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but we know we can't do that . Our 

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adversaries are looking to grow 

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stronger . North Korea Threatens 

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Missile Strikes Iran continues to be 

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the largest state sponsor of 

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terrorism in the world . Russia and 

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China . Their governments have 

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attempted to influence our elections , 

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invaded our allies and spread 

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propaganda throughout our media . They 

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also continue to build up their 

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militaries to use for aggression , not 

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to maintain peace . The US has 

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maintained military superiority for so 

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long that many take it for granted . 

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But it's far from guaranteed . If we 

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don't continue to invest in replacing 

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decades old ships , planes , 

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tanks and other equipment will soon 

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fall behind . And then it may be too 

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late to catch up . Given that our 

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forces may also fight outnumbered , we 

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need to look at every option to ensure 

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that they are well trained , well 

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prepared for the rigors of combat . And 

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finally , we need toe . Always consider 

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what we can do to take better care of 

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those who are willing to put their 

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lives on the line for this country . 

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The Department of Defense , under the 

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stellar leadership of Secretary Esper , 

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has pledged to rebuild US military 

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readiness and they've made great 

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progress but there are challenges that 

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still remain . The secretary is here 

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today to tell us what we , as a nation 

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must do to preserve America's founding 

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promises of peace and prosperity and 

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freedom for this and for future 

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generations and how we might help . 

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But first , let me give you a little 

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back rail . Dr . Mark Esper is a 

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graduate of the U . S . Military 

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Academy . He saw combat in the Gulf War 

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with the 101st Airborne . The Screaming 

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Eagles , the only air assault division 

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of the U . S . Army . He later 

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commanded a rifle company in an 

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Airborne Battalion combat team . After 

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leaving active duty , this highly 

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decorated veteran chose to join us here 

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at the Heritage Foundation and serve as 

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our chief of staff . While continuing 

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his military service in the National 

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Guard and the Army Reserve . He 

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eventually left Heritage and became a 

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senior staffer on both the Senate 

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Foreign Relations and Senate government 

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affairs committees . He also was a 

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policy director for the House Armed 

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Services Committee and the first 

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national security adviser for former 

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Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist . He 

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also served as a deputy assistant 

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secretary of defense under President 

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George W . Bush . Later , he would 

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work in a number of private sector 

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positions , including chief operating 

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officer and executive vice president at 

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Aerospace Industries Association , 

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executive vice president of the U . S . 

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Chamber of Commerce and vice president 

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for government relations at Raytheon . 

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In 2017 he was nominated by President 

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Trump and confirmed as secretary of the 

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Army in 2019 . He was nominated and 

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confirmed as secretary of defense . It 

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is truly an honor and a privilege . So 

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welcome to the Heritage Foundation and 

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welcome home , I might add , one of our 

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distinguished alumni and a dear friend 

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of this organization . Secretary of 

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Defense Mike Esper , Secretary Esper . 

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Well , good afternoon , everyone . And 

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thank you , Kate , for that very kind 

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and generous introduction . And I want 

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to say a big thank you to the Heritage 

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Foundation for hosting this discussion 

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about the successes of the Department 

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of Defense , the challenges we face 

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when it comes to implementing the 

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national defense strategy in this era 

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of great power competition . Today , 

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our strategic competitors China and 

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Russia are attempting to erode our hard 

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earned gains as they undermine 

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international rules and norms and use 

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coercion against other nations for 

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their own benefit . We continue to see 

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this behavior globally from Beijing's 

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predatory economics and its aggression 

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in the South and East China seas to 

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Moscow's violations of its 

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international obligations and the 

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sovereignty of its neighbors . When I 

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was confirmed to Secretary Defense in 

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2019 I made my top priority the 

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irreversible implementation of the 

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national defense strategy . This 

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strategy guides our work to protect our 

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compare comparative and competitive 

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advantages and to defend a free and 

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open global order along three lines of 

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effort . First , improving the 

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lethality and readiness of the force . 

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Second , strengthening allies and 

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building partners , and third , 

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reforming the department for greater 

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efficiency and accountability . I also 

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added 1/4 personal priority , taking 

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care of our service members and their 

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families . We have made great progress 

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on all these fronts , which we 

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distilled into 10 targeted goals . To 

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drive change across the entire Defense 

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Department enterprise , from focusing 

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the Department on China , to developing 

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coordinated guidance , to strengthen 

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allies and build partners from 

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modernizing the force by investing in 

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game changing technologies , to 

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reforming the Fourth Estate and from 

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reallocating , reassigning and 

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redeploying forces in accordance with 

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the nds to developing a new joint 

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warfighting concept just to name a few . 

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In recent weeks , I have discussed our 

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progress in several of these areas , 

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including modernization and our plan 

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for our future naval fleet of over 500 

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ships . Today , I'd like to highlight 

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our efforts on another top 10 goal . 

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Achieving higher levels of sustainable 

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readiness . First , it is important to 

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define what readiness really means for 

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the United States Armed forces . Simply 

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put , readiness refers to our 

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military's ability to answer the 

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nation's call and to fight and win 

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anytime , anywhere . It is comprised of 

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the training and equipment we provide 

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our soldiers , sailors , airmen , 

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Marines and space professionals , as 

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well as the deployment and maintenance 

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schedules that drive our operations and 

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the way we keep our service members 

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physically strong and mentally tough . 

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The bottom line is that each part of 

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the Radius life cycle is vital to 

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preparing and enabling our men and 

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women in uniform to successfully 

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execute their mission . The question we 

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must answer is this . If called upon to 

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fight tonight , are we ready 

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today ? Given our efforts over the past 

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few years , I am fully confident that 

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the answer to that question is a 

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resounding yes . I'll explain why in a 

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few minutes , because first , I want to 

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show through historical example , how 

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we learned the hard way the costs of 

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not being ready . In July 1950 

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at the beginning of the Korean War , an 

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under strength infantry battalion and 

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an artillery battery of close to 500 

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American soldiers rapidly deployed to 

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the outbreak of that conflict to a 

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position north of Osan , South Korea , 

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to delay the invading North Korean 

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forces . Thes men , no Nas task force . 

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Smith arrived without the standard kit 

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of a regimental combat team , including 

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tanks and air defenses . Moreover , 

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they had very little ammunition . Their 

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training was inadequate , Few of them 

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had any combat experience , and they're 

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anti tank weapons were ineffective . 

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Yet they would soon encounter thousands 

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of enemy forces and dozens of North 

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Korean tanks . Outgunned by heavy armor 

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and outmaneuvered by enemy infantry 

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Task Force , Smith was forced to 

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retreat , suffering heavy casualties in 

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the process . The battle votes on 

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demonstrate the tragic consequences of 

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leadership's failure to understand the 

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mission and their responsibilities , 

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leaving American troops unprepared with 

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obsolete equipment and heavily 

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outmanned for many years to include 

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my time on active duty as an infantry 

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officer in the 19 eighties . The 

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training imperative of the Army was no 

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MAWR task fourth task force myths 

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that must remain our mantra today . Our 

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security environment looks much 

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different 70 years later . But the 

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lessons we learned about the importance 

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of rightness remains with us today . 

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The NDS requires the United States 

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military to focus on preparing for a 

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high end fight against near pier 

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adversaries . To do so , we must 

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acknowledge that for the past two 

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decades our attention was directed 

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mainly towards fighting low intensity 

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conflicts against insurgents and 

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violent extremist organizations . 

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Moreover , years of insufficient 

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budgets and sequestration cause 

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significant damage to our readiness 

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till 2017 when we were able to begin 

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reversing course by adding over $200 

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billion to our budgets through fiscal 

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year 2019 . Over the past few years , 

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the department has refocused and 

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restored greatness in accordance with 

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the NDS along three major categories 

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people , policy and performance , each 

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of which , which I went to outline in 

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greater detail in the policy 

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category . The department has made our 

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biggest changes in global force 

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management since the early two 

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thousands , with the aim of creating 

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more ready forces with far greater 

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readiness and operational 

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unpredictability . The NDS recognizes 

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the need to balance the department's 

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modernization for future high end 

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conflicts with the bands of current 

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operations . To do so , we must grow 

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are available pool of ready forces . 

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Next , we must deploy them with greater 

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agility in response to crises and 

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strategic opportunities . And finally , 

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we must be more disciplined and how we 

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manage this ready supply from the 

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services with the requests from 

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combatant commanders . In addressing 

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this challenge , the department has 

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taken undertaken to major policy shifts . 

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First , Implementing dynamic force 

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employment allows us to rapidly 

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reposition forces to enhance deterrence , 

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to introduce operational uncertainty 

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into our adversaries calculus , to take 

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advantage of global opportunities and 

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emergency situations and to test our 

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own readiness . Second , increasing the 

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number of highly ready immediate 

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response forces and follow on 

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contingency response force units , the 

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Earth and the surf and providing 

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greater central authority to use them 

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globally allows us to tailor the 

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readiness . The joint force for the 

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most stressing war plans combined . 

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These policy shifts , which constitute 

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another one of our top 10 and DS 

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objectives , have enabled us to think 

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and act globally with speed 

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unencumbered by limitations with 

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individual geographic combatant 

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commands . This construct has also 

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allowed us to be much more confident in 

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the Joint Forces preparedness and in 

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directing writing this levels from the 

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services while also creating 

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predictability and efficiency within 

281
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our programming and budgeting system . 

282
00:12:16,940 --> 00:12:19,180
A particularly salient salient example 

283
00:12:19,190 --> 00:12:21,370
is the Bomber Task Force Operational 

284
00:12:21,370 --> 00:12:24,440
concept . In April of this year , I 

285
00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:26,740
approved an air force construct to 

286
00:12:26,740 --> 00:12:28,740
improve the readiness and strategic 

287
00:12:28,740 --> 00:12:30,660
flexibility of our bomber force , 

288
00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:34,120
moving away from a 16 year static and 

289
00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:36,960
predictable presence on Guam that was 

290
00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:39,640
burning down readiness . This change 

291
00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:41,930
was also necessary to complicate 

292
00:12:41,940 --> 00:12:44,051
Beijing's decision making and prevent 

293
00:12:44,051 --> 00:12:46,218
them from targeting our assets . We're 

294
00:12:46,218 --> 00:12:48,329
limiting our range with their growing 

295
00:12:48,329 --> 00:12:50,690
capabilities . The impact of the Bomber 

296
00:12:50,690 --> 00:12:53,400
Task Force concept extends beyond the 

297
00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:55,720
Indo Pacific , however , offering a 

298
00:12:55,730 --> 00:12:58,150
range of options to combat commanders 

299
00:12:58,150 --> 00:13:00,483
in multiple theaters , including Europe . 

300
00:13:01,340 --> 00:13:04,260
In August 6 B 52 bombers from my not 

301
00:13:04,260 --> 00:13:06,670
air force base , supported by a robust 

302
00:13:06,680 --> 00:13:09,730
airborne tanker brigade over flew all 

303
00:13:09,740 --> 00:13:12,750
30 NATO countries in a single day , 

304
00:13:13,540 --> 00:13:15,318
integrating with allied fighter 

305
00:13:15,318 --> 00:13:18,460
aircraft along the way . This robust 

306
00:13:18,460 --> 00:13:20,960
show of force by a broad coalition did 

307
00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:24,160
not go unnoticed by Moscow Neither did 

308
00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:26,049
our ability to rapidly deploy our 

309
00:13:26,049 --> 00:13:28,460
bombers anywhere at any time , sending 

310
00:13:28,460 --> 00:13:31,100
a strong message of our commitment to 

311
00:13:31,100 --> 00:13:34,340
our allies and partners . Moreover , 

312
00:13:34,340 --> 00:13:36,451
the Air force continues to maintain a 

313
00:13:36,451 --> 00:13:38,396
heightened posture of readiness to 

314
00:13:38,396 --> 00:13:40,284
deploy fighter squadrons on short 

315
00:13:40,284 --> 00:13:42,284
notice , much like we did late last 

316
00:13:42,284 --> 00:13:44,451
year to support Saudi Arabia following 

317
00:13:44,451 --> 00:13:47,060
Iran's attacks on its soil . Another 

318
00:13:47,060 --> 00:13:49,690
example is the aftermath of US air 

319
00:13:49,690 --> 00:13:52,460
strikes against Iran backed Iran backed 

320
00:13:52,470 --> 00:13:55,790
militias sites in Iraq last year . On 

321
00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:58,380
December 31st , Pentagon senior leaders 

322
00:13:58,380 --> 00:14:00,213
were informed of a large violent 

323
00:14:00,213 --> 00:14:02,730
protest outside the US Embassy in 

324
00:14:02,730 --> 00:14:05,030
Baghdad , followed hours later by a 

325
00:14:05,030 --> 00:14:07,141
notice of a possible embassy breach . 

