> 01:08:24.911 General George , what have been some of 01:08:24.911 --> 01:08:27.022 the most notable successes or lessons 01:08:27.022 --> 01:08:29.022 learned from the transformation and 01:08:29.022 --> 01:08:31.189 contract initiative that can help this 01:08:31.189 --> 01:08:33.411 committee enable our military to become 01:08:33.411 --> 01:08:35.270 a more lethal and agile force . 01:08:36.660 --> 01:08:39.029 Um , I could go on a long time about 01:08:39.029 --> 01:08:41.196 this , Congressman . I think , um , we 01:08:41.196 --> 01:08:43.418 have this last rotation that we had had 01:08:43.418 --> 01:08:45.529 close to 400 drones in it down at the 01:08:45.529 --> 01:08:47.585 joint readiness Training center . So 01:08:47.585 --> 01:08:49.640 obviously , you know , infusing them 01:08:49.640 --> 01:08:51.751 with technology , drones , autonomous 01:08:51.751 --> 01:08:53.696 systems , counter UAS , what we're 01:08:53.696 --> 01:08:53.589 doing to change the network , the 01:08:53.589 --> 01:08:55.756 secretary mentioned that this is about 01:08:55.756 --> 01:08:57.811 being data centric and being able to 01:08:57.811 --> 01:09:00.700 pass all these systems moving . Um , a 01:09:00.700 --> 01:09:02.756 lot of it though we're learning from 01:09:02.756 --> 01:09:04.922 the modern battlefield is changing how 01:09:04.922 --> 01:09:06.700 you train and operate , getting 01:09:06.700 --> 01:09:08.589 understanding how that you can be 01:09:08.589 --> 01:09:10.811 viewed , um , there's really nowhere to 01:09:10.811 --> 01:09:12.922 hide and all of our what we are doing 01:09:12.922 --> 01:09:14.367 right now is changing our 01:09:14.367 --> 01:09:16.200 organizational construct as well 01:09:16.200 --> 01:09:18.200 because we're gonna have to be more 01:09:18.200 --> 01:09:20.256 dispersed , um . More mobile and and 01:09:20.256 --> 01:09:22.422 we're working through all of those and 01:09:22.422 --> 01:09:24.478 we've made a lot of those changes we 01:09:24.478 --> 01:09:26.533 just now need to scale those changes 01:09:26.533 --> 01:09:28.533 across the army and that's what ATI 01:09:28.533 --> 01:09:30.533 will help us do and Congressman , I 01:09:30.533 --> 01:09:32.756 think the way General George and I talk 01:09:32.756 --> 01:09:34.922 about this is this this paradigm shift 01:09:34.922 --> 01:09:37.033 between software and hardware we have 01:09:37.033 --> 01:09:38.978 created hardware that has required 01:09:38.978 --> 01:09:41.144 software to function . We need our new 01:09:41.144 --> 01:09:42.978 hardware systems to basically be 01:09:42.978 --> 01:09:44.922 software led and just the software 01:09:44.922 --> 01:09:46.700 manifesting . The world as this 01:09:46.700 --> 01:09:48.700 hardware because if we can't update 01:09:48.700 --> 01:09:50.811 these systems in near real time , the 01:09:50.811 --> 01:09:52.867 enemy is going to be able to disable 01:09:52.867 --> 01:09:55.089 them and we're taking that into account 01:09:55.089 --> 01:09:57.144 every decision we're making . And if 01:09:57.144 --> 01:09:59.200 you can both you in one minute we've 01:09:59.200 --> 01:10:01.311 been working for with the army and in 01:10:01.311 --> 01:10:03.478 the past , General Thurgood to address 01:10:03.478 --> 01:10:05.700 the persistent Manning shortfall across 01:10:05.700 --> 01:10:07.811 our Patriot battalions . Well there's 01:10:07.811 --> 01:10:09.811 been progress , there's still major 01:10:09.811 --> 01:10:11.922 challenges that remain as we start to 01:10:11.922 --> 01:10:11.862 stand up Golden Dome and try to figure 01:10:11.862 --> 01:10:13.973 out what . That looks like , uh , how 01:10:13.973 --> 01:10:16.084 is that going ? What are you doing to 01:10:16.084 --> 01:10:17.973 manage that and , and get us in a 01:10:17.973 --> 01:10:20.195 better position ? 30 seconds . So we're 01:10:20.195 --> 01:10:23.175 doing really well on uh ADA folks that 01:10:23.175 --> 01:10:25.695 are coming into our formation , um , so 01:10:25.695 --> 01:10:27.917 we're pleased with that and we're gonna 01:10:27.917 --> 01:10:30.028 continue to keep the gas , you know , 01:10:30.028 --> 01:10:32.084 uh keep the , you know , foot on the 01:10:32.084 --> 01:10:34.306 pedal on that . The other thing is that 01:10:34.306 --> 01:10:36.528 technology is looking at how we can use 01:10:36.528 --> 01:10:38.639 technology to reduce demanding inside 01:10:38.639 --> 01:10:38.136 these formations and we put some new 01:10:38.136 --> 01:10:40.358 equipment out . And we're happy to come 01:10:40.358 --> 01:10:42.692 over and talk to you about that as well . 01:10:42.692 --> 01:10:44.914 OK , love to have an update . Thank you 01:10:44.914 --> 01:10:46.803 both . The gentlemans who hand is 01:10:46.803 --> 01:10:48.969 recognized for 5 minutes . Thank you , 01:10:48.969 --> 01:10:51.192 Mr . Chair and thank you . It's nice to 01:10:51.192 --> 01:10:53.469 see you again , general , and it would , 01:10:53.469 --> 01:10:53.310 I really look forward to getting to 01:10:53.310 --> 01:10:55.143 know you a little bit better and 01:10:55.143 --> 01:10:57.879 appreciate the um . The idea that you 01:10:57.879 --> 01:11:00.049 have brought with you uh a spirit of 01:11:00.049 --> 01:11:02.216 bipartisanship that's something that's 01:11:02.216 --> 01:11:04.327 really important here and speaking of 01:11:04.327 --> 01:11:06.327 bipartisanship , I have a couple of 01:11:06.327 --> 01:11:08.549 questions that I hope you might be able 01:11:08.549 --> 01:11:10.493 to help me with . Um , recently we 01:11:10.493 --> 01:11:10.379 decided to make sure that there were 01:11:10.379 --> 01:11:12.750 gender neutral fit fitness tests and we 01:11:12.750 --> 01:11:14.806 implemented those and it's something 01:11:14.806 --> 01:11:16.861 that I've been . Supportive of since 01:11:16.861 --> 01:11:18.806 I've been here in Congress , I was 01:11:18.806 --> 01:11:20.972 hoping that I might be able to get you 01:11:20.972 --> 01:11:23.194 Secretary and you , general , uh , your 01:11:23.194 --> 01:11:22.765 opinions on whether or not you can 01:11:22.765 --> 01:11:24.932 indeed commit that women will continue 01:11:24.932 --> 01:11:26.876 to be allowed to be Rangers , will 01:11:26.876 --> 01:11:29.154 continue to be allowed in the infantry , 01:11:29.154 --> 01:11:31.265 uh , and continue to be allowed to be 01:11:31.265 --> 01:11:33.543 trained for those particular positions . 01:11:34.240 --> 01:11:36.351 Congresswoman , uh , I , I'll hand it 01:11:36.351 --> 01:11:38.184 to General George just so he can 01:11:38.184 --> 01:11:40.351 confirm , uh , what I'm about to say , 01:11:40.351 --> 01:11:42.518 which is , um , my , my seven year old 01:11:42.518 --> 01:11:44.684 daughter Lila , um , she wants to join 01:11:44.684 --> 01:11:46.851 the army since I've , I've been here , 01:11:46.851 --> 01:11:49.073 and I hope that she gets to try out and 01:11:49.073 --> 01:11:48.950 if she can maintain the excellent 01:11:48.950 --> 01:11:51.061 standard to join those types of units 01:11:51.061 --> 01:11:53.172 and she wants to , I hope she has the 01:11:53.172 --> 01:11:55.283 opportunity to , um , I have not been 01:11:55.283 --> 01:11:57.394 part of , and I don't believe General 01:11:57.394 --> 01:11:59.617 George has a single conversation . That 01:11:59.617 --> 01:12:01.783 has made me believe that it a man or a 01:12:01.783 --> 01:12:03.950 woman that can meet those standards of 01:12:03.950 --> 01:12:03.040 excellence that they wouldn't have 01:12:03.040 --> 01:12:05.399 those opportunities , and I , I don't 01:12:05.399 --> 01:12:07.399 know if you've heard , uh , I agree 01:12:07.399 --> 01:12:09.750 we've not had any discussion about this . 01:12:09.879 --> 01:12:12.046 Um , you've there's probably a podcast 01:12:12.046 --> 01:12:14.157 that I can share with you where a lot 01:12:14.157 --> 01:12:16.268 of our , you know , soldiers , female 01:12:16.268 --> 01:12:18.379 soldiers were out there talking about 01:12:18.379 --> 01:12:20.435 the changes in this . And that was a 01:12:20.435 --> 01:12:22.546 lot of the feedback that I got inside 01:12:22.546 --> 01:12:24.657 this as well , so , um , they're very 01:12:24.657 --> 01:12:24.540 happy with the standards and , and , 01:12:24.620 --> 01:12:26.620 and where they're going and they're 01:12:26.620 --> 01:12:28.564 doing very well in our units and I 01:12:28.564 --> 01:12:30.676 would also um tell you is that we are 01:12:30.676 --> 01:12:34.220 uh we've also recruited more female 01:12:34.220 --> 01:12:36.500 soldiers into the army over this last 01:12:36.500 --> 01:12:38.611 year as well . So effectively you are 01:12:38.611 --> 01:12:40.389 both committing that women will 01:12:40.389 --> 01:12:42.611 continue to be allowed to be trained in 01:12:42.611 --> 01:12:44.959 those particular positions . As far as 01:12:44.959 --> 01:12:47.126 I know , Congressman , Congresswoman , 01:12:47.126 --> 01:12:49.070 we have not had any conversation . 