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morning the committee meets to a to 

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consider the nomination of Lieutenant 

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General Laura Richardson To be promoted 

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to four star general and to be the next 

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commander of the United States Southern 

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Command . If confirmed , you will be 

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the second Female four Star General 

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Officer currently serving in the United 

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States military And the 2nd Female 

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Officer to Command A Geographic 

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Combatant Command . I'm glad to preside 

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for this well deserved nomination and I 

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thank you general for your continued 

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service and willingness to lead in this 

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important position . I would like to 

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welcome your husband , Lieutenant 

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General James Richardson , United 

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States Army and your daughter Lauren 

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Richardson . We thank them for their 

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continued support of your service to 

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our nation . You have most recently 

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served as the commander of U . S . Army 

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North and Senior Commander of Fort Sam 

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Houston and camp bullets in texas that 

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experience along with your 

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distinguished career service across 

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multiple theaters and command at all 

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levels will serve you well in this new 

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role . Security issues in the U . S . 

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Southern Command or South com are 

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challenging and increasingly complex . 

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South Korea has traditionally focused 

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on counter drug and counter 

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transnational criminal organization 

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missions while making the most of 

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limited resources recently . However , 

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the Southwestern region has experienced 

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a rise in political instability , 

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including the presidential 

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assassination in Haiti , political 

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protests in CUba and continuing 

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economic and political degradation in 

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Venezuela . As the Maduro regime claims 

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the power further security situation in 

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the Northern Triangle countries , 

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Honduras Guatemala . El Salvador 

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continues to deteriorate exacerbated by 

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the corruption of these governments , 

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human rights violations and criminal 

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violence . It is critical that the root 

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causes of this instability be addressed 

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comprehensively . I'd be interested in 

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your views on the role that South um 

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might play in those efforts . The 

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political and economic instability in 

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the south combinations presents a 

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situation that china Russia and other 

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near pier rivals are now seeking to 

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exploit to increase their own strategic 

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influence . In March , Admiral Fowler , 

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the current South com commander , 

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provided this committee a classified 

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briefing on the growing malign 

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influence of china in the region and 

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the consequential threat this poses to 

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the United States a karaoke task . The 

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next South com commander will be 

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focused on countering these efforts by 

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near pier rivals to coerce our allies 

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and partners . We need to find , we 

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need to find ways to complete and 

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compete successfully short of armed 

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complex , including by addressing 

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sources of insecurity and other 

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vulnerabilities that near pier rivals 

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exploit to gain leverage or so division . 

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It will also be important to strengthen 

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the resilience of US partners , 

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security forces including by building 

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defense , institutional capabilities 

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for adherence to the rule of law and 

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respect for human rights . General 

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Richardson , I am interested in your 

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assessment of the threat from near pier 

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competition in the south um area and 

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how we might work strategically with 

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partners in our neighboring region To 

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build resilience to china and Russia's 

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malign activities . Finally , the D . O . 

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D . S . Response to Covid 19 must 

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remain a priority as the current army 

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North Commander . You lead North calms 

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Joint forces land component Which has 

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provided COVID-19 response supports of 

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civilian hospitals and nationwide 

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assisted fema and HHS with distribution 

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and provided personnel for community 

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vaccination centers in multiple states 

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and U . S . Territories . General on 

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behalf of the committee , please thank 

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the men and women under your command 

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who have participated in this heroic 

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response to the pandemic and thank you 

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for your extraordinary leadership . How 

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to ask that . You share how you plan on 

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leading the U . S . Covid 19 response 

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in the south come area based on the 

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lessons learned over the past year and 

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a half . General Richard , if confirmed , 

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you will lead South . Um , an 

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incredibly consequential time we thank 

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you again for your continuing 

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wilderness to serve . Um Senator Inhofe 

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has requested that I submit his 

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statement for the record . I'll do so 

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at this time . General Richardson . 

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Your introductory statement please ? 

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Chairman read ranking members in half 

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and distinguished members of the 

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committee . I am honored and humbled to 

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appear before you today as the nominee 

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to lead United States Southern Command . 