326
00:14:07,940 --> 00:14:09,829
This triggered the requirement to 

327
00:14:09,829 --> 00:14:11,884
deploy an immediate response force , 

328
00:14:11,884 --> 00:14:13,884
which was successfully accomplished 

329
00:14:13,884 --> 00:14:17,340
within 19 hours of the incident . Over 

330
00:14:17,340 --> 00:14:19,118
the next three days , an entire 

331
00:14:19,118 --> 00:14:21,340
infantry brigade combat team consisting 

332
00:14:21,340 --> 00:14:23,190
of more than 3000 soldiers and 

333
00:14:23,190 --> 00:14:25,301
equipment was deployed halfway around 

334
00:14:25,301 --> 00:14:27,468
the world to secure American lives and 

335
00:14:27,468 --> 00:14:31,020
property in Iraq . The navy is also 

336
00:14:31,020 --> 00:14:32,850
executed multiple short notice 

337
00:14:32,850 --> 00:14:34,517
movements under dynamic force 

338
00:14:34,517 --> 00:14:36,620
employment . This includes the 

339
00:14:36,620 --> 00:14:38,453
deployment of the USS Dwight D . 

340
00:14:38,453 --> 00:14:40,650
Eisenhower earlier this year , which 

341
00:14:40,650 --> 00:14:42,706
was quickly adjusted in light of the 

342
00:14:42,706 --> 00:14:45,320
coronavirus outbreak and forced the Ike 

343
00:14:45,330 --> 00:14:47,386
to remain it see for seven months to 

344
00:14:47,386 --> 00:14:49,530
continue its maritime stability and 

345
00:14:49,530 --> 00:14:51,808
security operations in the Middle East . 

346
00:14:52,940 --> 00:14:55,107
It also includes a rapid deployment of 

347
00:14:55,107 --> 00:14:57,329
the Comfort and Mercy Hospital ships to 

348
00:14:57,329 --> 00:14:59,496
the east and west coasts of the United 

349
00:14:59,496 --> 00:15:01,440
States in March to provide medical 

350
00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:03,700
support in covert hospitals to support 

351
00:15:03,700 --> 00:15:07,460
the American people Moving on to people . 

352
00:15:07,540 --> 00:15:09,484
The department has pursued several 

353
00:15:09,484 --> 00:15:11,651
initiatives to train our personnel for 

354
00:15:11,651 --> 00:15:13,540
great power competition to better 

355
00:15:13,540 --> 00:15:15,596
prepare them to deploy , have called 

356
00:15:15,596 --> 00:15:17,651
upon and to ensure that they're less 

357
00:15:17,651 --> 00:15:19,484
likely to serve and back to back 

358
00:15:19,484 --> 00:15:21,707
deployments , all while improving their 

359
00:15:21,707 --> 00:15:24,520
quality of life . Our path forward also 

360
00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:26,576
relies on service level training and 

361
00:15:26,576 --> 00:15:28,631
professional military education that 

362
00:15:28,631 --> 00:15:30,798
develops the expertise of our force on 

363
00:15:30,798 --> 00:15:32,964
Chinese military systems , tactics and 

364
00:15:32,964 --> 00:15:35,250
doctrine , much like my generation did 

365
00:15:35,740 --> 00:15:37,962
when we studied the Soviet armed forces 

366
00:15:37,962 --> 00:15:41,020
during the Cold War . As part of our 

367
00:15:41,020 --> 00:15:43,187
top 10 goal to focus the department on 

368
00:15:43,187 --> 00:15:45,409
China , I directed the National Defense 

369
00:15:45,409 --> 00:15:48,300
University to refocus its curriculum by 

370
00:15:48,300 --> 00:15:50,430
dedicating 50% of the coursework to 

371
00:15:50,430 --> 00:15:54,230
China by academic year 2021 . I also 

372
00:15:54,230 --> 00:15:56,397
task the military services to make the 

373
00:15:56,397 --> 00:15:58,690
People's Liberation Army , the pacing 

374
00:15:58,690 --> 00:16:01,110
threat in our professional schools , 

375
00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:04,110
programs and training . Another 

376
00:16:04,110 --> 00:16:06,332
critical factor in our readiness is the 

377
00:16:06,332 --> 00:16:08,499
size and composition of our deployable 

378
00:16:08,499 --> 00:16:10,610
force , which we now track in ways we 

379
00:16:10,610 --> 00:16:13,070
never did before . We have added nearly 

380
00:16:13,070 --> 00:16:15,650
30,000 military personnel to our ranks 

381
00:16:15,820 --> 00:16:18,730
since 2016 and they great gains not 

382
00:16:18,730 --> 00:16:20,940
simply by growing our in strength but 

383
00:16:20,940 --> 00:16:22,940
by maximizing the number of service 

384
00:16:22,940 --> 00:16:24,884
members were able to deploy at any 

385
00:16:24,884 --> 00:16:27,950
given time . This was a result of close , 

386
00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:29,880
senior level and senior leader 

387
00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:32,150
attention to needed reforms , such as 

388
00:16:32,150 --> 00:16:34,317
quickly resolving medical conditions , 

389
00:16:34,317 --> 00:16:36,580
enabling service members to get back to 

390
00:16:36,580 --> 00:16:39,760
a ready status sooner . Ultimately , we 

391
00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:42,180
drove down non deployed numbers past 

392
00:16:42,180 --> 00:16:43,970
our goal of 5% of the force , 

393
00:16:44,340 --> 00:16:46,507
increasing readiness by returning tens 

394
00:16:46,507 --> 00:16:48,618
of thousands of personnel , the fully 

395
00:16:48,618 --> 00:16:50,850
deployable status months ahead of 

396
00:16:50,850 --> 00:16:54,270
schedule . For example , over the last 

397
00:16:54,270 --> 00:16:56,381
few years , the army's non deployable 

398
00:16:56,381 --> 00:16:59,260
population has decreased well over 50% 

399
00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:01,640
meaning many more soldiers are 

400
00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:03,670
available for a potential high end 

401
00:17:03,670 --> 00:17:06,770
fight if called upon to go . Since 

402
00:17:06,770 --> 00:17:09,240
2017 the Air Force has recruited and 

403
00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:11,680
trained 4600 additional maintenance 

404
00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:13,910
personnel , which , coupled with 

405
00:17:13,910 --> 00:17:16,480
additional investments drove a 19% 

406
00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:20,090
increase in overall unit readiness . At 

407
00:17:20,090 --> 00:17:22,201
the same time , the number of sailors 

408
00:17:22,201 --> 00:17:25,130
filling operational sea duty billets is 

409
00:17:25,130 --> 00:17:27,280
at its highest point since 2014 . 

410
00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:30,751
Meanwhile , we're doing everything in 

411
00:17:30,751 --> 00:17:32,751
our power to balance the inexorable 

412
00:17:32,751 --> 00:17:34,807
demands of overseas deployments with 

413
00:17:34,807 --> 00:17:36,696
readiness and our service members 

414
00:17:36,696 --> 00:17:38,970
commitments at home . One of our first 

415
00:17:38,970 --> 00:17:41,192
tasks before we make a decision to send 

416
00:17:41,192 --> 00:17:43,370
forces abroad is to determine how the 

417
00:17:43,370 --> 00:17:45,580
deployment will impact their work life 

418
00:17:45,580 --> 00:17:48,210
timelines . By increasing and 

419
00:17:48,210 --> 00:17:50,154
monitoring these deployed to dwell 

420
00:17:50,154 --> 00:17:52,377
thresholds , we're working to make sure 

421
00:17:52,377 --> 00:17:54,599
every warfighter and unit gets adequate 

422
00:17:54,599 --> 00:17:56,377
time to recover from their last 

423
00:17:56,377 --> 00:17:58,210
deployment , is well trained and 

424
00:17:58,210 --> 00:18:00,500
prepared for their next one and , on a 

425
00:18:00,500 --> 00:18:02,770
more personal note , experiences mawr 

426
00:18:02,770 --> 00:18:04,659
of the important moments in their 

427
00:18:04,659 --> 00:18:08,120
family's lives . We aim to do all this 

428
00:18:08,540 --> 00:18:10,762
while enabling the services to continue 

429
00:18:10,762 --> 00:18:12,873
to generate enough readiness for both 

430
00:18:12,873 --> 00:18:14,700
today and tomorrow . Key to our 

431
00:18:14,700 --> 00:18:16,589
people's ability to execute their 

432
00:18:16,589 --> 00:18:18,950
mission is there . Is there resiliency 

433
00:18:18,950 --> 00:18:21,280
and well being ? This is why we 

434
00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:23,169
continue to take steps to improve 

435
00:18:23,169 --> 00:18:25,058
service members quality of life , 

436
00:18:25,058 --> 00:18:27,280
including by expanding the availability 

437
00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:29,502
of child care , helping spouses sustain 

438
00:18:29,502 --> 00:18:31,447
their careers through multiple PCS 

439
00:18:31,447 --> 00:18:34,570
moves , improving housing and providing 

440
00:18:34,570 --> 00:18:36,570
mental health resource is and other 

441
00:18:36,570 --> 00:18:39,400
support . It is also why we remain 

442
00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:41,122
focused on reinforcing ethical 

443
00:18:41,122 --> 00:18:43,960
leadership across the force , fostering 

444
00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:45,849
trust in the chain of command and 

445
00:18:45,849 --> 00:18:47,680
promoting inclusion and equal 

446
00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:50,870
opportunity for all . Finally , 

447
00:18:51,740 --> 00:18:53,907
regarding performance , the department 

448
00:18:53,907 --> 00:18:56,220
is working alongside industry partners 

449
00:18:56,220 --> 00:18:58,387
to improve maintenance and sustainment 

450
00:18:58,387 --> 00:19:00,442
while investing in high end training 

451
00:19:00,442 --> 00:19:02,109
and exercises to increase the 

452
00:19:02,109 --> 00:19:04,370
proficiency of the force . Many of our 

453
00:19:04,370 --> 00:19:06,259
aircraft have undergone extensive 

454
00:19:06,259 --> 00:19:08,314
maintenance and much needed upgrades 

455
00:19:08,314 --> 00:19:10,590
over the past few years , set to 

456
00:19:10,590 --> 00:19:12,757
substantially increase their readiness 

457
00:19:12,757 --> 00:19:15,090
levels . This includes the F A 18 

458
00:19:15,090 --> 00:19:17,190
Hornet , whose mission capable rate 

459
00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:19,311
increased from a long term average of 

460
00:19:19,311 --> 00:19:22,660
55% to 80% as of last year . 

461
00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:25,496
Among several initiatives , the Navy 

462
00:19:25,496 --> 00:19:27,718
divested from the oldest legacy Hornets 

463
00:19:27,718 --> 00:19:29,607
and harvested harvested more than 

464
00:19:29,607 --> 00:19:31,870
14,000 repairable items for spares . 