01:12:49.070 --> 01:12:51.181 There is actually a reason I'm asking 01:12:51.181 --> 01:12:53.292 because there are conversations above 01:12:53.292 --> 01:12:55.459 you that this indeed will end up being 01:12:55.459 --> 01:12:57.626 in at threat , and I really wanna make 01:12:57.626 --> 01:12:59.848 sure that I hold you to that commitment 01:12:59.848 --> 01:13:01.903 because if people meet the standards 01:13:01.903 --> 01:13:04.070 they meet the standards . Um , my next 01:13:04.070 --> 01:13:06.237 question has to do with something that 01:13:06.237 --> 01:13:05.959 Mr . Garamundi touched on . I spent a 01:13:05.959 --> 01:13:08.126 lot of time , as you know , on quality 01:13:08.126 --> 01:13:09.959 of life issues bipartisanly with 01:13:09.959 --> 01:13:12.181 Representative Bacon . And one of those 01:13:12.181 --> 01:13:14.403 pieces of legislation that we were able 01:13:14.403 --> 01:13:14.350 to get through was for barracks 01:13:14.350 --> 01:13:16.770 improvement , uh , to make it , uh , 01:13:16.779 --> 01:13:18.890 possible that we were able to fund uh 01:13:18.890 --> 01:13:20.668 and improve the barracks . Mr . 01:13:20.668 --> 01:13:22.723 Garamundi mentioned , and it is true 01:13:22.723 --> 01:13:24.723 that a billion dollars for barracks 01:13:24.723 --> 01:13:26.946 improvement has been moved and moved to 01:13:26.946 --> 01:13:29.057 the border , which would seem to be . 01:13:29.057 --> 01:13:31.112 Counter to the law that we literally 01:13:31.112 --> 01:13:33.225 just passed when um Mr . Garamundi 01:13:33.225 --> 01:13:35.424 asked it both of you seem to not be 01:13:35.424 --> 01:13:38.225 aware of that particular movement are 01:13:38.225 --> 01:13:40.281 would you be able to check into that 01:13:40.281 --> 01:13:42.447 for me because it seems as though that 01:13:42.447 --> 01:13:44.558 this is really , really important and 01:13:44.558 --> 01:13:47.470 literally counter against the law . We , 01:13:47.549 --> 01:13:49.382 we can follow back up with you , 01:13:49.382 --> 01:13:51.549 Congresswoman . I just want to echo um 01:13:51.549 --> 01:13:53.771 what General George said earlier like , 01:13:53.771 --> 01:13:55.993 um , these issues matter deeply to us . 01:13:55.993 --> 01:13:58.216 General George is currently a soldier . 01:13:58.216 --> 01:14:00.438 I was my , my daughter is named after a 01:14:00.438 --> 01:14:02.605 current soldier's daughter . They live 01:14:02.605 --> 01:14:04.716 in army and military housing . I care 01:14:04.716 --> 01:14:06.827 deeply about this population and so , 01:14:06.827 --> 01:14:06.629 um , we commit to following . I do as 01:14:06.629 --> 01:14:08.685 well , having grown up in a military 01:14:08.685 --> 01:14:10.573 family and served in the military 01:14:10.573 --> 01:14:12.685 myself . I very much think that where 01:14:12.685 --> 01:14:14.685 you live really , really matters to 01:14:14.685 --> 01:14:16.740 your quality of life . And it is not 01:14:16.740 --> 01:14:18.685 about this is about color of money 01:14:18.685 --> 01:14:20.907 issues and it seems to me that there is 01:14:20.907 --> 01:14:20.870 no way that we should be allowed to 01:14:20.870 --> 01:14:22.981 move a billion dollars worth of money 01:14:22.981 --> 01:14:25.203 from barracks that we've worked so hard 01:14:25.203 --> 01:14:27.370 to give you , uh , into something like 01:14:27.370 --> 01:14:29.370 the border . I'm gonna move on with 01:14:29.370 --> 01:14:31.592 what's left of my question um , General 01:14:31.592 --> 01:14:33.426 George , you talked about , uh , 01:14:33.426 --> 01:14:35.592 recruiting and as secretary you did as 01:14:35.592 --> 01:14:37.814 well and that you've met the recruiting 01:14:37.814 --> 01:14:39.926 goals and I think that's terrific and 01:14:39.926 --> 01:14:42.037 very much worthy of the applause that 01:14:42.037 --> 01:14:41.870 that I . I think we that you got 01:14:41.870 --> 01:14:44.092 bipartisanly on this , but would you be 01:14:44.092 --> 01:14:46.314 able to also confirm that this momentum 01:14:46.314 --> 01:14:48.481 is also attributable to the past years 01:14:48.481 --> 01:14:50.430 and the past administration in the 01:14:50.430 --> 01:14:53.209 future soldier preparatory , uh , uh , 01:14:53.270 --> 01:14:55.437 organization and effort that we've had 01:14:55.437 --> 01:14:57.548 in streamlining entrance processes in 01:14:57.548 --> 01:14:59.659 refining waivers , medical waivers in 01:14:59.659 --> 01:15:01.492 recruiting and training stronger 01:15:01.492 --> 01:15:03.326 recruiters , will you be able to 01:15:03.326 --> 01:15:05.548 confirm that this is a long time coming 01:15:05.548 --> 01:15:07.603 and not something that just happened 01:15:07.603 --> 01:15:09.603 over the last several months . Um , 01:15:09.603 --> 01:15:09.270 Congresswoman , I went down and visited 01:15:09.270 --> 01:15:11.437 the future soldier Prep course at Fort 01:15:11.437 --> 01:15:13.669 Jackson . Um , and it very sincerely , 01:15:13.709 --> 01:15:15.876 there have been a couple of moments in 01:15:15.876 --> 01:15:18.209 this job that have just touched my soul , 01:15:18.209 --> 01:15:20.320 um , seeing the soldiers and how that 01:15:20.320 --> 01:15:22.542 is , the soldiers who go to that have a 01:15:22.542 --> 01:15:22.350 wide wall about basically how they need 01:15:22.350 --> 01:15:24.406 to overcome their challenges to join 01:15:24.406 --> 01:15:26.294 the army . The outcomes for those 01:15:26.294 --> 01:15:28.517 soldiers has been great , um , and that 01:15:28.517 --> 01:15:30.739 has been a spectacular program that has 01:15:30.739 --> 01:15:32.906 been conducted over the last couple of 01:15:32.906 --> 01:15:32.629 years as well as the medical waivers . 01:15:32.779 --> 01:15:34.946 As well as getting better recruiters , 01:15:34.946 --> 01:15:37.112 am I correct ? Correct . Thank you . I 01:15:37.112 --> 01:15:38.890 have very little time left , so 01:15:38.890 --> 01:15:41.001 unfortunately I will have to ask this 01:15:41.001 --> 01:15:43.057 last question for the record , which 01:15:43.057 --> 01:15:44.946 generally has to do with the 1000 01:15:44.946 --> 01:15:47.001 layoffs that are in the headquarters 01:15:47.001 --> 01:15:48.946 and who are they and and how we're 01:15:48.946 --> 01:15:51.168 gonna be accommodating for that . Thank 01:15:51.168 --> 01:15:53.001 you . I yield . The genies times 01:15:53.001 --> 01:15:52.930 expired . Major General Kelly is now 01:15:52.930 --> 01:15:55.439 recognized . Thank you , Mr . Chairman . 01:15:55.729 --> 01:15:57.785 I , I wanna start with , what is the 01:15:57.785 --> 01:16:00.169 most important , uh , asset that the 01:16:00.169 --> 01:16:04.129 army has ? It's one word , people . 01:16:04.299 --> 01:16:06.410 There you go . Soldiers . All right . 01:16:06.580 --> 01:16:09.299 Esprita Corps , heraldry , all those 01:16:09.299 --> 01:16:11.410 things , are they important part of a 01:16:11.410 --> 01:16:13.580 unit , uh , and , and recruiting and 01:16:13.580 --> 01:16:15.580 keeping people and retaining ? It's 01:16:15.580 --> 01:16:17.747 crucial , Congressman . OK . And we do 01:16:17.747 --> 01:16:19.691 twilight tattoos . The Navy does a 01:16:19.691 --> 01:16:21.858 thing where they have the Marine Corps 01:16:21.858 --> 01:16:23.969 and ships on the deck out in the , on 01:16:23.969 --> 01:16:26.080 the American coast . Uh , is a parade 01:16:26.080 --> 01:16:30.049 important for a sprit de corps ? We 01:16:30.049 --> 01:16:32.049 do a lot of these , uh , across the 01:16:32.049 --> 01:16:34.216 country I mean with Gen knights , so I 01:16:34.216 --> 01:16:37.049 say yes all of this and also I , I bet 01:16:37.049 --> 01:16:39.129 we will have a , uh , army birthday 01:16:39.129 --> 01:16:41.351 celebration next week right here in the 01:16:41.351 --> 01:16:43.407 capital and numerous other places to 01:16:43.407 --> 01:16:45.629 celebrate our history and heraldry . Is 01:16:45.629 --> 01:16:47.962 that correct ? That's correct . And the , 01:16:47.962 --> 01:16:50.129 and the planning congressman started , 01:16:50.129 --> 01:16:52.351 uh , years ago . And as an ROTC cadet , 01:16:52.351 --> 01:16:54.462 they did Calfax , uh , uh , exercises 01:16:54.462 --> 01:16:56.685 to , uh , get us to want to be on tanks 01:16:56.685 --> 01:16:58.462 or fly helicopters or do or see 01:16:58.462 --> 01:17:01.009 artillery fire or CA-10s come in . Uh , 01:17:01.169 --> 01:17:03.336 those are important part of recruiting 01:17:03.336 --> 01:17:05.819 and retention , right ? Yes , sir . So 01:17:05.819 --> 01:17:07.541 this parade kind of matters to 01:17:07.541 --> 01:17:09.652 recruiting and retention and heraldry 01:17:09.652 --> 01:17:11.986 and all those things , right ? Uh , yes , 01:17:11.986 --> 01:17:14.229 sir . All right . I want to talk a 01:17:14.229 --> 01:17:16.285 little bit . We talk about diverting 01:17:16.285 --> 01:17:18.229 the money , but safe neighborhoods 01:17:18.229 --> 01:17:20.285 matter too , right ? And not housing 01:17:20.285 --> 01:17:22.507 people who are not here legally in army 01:17:22.507 --> 01:17:25.379 barracks , that matters , right ? A 01:17:25.379 --> 01:17:27.490 safe border is incredibly important , 01:17:27.490 --> 01:17:29.323 Congressman . Absolutely and not 01:17:29.323 --> 01:17:31.546 housing people who shouldn't be on army 01:17:31.546 --> 01:17:33.546 bases , on R&B bases and putting at 01:17:33.546 --> 01:17:35.601 risk our warriors that matters too , 01:17:35.601 --> 01:17:37.546 right ? Everything related to that 01:17:37.546 --> 01:17:39.546 border , Congressman . So I want to 01:17:39.546 --> 01:17:41.712 talk a bit a little bureaucracy , OK ? 01:17:41.712 --> 01:17:41.700 You got a 3D printer who just built 01:17:41.700 --> 01:17:44.379 some buildings at bliss . Uh , do you 01:17:44.379 --> 01:17:46.779 think urinal flows go to the strength 01:17:46.779 --> 01:17:49.850 and reliability of a building ? urinal 01:17:49.850 --> 01:17:53.709 flows . And that the answer is no . OK . 