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I would like to thank President Biden , 

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Secretary Austin and General Milley for 

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their trust and confidence in 

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nominating me for this position . I 

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would also like to recognize Admiral 

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Faller , the current U . S . South com 

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commander and his wife , Martha for 

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their loyal and dedicated service to 

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our nation . If confirmed , I will 

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build on their efforts and work 

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diligently together with our partners 

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to ensure we fully account for the 

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defense challenges and opportunities in 

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central and south America and the 

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caribbean . I would like to thank my 

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family for their love and support 

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throughout my military career with me . 

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Today is my husband Jim , Our daughter 

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Lauren . Jim has been my strongest 

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advocate for 33 years and we have 

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proudly served side by side tackling 

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the challenges of a dual military 

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family and I would not be the officer 

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today . The officer that I am today 

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without him , Lauren , who I am so 

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proud of . She deserves so much credit 

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for her support and sacrifices Along 

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the way , it's often the service 

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members who receive praise , but I 

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believe that our military kids deserve 

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more credit for their support and 

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sacrifices as well . I would like to 

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thank my parents watching from colorado . 

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They have truly been instrumental in 

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establishing a family virtue of service 

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to our country . Thanks Mom and Dad . 

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In this era of long term strategic 

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competition , the United States must 

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remain the partner of choice throughout 

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the Western Hemisphere . As this 

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committee knows , the southern command 

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region is of strategic importance to us , 

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vital interests . And if confirmed , I 

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will synchronize our approach to 

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security cooperation , working across 

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all combatant commands to narrow the 

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gaps and seams our competitors are 

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exploiting today . Many of our closest 

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partners in the region are still 

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fighting bravely against Covid . We are 

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all too familiar with the devastation 

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caused by this deadly pandemic , and I 

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empathize with those who have felt it's 

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horrific impacts more than a 

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humanitarian crisis . This devastation 

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is changing the geopolitical landscape , 

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authoritarian regimes and transnational 

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criminal organizations enabled by china 

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and encouraged by Russia are attempting 

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to consolidate power in the region and 

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free societies are being directly 

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challenged while our competitors are 

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extending hands of exploitation , 

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attempting to profit from our partners 

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vulnerable circumstances . If confirmed , 

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I stand ready to support the 

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coordinated and prioritized whole of 

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government effort in support of partner 

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nations on vaccine distribution . 

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I will focus on rebuilding regional 

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resilience by expanding our security 

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cooperation efforts and multilateral 

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exercises , increase international 

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military education and training 

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exchanges and work with the Department 

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of Defense and Congress on innovative 

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methods to increase levels of 

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interoperability and global integration . 

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Through a comprehensive and 

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multilateral approach , we can 

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strengthen regional resilience by 

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denying freedom , freedom of movement 

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to transnational criminal organizations , 

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by reducing exposure to the corrosive 

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efforts of external state actors in our 

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shared hemisphere and thereby improving 

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security of our southern border . We 

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drop on the strength in the Western 

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hemisphere from partner nations who 

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share our values of freedom , democracy , 

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respect for human rights and the rule 

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of law . We cannot however take these 

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relationships for granted or let our 

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guard down as our competitors vie for 

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influence . We must hasten to pick up 

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the pieces Left by the pandemic and 

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transform our relationships to meet 

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21st century security challenges . Put 

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simply winning together with our allies 

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and partners matters . If confirmed , I 

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look forward to continuing to serve the 

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american people by leading the great 

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team at U . S . Southern Command . Just 

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as I have worked with numerous agencies 

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within our U . S . Borders , I will 

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work with our interagency partners 

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abroad , whether against covid 

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transnational criminal organizations , 

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the predatory actions of china , the 

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malign influence of Russia or natural 

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disasters . There is nothing we cannot 

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overcome or achieve through an 

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integrated response with our 

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interagency allies and partners . Thank 

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you again . Chairman Read ranking 

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member Inhofe and members of the 

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committee for this opportunity . I look 

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forward to your questions . Thank you 

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very much . General Richardson . Uh I 

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will begin the questioning uh security 