465
00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:35,151
Additionally , improvements were made 

466
00:19:35,151 --> 00:19:37,373
to manage the aircraft undergoing depot 

467
00:19:37,373 --> 00:19:39,040
repair and increase workforce 

468
00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:41,207
employment . As a result , we now have 

469
00:19:41,207 --> 00:19:43,429
more ready aircraft on the flight lines 

470
00:19:43,460 --> 00:19:45,682
and pilots with greater proficiency and 

471
00:19:45,682 --> 00:19:47,920
experience . The department's fiscal 

472
00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:50,330
Year 2021 budget request aimed to 

473
00:19:50,330 --> 00:19:52,552
strengthen warfighting readiness with a 

474
00:19:52,552 --> 00:19:54,497
balanced mix of fighter aircraft , 

475
00:19:54,497 --> 00:19:57,000
including F 35 to ensure American air 

476
00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:00,230
dominance . As we transition to new 

477
00:20:00,230 --> 00:20:02,397
platforms , we continue to restore and 

478
00:20:02,397 --> 00:20:04,780
maintain legacy ones such as the CH 53 

479
00:20:04,780 --> 00:20:06,810
Echoes Super Stallion , Heavy Lift 

480
00:20:06,820 --> 00:20:09,450
transport helicopter Marine Corps has 

481
00:20:09,450 --> 00:20:11,339
improved this helicopters mission 

482
00:20:11,339 --> 00:20:13,680
capable rate by nearly 10% since fiscal 

483
00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:16,140
year 2017 in fleet squadrons and 

484
00:20:16,140 --> 00:20:18,720
returned 30 helicopters to full mission 

485
00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:21,510
capable status supporting the execution 

486
00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:24,450
of over 104,000 flight hours in 

487
00:20:24,450 --> 00:20:26,394
training and operational flights . 

488
00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:29,062
Overall , the Navy's readiness has been 

489
00:20:29,062 --> 00:20:31,284
on an upward trend since 2018 thanks to 

490
00:20:31,284 --> 00:20:33,390
increases in readiness , funding and 

491
00:20:33,390 --> 00:20:35,446
process improvements in aviation and 

492
00:20:35,446 --> 00:20:37,334
private shipyards , including the 

493
00:20:37,334 --> 00:20:39,168
hiring of hundreds of additional 

494
00:20:39,168 --> 00:20:42,330
shipyard personnel . As a result , on 

495
00:20:42,330 --> 00:20:44,610
time ship maintenance completion rates 

496
00:20:44,620 --> 00:20:47,130
have increased considerably , which I 

497
00:20:47,130 --> 00:20:49,297
was pleased to see during my visits to 

498
00:20:49,297 --> 00:20:51,408
shipyards in Norfolk , Virginia , and 

499
00:20:51,408 --> 00:20:54,380
Groton , Connecticut . Further , the 

500
00:20:54,380 --> 00:20:56,830
Navy is investing $20 billion over the 

501
00:20:56,830 --> 00:20:59,230
next 20 years to modernize our aging 

502
00:20:59,230 --> 00:21:01,710
public shipyards . Recognizing the 

503
00:21:01,710 --> 00:21:03,710
impact that these improvements will 

504
00:21:03,710 --> 00:21:06,460
have on our goal for Battle Force 2045 

505
00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:10,040
the modern 500 plus ship Navy I 

506
00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:13,020
outlined last week , the Air Force and 

507
00:21:13,020 --> 00:21:15,187
Space Force have also made significant 

508
00:21:15,187 --> 00:21:17,409
progress in rebuilding readiness across 

509
00:21:17,409 --> 00:21:19,464
multiple aircraft fleets , satellite 

510
00:21:19,464 --> 00:21:21,687
constellations and mission sets , while 

511
00:21:21,687 --> 00:21:23,742
actively pursuing the development of 

512
00:21:23,742 --> 00:21:25,964
integrated systems such as the Advanced 

513
00:21:25,964 --> 00:21:28,630
Battle Management System Key . And this 

514
00:21:28,630 --> 00:21:30,519
effort has been our investment in 

515
00:21:30,519 --> 00:21:33,340
weapons systems sustainment with a 9% 

516
00:21:33,350 --> 00:21:35,406
funding increase , yielding tangible 

517
00:21:35,406 --> 00:21:37,517
improvements in aircraft availability 

518
00:21:37,517 --> 00:21:40,180
and training opportunities , and as the 

519
00:21:40,180 --> 00:21:42,550
priority for manning first , the fight 

520
00:21:42,550 --> 00:21:44,550
frontline units have seen increased 

521
00:21:44,550 --> 00:21:47,560
readiness as high as 45% over the past 

522
00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:50,450
two years . Meanwhile , we have 

523
00:21:50,450 --> 00:21:52,672
enhanced our ground combat capabilities 

524
00:21:52,672 --> 00:21:54,783
by converting infantry brigade combat 

525
00:21:54,783 --> 00:21:56,728
teams , two armored brigade combat 

526
00:21:56,728 --> 00:21:59,070
teams , the Army's most lethal and 

527
00:21:59,070 --> 00:22:02,040
mobile combat formations . Over the 

528
00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:03,762
past four years , the Army has 

529
00:22:03,762 --> 00:22:05,980
increased the number of ABC ts ready 

530
00:22:05,980 --> 00:22:08,800
for deployment by 30% while also 

531
00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:11,590
upgrading and modernizing more than 470 

532
00:22:11,660 --> 00:22:14,970
Abrams tanks . Additionally , this year 

533
00:22:14,970 --> 00:22:16,692
the Army conducted its largest 

534
00:22:16,692 --> 00:22:18,940
strategic force projection exercise in 

535
00:22:18,940 --> 00:22:21,750
nearly two decades , with defender 20 

536
00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:23,704
integrating armored brigade combat 

537
00:22:23,704 --> 00:22:25,940
teams with our NATO partners in both 

538
00:22:25,940 --> 00:22:28,580
maneuver and live fire exercises on the 

539
00:22:28,580 --> 00:22:31,760
European continent . Among our efforts 

540
00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:33,871
to further enhance the proficiency of 

541
00:22:33,871 --> 00:22:36,038
our force , the defense department has 

542
00:22:36,038 --> 00:22:38,149
streamlined pre deployment training , 

543
00:22:38,149 --> 00:22:40,260
preparations and medical requirements 

544
00:22:40,260 --> 00:22:42,260
by returning those decisions to the 

545
00:22:42,260 --> 00:22:44,890
military departments . This April , I 

546
00:22:44,890 --> 00:22:46,779
also signed the Joint Operational 

547
00:22:46,779 --> 00:22:48,779
Training Infrastructure Strategy to 

548
00:22:48,779 --> 00:22:50,723
integrate our efforts to modernize 

549
00:22:50,723 --> 00:22:52,834
operational training over the next 10 

550
00:22:52,834 --> 00:22:54,834
years . This is a vital step toward 

551
00:22:54,834 --> 00:22:56,890
fulfilling another one of our top 10 

552
00:22:56,890 --> 00:22:59,340
goals that is establishing realistic 

553
00:22:59,340 --> 00:23:01,330
joint war games , exercises and 

554
00:23:01,330 --> 00:23:04,590
training plans . In doing so , we will 

555
00:23:04,590 --> 00:23:06,757
ensure the joint force receives better 

556
00:23:06,757 --> 00:23:08,812
training that replicates operational 

557
00:23:08,812 --> 00:23:10,923
conditions and contested environments 

558
00:23:10,923 --> 00:23:13,990
against our strategic competitors . The 

559
00:23:13,990 --> 00:23:16,157
Air Force , for example , has migrated 

560
00:23:16,157 --> 00:23:18,046
to a common simulator platform to 

561
00:23:18,046 --> 00:23:19,657
enhance interoperability and 

562
00:23:19,657 --> 00:23:21,879
cybersecurity and to integrate multiple 

563
00:23:21,879 --> 00:23:24,460
domains . This step was taken in 

564
00:23:24,460 --> 00:23:26,071
response to the insufficient 

565
00:23:26,071 --> 00:23:28,127
capabilities of simulators that were 

566
00:23:28,127 --> 00:23:30,293
designed a standalone devices training 

567
00:23:30,293 --> 00:23:32,182
cruise to fly specific aircraft . 

568
00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:34,751
Meanwhile , the Navy is developing an 

569
00:23:34,751 --> 00:23:36,918
integrated live , virtual constructive 

570
00:23:36,918 --> 00:23:39,084
training environment which merges live 

571
00:23:39,084 --> 00:23:41,196
and synthetic training to prepare our 

572
00:23:41,196 --> 00:23:43,362
forces for conflict against Pierre and 

573
00:23:43,362 --> 00:23:45,362
near peer competitors . At the same 

574
00:23:45,362 --> 00:23:47,084
time , the Navy Marine Corps , 

575
00:23:47,084 --> 00:23:49,307
preparing for large scale exercise 2021 

576
00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:51,770
a multi domain maritime exercise that 

577
00:23:51,770 --> 00:23:53,940
will test their ability to integrate 

578
00:23:53,940 --> 00:23:56,030
and operationalized fleet design and 

579
00:23:56,030 --> 00:23:58,197
supporting concepts at multiple levels 

580
00:23:58,197 --> 00:24:01,120
of war . As we continue to strengthen 

581
00:24:01,120 --> 00:24:03,287
United States , military readiness for 

582
00:24:03,287 --> 00:24:05,398
the future are imperative is to build 

583
00:24:05,398 --> 00:24:07,509
upon the gains we have made in recent 

584
00:24:07,509 --> 00:24:09,620
years while adapting to stay ahead of 

585
00:24:09,620 --> 00:24:11,842
emerging challenges , including cyber . 

586
00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:14,880
We know adversaries . Malign actors are 

587
00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:17,160
attempting to attack and jeopardize the 

588
00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:19,271
networks that are platforms , weapons 

589
00:24:19,271 --> 00:24:22,060
and formations rely upon toe operate . 

590
00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:25,262
The tremendous investments we have made 

591
00:24:25,262 --> 00:24:27,373
in our most lethal capabilities could 

592
00:24:27,373 --> 00:24:29,484
be rendered ineffective in a high end 

593
00:24:29,484 --> 00:24:31,373
fight unless we treat cyber cyber 

594
00:24:31,373 --> 00:24:33,318
capability readiness with the same 

595
00:24:33,318 --> 00:24:35,151
seriousness as we do material or 

596
00:24:35,151 --> 00:24:37,700
personnel readiness . This is why the 

597
00:24:37,700 --> 00:24:40,230
department has put cyber on par with 

598
00:24:40,230 --> 00:24:42,230
the other elements of readiness . I 

599
00:24:42,230 --> 00:24:44,286
discussed earlier people , equipment 

600
00:24:44,286 --> 00:24:47,540
and training . The coronavirus pandemic 

601
00:24:47,540 --> 00:24:49,540
represents another challenge to our 

602
00:24:49,540 --> 00:24:51,484
military and our industrial base . 

603
00:24:51,740 --> 00:24:53,962
However , the department has been quick 

604
00:24:53,962 --> 00:24:56,184
to minimize its impact on our forces by 

605
00:24:56,184 --> 00:24:58,407
taking immediate action , going back to 

606
00:24:58,407 --> 00:25:00,810
January to stem the spread of the virus 

607
00:25:00,820 --> 00:25:03,000
in our ranks , we suspended 

608
00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,278
international travel for our personnel , 

609
00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:07,224
then shifted to a conditions based 

610
00:25:07,224 --> 00:25:10,850
approach . We published 13 iterations 

611
00:25:11,010 --> 00:25:13,121
of force health protection guidelines 

612
00:25:13,121 --> 00:25:14,980
since early February , when we 

613
00:25:14,980 --> 00:25:17,147
activated our global pandemic response 

614
00:25:17,147 --> 00:25:19,890
plan and we modified our training to 

615
00:25:19,890 --> 00:25:22,040
Mitigate Cove it risks . This year's 

616
00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:24,730
RIMPAC exercise , for example , was 

617
00:25:24,730 --> 00:25:27,070
held on Lee at sea without port calls . 