01:17:53.879 --> 01:17:56.120 We literally slowed down production and 01:17:56.120 --> 01:17:58.120 did extra testing because we had to 01:17:58.120 --> 01:18:00.342 test urinal flows . That would apply to 01:18:00.342 --> 01:18:02.509 every building's not just 3D printed , 01:18:02.509 --> 01:18:05.430 right ? I , I was , there are a lot of 01:18:05.430 --> 01:18:07.652 challenges I think , um , Congressman , 01:18:07.652 --> 01:18:09.541 with how we're , you know , we're 01:18:09.541 --> 01:18:11.708 building buildings compared to outside 01:18:11.708 --> 01:18:13.930 and we've been , you know , over on the 01:18:13.930 --> 01:18:13.430 hill trying to , you know , explain 01:18:13.430 --> 01:18:15.589 what those are . I , I would just 01:18:15.589 --> 01:18:18.669 suggest when people put false things in 01:18:18.669 --> 01:18:20.589 there to make , uh , to make 01:18:20.589 --> 01:18:22.645 requirements longer that we probably 01:18:22.645 --> 01:18:24.811 find them another job or no job . uh , 01:18:24.811 --> 01:18:27.069 when you wanna do hurricane strength 01:18:27.069 --> 01:18:29.549 testing in the desert , I would suggest 01:18:29.549 --> 01:18:31.669 that's not the best use of our people 01:18:31.669 --> 01:18:34.240 or our assets . I want to go a little 01:18:34.240 --> 01:18:36.351 bit , General George , and I'm really 01:18:36.351 --> 01:18:38.684 concerned about this and Mr . Secretary , 01:18:38.684 --> 01:18:40.851 um , I hear us talking about moving AH 01:18:40.851 --> 01:18:43.120 64 echo models and I , I hear that 01:18:43.120 --> 01:18:45.479 we're going to the , uh , mic model in 01:18:45.479 --> 01:18:48.000 U860s . What I want to make sure that 01:18:48.000 --> 01:18:50.160 we're not doing now is that we filled 01:18:50.160 --> 01:18:52.382 one thing on the active component . And 01:18:52.382 --> 01:18:54.975 the lesser alternative , the secondary , 01:18:55.205 --> 01:18:57.765 the old strategic reserve thing to the 01:18:57.765 --> 01:18:59.987 National Guard and Reserve , it matters 01:18:59.987 --> 01:19:02.154 when we fight . We do not have a large 01:19:02.154 --> 01:19:04.265 enough army to fight . We have to all 01:19:04.265 --> 01:19:06.376 fight at one time or be prepared to . 01:19:06.376 --> 01:19:08.709 Do , do y'all agree with that ? I agree . 01:19:08.709 --> 01:19:10.932 And I just want to explain if , uh , on 01:19:10.932 --> 01:19:13.754 the details , actually , uh , we are , 01:19:13.845 --> 01:19:16.044 there are some reductions of the 64 01:19:16.044 --> 01:19:18.444 deltas in the active component so that 01:19:18.444 --> 01:19:22.359 we can also have age 64 echoes . In the 01:19:22.359 --> 01:19:25.240 guard in Capo 2 and so that's uh what 01:19:25.240 --> 01:19:27.296 the what the National Guard is gonna 01:19:27.296 --> 01:19:29.359 see from um Army Transformation 01:19:29.359 --> 01:19:32.720 initiative is the age of their , you 01:19:32.720 --> 01:19:34.887 know , they'll get much younger , much 01:19:34.887 --> 01:19:37.479 more capable aircraft , um , out of 01:19:37.479 --> 01:19:39.646 what we're doing with it . Thank you , 01:19:39.646 --> 01:19:41.868 General , and I want to go real quick , 01:19:41.868 --> 01:19:44.090 uh , one of our members earlier brought 01:19:44.090 --> 01:19:46.312 up , let me tell you , in World War 2 , 01:19:46.312 --> 01:19:48.479 did we fight a very different campaign 01:19:48.479 --> 01:19:50.812 in the Pacific than we fought in Europe . 01:19:51.089 --> 01:19:54.750 Yes . One was intensively sea warfare 01:19:55.040 --> 01:19:57.319 and air warfare , uh , some ground 01:19:57.319 --> 01:19:59.520 forces , but it was primarily sea and 01:19:59.520 --> 01:20:01.759 air . Is that correct ? Um , I would 01:20:01.759 --> 01:20:03.592 actually tell you that we had 21 01:20:03.592 --> 01:20:06.040 divisions and 6 corps in the Pacific 01:20:06.040 --> 01:20:08.600 during World War II , so I don't see , 01:20:08.759 --> 01:20:12.240 uh , our job is to be ready anywhere in 01:20:12.240 --> 01:20:14.184 ground forces , my point is ground 01:20:14.184 --> 01:20:16.240 forces still matter in Europe . That 01:20:16.240 --> 01:20:18.296 was a primarily ground war . It uses 01:20:18.296 --> 01:20:20.184 all , both use all . I think they 01:20:20.184 --> 01:20:22.518 matter everywhere . So obviously biased , 01:20:22.518 --> 01:20:24.407 but I , I don't , I think history 01:20:24.407 --> 01:20:26.459 supports that and infused with the 01:20:26.459 --> 01:20:28.459 right technology that we would have 01:20:28.459 --> 01:20:30.403 with drones and counter US and all 01:20:30.403 --> 01:20:32.348 those things , I think the army is 01:20:32.348 --> 01:20:34.570 critically important long range fires . 01:20:34.819 --> 01:20:36.875 We can walk and chew gum at the same 01:20:36.875 --> 01:20:38.930 time . We can be prepared for Europe 01:20:38.930 --> 01:20:41.041 and the Pacific is kind of my point . 01:20:41.041 --> 01:20:43.208 The final thing is just , uh , I wanna 01:20:43.208 --> 01:20:44.986 make sure you guys continue our 01:20:44.986 --> 01:20:47.041 commitment . I think one of our most 01:20:47.041 --> 01:20:49.263 valuable tools is our state partnership 01:20:49.263 --> 01:20:51.375 programs , and I think we're using it 01:20:51.375 --> 01:20:53.541 well . I think we can use it better to 01:20:53.541 --> 01:20:55.652 get more return on investment for the 01:20:55.652 --> 01:20:55.209 army and the nation as a whole with 01:20:55.209 --> 01:20:57.542 your back . To time expired , Mr . Crow , 01:20:57.542 --> 01:20:59.320 you're recognized . Thank you , 01:20:59.320 --> 01:21:01.542 Chairman . Thank you to both of you for 01:21:01.542 --> 01:21:03.709 coming in . Uh , I joined with many of 01:21:03.709 --> 01:21:03.450 my colleagues and sharing some 01:21:03.450 --> 01:21:06.089 excitement around . You thinking big 01:21:06.089 --> 01:21:07.700 and structurally , this Army 01:21:07.700 --> 01:21:09.867 transformation initiative is , is , is 01:21:09.867 --> 01:21:12.180 the way we need to be thinking . But I 01:21:12.180 --> 01:21:14.347 also join with my colleagues in saying 01:21:14.347 --> 01:21:16.180 that congressional engagement is 01:21:16.180 --> 01:21:17.958 extremely important and without 01:21:17.958 --> 01:21:20.013 information this committee cannot do 01:21:20.013 --> 01:21:21.736 its work . In addition to this 01:21:21.736 --> 01:21:23.958 committee , the Army caucus has not had 01:21:23.958 --> 01:21:26.013 any engagement with the department . 01:21:26.013 --> 01:21:28.124 I'm the co-chair of the Army caucus . 01:21:28.124 --> 01:21:27.979 We're 6 months into this year . This is 01:21:27.979 --> 01:21:31.419 a bipartisan caucus . Um , this is a 01:21:31.419 --> 01:21:33.979 group of members of Congress who , uh , 01:21:34.100 --> 01:21:36.211 many of whom are army veterans , many 01:21:36.211 --> 01:21:38.322 of whom have army facilities in their 01:21:38.322 --> 01:21:40.433 district . They volunteer . And there 01:21:40.433 --> 01:21:42.489 just hasn't been any engagement . We 01:21:42.489 --> 01:21:44.656 are your , some of your biggest allies 01:21:44.656 --> 01:21:46.656 and we can't do that work unless we 01:21:46.656 --> 01:21:48.822 engage with you . Uh , both of you are 01:21:48.822 --> 01:21:50.933 combat veterans like me , and I would 01:21:50.933 --> 01:21:52.600 like to talk about our shared 01:21:52.600 --> 01:21:55.029 experience in combat . Um . Secretary 01:21:55.029 --> 01:21:57.390 Driscoll , uh , you , you led a platoon 01:21:57.740 --> 01:22:00.339 in Iraq , and I , I'm sure you realized 01:22:00.339 --> 01:22:02.117 that you were doing that , that 01:22:02.117 --> 01:22:04.283 engaging with civilian populations was 01:22:04.283 --> 01:22:06.395 important , correct ? Uh , absolutely 01:22:06.395 --> 01:22:08.395 congressman , and just to your army 01:22:08.395 --> 01:22:10.561 caucus , um , uh , we , we will remedy 01:22:10.561 --> 01:22:12.728 that , that shame on me for not having 01:22:12.728 --> 01:22:14.672 you , so I commit to you'll get an 01:22:14.672 --> 01:22:17.006 invite soon . And then , and then , yes , 01:22:17.006 --> 01:22:18.839 thank you . So , so engaging the 01:22:18.839 --> 01:22:20.950 populations , that's essential to the 01:22:20.950 --> 01:22:22.728 mission because . Almost always 01:22:22.728 --> 01:22:24.783 operating near civilians , correct ? 01:22:24.783 --> 01:22:27.006 Correct . And , and we can't accomplish 01:22:27.006 --> 01:22:29.117 military missions , combat missions , 01:22:29.117 --> 01:22:31.172 unless we effectively interface with 01:22:31.172 --> 01:22:33.283 civilian populations , correct ? That 01:22:33.283 --> 01:22:35.395 is generally true . And , and as part 01:22:35.395 --> 01:22:37.672 of that . Reducing civilian casualties , 01:22:37.672 --> 01:22:39.617 making sure that civilians are not 01:22:39.617 --> 01:22:42.979 pulled into or um uh are injured as 01:22:42.979 --> 01:22:45.180 part of our operations is also mission 01:22:45.180 --> 01:22:47.779 essential , correct ? The army as far 01:22:47.779 --> 01:22:49.723 we , we always aspire to mini mini 01:22:49.723 --> 01:22:51.779 minimize and mitigate that risk . It 01:22:51.779 --> 01:22:53.835 would be mission essential though to 01:22:53.835 --> 01:22:56.168 minimize uh civilian casualties , right ? 