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and human rights in the Northern 

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Triangle of Honduras , Guatemala and El 

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Salvador have been deteriorating for 

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many , many years and I've worked 

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closely with the Sisters of Mercy of 

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particularly with their mission in 

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Honduras . They've raised serious 

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concerns about our security assistance 

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to the Northern Triangle countries 

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whose governments continue to commit 

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human rights abuses and undermine 

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international efforts if confirmed . Uh 

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Will you agree to review the security 

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systems approach in South Common area , 

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particularly Northern Triangle to 

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ensure that our assistance is 

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bolstering their commitment to human 

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rights and to uh civil order and 

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not disorder . 

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Yes , Senator . Absolutely . Human 

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rights is the core principle of the U . 

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S . Military and I will absolutely do 

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that if confirmed as the South Come 

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commander . Thank you very much . Uh 

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I have jumped ahead in my questions 

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without asking uh significant questions . 

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We ask all nominees . So if you will 

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let me step back and ask the questions 

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that will do so you can respond in the 

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affirmative or appropriately . Have you 

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here tropical laws and regulations 

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governing conflicts of interest ? Yes . 

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Senator . Have you assumed any duties 

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or taking any actions that would appear 

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to presume the outcome of the 

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confirmation process ? No senator 

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exercising a legislative and oversight 

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responsibilities makes it important 

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that this committee and subcommittees 

282
00:11:07,807 --> 00:11:07,220
and other appropriate committees of 

283
00:11:07,220 --> 00:11:09,553
Congress received testimony , briefings , 

284
00:11:09,553 --> 00:11:11,776
reports , records and other information 

285
00:11:11,776 --> 00:11:13,887
from the executive branch on a timely 

286
00:11:13,887 --> 00:11:15,942
basis . Do you agree if confirmed to 

287
00:11:15,942 --> 00:11:17,664
appear and testify before this 

288
00:11:17,664 --> 00:11:19,776
committee ? When requested ? Yes . Do 

289
00:11:19,776 --> 00:11:21,609
you agree when asked before this 

290
00:11:21,609 --> 00:11:23,720
committee to give your personal views 

291
00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:25,609
even if you abuse differ from the 

292
00:11:25,609 --> 00:11:27,776
administration ? Yes . Do you agree to 

293
00:11:27,776 --> 00:11:27,760
provide records , documents , 

294
00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:29,871
electronic communications in a timely 

295
00:11:29,871 --> 00:11:32,204
manner when requested by this committee ? 

296
00:11:32,204 --> 00:11:34,430
Its subcommittees or other appropriate 

297
00:11:34,430 --> 00:11:36,541
committees of Congress and to consult 

298
00:11:36,541 --> 00:11:38,708
with the requester regarding the basis 

299
00:11:38,708 --> 00:11:40,819
for any good faith delay or denial in 

300
00:11:40,819 --> 00:11:43,590
providing such records ? Yes . Will you 

301
00:11:43,590 --> 00:11:45,646
ensure that your staff complies with 

302
00:11:45,646 --> 00:11:47,868
deadlines established by this committee 

303
00:11:47,868 --> 00:11:49,923
for the production reports , records 

304
00:11:49,923 --> 00:11:52,090
and other information including timely 

305
00:11:52,090 --> 00:11:51,960
responded to hearing questions for the 

306
00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:54,520
record ? Yes . Will you cooperate in 

307
00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:56,520
providing witnesses and brief is in 

308
00:11:56,520 --> 00:11:59,020
response to congressional request ? Yes . 