618
00:25:28,340 --> 00:25:30,507
At the same time , we provided medical 

619
00:25:30,507 --> 00:25:32,729
support , personal protective equipment 

620
00:25:32,729 --> 00:25:34,896
and other supplies to federal agencies 

621
00:25:34,896 --> 00:25:37,118
working in hot spots around the country 

622
00:25:37,118 --> 00:25:39,229
in support of the American people and 

623
00:25:39,229 --> 00:25:41,451
through the Defense Production Act , we 

624
00:25:41,451 --> 00:25:43,507
announced over $500 million worth of 

625
00:25:43,507 --> 00:25:45,729
contracts to sustain essential domestic 

626
00:25:45,729 --> 00:25:47,451
industrial base capabilities . 

627
00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:50,330
Meanwhile , more than 140 d . O . D 

628
00:25:50,330 --> 00:25:52,710
labs have performed over 1.2 million co 

629
00:25:52,710 --> 00:25:56,020
vid clinical diagnostic tests so far as 

630
00:25:56,020 --> 00:25:58,020
part of our work to enable the safe 

631
00:25:58,020 --> 00:26:00,242
deployment of forces across the globe , 

632
00:26:01,340 --> 00:26:03,590
and we're testing an average of 40,000 

633
00:26:03,590 --> 00:26:06,310
plus service members weekly . That 

634
00:26:06,310 --> 00:26:08,890
number reached more than 54,000 earlier 

635
00:26:08,890 --> 00:26:11,057
this year due to our robust monitoring 

636
00:26:11,057 --> 00:26:13,710
efforts , we also developed a 

637
00:26:13,710 --> 00:26:15,932
convalescent plasma collection strategy 

638
00:26:15,932 --> 00:26:18,099
to support advanced illness within the 

639
00:26:18,099 --> 00:26:20,610
force and collected nearly 11,000 units 

640
00:26:20,610 --> 00:26:23,440
by the end of the fiscal year . While 

641
00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:25,607
our competitors attempt to exploit the 

642
00:26:25,607 --> 00:26:27,440
pandemic and extend their malign 

643
00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:29,607
influence , the United States military 

644
00:26:29,607 --> 00:26:31,384
continues to protect our people 

645
00:26:31,384 --> 00:26:33,273
remaining prepared to deter every 

646
00:26:33,273 --> 00:26:35,551
threat and to fight and win if need be . 

647
00:26:36,140 --> 00:26:38,140
Lastly , the success of our efforts 

648
00:26:38,140 --> 00:26:40,660
relies on the support of Congress in 

649
00:26:40,660 --> 00:26:42,827
the face of rising strategic threats . 

650
00:26:42,827 --> 00:26:45,420
We depend on steady fiscal commitments 

651
00:26:45,420 --> 00:26:47,253
to sustain our current force and 

652
00:26:47,253 --> 00:26:50,440
prepare for tomorrow's challenges . The 

653
00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:52,662
past few years of funding allowed us to 

654
00:26:52,662 --> 00:26:54,829
rebuild our readiness . After years of 

655
00:26:54,829 --> 00:26:56,496
insufficient budgets yielding 

656
00:26:56,496 --> 00:26:59,710
significant results , 52% of our major 

657
00:26:59,710 --> 00:27:01,930
combat force elements are able to 

658
00:27:01,930 --> 00:27:04,060
generate more combat power during the 

659
00:27:04,060 --> 00:27:06,460
initial phases of of a conflict today 

660
00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:10,800
than they could in 2017 . Now , as 

661
00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:13,000
I've said many times before , we need 

662
00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:15,820
predictable , adequate , stable and 

663
00:27:15,820 --> 00:27:18,160
timely federal budgets to continue to 

664
00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:19,882
support the investments of our 

665
00:27:19,882 --> 00:27:21,670
industrial base , to grow our 

666
00:27:21,670 --> 00:27:23,430
capabilities . And to further 

667
00:27:23,430 --> 00:27:26,800
strengthen readiness , I would like to 

668
00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:29,720
see 3 to 5% annual real growth for the 

669
00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:31,942
Defense Department to stay ahead of the 

670
00:27:31,942 --> 00:27:33,998
challenges we face , especially from 

671
00:27:33,998 --> 00:27:36,160
China and no more CR's . 

672
00:27:38,340 --> 00:27:40,507
Looking ahead , I'm confident that the 

673
00:27:40,507 --> 00:27:42,451
department , civilian and military 

674
00:27:42,451 --> 00:27:44,340
leaders are lying to deliver more 

675
00:27:44,340 --> 00:27:46,562
sustainable rightness , particularly as 

676
00:27:46,562 --> 00:27:48,618
I meet regularly with them to assess 

677
00:27:48,618 --> 00:27:50,729
our progress toward that goal much of 

678
00:27:50,729 --> 00:27:52,507
this involves bringing together 

679
00:27:52,507 --> 00:27:54,673
hundreds of data systems into a common 

680
00:27:54,673 --> 00:27:56,729
Advanced analytics architecture that 

681
00:27:56,729 --> 00:27:58,896
provides real time data and predictive 

682
00:27:58,896 --> 00:28:00,951
indicators . This tool allows senior 

683
00:28:00,951 --> 00:28:03,260
leaders to evaluate readiness at every 

684
00:28:03,260 --> 00:28:05,520
level , better manage our forces in 

685
00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:07,520
response to emerging threats and to 

686
00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:09,690
make decisions . The best address 

687
00:28:09,890 --> 00:28:13,770
brightness challenges The department's 

688
00:28:13,770 --> 00:28:15,826
vision for readiness is one in which 

689
00:28:15,826 --> 00:28:17,937
our people are focused on great power 

690
00:28:17,937 --> 00:28:20,900
competition from Day one and trained to 

691
00:28:20,900 --> 00:28:23,122
deter and prevail in the high end fight 

692
00:28:23,740 --> 00:28:25,851
while able to perform across the full 

693
00:28:25,851 --> 00:28:29,070
spectrum of combat operations . It is a 

694
00:28:29,070 --> 00:28:31,300
bit it is a vision in which we have 

695
00:28:31,310 --> 00:28:34,100
more planes in the air , more ships at 

696
00:28:34,100 --> 00:28:37,020
sea , more units prepared to go into 

697
00:28:37,020 --> 00:28:39,720
combat at a moments notice , mawr , 

698
00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:42,890
cyber warriors online and more space 

699
00:28:42,890 --> 00:28:45,280
assets ready to defend the high ground . 

700
00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:49,062
It is a vision in which our people have 

701
00:28:49,062 --> 00:28:51,062
the resource is they need when they 

702
00:28:51,062 --> 00:28:52,951
need them so that they never find 

703
00:28:52,951 --> 00:28:55,660
themselves in a fair fight . We must 

704
00:28:56,340 --> 00:28:58,930
and will maintain our decisive 

705
00:28:58,930 --> 00:29:02,510
overmatch well into the future . And it 

706
00:29:02,510 --> 00:29:04,510
is a vision in which senior leaders 

707
00:29:04,510 --> 00:29:06,399
have more flexibility to move our 

708
00:29:06,399 --> 00:29:08,510
forces and equipment around the Globe 

709
00:29:08,740 --> 00:29:11,090
enabling us to project power to 

710
00:29:11,090 --> 00:29:13,740
reassure our partners and allies to 

711
00:29:13,740 --> 00:29:16,350
deter aggression and to effectively 

712
00:29:16,350 --> 00:29:18,560
respond to emerging crises . 

713
00:29:20,140 --> 00:29:22,307
Thanks to the hard work of our men and 

714
00:29:22,307 --> 00:29:24,418
women in uniform and with the support 

715
00:29:24,418 --> 00:29:26,418
of Congress , industry and our like 

716
00:29:26,418 --> 00:29:28,418
minded partners , the United States 

717
00:29:28,418 --> 00:29:30,880
military will continue to honor that 

718
00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:33,860
vision and strengthen our readiness 

719
00:29:34,740 --> 00:29:37,690
now and in the years to come . Thank 

720
00:29:37,690 --> 00:29:38,690
you , 

721
00:29:52,540 --> 00:29:54,707
Secretary . Expert . Thank you so much 

722
00:29:54,707 --> 00:29:56,873
for those remarks . You have covered a 

723
00:29:56,873 --> 00:29:56,850
lot of ground there . And so I look 

724
00:29:56,850 --> 00:29:58,794
forward , Thio , exploring some of 

725
00:29:58,794 --> 00:30:01,017
these topics and a little more detail . 

726
00:30:01,017 --> 00:30:03,128
Ladies and gentlemen , my name is Tom 

727
00:30:03,128 --> 00:30:05,294
Spore . I'm the director of the Center 

728
00:30:05,294 --> 00:30:04,670
for National Defense here at the 

729
00:30:04,670 --> 00:30:06,670
Heritage Foundation . And this next 

730
00:30:06,670 --> 00:30:08,892
segment will pose some questions to the 

731
00:30:08,892 --> 00:30:11,470
secretary focusing on readiness and 

732
00:30:11,740 --> 00:30:13,907
Secretary . You talked a lot about the 

733
00:30:13,907 --> 00:30:16,129
progress this administration has made . 

734
00:30:16,129 --> 00:30:18,018
Building Readiness line of effort 

735
00:30:18,018 --> 00:30:19,907
number one in the N . D . S . The 

736
00:30:19,907 --> 00:30:22,073
strategy calls for a requirement for a 

737
00:30:22,073 --> 00:30:24,790
multi year investment to restore 

738
00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:27,660
warfighting readiness . What's your 

739
00:30:27,660 --> 00:30:29,771
assessment ? You talked . You gave us 

740
00:30:29,771 --> 00:30:31,493
some numbers , but what's your 

741
00:30:31,493 --> 00:30:31,460
assessment on where the department 

742
00:30:31,460 --> 00:30:34,120
stands today on improving tactical 

743
00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:36,300
readiness . And what was the rationale 

744
00:30:36,300 --> 00:30:39,180
for moving away from the 80% mission 

745
00:30:39,180 --> 00:30:41,236
capable goal that the department had 

746
00:30:41,236 --> 00:30:43,458
previously established for four of your 

747
00:30:43,458 --> 00:30:47,180
major fleets of aircraft ? Worse , 

748
00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:50,450
as I said very clearly in my remarks , 

749
00:30:50,460 --> 00:30:52,460
we are ready today , no doubt in my 

750
00:30:52,460 --> 00:30:54,682
mind we're ready to take on any mission 

751
00:30:54,840 --> 00:30:57,062
and and we're prepared to fight and win 

752
00:30:57,062 --> 00:30:59,396
if the president calls upon us to do so . 