01:22:58.169 --> 01:23:00.850 Yes , um , General George , would you 01:23:00.850 --> 01:23:03.569 share that view ? I , I would , I would 01:23:03.569 --> 01:23:05.791 also come back to , you know , with our 01:23:05.791 --> 01:23:08.013 shared experiences that , you know , we 01:23:08.013 --> 01:23:10.013 have to really focus on making sure 01:23:10.013 --> 01:23:12.069 that every soldier is really good at 01:23:12.069 --> 01:23:14.125 their kinetic mission . And before I 01:23:14.125 --> 01:23:16.180 went to Afghanistan and as a brigade 01:23:16.180 --> 01:23:18.013 commander of Iraq as a battalion 01:23:18.013 --> 01:23:20.236 commander as a field grade we were part 01:23:20.236 --> 01:23:22.402 of our everything that we do with what 01:23:22.402 --> 01:23:24.458 we're doing with targeting is making 01:23:24.458 --> 01:23:26.569 sure that we are very precise in what 01:23:26.569 --> 01:23:28.625 we're doing and I . I think you know 01:23:28.625 --> 01:23:30.680 history would show where we are very 01:23:30.680 --> 01:23:32.847 precise . I mean , it's combat , which 01:23:32.847 --> 01:23:34.958 I agree with . I mean , the precision 01:23:34.958 --> 01:23:37.069 is really important , right ? Because 01:23:37.069 --> 01:23:39.125 that's actually makes us more combat 01:23:39.125 --> 01:23:39.004 effective , to be precise and to make 01:23:39.004 --> 01:23:41.171 sure we're hitting what we need to hit 01:23:41.171 --> 01:23:42.948 and not hitting other things in 01:23:42.948 --> 01:23:45.004 addition to losing the support of a 01:23:45.004 --> 01:23:47.125 civilian population of which we are 01:23:47.125 --> 01:23:49.924 oftentimes trying to earn their support 01:23:49.924 --> 01:23:51.757 by reducing casualties , is that 01:23:51.757 --> 01:23:54.669 accurate ? I would say in certain 01:23:54.669 --> 01:23:55.947 situations if that's a 01:23:55.947 --> 01:23:58.225 counterinsurgency fight , then I would , 01:23:59.240 --> 01:24:01.462 in fact , the , the , the , the mission 01:24:01.462 --> 01:24:04.009 analysis tool met TC you you both are 01:24:04.009 --> 01:24:06.287 familiar with Met TC , right ? In fact , 01:24:06.287 --> 01:24:08.509 you used it , Secretary Driscoll , when 01:24:08.509 --> 01:24:10.787 you were in the military , right ? Yes , 01:24:10.787 --> 01:24:12.342 and the C stands for what ? 01:24:14.560 --> 01:24:18.240 Civilian ? Yes . It's it's civil 01:24:18.240 --> 01:24:20.073 considerations , right ? So it's 01:24:20.073 --> 01:24:21.907 actually built into our analysis 01:24:21.907 --> 01:24:23.851 planning tool that you think about 01:24:23.851 --> 01:24:25.962 civilian populations , so . Here's my 01:24:25.962 --> 01:24:29.720 question . In fiscal year 2023 , this 01:24:29.720 --> 01:24:31.959 committee on a bipartisan basis created 01:24:31.959 --> 01:24:33.919 the Civilian Protection Center of 01:24:33.919 --> 01:24:35.919 Excellence for all the reasons we 01:24:35.919 --> 01:24:39.479 talked about that we understand that we 01:24:39.479 --> 01:24:41.701 can't effectively conduct our mission , 01:24:41.919 --> 01:24:44.120 win the support of local populations , 01:24:44.430 --> 01:24:46.652 reduce civilian casualties , and ensure 01:24:46.652 --> 01:24:48.819 the effectiveness and the precision of 01:24:48.819 --> 01:24:50.986 our targeting unless we make it a part 01:24:50.986 --> 01:24:53.700 of the mission and we focus on it . The 01:24:53.700 --> 01:24:55.979 department has provided notice to 01:24:55.979 --> 01:24:58.146 Congress that they are going to defund 01:24:58.146 --> 01:25:02.000 and get rid of the CPCOE . So 01:25:02.000 --> 01:25:04.359 why on a bipartisan basis we passed 01:25:04.359 --> 01:25:06.359 something that will help put our 01:25:06.359 --> 01:25:08.799 soldiers in a position of being more 01:25:08.799 --> 01:25:10.720 successful in our mission , more 01:25:10.720 --> 01:25:12.942 precise in our targeting , that will be 01:25:12.942 --> 01:25:14.831 better at protecting the civilian 01:25:14.831 --> 01:25:16.664 populations that we serve in and 01:25:16.664 --> 01:25:18.759 alongside of , are you going to wind 01:25:18.759 --> 01:25:22.759 this down ? I , I would , I 01:25:22.759 --> 01:25:24.759 would tell you , Congressman , that 01:25:24.759 --> 01:25:26.926 what , what we need to do is make sure 01:25:26.926 --> 01:25:29.037 that that , um , beyond the center of 01:25:29.037 --> 01:25:31.259 excellence is embedded in everything we 01:25:31.259 --> 01:25:33.259 do from top to bottom . I think you 01:25:33.259 --> 01:25:35.426 were mentioning Met TC . That's a very 01:25:35.426 --> 01:25:37.370 tactical thing that we're doing at 01:25:37.370 --> 01:25:39.370 every place , um , all the way up . 01:25:39.370 --> 01:25:41.426 We're doing this when we I , I agree 01:25:41.426 --> 01:25:43.315 with you . I , I agree with you , 01:25:43.315 --> 01:25:46.410 Secretary Driscoll . This was the way 01:25:46.410 --> 01:25:48.688 to to focus and prioritize this effort . 01:25:48.740 --> 01:25:50.740 Why wind it down ? I think we are 01:25:50.740 --> 01:25:52.796 aligned in your goal , Congressman , 01:25:52.796 --> 01:25:54.629 and we think that there's a more 01:25:54.629 --> 01:25:56.684 effective way to do it . All right , 01:25:56.684 --> 01:25:58.573 well , I , I wanna hear that more 01:25:58.573 --> 01:25:58.189 effective way and I would like answers 01:25:58.189 --> 01:26:01.040 to that . Yes , Congressman . Thank you . 01:26:01.049 --> 01:26:03.271 The gentlest time expired . I recognize 01:26:03.271 --> 01:26:05.382 myself for 5 minutes . Thank you both 01:26:05.382 --> 01:26:05.240 for being here . I appreciate your 01:26:05.240 --> 01:26:07.720 leadership . I wanna echo some of the 01:26:07.720 --> 01:26:09.387 concerns that we've heard the 01:26:09.387 --> 01:26:11.609 bipartisan concerns on the news reports 01:26:11.609 --> 01:26:13.831 that the Secretary of Defense is moving 01:26:13.831 --> 01:26:15.998 over a billion dollars out of barracks 01:26:15.998 --> 01:26:17.998 and dorms for the board . We need a 01:26:17.998 --> 01:26:20.053 strong border . I get that . I spent 01:26:20.053 --> 01:26:22.164 the last year chairing a subcommittee 01:26:22.164 --> 01:26:24.331 or a temporary subcommittee looking at 01:26:24.331 --> 01:26:26.331 quality of life and in the midst of 01:26:26.331 --> 01:26:28.498 that , the GAO . Came out and gave our 01:26:28.498 --> 01:26:30.720 dorms and our barracks of failing grade 01:26:30.720 --> 01:26:32.831 and enough to include the armies . We 01:26:32.831 --> 01:26:34.998 saw pictures of raw sewage and dorms , 01:26:34.998 --> 01:26:37.720 rodents , mold dorms that had and 01:26:37.720 --> 01:26:39.831 barracks that had no air conditioning 01:26:39.831 --> 01:26:41.998 or heat working and on and on , and so 01:26:41.998 --> 01:26:43.998 we spent the year trying to build a 01:26:43.998 --> 01:26:46.053 plan to help the services fix this , 01:26:46.053 --> 01:26:48.331 and what we did learn is over a decade , 01:26:48.331 --> 01:26:50.442 the services were moving money out of 01:26:50.442 --> 01:26:52.664 their dorms and barracks towards weapon 01:26:52.664 --> 01:26:54.609 systems . I get that we had finite 01:26:54.609 --> 01:26:56.831 resources , but we built a 10 year hole 01:26:56.831 --> 01:26:58.887 in our dorms and barracks and now if 01:26:58.887 --> 01:27:00.998 the news reports are true . It's very 01:27:00.998 --> 01:27:03.220 troubling . We're we're we're trying to 01:27:03.220 --> 01:27:05.387 help with the quality of life and then 01:27:05.387 --> 01:27:07.442 feel like . A decision was made that 01:27:07.442 --> 01:27:09.498 undermined this whole effort that we 01:27:09.498 --> 01:27:09.270 spent the last year doing so I wanted 01:27:09.270 --> 01:27:11.950 to say that for the record , uh , Joe 01:27:11.950 --> 01:27:15.100 George . I think China's rightfully the 01:27:15.109 --> 01:27:17.410 the pacing threat . What is it that you 01:27:17.410 --> 01:27:20.810 want the army to bring ? In a China US 01:27:20.810 --> 01:27:22.421 fight , what what's the main 01:27:22.421 --> 01:27:24.366 capabilities that you see the army 01:27:24.366 --> 01:27:27.129 bringing ? I , I think the Army is 01:27:27.129 --> 01:27:29.351 gonna be congressman , the backbone for 01:27:29.351 --> 01:27:31.462 a lot of things that are out in the , 01:27:31.462 --> 01:27:33.518 in the Pacific . You see what , um , 01:27:33.518 --> 01:27:35.462 right now what Long Range fires is 01:27:35.462 --> 01:27:37.573 doing , um , being able to operate in 01:27:37.573 --> 01:27:39.518 small teams and be able to present 01:27:39.518 --> 01:27:41.796 those kinds of things . Um , out there , 01:27:41.796 --> 01:27:44.018 it's why we're , we're moving away with 01:27:44.018 --> 01:27:46.073 some of our , you know , some of our 01:27:46.073 --> 01:27:48.129 systems , um , or , you know , other 01:27:48.129 --> 01:27:50.462 drones that can actually be now be , uh , 01:27:50.462 --> 01:27:52.407 employed much simpler and not from 01:27:52.407 --> 01:27:54.740 airfields . So I think long range fires , 01:27:54.740 --> 01:27:54.379 Army's gonna have a big role to play in 01:27:54.390 --> 01:27:56.446 integrated air missile defense , and 01:27:56.446 --> 01:27:58.612 again this is around the world command 01:27:58.612 --> 01:28:00.557 and control we're used to a lot of 01:28:00.557 --> 01:28:02.645 moving . Parts and big formations um 01:28:02.645 --> 01:28:04.701 and controlling a lot of that . So I 01:28:04.701 --> 01:28:06.645 think we're gonna do a lot of that 01:28:06.645 --> 01:28:08.812 counter UAS . I mean , I could go down 01:28:08.812 --> 01:28:11.034 across all the war fighting functions . 