309
00:11:59,030 --> 00:12:01,252
Well , those witnesses and briefings be 

310
00:12:01,252 --> 00:12:03,030
projected from Reprisal for the 

311
00:12:03,030 --> 00:12:05,252
testimony of briefing ? Yes . Thank you 

312
00:12:05,252 --> 00:12:07,363
very much , general and apologize for 

313
00:12:07,363 --> 00:12:10,180
the going out of sequence . But let me 

314
00:12:10,180 --> 00:12:12,460
continue my questioning . Uh 

315
00:12:14,540 --> 00:12:18,020
you have uh played a critical role 

316
00:12:18,030 --> 00:12:21,020
in uh the border security efforts by 

317
00:12:21,020 --> 00:12:24,690
supporting DHS and getting back to the 

318
00:12:24,690 --> 00:12:26,912
North Northern Triangle . That seems to 

319
00:12:26,912 --> 00:12:29,850
be the root of many of the uh 

320
00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:32,751
individuals seeking entrance into the 

321
00:12:32,751 --> 00:12:36,560
United States . Uh , what lessons have 

322
00:12:36,560 --> 00:12:38,727
you learned from your responsibilities 

323
00:12:38,727 --> 00:12:40,949
along the border that you will apply to 

324
00:12:40,949 --> 00:12:43,116
the Northern Triangle in other areas ? 

325
00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:47,160
Well , senator Having performed this 

326
00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:49,160
mission , I've been in command just 

327
00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:52,220
over two years now and very proud of 

328
00:12:52,220 --> 00:12:54,800
our soldiers that have served in this 

329
00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:57,470
mission in a title 10 status in support 

330
00:12:57,480 --> 00:12:59,810
of the Department of Homeland Security 

331
00:12:59,810 --> 00:13:03,680
and CBP . And their primary 

332
00:13:03,680 --> 00:13:05,402
mission has been detection and 

333
00:13:05,402 --> 00:13:07,513
monitoring on the southwest border in 

334
00:13:07,513 --> 00:13:10,550
support of them . And uh and certainly 

335
00:13:10,550 --> 00:13:14,090
the again I visited the border and 

336
00:13:14,100 --> 00:13:16,300
visited the soldiers on the border 

337
00:13:16,300 --> 00:13:18,620
performing this mission and very proud 

338
00:13:18,620 --> 00:13:20,676
of the role that they have played in 

339
00:13:20,676 --> 00:13:23,870
support of DHS and CBP . Uh , 

340
00:13:23,870 --> 00:13:27,860
and this observation 

341
00:13:27,870 --> 00:13:30,037
has given you any insights to what you 

342
00:13:30,037 --> 00:13:32,380
might try to accomplish in the Northern 

343
00:13:32,380 --> 00:13:35,830
Triangle in terms of stopping the flow 

344
00:13:35,830 --> 00:13:39,730
at the source . Well , certainly the , 

345
00:13:39,740 --> 00:13:41,980
uh , the migration problem is a 

346
00:13:41,980 --> 00:13:44,660
confluence of many different issues uh , 

347
00:13:44,670 --> 00:13:47,450
senator and that violence , corruption 

348
00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:51,730
trafficking of arms personnel uh , 

349
00:13:51,740 --> 00:13:55,000
as well as poverty and certainly with 

350
00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:58,260
Covid and the Covid impacts . As I said 

351
00:13:58,260 --> 00:14:00,427
in my opening statement , changing the 

352
00:14:00,427 --> 00:14:04,280
geopolitical landscape all factor in 

353
00:14:04,290 --> 00:14:07,380
to having high migration efforts . 

354
00:14:07,380 --> 00:14:10,320
Certainly , uh , working with , I have 

355
00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:12,370
a professional working relationship 

356
00:14:12,380 --> 00:14:14,658
under the theater security cooperation . 

357
00:14:14,658 --> 00:14:17,330
We do under us North . Com uh , running 

358
00:14:17,330 --> 00:14:19,980
the border commanders program with the 

359
00:14:19,990 --> 00:14:22,780
mexican army , Sedona . And certainly 

360
00:14:22,790 --> 00:14:24,846
when I came into command , they were 

361
00:14:24,846 --> 00:14:27,012
not along are on the other side of the 

362
00:14:27,012 --> 00:14:29,940
border . Uh , and since then they now 

363
00:14:29,940 --> 00:14:32,218
patrol on the other side of the border , 

364
00:14:32,218 --> 00:14:34,162
acting as a deterrent as well . So 

365
00:14:34,162 --> 00:14:36,107
certainly working with our partner 

366
00:14:36,107 --> 00:14:38,051
nations , working with our partner 

367
00:14:38,051 --> 00:14:40,420
militaries and strengthening them , 

368
00:14:40,420 --> 00:14:42,642
bolstering them to to be able to handle 

369
00:14:42,642 --> 00:14:46,130
their own security problems . Uh , is 

370
00:14:46,130 --> 00:14:49,680
really what uh , really what can help 

371
00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:52,540
curb this situation ? We have to have a 