753
00:30:59,396 --> 00:31:01,451
And that has been enabled by much of 

754
00:31:01,451 --> 00:31:03,507
what I said that our readiness rates 

755
00:31:03,507 --> 00:31:05,729
have seen dramatic increases across all 

756
00:31:05,729 --> 00:31:07,784
the services double digits without a 

757
00:31:07,784 --> 00:31:09,840
doubt , with regard to your specific 

758
00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:11,618
question about readiness of the 

759
00:31:11,618 --> 00:31:13,673
tactical air fleet if you go back in 

760
00:31:13,673 --> 00:31:15,673
time a few years , I believe it was 

761
00:31:15,673 --> 00:31:17,840
deputy secretary defense at the time , 

762
00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:20,007
Shanahan , who said . We looked at the 

763
00:31:20,007 --> 00:31:22,200
fleet readiness and it was it was not 

764
00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:24,422
sufficient to meet the needs of what we 

765
00:31:24,422 --> 00:31:26,430
had . I cited the example of the F 

766
00:31:26,430 --> 00:31:28,860
eighteens and so we set a mark of 80% 

767
00:31:29,740 --> 00:31:31,684
and I'm pleased to report that the 

768
00:31:31,684 --> 00:31:33,851
services reached that 80% mark for the 

769
00:31:33,851 --> 00:31:36,260
for the for the most part . But as I 

770
00:31:36,260 --> 00:31:38,780
stepped into off was office we and with 

771
00:31:38,780 --> 00:31:40,947
the goal of implementing the N . D s , 

772
00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:43,440
we looked more broadly and try to put 

773
00:31:43,450 --> 00:31:45,728
readiness in the context of a war plan . 

774
00:31:46,140 --> 00:31:48,196
And when you do that , as we've done 

775
00:31:48,196 --> 00:31:50,251
with our Army , Navy , Air Force and 

776
00:31:50,251 --> 00:31:52,362
Marines , we established what we call 

777
00:31:52,362 --> 00:31:54,529
the immediate response force the Earth 

778
00:31:54,529 --> 00:31:56,751
and those air units that have to deploy 

779
00:31:56,751 --> 00:31:58,862
within a period of days . And then we 

780
00:31:58,862 --> 00:32:00,918
also have another slice of the force 

781
00:32:00,918 --> 00:32:03,029
across all the services that's called 

782
00:32:03,029 --> 00:32:05,084
the Contingency Response Force . And 

783
00:32:05,084 --> 00:32:07,196
they have to be ready within a period 

784
00:32:07,196 --> 00:32:09,140
of weeks . So to take an arbitrary 

785
00:32:09,140 --> 00:32:11,084
number such as 80% and say that if 

786
00:32:11,084 --> 00:32:13,307
you're in the earth , if you're in that 

787
00:32:13,307 --> 00:32:15,473
response force , it has to deploy in a 

788
00:32:15,473 --> 00:32:17,640
number of days , 80 percents too low . 

789
00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:19,960
I need you well above 90% . But if you 

790
00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:22,210
are further back in the flow , let's 

791
00:32:22,210 --> 00:32:24,321
say you don't deploy until date 40 or 

792
00:32:24,321 --> 00:32:26,600
50 . I don't necessarily need you . At 

793
00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:28,850
80% I might be able to have a lower 

794
00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:31,407
readiness rate as long as you can when 

795
00:32:31,407 --> 00:32:33,590
you deploy your at an adequate level . 

796
00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:35,910
What that does is that allows the 

797
00:32:35,910 --> 00:32:38,440
services to use dollars spent to 

798
00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:40,662
maintain an unnecessarily high level of 

799
00:32:40,662 --> 00:32:43,130
readiness and invested into people into 

800
00:32:43,130 --> 00:32:46,220
modernization , uh , into any other 

801
00:32:46,220 --> 00:32:48,276
thing they want without jeopardizing 

802
00:32:48,276 --> 00:32:50,387
their ability to meet the war plans . 

803
00:32:50,387 --> 00:32:52,498
So what we did is we took that metric 

804
00:32:52,498 --> 00:32:54,553
of 80% which brought us up to a high 

805
00:32:54,553 --> 00:32:56,720
level , and now we've been able to put 

806
00:32:56,720 --> 00:32:58,887
it into the context of the war plans , 

807
00:32:58,887 --> 00:33:01,053
specifically the Earth surf and follow 

808
00:33:01,053 --> 00:33:03,276
on forces . And make sure the readiness 

809
00:33:03,276 --> 00:33:03,150
levels we've established within those 

810
00:33:03,150 --> 00:33:05,230
categories are sufficient to deliver 

811
00:33:05,230 --> 00:33:07,286
combat power consistent with our war 

812
00:33:07,286 --> 00:33:09,508
plans again , if called upon to do so . 

813
00:33:09,740 --> 00:33:11,740
It's very interesting . It's almost 

814
00:33:11,740 --> 00:33:13,907
counterintuitive , but your suggestion 

815
00:33:13,907 --> 00:33:15,907
you can have too much readiness and 

816
00:33:15,907 --> 00:33:18,018
that you're better served investing . 

817
00:33:18,018 --> 00:33:19,907
Those resource is elsewhere . You 

818
00:33:19,907 --> 00:33:22,129
absolutely can . You can spend too much 

819
00:33:22,129 --> 00:33:24,240
money and be too ready , particularly 

820
00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:24,180
if you know the trade off of that one 

821
00:33:24,180 --> 00:33:26,236
extra dollar . Maybe modernization , 

822
00:33:26,236 --> 00:33:28,291
which we call future readiness . And 

823
00:33:28,291 --> 00:33:29,958
that's one of things that I'm 

824
00:33:29,958 --> 00:33:32,013
constantly balancing and juggling is 

825
00:33:32,013 --> 00:33:33,791
today's readiness versus future 

826
00:33:33,791 --> 00:33:36,069
readiness . Thank you , sir . You know , 

827
00:33:36,069 --> 00:33:38,347
another . You touched upon this people . 

828
00:33:38,347 --> 00:33:40,347
A major component writing . This is 

829
00:33:40,347 --> 00:33:42,402
having the right people at the right 

830
00:33:42,402 --> 00:33:42,060
place . And we've heard how the 

831
00:33:42,060 --> 00:33:44,420
services have had to adapt their models 

832
00:33:44,430 --> 00:33:47,460
based on co vid leaning more heavily on 

833
00:33:47,460 --> 00:33:49,182
virtual engagement versus that 

834
00:33:49,182 --> 00:33:51,127
traditional recruiter face to face 

835
00:33:51,127 --> 00:33:53,470
meeting as a zai look , especially in 

836
00:33:53,470 --> 00:33:55,526
my research to the future . A lot of 

837
00:33:55,526 --> 00:33:57,470
the trends that I see that predict 

838
00:33:57,470 --> 00:34:00,180
future recruiting success such as youth 

839
00:34:00,190 --> 00:34:02,550
obesity of veterans , the percentage of 

840
00:34:02,550 --> 00:34:04,800
veterans that are in our society , the 

841
00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:06,830
percentage of people leaving high 

842
00:34:06,830 --> 00:34:08,941
school that immediately want to go to 

843
00:34:08,941 --> 00:34:11,108
college . That's up . But that may not 

844
00:34:11,108 --> 00:34:12,941
be great news for the military . 

845
00:34:12,941 --> 00:34:14,830
They're not pointing in the right 

846
00:34:14,830 --> 00:34:17,163
direction , these trends . And so first , 

847
00:34:17,163 --> 00:34:19,219
um , interested in how is recruiting 

848
00:34:19,219 --> 00:34:21,219
going this year ? How did it go for 

849
00:34:21,219 --> 00:34:23,552
fiscal year ? 2020 House ? A look ahead . 

850
00:34:23,552 --> 00:34:23,430
And then , as you look to the future , 

851
00:34:23,430 --> 00:34:26,110
do you see a future recruiting problem 

852
00:34:26,110 --> 00:34:28,640
for the United States ? Well , I'll 

853
00:34:28,650 --> 00:34:30,817
take your last question first , if you 

854
00:34:30,817 --> 00:34:32,817
will . I mean , because I work this 

855
00:34:32,817 --> 00:34:34,983
pretty hard as Army secretary when you 

856
00:34:34,983 --> 00:34:37,039
look at the numbers right . First of 

857
00:34:37,039 --> 00:34:38,928
all , the young Americans who are 

858
00:34:38,928 --> 00:34:40,928
qualified to serve that number gets 

859
00:34:40,928 --> 00:34:43,039
down to below 30% . And then when you 

860
00:34:43,039 --> 00:34:45,150
look at that number , plus the number 

861
00:34:45,150 --> 00:34:47,372
who have a proclivity to serve , you're 

862
00:34:47,372 --> 00:34:49,539
talking a single digit number . And so 

863
00:34:49,539 --> 00:34:51,594
it does not augur well right now for 

864
00:34:51,594 --> 00:34:53,706
where we are . And so when I was Army 

865
00:34:53,706 --> 00:34:55,706
secretary and Secretary McCarthy is 

866
00:34:55,706 --> 00:34:57,817
continuing to this day . We looked at 

867
00:34:57,817 --> 00:34:57,620
all the different ways we could go out 

868
00:34:57,620 --> 00:35:00,480
to reach all parts of America . Rural , 

869
00:35:00,490 --> 00:35:03,530
urban , east , west , north , south , 

870
00:35:03,540 --> 00:35:05,651
coastal mountains . You name it . How 

871
00:35:05,651 --> 00:35:07,540
do we go out and find those young 

872
00:35:07,540 --> 00:35:09,651
Americans who would be interesting is 

873
00:35:09,651 --> 00:35:09,340
serving and just don't know that 

874
00:35:09,340 --> 00:35:11,630
opportunity exists and how do we reach 

875
00:35:11,630 --> 00:35:14,020
them and s So it's a It's a big effort . 

876
00:35:14,020 --> 00:35:16,076
It's a strategic challenge that will 

877
00:35:16,076 --> 00:35:18,298
last many years and depends on a number 

878
00:35:18,298 --> 00:35:20,298
of factors . But it's , uh it's one 

879
00:35:20,298 --> 00:35:22,464
that we have to focus on in a whole of 

880
00:35:22,464 --> 00:35:24,631
government approach now , boring in on 

881
00:35:24,631 --> 00:35:26,909
what happened in the last seven months , 

882
00:35:26,909 --> 00:35:29,460
I will tell you that co vid actually 

883
00:35:29,460 --> 00:35:32,010
forced us to accelerate the process by 

884
00:35:32,010 --> 00:35:34,580
which we go after today's youth s . So 

885
00:35:34,580 --> 00:35:36,302
what we try to do is find that 

886
00:35:36,302 --> 00:35:38,413
opportunity in a crisis and what that 

887
00:35:38,413 --> 00:35:40,469
demanded because we had begun this a 

888
00:35:40,469 --> 00:35:42,636
few years ago in the Army was reaching 

889
00:35:42,636 --> 00:35:44,636
out to young Americans through text 

890
00:35:44,636 --> 00:35:47,130
online through social media , through 

891
00:35:47,130 --> 00:35:49,352
the platforms by which they communicate 

892
00:35:49,352 --> 00:35:51,408
with each other today and with their 

893
00:35:51,408 --> 00:35:53,408
parents , in some cases to and find 

894
00:35:53,408 --> 00:35:55,408
them there . And the army had begun 

895
00:35:55,408 --> 00:35:57,630
that process . But we were forced . All 

896
00:35:57,630 --> 00:35:59,686
services were forced to accelerate . 

897
00:35:59,686 --> 00:36:01,741
Accelerate that in the midst of Kobe 

898
00:36:01,741 --> 00:36:03,908
because , of course , ah , things were 

899
00:36:03,908 --> 00:36:06,074
shut down . Schools were closing . You 

900
00:36:06,074 --> 00:36:05,870
couldn't get recruiters into a high 

901
00:36:05,870 --> 00:36:08,520
school . Uh , some case you had , you 

902
00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:10,353
had to close recruiting stations 

903
00:36:10,353 --> 00:36:12,520
because of covitz . So it forced us to 

904
00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:15,280
go online and do all those things . And 

905
00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:17,336
I'm pleased to report that right now 

906
00:36:17,336 --> 00:36:19,558
the numbers look good that the services 

907
00:36:19,558 --> 00:36:19,430
have met their marks . That's the good 

908
00:36:19,430 --> 00:36:21,708
news . But what Kobe did was forced us , 

909
00:36:21,708 --> 00:36:24,290
I think , to accelerate that process 

910
00:36:24,300 --> 00:36:26,860
and to really look hard at what we dio 

911
00:36:27,230 --> 00:36:29,740
and eso as we looked at that way . Look 

912
00:36:29,740 --> 00:36:31,907
at what Kobe did , how it forced us to 

913
00:36:31,907 --> 00:36:34,230
adapt the force . And of course , the 

914
00:36:34,230 --> 00:36:36,397
impacts of Kobe go beyond recruiting . 