01:28:11.034 --> 01:28:13.034 We always tell everybody that , you 01:28:13.034 --> 01:28:15.201 know , there's no such thing as uh one 01:28:15.201 --> 01:28:17.423 a maritime air , land . These are joint 01:28:17.423 --> 01:28:19.534 theaters and everybody is going to be 01:28:19.534 --> 01:28:21.645 important to this fight . Um , and so 01:28:21.645 --> 01:28:23.756 certainly we're gonna be an important 01:28:23.756 --> 01:28:23.709 part of that as well . Thank you . I 01:28:23.709 --> 01:28:25.931 totally agree . Long range fires , uh , 01:28:25.931 --> 01:28:27.931 I think some criticisms towards the 01:28:27.931 --> 01:28:29.765 army about if they put the right 01:28:29.765 --> 01:28:31.876 priority on air defense , but I think 01:28:31.876 --> 01:28:33.987 we know we need it now and we need to 01:28:33.987 --> 01:28:35.876 really invest in this area , uh , 01:28:35.876 --> 01:28:37.765 particularly in a Far East , uh , 01:28:37.765 --> 01:28:39.765 conflict and also the counter drone 01:28:39.765 --> 01:28:41.709 technology is gonna be huge . Uh , 01:28:41.709 --> 01:28:43.876 there's a lot of reports of what China 01:28:43.876 --> 01:28:43.629 is doing with their drone technology , 01:28:43.709 --> 01:28:45.820 so we will be facing the same threats 01:28:45.820 --> 01:28:47.765 that we're seeing , uh , in Europe 01:28:47.765 --> 01:28:49.765 right now , uh , to , to you both . 01:28:50.810 --> 01:28:52.977 Sometimes I hear the president or vice 01:28:52.977 --> 01:28:55.088 president , secretary of defense talk 01:28:55.088 --> 01:28:57.490 about solely China as the primary 01:28:57.490 --> 01:28:59.712 threat , but I don't hear a lot of talk 01:28:59.712 --> 01:29:01.601 about Russia and yet since 1991 , 01:29:01.729 --> 01:29:04.169 Russia's forcibly changed their borders 01:29:04.169 --> 01:29:06.490 9 times and we're seeing the big one 01:29:06.490 --> 01:29:08.919 right now with Ukraine . Would you 01:29:08.919 --> 01:29:11.086 agree that Russia is indeed a threat ? 01:29:11.086 --> 01:29:13.479 One , and 2 , do we have any , are we 01:29:13.479 --> 01:29:15.590 gonna maintain our posture in Eastern 01:29:15.590 --> 01:29:17.535 Europe with the Baltic countries , 01:29:17.535 --> 01:29:19.757 Poland , Romania ? I think our presence 01:29:19.757 --> 01:29:22.180 there is critical for deterrence . Um , 01:29:22.930 --> 01:29:24.986 I , I think , um , we , we all agree 01:29:24.986 --> 01:29:27.152 and we're following the leadership and 01:29:27.152 --> 01:29:29.263 guidance of , uh , Secretary Hag said 01:29:29.263 --> 01:29:31.430 that China is the pacing threat , um , 01:29:31.430 --> 01:29:33.374 but when General George and I talk 01:29:33.374 --> 01:29:33.279 about the army that we are , we believe 01:29:33.279 --> 01:29:35.335 we are responsible to build , one of 01:29:35.335 --> 01:29:37.446 the things we've referenced is that , 01:29:37.446 --> 01:29:39.446 um , often most human beings . That 01:29:39.446 --> 01:29:41.557 thought they could predict the future 01:29:41.557 --> 01:29:41.245 have turned out to be wrong since the 01:29:41.245 --> 01:29:43.356 beginning of mankind , and we want an 01:29:43.356 --> 01:29:45.356 army that can be effective anywhere 01:29:45.356 --> 01:29:47.523 that we send it . And so in all of our 01:29:47.523 --> 01:29:49.745 planning , we try to build an army that 01:29:49.745 --> 01:29:51.745 it stands by and stands ready to go 01:29:51.745 --> 01:29:53.856 anywhere the president sends us . But 01:29:53.856 --> 01:29:56.023 yes , Russia is a threat . Thank you . 01:29:56.023 --> 01:29:59.060 John George . I would agree with that , 01:29:59.160 --> 01:30:01.382 and I just want to kind of just gets to 01:30:01.382 --> 01:30:03.382 some of the earlier questions about 01:30:03.382 --> 01:30:05.549 what kind of equipment . I don't think 01:30:05.549 --> 01:30:07.604 that we can have an army that can be 01:30:07.604 --> 01:30:09.660 that is only good at one thing , you 01:30:09.660 --> 01:30:11.716 know , the army has to be , uh , our 01:30:11.716 --> 01:30:13.827 country expects it of us , um , and I 01:30:13.827 --> 01:30:13.680 know we can do that , and that's 01:30:13.680 --> 01:30:15.847 exactly what we're focused on with the 01:30:15.847 --> 01:30:18.013 transformation initiative . Do we plan 01:30:18.013 --> 01:30:20.180 on keeping our presence in the Baltics 01:30:20.180 --> 01:30:24.020 and in Poland ? You'll die the one of 01:30:24.020 --> 01:30:26.131 you . Yeah , I've not , I've not seen 01:30:26.131 --> 01:30:28.770 any , you know , uh , policy decisions , 01:30:28.819 --> 01:30:30.986 um , on that right now , Congressman . 01:30:30.986 --> 01:30:32.986 I can't think of it better allies . 01:30:32.986 --> 01:30:34.986 These folks love our country . I've 01:30:34.986 --> 01:30:37.208 been to Baltics many times and Poland . 01:30:37.208 --> 01:30:39.430 They love freedom . They know what it's 01:30:39.430 --> 01:30:41.597 like to live under the Soviet Union or 01:30:41.597 --> 01:30:43.763 Russian control . They're investing 4% 01:30:43.763 --> 01:30:45.930 roughly of their GDP , trying to go to 01:30:45.930 --> 01:30:48.097 5% . Uh , they're great allies , and I 01:30:48.097 --> 01:30:50.208 just hope we , we stick by their side 01:30:50.208 --> 01:30:52.263 to make it very clear with it . OK , 01:30:52.263 --> 01:30:51.939 Congressman , I was in Poland , um , 01:30:52.000 --> 01:30:54.333 and saw how they treat our soldiers and , 01:30:54.333 --> 01:30:56.444 and , and it's incredible . Um , they 01:30:56.444 --> 01:30:58.778 are an amazing ally and we support them . 01:30:58.778 --> 01:31:01.111 With that , I yield and I recognized Mr . 01:31:01.111 --> 01:31:03.111 Ryan for 5 minutes . Thank you Mr . 01:31:03.120 --> 01:31:05.342 Chair . Thank you both . Thank you both 01:31:05.342 --> 01:31:07.342 for being here . Thank you also for 01:31:07.342 --> 01:31:09.450 coming to the finest , uh , service 01:31:09.450 --> 01:31:11.649 academy in the world , uh , in my 01:31:11.649 --> 01:31:13.899 district , uh , for commencement , uh , 01:31:13.930 --> 01:31:16.097 two weeks ago . It was really an honor 01:31:16.097 --> 01:31:18.208 to have you both there and I think we 01:31:18.208 --> 01:31:20.430 can all agree , uh , the country should 01:31:20.430 --> 01:31:22.430 be incredibly proud of those 1,0002 01:31:22.430 --> 01:31:24.541 young men and women that raised their 01:31:24.541 --> 01:31:26.763 right hand that day and , and certainly 01:31:26.763 --> 01:31:29.097 appreciate both of you being there , uh , 01:31:29.097 --> 01:31:31.097 and your leadership to that to that 01:31:31.097 --> 01:31:33.208 effect . Um , two areas that I wanted 01:31:33.208 --> 01:31:35.097 to hit starting , um , with you , 01:31:35.097 --> 01:31:37.319 General George . I just want to commend 01:31:37.319 --> 01:31:39.041 you on the record for from the 01:31:39.041 --> 01:31:41.152 beginning of you taking this critical 01:31:41.152 --> 01:31:43.374 role , saying we're gonna . Really take 01:31:43.374 --> 01:31:45.430 hard critical looks . We're gonna up 01:31:45.430 --> 01:31:47.263 our risk tolerance . We're gonna 01:31:47.263 --> 01:31:49.208 experiment uh with the with the um 01:31:49.208 --> 01:31:51.319 transformation and contact initiative 01:31:51.319 --> 01:31:53.430 that you undertook , uh , and then to 01:31:53.430 --> 01:31:55.839 see that come to fruition and taking 01:31:55.839 --> 01:31:58.061 those lessons learned from those , uh , 01:31:58.061 --> 01:32:00.172 I think it was 3 , brigades that were 01:32:00.172 --> 01:32:02.283 doing that work across the country to 01:32:02.283 --> 01:32:04.395 then inform , uh , the transformation 01:32:04.395 --> 01:32:06.506 initiative that we're . Talking about 01:32:06.506 --> 01:32:08.450 today , I think that that deserves 01:32:08.450 --> 01:32:10.617 significant praise and and credit as a 01:32:10.617 --> 01:32:12.617 model that I think all the services 01:32:12.617 --> 01:32:14.672 should should look at . Um , can you 01:32:14.672 --> 01:32:16.728 just briefly talk about one specific 01:32:16.728 --> 01:32:19.006 success story and I know you mentioned , 01:32:19.006 --> 01:32:21.006 for example , that 300% increase in 01:32:21.006 --> 01:32:23.117 lethality , uh , of the one brigade , 01:32:23.117 --> 01:32:25.339 but can you share , I think a lot of us 01:32:25.339 --> 01:32:27.506 are focused on the kind of the macro . 01:32:27.506 --> 01:32:29.617 There's a lot of moving pieces here , 01:32:29.617 --> 01:32:29.500 but can you bring that to life ? Is 01:32:29.500 --> 01:32:31.556 there an anecdote or a story you can 01:32:31.556 --> 01:32:34.100 share from the transformation and 01:32:34.100 --> 01:32:36.267 contact that's informed the larger ATI 01:32:36.267 --> 01:32:38.267 initiative ? I mean , even before , 01:32:38.270 --> 01:32:40.492 I'll go back to the people because I've 01:32:40.492 --> 01:32:42.548 been asked what's our most important 01:32:42.548 --> 01:32:42.509 asset . I think , you know what we're 01:32:42.509 --> 01:32:44.700 learning is , uh , what kind of people 01:32:44.700 --> 01:32:46.867 also and what kind of people skills we 01:32:46.867 --> 01:32:49.033 need to have inside of our formation . 01:32:49.033 --> 01:32:51.060 We had a , um , you know , pretty 01:32:51.060 --> 01:32:53.171 significant meeting earlier this week 01:32:53.171 --> 01:32:55.227 about deciding how we're gonna add . 01:32:55.227 --> 01:32:57.449 Electronic warfare operators inside our 01:32:57.449 --> 01:32:59.560 formation , how they would do that at 01:32:59.560 --> 01:33:01.671 Echelon it is informed how we need to 01:33:01.671 --> 01:33:03.979 change our training , um , at all of 01:33:03.979 --> 01:33:06.090 our centers of excellence , how we're 01:33:06.090 --> 01:33:08.589 training majors differently , captains , 01:33:08.620 --> 01:33:11.100 um , above , you know , and all the way 01:33:11.100 --> 01:33:13.459 up , um , so it's really informing 01:33:13.459 --> 01:33:15.859 everything we're doing and , um , it's 01:33:15.859 --> 01:33:18.520 not just the technology . Thank you . 01:33:18.700 --> 01:33:20.922 Yeah , I think that's a , that's a very 01:33:20.922 --> 01:33:23.144 critical point and leads actually to my 01:33:23.144 --> 01:33:25.311 second question , which is about our , 01:33:25.311 --> 01:33:24.859 our greatest resource , our personnel 01:33:24.859 --> 01:33:27.020 and recruiting specifically , um , 01:33:27.100 --> 01:33:29.211 Secretary Driscoll appreciated your , 01:33:29.379 --> 01:33:31.939 uh , op ed and I , and , um , the broad 01:33:31.939 --> 01:33:35.459 recognition of a huge success and I 01:33:35.459 --> 01:33:37.681 think everybody in the committee should 01:33:37.681 --> 01:33:39.792 be applauding in a bipartisan way the 01:33:39.792 --> 01:33:42.126 success of the army after several years . 01:33:42.180 --> 01:33:44.649 Of investment , a strategy change , 01:33:44.689 --> 01:33:46.578 particularly led by you , General 01:33:46.578 --> 01:33:48.578 George , and your team , bipartisan 01:33:48.578 --> 01:33:50.578 work of , of the Congress under the 01:33:50.578 --> 01:33:52.689 chairman's leadership and the ranking 01:33:52.689 --> 01:33:54.856 members , uh , specifically , uh , Red 01:33:54.856 --> 01:33:57.022 Poulihan and , and Congressman Bacon's 01:33:57.022 --> 01:33:58.800 effort on the quality of life . 01:33:58.800 --> 01:34:00.800 Initiative to raise pay and address 01:34:00.800 --> 01:34:02.911 other critical quality of life issues 01:34:02.911 --> 01:34:05.133 all of that coming together to actually 01:34:05.133 --> 01:34:07.133 work to see us hitting our goal not 01:34:07.133 --> 01:34:09.245 only on time but ahead of time so I I 01:34:09.245 --> 01:34:11.379 commend uh you all for that . I do 01:34:11.379 --> 01:34:14.220 think it's important that . This not be 01:34:14.220 --> 01:34:18.089 a political analysis of the success 01:34:18.500 --> 01:34:20.500 and I'm concerned not actually from 01:34:20.500 --> 01:34:22.667 either of you but what I've heard from 01:34:22.667 --> 01:34:24.611 the secretary and the president of 01:34:24.611 --> 01:34:27.339 overly politicizing the takeaways of 01:34:27.339 --> 01:34:29.680 the recruiting success so I just wanna 01:34:29.680 --> 01:34:31.513 raise a few points and ask a few 01:34:31.513 --> 01:34:33.013 questions to make sure I'm 01:34:33.013 --> 01:34:35.236 understanding how we got here correctly 01:34:35.236 --> 01:34:37.069 so that we can learn the correct 01:34:37.069 --> 01:34:39.609 lessons and build on um . This success 01:34:39.609 --> 01:34:41.939 I know in FY 22 and 23 we were 01:34:41.939 --> 01:34:44.161 challenged did not hit our numbers . Is 01:34:44.161 --> 01:34:46.106 that that's correct , uh , Chief ? 01:34:46.529 --> 01:34:49.810 That's correct , um , and then in FY 24 , 01:34:50.419 --> 01:34:52.586 uh , which , to be clear , happened in 01:34:52.586 --> 01:34:54.697 the last administration , just , uh , 01:34:54.697 --> 01:34:58.529 we , we hit our goals we're up 12.5% 01:34:58.819 --> 01:35:00.875 and exceeded the goal , which , uh , 01:35:00.875 --> 01:35:04.459 and hit 55,150 recruits in FY 01:35:04.459 --> 01:35:06.570 24 , is that right , General George ? 01:35:07.140 --> 01:35:09.307 It sounds right , yes , sir . And then 01:35:09.307 --> 01:35:11.580 I think we even went 11,000 over and 01:35:11.580 --> 01:35:13.799 we're able to put 11,000 additional 01:35:13.799 --> 01:35:15.855 folks into the delayed entry program 01:35:15.855 --> 01:35:18.077 which fed into the success we've had in 01:35:18.077 --> 01:35:20.243 FY 25 . Is that the right way to think 01:35:20.243 --> 01:35:22.509 about that ? Everybody that goes into 01:35:22.509 --> 01:35:24.589 the delayed entry program and that's 01:35:24.589 --> 01:35:26.256 exactly what we're gonna do , 01:35:26.256 --> 01:35:28.311 Congressman , you know , from , from 01:35:28.311 --> 01:35:30.422 here on out is we expect to get , you 01:35:30.422 --> 01:35:32.549 know , 20,000 for example , in the 01:35:32.549 --> 01:35:35.060 delayed entry program moving forward . 01:35:35.669 --> 01:35:37.891 Great and I'm , I'm running out of time 01:35:37.891 --> 01:35:40.002 and , and we'll submit this for the , 01:35:40.002 --> 01:35:41.891 for the record , but I think it's 01:35:41.891 --> 01:35:41.680 important to highlight that this all 01:35:41.680 --> 01:35:43.902 started under your leadership , General 01:35:43.902 --> 01:35:45.736 George and the last secretary in 01:35:45.736 --> 01:35:47.830 October 2023 . When we added 1200 01:35:47.830 --> 01:35:49.839 recruiters to your credit when we 01:35:49.839 --> 01:35:52.117 started the Future soldier Prep course , 01:35:52.117 --> 01:35:54.283 which is 24% of the recruits came from 01:35:54.283 --> 01:35:56.600 that course when we moved to online job 01:35:56.600 --> 01:35:59.319 boards , uh , when we went back to the 01:35:59.319 --> 01:36:01.541 old motto that we all love , be all you 01:36:01.541 --> 01:36:03.708 can be , uh , and a lot of other smart 01:36:03.708 --> 01:36:05.652 initiatives that started in 2023 . 01:36:05.652 --> 01:36:07.763 Gentleman's time expired here , and I 01:36:07.763 --> 01:36:10.097 recognize the gentleman from Texas , Mr . 01:36:10.097 --> 01:36:14.020 Latrell . Thank you , Mr . 01:36:14.060 --> 01:36:16.171 Chairman . Good morning , gentlemen . 01:36:16.939 --> 01:36:19.410 Have either one of you heard of the 1st 01:36:19.410 --> 01:36:22.899 battalion 158th Aviation Regiment of 01:36:22.899 --> 01:36:25.066 the 11th Expeditionary Combat Aviation 01:36:25.066 --> 01:36:29.029 Brigade ? I'm , I'm familiar 01:36:29.029 --> 01:36:31.310 with , uh , not that specific battalion 01:36:31.310 --> 01:36:34.290 but the ECAB . Yes , Mr . Secretary , 01:36:35.390 --> 01:36:37.501 uh , directionally , not specifically 01:36:37.501 --> 01:36:39.612 that's unfortunate because it's being 01:36:39.612 --> 01:36:41.390 decommissioned . And it's in my 01:36:41.390 --> 01:36:44.290 district . And I want one of you two to 01:36:44.290 --> 01:36:46.790 tell me why that's happening . Because 01:36:46.790 --> 01:36:48.568 I would hope since that's being 01:36:48.568 --> 01:36:50.623 decommissioned and Mr . Crow said it 01:36:50.623 --> 01:36:52.457 very eloquently , we can be your 01:36:52.457 --> 01:36:54.512 greatest asset or your worst enemy . 01:36:55.319 --> 01:36:57.509 And you've come into my house where I 01:36:57.509 --> 01:36:59.565 was born and raised in this county . 01:36:59.689 --> 01:37:01.800 And you're taking something away from 01:37:01.800 --> 01:37:04.939 me , and I wanna know why . Um , we did , 01:37:05.069 --> 01:37:07.236 um , went through and we've done a lot 01:37:07.236 --> 01:37:09.458 of war games , Congressman , on what we 01:37:09.458 --> 01:37:11.402 need for aviation structure and so 01:37:11.402 --> 01:37:13.569 that's what we went down from start to 01:37:13.569 --> 01:37:15.736 finish on , on what we're gonna do . I 01:37:15.736 --> 01:37:17.847 think we've talked a lot this morning 01:37:17.847 --> 01:37:20.013 about autonomous . You did speak about 01:37:20.013 --> 01:37:19.549 modernization . I'm curious why you 01:37:19.549 --> 01:37:21.549 wouldn't try to modernize that unit 01:37:21.549 --> 01:37:23.660 instead of decommissioning it . I say 01:37:23.660 --> 01:37:25.827 decommission because I'm a navy guys . 01:37:25.827 --> 01:37:25.160 There's a different term in the army . 01:37:25.189 --> 01:37:27.839 Please let me know . Well again , I 01:37:27.839 --> 01:37:30.040 think when you're overstructured on a 01:37:30.040 --> 01:37:31.759 specific asset and you're 01:37:31.759 --> 01:37:34.759 underinvesting in others , you have to 01:37:34.759 --> 01:37:36.815 make decisions on that . It's , it's 01:37:36.815 --> 01:37:39.037 that's what we are looking to do with a 01:37:39.037 --> 01:37:41.203 lot of those pilots , um , that are in 01:37:41.203 --> 01:37:44.080 COO 3 is they will , um , we're working 01:37:44.080 --> 01:37:46.080 right now with them that they would 01:37:46.080 --> 01:37:48.247 move and they would fly in the guard . 