915
00:36:36,397 --> 00:36:38,550
It goes , you know , the pipeline and 

916
00:36:38,550 --> 00:36:40,883
then the readiness of the current force . 

917
00:36:40,883 --> 00:36:43,106
And I gotta say , I'm very proud of how 

918
00:36:43,106 --> 00:36:45,439
the force is done through all this . Um , 

919
00:36:45,439 --> 00:36:45,360
you know , I laid out really early in 

920
00:36:45,360 --> 00:36:47,527
January that my priorities were taking 

921
00:36:47,527 --> 00:36:49,638
care of our people number to ensuring 

922
00:36:49,638 --> 00:36:51,916
that we maintain our mission readiness , 

923
00:36:51,916 --> 00:36:53,860
our capabilities . And then number 

924
00:36:53,860 --> 00:36:56,027
three provides support to the American 

925
00:36:56,027 --> 00:36:58,138
people through civilian authorities . 

926
00:36:58,138 --> 00:37:00,249
And we did all that really well . Our 

927
00:37:00,249 --> 00:37:02,304
infection rates were much lower than 

928
00:37:02,304 --> 00:37:04,416
the American people , and every every 

929
00:37:04,416 --> 00:37:06,416
loss is terrible . But thank God we 

930
00:37:06,416 --> 00:37:08,304
only lost one active duty service 

931
00:37:08,304 --> 00:37:10,471
member . And the force has done pretty 

932
00:37:10,471 --> 00:37:12,890
well into this date . In the wake of 13 

933
00:37:12,890 --> 00:37:16,010
health Health Force health protection 

934
00:37:16,010 --> 00:37:18,177
measures , we continue to maintain our 

935
00:37:18,177 --> 00:37:20,121
protocols and do everything that's 

936
00:37:20,121 --> 00:37:22,066
necessary . Seri . So look , we're 

937
00:37:22,066 --> 00:37:24,288
gonna get infections . They will happen 

938
00:37:24,288 --> 00:37:26,288
out there . We'll find hot spots we 

939
00:37:26,288 --> 00:37:28,510
follow . You know , we train our people 

940
00:37:28,510 --> 00:37:30,732
if they get infected or near somebody , 

941
00:37:30,732 --> 00:37:32,954
we treat them . And of course , we tres 

942
00:37:32,954 --> 00:37:32,920
we trace . So , you know , again , 

943
00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:35,630
train , treat trace and follow those 

944
00:37:35,630 --> 00:37:37,797
protocols and then you have to be able 

945
00:37:37,797 --> 00:37:39,963
to operate . If you're in some type of 

946
00:37:39,963 --> 00:37:42,074
quarantine status . You gotta be able 

947
00:37:42,074 --> 00:37:41,810
to do your job . And we're all capable 

948
00:37:41,810 --> 00:37:43,866
of doing that . Whether you're , you 

949
00:37:43,866 --> 00:37:46,032
know , the lowest private or secretary 

950
00:37:46,032 --> 00:37:48,143
defense , you name it . Everything in 

951
00:37:48,143 --> 00:37:50,366
between his d o . D is standing ready , 

952
00:37:50,366 --> 00:37:52,477
standing tall , and we're prepared to 

953
00:37:52,477 --> 00:37:54,421
continue on and make sure that way 

954
00:37:54,421 --> 00:37:56,477
accomplish our mission . Thank you , 

955
00:37:56,477 --> 00:37:58,421
sir . You referred to this in your 

956
00:37:58,421 --> 00:38:00,366
remarks on October the sixth . You 

957
00:38:00,366 --> 00:38:02,366
talked about a new fleet for the US 

958
00:38:02,366 --> 00:38:04,588
Navy , which emphasizes submarine small 

959
00:38:04,588 --> 00:38:06,699
surface combatants , amphibious ships 

960
00:38:06,699 --> 00:38:08,866
and unmanned vessels seeking to exceed 

961
00:38:08,866 --> 00:38:11,570
355 ships by the mid 20 thirties and 

962
00:38:11,580 --> 00:38:15,000
over 500 by 2045 and often overlooked . 

963
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:17,167
Although you touched upon it on this , 

964
00:38:17,167 --> 00:38:19,222
in this discussion of increasing the 

965
00:38:19,222 --> 00:38:20,944
fleet site is the need for the 

966
00:38:20,944 --> 00:38:22,889
maintenance and the workers in the 

967
00:38:22,889 --> 00:38:24,833
capital infrastructure to not only 

968
00:38:24,833 --> 00:38:27,000
maintain the fleet we have today , but 

969
00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:28,889
if we're gonna grow it to keep it 

970
00:38:28,889 --> 00:38:30,889
deployed and out there . And as you 

971
00:38:30,889 --> 00:38:32,778
know , in the past , the Navy has 

972
00:38:32,778 --> 00:38:34,833
suffered from consistent maintenance 

973
00:38:34,833 --> 00:38:36,944
delays in its shipyards , both public 

974
00:38:36,944 --> 00:38:39,167
and private , and forecast that without 

975
00:38:39,167 --> 00:38:41,167
change , they're gonna be unable to 

976
00:38:41,167 --> 00:38:42,667
accommodate 68 maintenance 

977
00:38:42,667 --> 00:38:44,778
availabilities in the next 20 years . 

978
00:38:44,778 --> 00:38:46,833
How can the department overcome that 

979
00:38:46,833 --> 00:38:49,056
big challenge ? It's a great question . 

980
00:38:49,056 --> 00:38:48,350
That's something I've spent a lot of 

981
00:38:48,350 --> 00:38:50,294
time on since I entered office . A 

982
00:38:50,294 --> 00:38:53,210
secretary defense last year . First of 

983
00:38:53,210 --> 00:38:55,432
all , to frame it . The discussion , if 

984
00:38:55,432 --> 00:38:57,432
you will , your right . Last week I 

985
00:38:57,432 --> 00:38:59,488
introduced what we call battle Force 

986
00:38:59,488 --> 00:39:01,760
2045 . It's what I did earlier this 

987
00:39:01,760 --> 00:39:03,593
year where I stopped the ongoing 

988
00:39:03,593 --> 00:39:05,649
process and said , Look , we need to 

989
00:39:05,649 --> 00:39:07,593
take a new look at what the future 

990
00:39:07,593 --> 00:39:09,830
fleet might be in the year 2045 which 

991
00:39:09,830 --> 00:39:11,997
is a few years before the before . The 

992
00:39:11,997 --> 00:39:14,580
Chinese military wants to have a role , 

993
00:39:14,580 --> 00:39:16,691
what they call world class military . 

994
00:39:16,691 --> 00:39:18,802
What is the force we need to build in 

995
00:39:18,802 --> 00:39:20,969
order to make sure that we can compete 

996
00:39:20,969 --> 00:39:23,080
with them ? But if if competition and 

997
00:39:23,080 --> 00:39:25,191
deterrence fails , were able to fight 

998
00:39:25,191 --> 00:39:27,413
and win , and what it took us two is we 

999
00:39:27,413 --> 00:39:29,524
looked at key attributes is we needed 

1000
00:39:29,524 --> 00:39:31,580
more submarines . We needed a larger 

1001
00:39:31,580 --> 00:39:31,410
fleet , but composed of smaller 

1002
00:39:31,410 --> 00:39:33,690
combatants . We need to still have a 

1003
00:39:33,690 --> 00:39:35,857
carrier presence . Of course , we need 

1004
00:39:35,857 --> 00:39:38,023
to distribute early fatality . We need 

1005
00:39:38,023 --> 00:39:40,246
a greater survive , though there were a 

1006
00:39:40,246 --> 00:39:40,200
number of things . And so it produced 

1007
00:39:40,200 --> 00:39:42,250
this fleet of 500 plus ships , a 

1008
00:39:42,250 --> 00:39:44,361
combination of manned and unmanned to 

1009
00:39:44,361 --> 00:39:46,528
make sure that we could do that , that 

1010
00:39:46,528 --> 00:39:48,639
we can fight , win in the years ahead 

1011
00:39:48,639 --> 00:39:48,030
and then do all the other stop that 

1012
00:39:48,420 --> 00:39:51,360
Ford presence , control sea lanes on , 

1013
00:39:51,360 --> 00:39:53,582
then reassure our allies and partners . 

1014
00:39:53,920 --> 00:39:55,864
But you're right . A big challenge 

1015
00:39:55,864 --> 00:39:58,031
built into that , and I addressed this 

1016
00:39:58,031 --> 00:40:00,142
in my remarks last week . Is capacity 

1017
00:40:00,142 --> 00:40:02,364
and its capacity not just to build that 

1018
00:40:02,364 --> 00:40:04,698
future Fleet butts capacity , thio them , 

1019
00:40:04,698 --> 00:40:06,864
maintain it because what we don't want 

1020
00:40:06,864 --> 00:40:08,864
to do is have a hall of force . The 

1021
00:40:08,864 --> 00:40:11,198
Navy last year , as I stepped in office , 

1022
00:40:11,198 --> 00:40:10,690
had made the choice , and it was a 

1023
00:40:10,690 --> 00:40:12,590
smart one . To say We're going to 

1024
00:40:12,590 --> 00:40:15,430
invest are limited dollars into today's 

1025
00:40:15,440 --> 00:40:17,607
readiness , and what that meant was we 

1026
00:40:17,607 --> 00:40:19,607
had to slow the shipbuilding down a 

1027
00:40:19,607 --> 00:40:21,718
little bit this year , though , based 

1028
00:40:21,718 --> 00:40:23,750
on reforms they made based and and 

1029
00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:25,816
because the reforms they made , they 

1030
00:40:25,816 --> 00:40:28,038
freed up billions of dollars . I said , 

1031
00:40:28,038 --> 00:40:30,093
Hey , great job . You continue to do 

1032
00:40:30,093 --> 00:40:32,316
that , given what you did , I will also 

1033
00:40:32,316 --> 00:40:34,482
put in additional dollars as well . So 

1034
00:40:34,482 --> 00:40:36,427
this future fleet we're looking to 

1035
00:40:36,427 --> 00:40:38,500
raise the percent of Navy spend in 

1036
00:40:38,500 --> 00:40:41,580
their top line to 13% which is matching 

1037
00:40:41,580 --> 00:40:43,691
what the Reagan era buildup look like 

1038
00:40:43,691 --> 00:40:45,913
and so built into that , though again , 

1039
00:40:45,913 --> 00:40:48,080
his investments in the shipyard . So I 

1040
00:40:48,080 --> 00:40:50,080
mentioned $20 billion over 20 years 

1041
00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:52,660
Thio to improve shipyards on Ben . Also 

1042
00:40:52,660 --> 00:40:54,660
predictable funding , building this 

1043
00:40:54,660 --> 00:40:56,993
larger fleet into the private shipyards . 

1044
00:40:56,993 --> 00:40:59,049
We think based on the types of ships 

1045
00:40:59,049 --> 00:41:01,216
that we need and the unmanned , we can 

1046
00:41:01,216 --> 00:41:03,438
grow the number of shipyards around the 

1047
00:41:03,438 --> 00:41:05,604
country , which would be good not just 

1048
00:41:05,604 --> 00:41:07,938
for the fleet , but for for the economy . 

1049
00:41:07,938 --> 00:41:09,800
And we also need to make those 

1050
00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:12,078
investments . And it's not just people . 