01:37:48.247 --> 01:37:50.413 We got a lot of talent in there , um , 01:37:50.413 --> 01:37:52.136 that will go with the guard or 01:37:52.136 --> 01:37:54.469 potentially with COO 1 . Um , but again , 01:37:54.469 --> 01:37:56.636 what we have committed ourselves to is 01:37:56.636 --> 01:37:58.469 that we're not gonna keep , uh , 01:37:58.469 --> 01:38:00.636 equipment that we don't need , systems 01:38:00.636 --> 01:38:02.858 that we don't need when we know we need 01:38:02.858 --> 01:38:04.802 to invest . If we don't need those 01:38:04.802 --> 01:38:06.969 particular weapon systems or those air 01:38:06.969 --> 01:38:06.640 assets , why can't we increase the 01:38:06.640 --> 01:38:09.649 capability by moving . More modern 01:38:09.649 --> 01:38:13.589 aircraft to that location . Again , 01:38:13.669 --> 01:38:16.979 I , I think we're gonna uh . Over the 01:38:16.979 --> 01:38:19.146 years gonna start to see a reduction , 01:38:19.146 --> 01:38:21.339 uh , in what we're having for some of 01:38:21.339 --> 01:38:23.450 our rotary wing aircraft , and we can 01:38:23.450 --> 01:38:25.228 talk about how much rotary wing 01:38:25.228 --> 01:38:27.228 aircraft has been used right on the 01:38:27.228 --> 01:38:29.228 front lines and and some of these , 01:38:29.228 --> 01:38:31.339 it's less . We are moving towards the 01:38:31.339 --> 01:38:33.750 MV 75 , which is the um the flora that 01:38:33.750 --> 01:38:35.917 the secretary was talking about in the 01:38:35.917 --> 01:38:37.917 in the in the future here and we're 01:38:37.917 --> 01:38:40.290 hoping to move that very quickly . Um , 01:38:40.339 --> 01:38:42.172 but I think that there are other 01:38:42.172 --> 01:38:45.049 missions , autonomous systems , um , 01:38:45.140 --> 01:38:47.307 that can do that , and again we had to 01:38:47.307 --> 01:38:49.362 make a decision we did not , we were 01:38:49.362 --> 01:38:51.251 overstructured on that particular 01:38:51.251 --> 01:38:53.418 aviation . Well , I , I , I'd like you 01:38:53.418 --> 01:38:55.584 guys to take a harder look at this and 01:38:55.584 --> 01:38:57.751 let me tell you why , because Conroe , 01:38:57.751 --> 01:39:00.029 Texas is just right outside of Houston . 01:39:00.029 --> 01:39:01.751 And that area is basically the 01:39:01.751 --> 01:39:03.839 catcher's mitt for hurricanes in the 01:39:03.839 --> 01:39:07.799 state , OK , out of the Gulf . And 01:39:08.830 --> 01:39:12.330 The 500 Soldiers and the 100 01:39:12.330 --> 01:39:16.029 civilians that work . At that unit or 01:39:16.029 --> 01:39:18.140 engage in our community , we see them 01:39:18.140 --> 01:39:20.209 every day . And when Harvey hit and 01:39:20.209 --> 01:39:22.487 every other storm that followed Harvey , 01:39:22.487 --> 01:39:24.919 that asset was flying overhead rescuing 01:39:25.290 --> 01:39:27.910 my constituents . Day after day . 01:39:29.129 --> 01:39:31.649 Continue to do so without question . 01:39:32.350 --> 01:39:35.370 And I'm getting the call not from them . 01:39:36.950 --> 01:39:39.279 But from my district , and I can assure 01:39:39.279 --> 01:39:41.390 you , when my district starts chewing 01:39:41.390 --> 01:39:44.359 on me , guess where I'm coming . And I 01:39:44.359 --> 01:39:46.759 want those answers . I want , I 01:39:46.759 --> 01:39:48.926 respectfully request either one of you 01:39:48.926 --> 01:39:51.092 come to my office and explain to me in 01:39:51.092 --> 01:39:53.350 detail why this is happening , why we 01:39:53.350 --> 01:39:55.461 can't move assets in this place , why 01:39:55.461 --> 01:39:58.009 can't this particular unit stay , not 01:39:58.009 --> 01:40:00.120 only because of its deployability and 01:40:00.120 --> 01:40:02.231 how great they are every time they go 01:40:02.231 --> 01:40:04.680 overseas , but because of the asset and 01:40:04.680 --> 01:40:06.736 what they bring when we get hit by a 01:40:06.736 --> 01:40:10.649 storm every single year . Now , 01:40:10.700 --> 01:40:12.811 if you do take that from us , and I'm 01:40:12.811 --> 01:40:14.978 gonna speak hypothetically here you do 01:40:14.978 --> 01:40:17.256 take this from us , and this goes away , 01:40:17.256 --> 01:40:17.100 and I've heard 12 to 24 months once you 01:40:17.100 --> 01:40:19.680 pull the trigger . If that happens and 01:40:19.680 --> 01:40:21.910 we get hit again , which we will . 01:40:23.569 --> 01:40:25.625 You're gonna have to explain to me , 01:40:25.689 --> 01:40:27.911 and Congressman , uh , we'd be happy to 01:40:27.911 --> 01:40:30.245 come to your office and explain it , um , 01:40:30.245 --> 01:40:32.300 the , the first bucket of ATI and we 01:40:32.300 --> 01:40:34.549 are allocating , reallocating $48 01:40:34.549 --> 01:40:36.549 billion of spending over the next 5 01:40:36.549 --> 01:40:38.830 years . Um , we've had a lot of hard 01:40:38.830 --> 01:40:41.470 conversations with a lot of , um , um , 01:40:42.470 --> 01:40:44.581 well-intentioned and , uh , the , the 01:40:44.581 --> 01:40:46.803 tension in this is , is at a scale that 01:40:46.803 --> 01:40:49.609 we , we are , um . We would be 01:40:49.609 --> 01:40:51.665 delighted to show you I'd be curious 01:40:51.665 --> 01:40:53.930 conversations with any of those people 01:40:53.930 --> 01:40:56.097 that you have those conversations have 01:40:56.097 --> 01:40:58.569 been down there . And , and I'm , I'm 01:40:58.569 --> 01:41:00.625 kind of see what I'm talking about . 01:41:00.625 --> 01:41:02.736 Yeah , Congressman , I will also tell 01:41:02.736 --> 01:41:04.791 you from a lot of experience through 01:41:04.791 --> 01:41:06.847 the years of supporting we will , we 01:41:06.847 --> 01:41:06.680 have done this most of the time we have 01:41:06.680 --> 01:41:09.640 to evacuate all of the aircraft out . 01:41:10.009 --> 01:41:12.770 um , we still have , uh , Cavasso sits 01:41:12.770 --> 01:41:14.937 right up the road and gentleman's time 01:41:14.937 --> 01:41:17.214 expired , chair , and I recognize , uh , 01:41:17.214 --> 01:41:19.492 Representative Vasquez from New Mexico . 01:41:19.492 --> 01:41:21.603 Thank you , Mr . Chairman . Thank you 01:41:21.603 --> 01:41:23.714 Secretary Driscoll , General George , 01:41:23.714 --> 01:41:23.129 for your time today and for your years 01:41:23.129 --> 01:41:25.359 of service to our country . I represent 01:41:25.359 --> 01:41:27.359 New Mexico's 2nd district , home to 01:41:27.359 --> 01:41:29.581 White Sands missile range , as I'm sure 01:41:29.581 --> 01:41:31.526 you well know , White Sands is the 01:41:31.526 --> 01:41:33.415 department's premier research and 01:41:33.415 --> 01:41:35.359 testing facility where we've spent 01:41:35.359 --> 01:41:35.310 decades developing cutting edge 01:41:35.310 --> 01:41:37.640 technologies and weapon systems . I've 01:41:37.640 --> 01:41:39.696 heard from base leadership during my 01:41:39.696 --> 01:41:41.473 time here in Congress that they 01:41:41.473 --> 01:41:43.362 persistently dealt with drones of 01:41:43.362 --> 01:41:45.196 unknown origin entering into the 01:41:45.196 --> 01:41:47.418 airspace without authorization . Drones 01:41:47.418 --> 01:41:49.473 are a relatively cheap weapon system 01:41:49.473 --> 01:41:51.362 with the capacity to rapidly form 01:41:51.362 --> 01:41:53.584 swarms and launch attacks on targets of 01:41:53.584 --> 01:41:55.640 significantly higher value . And I'm 01:41:55.640 --> 01:41:55.490 concerned about White Sands 01:41:55.490 --> 01:41:57.434 vulnerability . They also have the 01:41:57.434 --> 01:41:59.379 ability to spy on some of our most 01:41:59.379 --> 01:42:01.323 sensitive technologies while it is 01:42:01.323 --> 01:42:03.490 being tested at White Sands . The base 01:42:03.490 --> 01:42:05.712 currently has limited radar capacity to 01:42:05.712 --> 01:42:07.657 detect drone incursions , but more 01:42:07.657 --> 01:42:09.490 importantly , they lack both the 01:42:09.490 --> 01:42:11.434 authority and technology to engage 01:42:11.434 --> 01:42:13.546 these drones , leaving us potentially 01:42:13.546 --> 01:42:15.601 exposed to our adversaries . General 01:42:15.601 --> 01:42:17.649 George , uh , would you agree that 01:42:17.649 --> 01:42:19.871 unknown drones entering the airspace of 01:42:19.871 --> 01:42:21.427 our military bases poses an 01:42:21.427 --> 01:42:24.189 intelligence and security threat ? Um , 01:42:24.270 --> 01:42:25.937 I agree , and to go further , 01:42:26.029 --> 01:42:28.251 Congressman , I , you know , this is an 01:42:28.251 --> 01:42:30.473 area that we've been talking about that 01:42:30.473 --> 01:42:32.696 we , uh , and you'll see we're going to 01:42:32.696 --> 01:42:34.529 invest more in , um , we need to 01:42:34.529 --> 01:42:36.807 experiment more with , we need to have , 01:42:36.807 --> 01:42:39.140 uh , commercial , you know , more folks , 01:42:39.140 --> 01:42:41.362 uh , developers that are in there doing 01:42:41.362 --> 01:42:43.418 that , um , and we need to work with 01:42:43.418 --> 01:42:45.473 you on the 130I to make sure that we 01:42:45.473 --> 01:42:47.529 also get the right authorities to do 01:42:47.529 --> 01:42:49.418 that . There are areas I know for 01:42:49.418 --> 01:42:51.585 example where we , you know , you , we 01:42:51.585 --> 01:42:53.640 could shoot things down . Um , so we 01:42:53.640 --> 01:42:55.807 have to work , we have to work through 01:42:55.807 --> 01:42:55.509 some of that . And Congressman , I 01:42:55.509 --> 01:42:57.620 would just say that this is a topic I 01:42:57.620 --> 01:42:59.620 think , um , that that likely would 01:42:59.620 --> 01:43:01.731 have bipartisan support and , and you 01:43:01.731 --> 01:43:04.065 have our , um , both , uh , very public , 01:43:04.065 --> 01:43:06.520 um . Admission and request that we need 01:43:06.520 --> 01:43:08.742 help to all work together to solve this 01:43:08.742 --> 01:43:10.909 because in KOA it is difficult . There 01:43:10.909 --> 01:43:12.964 are a lot of different assets nearby 01:43:12.964 --> 01:43:15.076 there's uh commercial air traffic and 01:43:15.076 --> 01:43:17.298 the answers are not simple and so we as 01:43:17.298 --> 01:43:19.298 a nation have got to come up with a 01:43:19.298 --> 01:43:21.520 better solution . Thank you Secretary . 01:43:21.520 --> 01:43:20.970 Thank you , General . uh , does the 01:43:20.970 --> 01:43:23.026 Army or Department of Defense keep a 01:43:23.026 --> 01:43:25.192 log of instances in which unauthorized 01:43:25.192 --> 01:43:27.137 drones have been entering military 01:43:27.137 --> 01:43:30.000 airspace ? We do , we do keep track of 01:43:30.000 --> 01:43:32.167 that . Have those been increasing over 01:43:32.167 --> 01:43:34.333 the last five years ? Um , I would say 01:43:34.333 --> 01:43:36.359 drones are increasing in general , 01:43:36.399 --> 01:43:38.455 whether it's , you know , commercial 01:43:38.455 --> 01:43:40.732 and again this gets back to , you know , 01:43:40.732 --> 01:43:42.843 being able to identify , understand , 01:43:42.843 --> 01:43:45.010 you know , and , and what you're doing 01:43:45.010 --> 01:43:47.121 to categorize it . So and I think the 01:43:47.121 --> 01:43:49.232 secretary has seen that , but it gets 01:43:49.232 --> 01:43:51.455 again gets back to how we're gonna have 01:43:51.455 --> 01:43:51.189 to work . Together to get after the 01:43:51.189 --> 01:43:53.470 authorities flexible funding to make 01:43:53.470 --> 01:43:55.359 sure that we can actually buy the 01:43:55.359 --> 01:43:57.830 things and you know not one specific 01:43:57.830 --> 01:44:00.189 system and and continue to evolve in 01:44:00.189 --> 01:44:02.319 this area and rapidly . Thank you 01:44:02.319 --> 01:44:04.486 Secretary and a lot of that technology 01:44:04.486 --> 01:44:06.541 is being developed in my district in 01:44:06.541 --> 01:44:08.763 the state of New Mexico so I appreciate 01:44:08.763 --> 01:44:10.875 you . Uh , lending them , uh , a hand 01:44:10.875 --> 01:44:13.041 to be able to compete , uh , for these 01:44:13.041 --> 01:44:12.740 contracts , uh , Secretary Driscoll , 01:44:12.950 --> 01:44:15.061 given the rising use of drones , uh , 01:44:15.061 --> 01:44:17.339 for military and intelligence purposes , 01:44:17.430 --> 01:44:19.470 what is the Army doing in FY 26 to 01:44:19.470 --> 01:44:21.748 improve our counter drone capabilities ? 01:44:21.748 --> 01:44:24.029 Um , congressman , this is top of mind . 01:44:24.080 --> 01:44:25.636 We are testing all sorts of 01:44:25.636 --> 01:44:28.399 capabilities . Um , directed energy is 01:44:28.399 --> 01:44:30.510 one that I think we've all read about 01:44:30.510 --> 01:44:32.399 recently that , um , it is a very 01:44:32.399 --> 01:44:34.621 difficult science problem to solve . We 01:44:34.621 --> 01:44:36.955 don't have a scalable solution yet . Um , 01:44:36.955 --> 01:44:38.732 we are working with , um , tech 01:44:38.732 --> 01:44:40.899 providers from our SAGU that is trying 01:44:40.899 --> 01:44:42.955 to out the best lessons of Ukraine . 01:44:43.040 --> 01:44:45.279 There are a lot of technology providers 01:44:45.279 --> 01:44:47.446 in Ukraine . They're , they're calling 01:44:47.446 --> 01:44:49.557 it in some ways the Silicon Valley of 01:44:49.557 --> 01:44:51.501 war right now and so . What we are 01:44:51.501 --> 01:44:53.612 trying to do is instead of needing to 01:44:53.612 --> 01:44:55.723 innovate as a nation ourselves we can 01:44:55.723 --> 01:44:57.723 be fast followers on a lot of these 01:44:57.723 --> 01:45:00.001 tools , um , and the army is , um , um , 01:45:00.001 --> 01:45:02.223 working daily to try to come up with as 01:45:02.223 --> 01:45:04.390 many solutions as possible . Thank you 01:45:04.390 --> 01:45:06.501 Secretary and I wanna switch topics I 01:45:06.501 --> 01:45:08.612 add one thing on that general , I , I 01:45:08.612 --> 01:45:08.060 just wanna make sure I get to to these 01:45:08.060 --> 01:45:10.282 other questions here . Um , excuse me , 01:45:10.390 --> 01:45:12.334 I wanna switch topics to the troop 01:45:12.334 --> 01:45:14.557 deployments on the border . I represent 01:45:14.557 --> 01:45:16.779 180 miles of the US-Mexico border , the 01:45:16.779 --> 01:45:18.946 entirety of the New Mexico border with 01:45:18.946 --> 01:45:21.001 Mexico . Uh , and recently the troop 01:45:21.001 --> 01:45:23.168 deployment to the border has created a 01:45:23.168 --> 01:45:25.168 military zone , uh , that has taken 01:45:25.168 --> 01:45:27.279 over the management of public lands , 01:45:27.279 --> 01:45:29.501 federal public lands . In fact , um , I 01:45:29.501 --> 01:45:31.612 have a deer hunt this year in an area 01:45:31.612 --> 01:45:33.723 where I'm no longer able to hunt , no 01:45:33.723 --> 01:45:35.890 longer able to enter , and it's become 01:45:35.890 --> 01:45:35.270 unclear where the boundaries of this 01:45:35.270 --> 01:45:37.437 military zone actually start and where 01:45:37.437 --> 01:45:39.659 they end and that's unclear not just to 01:45:39.659 --> 01:45:41.714 hunters or people who enjoy the land 01:45:41.714 --> 01:45:43.881 but also to local governments , county 01:45:43.881 --> 01:45:45.881 commissioners of those counties who 01:45:45.881 --> 01:45:48.048 represent those border counties . Um , 01:45:48.048 --> 01:45:50.214 how fast can we get the information of 01:45:50.214 --> 01:45:49.770 where these military border zones 01:45:49.770 --> 01:45:52.009 actually exist and what can Americans 01:45:52.009 --> 01:45:53.953 who go into these existing federal 01:45:53.953 --> 01:45:56.065 public lands managed by the Bureau of 01:45:56.065 --> 01:45:58.065 Land Management expect some answers 01:45:58.065 --> 01:46:00.231 about whether they will be apprehended 01:46:00.231 --> 01:46:02.453 or arrested within these border zones ? 01:46:02.453 --> 01:46:04.231 We , we can provide , uh , very 01:46:04.231 --> 01:46:06.509 specifically , I'll bifurcate my reply . 01:46:06.509 --> 01:46:06.259 We can provide that information to your 01:46:06.259 --> 01:46:08.370 office and then , uh , to , to people 01:46:08.370 --> 01:46:10.370 on that specific land . The army is 01:46:10.370 --> 01:46:12.203 working incredibly hard with our 01:46:12.203 --> 01:46:14.315 soldiers to put out signage . Um , we 01:46:14.315 --> 01:46:16.648 have taken it over recently and so , um . 01:46:16.648 --> 01:46:18.870 Thank you Secretary . I appreciate that 01:46:18.870 --> 01:46:21.092 because so far we have not received any 01:46:21.092 --> 01:46:20.819 response from the Department of Defense 01:46:20.819 --> 01:46:22.979 or the Army . So thank you , Ail uh 01:46:22.979 --> 01:46:25.090 chair not recognized gentle lady from 01:46:25.090 --> 01:46:27.090 Virginia , Ms . Kiggins . Thank you 01:46:27.090 --> 01:46:29.312 very much to both of you for being with 01:46:29.312 --> 01:46:31.423 us today . And although I represent a 01:46:31.423 --> 01:46:33.423 big Navy district in Virginia's 2nd 01:46:33.423 --> 01:46:35.423 district in Hampton Roads , I'm the 01:46:35.423 --> 01:46:35.060 daughter of a Green Beret who served in 01:46:35.060 --> 01:46:37.339 Vietnam , so I appreciate again both of 01:46:37.339 --> 01:46:39.500 your services . I wanted to just echo 01:46:39.500 --> 01:46:41.333 my colleague's uh sentiments for 01:46:41.333 --> 01:46:43.444 prioritizing the quality of life work 01:46:43.444 --> 01:46:45.500 that we did last Congress . We . The 01:46:45.500 --> 01:46:47.556 housing , child care , health care , 01:46:47.556 --> 01:46:49.222 pay and compensation , spouse 01:46:49.222 --> 01:46:51.444 employment . These are really important 01:46:51.444 --> 01:46:53.444 issues and we hear it time and time 01:46:53.444 --> 01:46:53.424 again and across the service branches . 01:46:53.504 --> 01:46:55.226 So thank you for continuing to 01:46:55.226 --> 01:46:57.415 prioritize that . I , I echo their 01:46:57.415 --> 01:46:59.471 sentiments just about , you know , I 01:46:59.471 --> 01:47:01.693 know there's a lot of needs in the , in 01:47:01.693 --> 01:47:03.526 the balance , the budget is , is 01:47:03.526 --> 01:47:05.748 confined . So , uh , just make sure you 01:47:05.748 --> 01:47:07.915 don't forget about quality of lifelong 01:47:07.915 --> 01:47:09.804 those same lines that we talked a 01:47:09.804 --> 01:47:12.026 little bit about power grids and I know 01:47:12.026 --> 01:47:11.665 Congresswoman Stefanik mentioned Fort 01:47:11.665 --> 01:47:14.209 Drum . And we have similar challenges 01:47:14.209 --> 01:47:16.376 at Naval Station Norfolk and Naval Air 01:47:16.376 --> 01:47:18.598 Station Oceana again in my district and 01:47:18.598 --> 01:47:20.653 And we have an offshore wind project 01:47:20.653 --> 01:47:22.876 that is actually giving the air station 01:47:22.876 --> 01:47:24.709 a $500 million dollar power grid 01:47:24.709 --> 01:47:26.820 upgrade , which I appreciate . It's a 01:47:26.820 --> 01:47:28.931 little , little bit of a creative way 01:47:28.931 --> 01:47:31.042 to do that . But uh there's also talk 01:47:31.042 --> 01:47:30.459 about , you know , small modular 01:47:30.459 --> 01:47:32.515 reactors which you all mentioned and 01:47:32.515 --> 01:47:34.515 then , uh , just adopting right now 01:47:34.515 --> 01:47:36.626 we're having to adopt the local power 01:47:36.626 --> 01:47:38.681 grid , which , which do you prefer ? 01:47:38.681 --> 01:47:40.959 Which would work out better , uh , for , 01:47:40.959 --> 01:47:43.126 for the army and then what are some of 01:47:43.126 --> 01:47:45.403 the barriers to , to implementing that , 01:47:45.403 --> 01:47:45.819 that power source ?