1051
00:41:12,078 --> 00:41:14,300
It's not just the infrastructure , it's 

1052
00:41:14,300 --> 00:41:16,467
people , too . And I've spent a lot of 

1053
00:41:16,467 --> 00:41:18,689
time talking to industry . I've talking 

1054
00:41:18,689 --> 00:41:20,689
to the shipbuilders about what they 

1055
00:41:20,689 --> 00:41:22,689
need . We've had good conversations 

1056
00:41:22,689 --> 00:41:22,480
about this . As I said , I've been to 

1057
00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:24,950
the shipyards . I've been toe Kings Bay , 

1058
00:41:24,950 --> 00:41:27,172
Georgia what we're doing work there out 

1059
00:41:27,172 --> 00:41:29,228
the Hawaii and really bore into this 

1060
00:41:29,228 --> 00:41:31,394
problem and make sure that we could do 

1061
00:41:31,394 --> 00:41:33,506
that . The good news is on the delays 

1062
00:41:33,506 --> 00:41:32,280
because you mentioned that in 

1063
00:41:32,280 --> 00:41:34,580
particular . And the Navy has done a 

1064
00:41:34,580 --> 00:41:36,636
really fine job here . At the end of 

1065
00:41:36,636 --> 00:41:40,270
2019 . The what's called the the 

1066
00:41:40,270 --> 00:41:43,880
average number of days delays due to 

1067
00:41:43,880 --> 00:41:46,047
maintenance right ? They delays due to 

1068
00:41:46,047 --> 00:41:49,370
maintenance was over 7000 . At the end 

1069
00:41:49,370 --> 00:41:51,520
of 2020 it's a little bit over 1100 . 

1070
00:41:51,910 --> 00:41:54,460
So you see , like an 85% reduction in 

1071
00:41:54,460 --> 00:41:56,520
the number of days of maintenance 

1072
00:41:56,520 --> 00:41:58,400
delays out there . So a great 

1073
00:41:58,400 --> 00:42:00,622
achievement by the Navy we need to keep 

1074
00:42:00,622 --> 00:42:02,400
working at it . We need to keep 

1075
00:42:02,400 --> 00:42:04,567
investing . And if we get support from 

1076
00:42:04,567 --> 00:42:06,789
Congress for this battle Force 2045 the 

1077
00:42:06,789 --> 00:42:08,900
500 plus ship Navy , it'll be a clear 

1078
00:42:08,900 --> 00:42:10,789
demand signal to the shipyards to 

1079
00:42:10,789 --> 00:42:12,956
improve their infrastructure , to grow 

1080
00:42:12,956 --> 00:42:15,178
their workforce . To build that fleet , 

1081
00:42:15,178 --> 00:42:17,400
we need to be able to fight and win and 

1082
00:42:17,400 --> 00:42:19,567
compete in the year 2045 everywhere in 

1083
00:42:19,567 --> 00:42:21,511
between . Thank you , sir . That's 

1084
00:42:21,511 --> 00:42:23,733
excellent . Going to shift gears here . 

1085
00:42:23,733 --> 00:42:25,900
You closed talking about re sourcing . 

1086
00:42:25,900 --> 00:42:25,300
And this administration , as you 

1087
00:42:25,300 --> 00:42:27,578
mentioned with the support of Congress , 

1088
00:42:27,578 --> 00:42:29,356
has done a lot to get increased 

1089
00:42:29,356 --> 00:42:31,578
resource is to the d . O . D to help it 

1090
00:42:31,578 --> 00:42:33,578
rebuild and reorient on great power 

1091
00:42:33,578 --> 00:42:35,689
competition . Both your predecessor , 

1092
00:42:35,689 --> 00:42:37,800
secretary Defense Mattis and yourself 

1093
00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:39,967
have described the need for continuing 

1094
00:42:39,967 --> 00:42:42,189
growth in defense funding until a least 

1095
00:42:42,189 --> 00:42:44,810
2023 calling for 3 to 5% riel growth . 

1096
00:42:44,810 --> 00:42:46,921
And some people may not get that that 

1097
00:42:46,921 --> 00:42:49,340
word riel growth is important because 

1098
00:42:49,340 --> 00:42:52,610
it's 3 to 5% growth after inflation . 

1099
00:42:53,400 --> 00:42:56,250
Yet the 2021 defense budget , uh , 

1100
00:42:56,260 --> 00:42:58,730
following the agreement , the budget 

1101
00:42:58,730 --> 00:43:00,952
agreement is essentially the same as 20 

1102
00:43:00,952 --> 00:43:02,952
twenties , and the administration's 

1103
00:43:02,952 --> 00:43:05,870
forecast for the years 2022 beyond only 

1104
00:43:05,870 --> 00:43:08,450
calls for increases of less than 2% 

1105
00:43:08,450 --> 00:43:11,010
maybe even falling short of inflation , 

1106
00:43:11,600 --> 00:43:13,767
fall far short of what you have called 

1107
00:43:13,767 --> 00:43:15,933
for . If that funding projection holds 

1108
00:43:15,933 --> 00:43:18,156
true , is the national defense strategy 

1109
00:43:18,156 --> 00:43:20,378
still execute a bill , or do we need to 

1110
00:43:20,378 --> 00:43:22,600
relook it and maybe make our ends a bit 

1111
00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:24,378
more less ambitious ? Well , we 

1112
00:43:24,378 --> 00:43:26,267
certainly need that sustained and 

1113
00:43:26,267 --> 00:43:28,267
predictable funding stream over the 

1114
00:43:28,267 --> 00:43:30,433
subsequent years . If you look at what 

1115
00:43:30,433 --> 00:43:32,544
China has done over the past 20 think 

1116
00:43:32,544 --> 00:43:34,711
the numbers will tell you that between 

1117
00:43:34,711 --> 00:43:36,433
2000 and 2016 the Chinese were 

1118
00:43:36,433 --> 00:43:38,656
increasing their annual rate of defense 

1119
00:43:38,656 --> 00:43:41,870
spending at 10% real growth the last 

1120
00:43:41,870 --> 00:43:43,926
two years . We're looking at 5 to 7% 

1121
00:43:43,926 --> 00:43:46,100
real growth . So if we're going to 

1122
00:43:46,110 --> 00:43:48,200
compete with them and be prepared to 

1123
00:43:48,210 --> 00:43:50,432
fight and win , have called upon , Uh , 

1124
00:43:50,432 --> 00:43:52,432
then we need to actually make those 

1125
00:43:52,432 --> 00:43:54,377
investments as well , because it's 

1126
00:43:54,377 --> 00:43:56,654
crucial to our national security . Now , 

1127
00:43:56,654 --> 00:43:58,821
look , we its income incumbent upon us 

1128
00:43:58,821 --> 00:44:00,932
as well in D o D . And that's why one 

1129
00:44:00,932 --> 00:44:02,877
of our major lines of effort is to 

1130
00:44:02,877 --> 00:44:05,043
reform the department . I talked about 

1131
00:44:05,043 --> 00:44:07,266
freeing up time , money and manpower to 

1132
00:44:07,266 --> 00:44:09,043
put into other priorities . The 

1133
00:44:09,043 --> 00:44:11,043
American taxpayer gives us a lot of 

1134
00:44:11,043 --> 00:44:13,330
money last year , $740 billion . We 

1135
00:44:13,330 --> 00:44:15,497
have to be very good stewards of those 

1136
00:44:15,497 --> 00:44:17,663
taxpayer dollars . We've gotta be able 

1137
00:44:17,663 --> 00:44:19,663
to pass an audit , and we're making 

1138
00:44:19,663 --> 00:44:21,719
good progress on that front . But we 

1139
00:44:21,719 --> 00:44:23,886
also got to make the hard choices that 

1140
00:44:23,886 --> 00:44:23,550
too often folks in government don't 

1141
00:44:23,550 --> 00:44:25,606
want to dio . And that is to look at 

1142
00:44:25,606 --> 00:44:27,920
reducing or canceling programs we're 

1143
00:44:27,920 --> 00:44:30,860
making taking lower party , uh programs 

1144
00:44:30,860 --> 00:44:32,860
and cashing them in in order to put 

1145
00:44:32,860 --> 00:44:34,916
your higher party . So we have to we 

1146
00:44:34,916 --> 00:44:37,027
have to do our part of that as well , 

1147
00:44:37,027 --> 00:44:39,360
but we also know we recognize that look , 

1148
00:44:39,360 --> 00:44:39,180
these are tough times . The America 

1149
00:44:39,190 --> 00:44:41,930
America faces the fiscal challenge of 

1150
00:44:42,390 --> 00:44:44,310
of increasing debt out there . We 

1151
00:44:44,310 --> 00:44:46,530
incurred more debt due to Cove it It 

1152
00:44:46,530 --> 00:44:48,697
was the right thing to do . But it's a 

1153
00:44:48,697 --> 00:44:50,697
few more trillion dollars on top of 

1154
00:44:50,697 --> 00:44:52,752
this growing debt that's already out 

1155
00:44:52,752 --> 00:44:55,280
there . But if we're going to continue 

1156
00:44:55,280 --> 00:44:57,220
to maintain this rules based 

1157
00:44:57,230 --> 00:44:59,830
international order that is based among 

1158
00:44:59,830 --> 00:45:02,650
those values and principles that we and 

1159
00:45:02,650 --> 00:45:04,706
many other Western countries share , 

1160
00:45:04,706 --> 00:45:06,817
that we hold dear , that protects our 

1161
00:45:06,817 --> 00:45:08,983
way of life that guarantees freedom of 

1162
00:45:08,983 --> 00:45:11,206
navigation and commerce and things like 

1163
00:45:11,206 --> 00:45:13,206
human rights . And , uh , and those 

1164
00:45:13,206 --> 00:45:15,483
intrinsic what we call American values , 

1165
00:45:15,483 --> 00:45:17,706
that we need a strong American military 

1166
00:45:17,706 --> 00:45:19,761
to defend them and to protect them . 

1167
00:45:19,761 --> 00:45:21,872
Aske a set up front , her remarks for 

1168
00:45:21,872 --> 00:45:23,983
quoting President Reagan . We have to 

1169
00:45:23,983 --> 00:45:25,983
be able to make those investments a 

1170
00:45:25,983 --> 00:45:27,761
strong national Security is the 

1171
00:45:27,761 --> 00:45:29,594
foundation for a strong economic 

1172
00:45:29,594 --> 00:45:31,761
prosperity , and vice versa . So we've 

1173
00:45:31,761 --> 00:45:33,872
got to be able to do both . And again 

1174
00:45:33,872 --> 00:45:35,928
that means a combination of us being 

1175
00:45:35,928 --> 00:45:35,810
better . Stewart's of the taxpayer 

1176
00:45:35,810 --> 00:45:37,690
dollars , but also an enduring 

1177
00:45:37,690 --> 00:45:39,912
commitment from the Congress to keep us 

1178
00:45:39,912 --> 00:45:42,590
at a steady increase level of annual 

1179
00:45:42,590 --> 00:45:45,990
funding . Thank you , sir . So you 

1180
00:45:45,990 --> 00:45:47,657
mentioned this . A lot of the 

1181
00:45:47,657 --> 00:45:49,434
discussion on readiness usually 

1182
00:45:49,434 --> 00:45:51,546
devolves tow planes and and ships and 

1183
00:45:51,546 --> 00:45:53,601
formations of soldiers and Marines , 

1184
00:45:53,601 --> 00:45:55,712
and that's obviously very important . 

1185
00:45:55,712 --> 00:45:57,750
But we have also seen increasing 

1186
00:45:57,750 --> 00:45:59,694
mention , especially of late about 

1187
00:45:59,694 --> 00:46:01,806
strategic readiness and not readiness 

1188
00:46:01,806 --> 00:46:04,090
of strategic forces . But the how the d 

1189
00:46:04,090 --> 00:46:06,840
o . D mobilizes how usedto deploy and 

1190
00:46:06,840 --> 00:46:08,840
how you sustain your forces and how 

1191
00:46:08,840 --> 00:46:11,062
this department probably ought to shift 

1192
00:46:11,062 --> 00:46:13,284
some attention to that . I'm interested 

1193
00:46:13,284 --> 00:46:15,284
in your assessment of where d o . D 

1194
00:46:15,284 --> 00:46:17,340
stands in strategic readiness . Uh , 

1195
00:46:17,340 --> 00:46:19,562
mobilizing , sustaining forces deployed 

1196
00:46:19,562 --> 00:46:21,784
in a future major fight that might take 

1197
00:46:21,784 --> 00:46:23,896
months , if not years , to conclude . 

1198
00:46:23,896 --> 00:46:26,229
How do we stand in that particular area ? 

1199
00:46:26,229 --> 00:46:28,173
I pay a lot of attention to that . 

1200
00:46:28,173 --> 00:46:30,284
Particularly the context is I look at 

1201
00:46:30,284 --> 00:46:32,396
our war plans . So another one of the 

1202
00:46:32,396 --> 00:46:34,562
top 10 objectives I laid out last year 

1203
00:46:34,562 --> 00:46:36,673
for us to pursue is to update our key 

1204
00:46:36,673 --> 00:46:38,951
war plans . And when you look at those , 

1205
00:46:38,951 --> 00:46:38,530
you gotta make sure you understand the 

1206
00:46:38,530 --> 00:46:40,308
flow of forces , that strategic 

1207
00:46:40,308 --> 00:46:42,308
mobility you're talking about , and 

1208
00:46:42,308 --> 00:46:44,530
when I think about strategic mobility . 

1209
00:46:44,530 --> 00:46:46,419
I think about airlift and sealift 

1210
00:46:46,419 --> 00:46:48,641
principally and with airlift . You have 

1211
00:46:48,641 --> 00:46:50,808
to think about tankers . And so one of 

1212
00:46:50,808 --> 00:46:52,974
the concerns I have out there is , you 

1213
00:46:52,974 --> 00:46:52,890
know , is our tanker fleet modern and 

1214
00:46:52,890 --> 00:46:54,557
ready . And clearly we've had 

1215
00:46:54,557 --> 00:46:57,320
challenges getting the new tanker Casey 

1216
00:46:57,320 --> 00:47:00,450
46 out there on time . I've spent , 

1217
00:47:00,460 --> 00:47:02,990
uh , time with the Air Force talking 

1218
00:47:02,990 --> 00:47:05,250
about this with the manufacturer , 

1219
00:47:05,250 --> 00:47:07,417
Boeing . I've walked in and out of the 

1220
00:47:07,417 --> 00:47:09,528
aircraft . I've looked at the systems 

1221
00:47:09,528 --> 00:47:11,361
to understand How do we get that 

1222
00:47:11,361 --> 00:47:13,417
aircraft to meet its timeline toe to 

1223
00:47:13,417 --> 00:47:15,528
fix the system that's broken with the 

1224
00:47:15,528 --> 00:47:17,583
remote remote system ? So I'm really 

1225
00:47:17,583 --> 00:47:19,528
focused right now in that leg with 

1226
00:47:19,528 --> 00:47:21,583
regard to tankers because we know we 

1227
00:47:21,583 --> 00:47:23,930
need 487 tankers out there , So I have 

1228
00:47:23,930 --> 00:47:26,540
to extend the life of the current fleet 

1229
00:47:26,580 --> 00:47:28,747
at the same time . Try and pull to the 

1230
00:47:28,747 --> 00:47:30,913
left that future fleet . So that's one 

1231
00:47:30,913 --> 00:47:33,024
big thing I look at . We have we have 

1232
00:47:33,024 --> 00:47:35,191
enough air left to do the job , if you 

1233
00:47:35,191 --> 00:47:37,191
will , but the other big one to see 

1234
00:47:37,191 --> 00:47:39,302
left so our ground forces have to get 

1235
00:47:39,302 --> 00:47:41,469
to the fight as well . In a timely way 

1236
00:47:41,469 --> 00:47:43,636
with everything they need . So we have 

1237
00:47:43,636 --> 00:47:45,191
worked out pretty hard with 

1238
00:47:45,191 --> 00:47:47,358
transportation command . We've come up 

1239
00:47:47,358 --> 00:47:49,469
with some new concepts whereby we can 

1240
00:47:49,469 --> 00:47:51,636
accelerate the process to get adequate 

1241
00:47:51,636 --> 00:47:54,390
sealift . Bye bye Recapitalizing Arcila 

1242
00:47:54,390 --> 00:47:56,880
fleet with use commercial vessels . And 

1243
00:47:56,880 --> 00:47:58,880
so those are some of the things you 

1244
00:47:58,880 --> 00:48:01,260
will see coming out in our budget here 

1245
00:48:01,270 --> 00:48:03,470
in February to do that . But look , 

1246
00:48:03,470 --> 00:48:05,526
there's other things . I think about 

1247
00:48:05,526 --> 00:48:07,526
two . You mentioned mobility . It's 

1248
00:48:07,526 --> 00:48:09,637
important . There other things , like 

1249
00:48:09,637 --> 00:48:08,950
munitions . You have to have sufficient 

1250
00:48:08,950 --> 00:48:11,006
munitions . There's all these things 

1251
00:48:11,006 --> 00:48:13,228
out there that you have to buy that you 

1252
00:48:13,228 --> 00:48:15,172
have to procure and make sure that 

1253
00:48:15,172 --> 00:48:17,061
they're ready at a moments notice 

1254
00:48:17,061 --> 00:48:19,172
because you won't have time when that 

1255
00:48:19,172 --> 00:48:21,450
war talks and sounds . Thank you , sir , 

1256
00:48:21,450 --> 00:48:23,672
that Zatz Super important . Remember in 

1257
00:48:23,672 --> 00:48:22,900
a hearing where representative Wittman 

1258
00:48:22,900 --> 00:48:25,067
asked you , I can't matter if you were 

1259
00:48:25,067 --> 00:48:27,233
the secretary of the Army or defense . 

1260
00:48:27,233 --> 00:48:29,344
Should the Army fund see lift ? And I 

1261
00:48:29,344 --> 00:48:31,567
think , uh , it's a cable . It needs to 

1262
00:48:31,567 --> 00:48:33,622
get funded no matter which service , 

1263
00:48:33,622 --> 00:48:33,480
and it's really irrelevant at this 

1264
00:48:33,480 --> 00:48:35,740
point for our country . Well , Mr 

1265
00:48:35,740 --> 00:48:37,796
Sector , I think we're at the end of 

1266
00:48:37,796 --> 00:48:39,851
our time . I greatly . We've greatly 

1267
00:48:39,851 --> 00:48:39,530
appreciate your comments has been 

1268
00:48:39,530 --> 00:48:41,586
fascinating . So glad you're able to 

1269
00:48:41,586 --> 00:48:43,474
come over to heritage and share a 

1270
00:48:43,474 --> 00:48:45,641
snapshot of the readiness of the armed 

1271
00:48:45,641 --> 00:48:47,474
forces . Thank you . And all the 

1272
00:48:47,474 --> 00:48:49,419
Patriots A to the Pentagon and the 

1273
00:48:49,419 --> 00:48:51,586
Department of Fence For everything you 

1274
00:48:51,586 --> 00:48:53,697
do to keep us safe on a daily basis , 

1275
00:48:53,697 --> 00:48:55,919
any closing comments or Well , I'd like 

1276
00:48:55,919 --> 00:48:55,790
to thank you again for hosting me this 

1277
00:48:55,800 --> 00:48:58,000
today . It za pleasure to be here to 

1278
00:48:58,000 --> 00:49:00,167
talk about the readiness of the United 

1279
00:49:00,167 --> 00:49:02,278
States Armed Forces . I know . It's , 

1280
00:49:02,278 --> 00:49:04,444
uh it's important everybody that we be 

1281
00:49:04,444 --> 00:49:06,556
ready , and I can assure the American 

1282
00:49:06,556 --> 00:49:08,500
people that they that we are ready 

1283
00:49:08,500 --> 00:49:10,722
Thanks , Thio their generosity with the 

1284
00:49:10,722 --> 00:49:12,944
defense budgets And thanks to thanks to 

1285
00:49:12,944 --> 00:49:15,056
young Americans , men and women every 

1286
00:49:15,056 --> 00:49:17,370
day going to a recruiting station , 

1287
00:49:17,370 --> 00:49:19,960
applying online , uh , doing what 

1288
00:49:19,960 --> 00:49:21,793
they're doing . One of the great 

1289
00:49:21,793 --> 00:49:24,016
pleasures I have in this job is I did . 

1290
00:49:24,016 --> 00:49:26,071
A secretary of the Army is to go out 

1291
00:49:26,071 --> 00:49:28,238
there and host and enlistment ceremony 

1292
00:49:28,238 --> 00:49:30,182
on toe watch . These young men and 

1293
00:49:30,182 --> 00:49:32,238
women raise the right hand and swear 

1294
00:49:32,238 --> 00:49:34,404
that oath that you've sworn many times 

1295
00:49:34,404 --> 00:49:36,460
I've sworn many times to support and 

1296
00:49:36,460 --> 00:49:38,571
defend the Constitution of the United 

1297
00:49:38,571 --> 00:49:40,793
States . And that's so very important , 

1298
00:49:40,793 --> 00:49:42,960
because that document embodies all the 

1299
00:49:42,960 --> 00:49:45,016
values which we and they are willing 

1300
00:49:45,016 --> 00:49:47,127
toe certainly live for and to die for 

1301
00:49:47,127 --> 00:49:49,460
if necessary . So really , it's , uh oh , 

1302
00:49:49,460 --> 00:49:51,571
great . Thanks to the American people 

1303
00:49:51,571 --> 00:49:53,404
out there and to all those young 

1304
00:49:53,404 --> 00:49:55,571
Americans each and every year who sign 

1305
00:49:55,571 --> 00:49:55,310
up in the tens of thousands to serve 

1306
00:49:55,310 --> 00:49:57,643
this great nation , it's truly an honor . 

1307
00:49:57,643 --> 00:49:59,810
Thank you , sir . Thank you for coming 

1308
00:49:59,810 --> 00:50:01,866
here today for our guest . Thank you 

1309
00:50:01,866 --> 00:50:01,500
for your participation . I want to 

1310
00:50:01,500 --> 00:50:04,820
mention to upcoming events . On October 

1311
00:50:04,820 --> 00:50:08,040
27 Heritage will host General Gus Purna , 

1312
00:50:08,050 --> 00:50:10,217
who is the chief operating officer for 

1313
00:50:10,217 --> 00:50:12,383
Operation Warp Speed . He's gonna talk 

1314
00:50:12,383 --> 00:50:14,328
about the fight for the Cove in 19 

1315
00:50:14,328 --> 00:50:16,439
vaccine looking forward to that one a 

1316
00:50:16,439 --> 00:50:18,550
lot . And then on November 17 we roll 

1317
00:50:18,550 --> 00:50:21,490
out the 2021 Heritage index of U . S . 

1318
00:50:21,490 --> 00:50:23,610
Military strength and representative 

1319
00:50:23,610 --> 00:50:25,610
Mac Thornberry , who's been a great 

1320
00:50:25,610 --> 00:50:27,554
supporter of national defense , is 

1321
00:50:27,554 --> 00:50:29,777
going to provide the keynote remarks at 

1322
00:50:29,777 --> 00:50:31,943
that event . So , lady and gentlemen , 

1323
00:50:31,943 --> 00:50:34,166
thank you so much and have a great rest 

1324
00:50:34,166 --> 00:50:32,840
of your day