372
00:14:52,540 --> 00:14:54,930
persistent presence though it can't be 

373
00:14:54,940 --> 00:14:57,000
has to be routine . It has to be 

374
00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:59,560
persistent and uh and it has to be 

375
00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:02,780
sincere . Thank you . And just quickly 

376
00:15:02,790 --> 00:15:06,450
uh your general impressions of the 

377
00:15:06,940 --> 00:15:09,700
malign influence of Russia china and 

378
00:15:09,700 --> 00:15:11,367
other countries in your ale . 

379
00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:16,970
So certainly uh china and Russia china 

380
00:15:16,970 --> 00:15:20,530
is the re emerged long term 

381
00:15:20,530 --> 00:15:22,363
strategic competitor , rapidly , 

382
00:15:22,363 --> 00:15:25,620
rapidly asserting itself . It is the 

383
00:15:25,620 --> 00:15:29,200
only a competitor that is capable of 

384
00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:31,160
using its instruments of power , 

385
00:15:31,540 --> 00:15:35,200
economic , political technological to 

386
00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:37,422
challenge our rules based international 

387
00:15:37,422 --> 00:15:39,478
order . Certainly , the Secretary of 

388
00:15:39,478 --> 00:15:41,644
Defense has identified china as a as a 

389
00:15:41,644 --> 00:15:43,256
pacing threat . They've been 

390
00:15:43,256 --> 00:15:45,490
aggressively modernizing their military 

391
00:15:45,490 --> 00:15:48,380
at a serious and sustained rate . And 

392
00:15:48,380 --> 00:15:50,380
as I look at this from the military 

393
00:15:50,380 --> 00:15:53,180
lens , all too for the P . L . A . Or 

394
00:15:53,180 --> 00:15:55,460
the People's Liberation Army to project 

395
00:15:55,470 --> 00:15:58,290
and sustain military power . And so 

396
00:15:58,290 --> 00:16:00,420
certainly obviously with Russia , 

397
00:16:00,430 --> 00:16:02,319
malign influence of Russia , they 

398
00:16:02,319 --> 00:16:05,160
continue to undermine the US globally . 

399
00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:08,210
Uh they try to separate democracies and 

400
00:16:08,210 --> 00:16:10,620
sow discord . And certainly in latin 

401
00:16:10,620 --> 00:16:14,370
America try to create a friction 

402
00:16:14,370 --> 00:16:16,592
point and use that as pressure upon the 

403
00:16:16,592 --> 00:16:18,890
United States . If confirmed as the 

404
00:16:18,890 --> 00:16:21,080
South um commander , I will utilize 

405
00:16:21,090 --> 00:16:23,640
security cooperation and engagement to 

406
00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:25,930
counter these and work with our partner 

407
00:16:25,930 --> 00:16:28,020
nations to counter this malign 

408
00:16:28,020 --> 00:16:30,310
influence . Thank you very much . 

409
00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:33,490
General and where I think we're all 

410
00:16:33,490 --> 00:16:37,290
very uh enthused about 

411
00:16:37,290 --> 00:16:40,660
your nomination and I wish you well . 

412
00:16:41,340 --> 00:16:44,270
Thank you . Recognize senator rounds . 

413
00:16:49,140 --> 00:16:51,640
Thank you . Mr Chairman . Uh Good 

414
00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:53,973
morning . Lieutenant General Richardson . 

415
00:16:53,973 --> 00:16:56,084
Um First let me begin by saying thank 

416
00:16:56,084 --> 00:16:58,251
you for your service to our country as 

417
00:16:58,251 --> 00:17:00,473
well as your family's continued service 

418
00:17:00,473 --> 00:17:02,780
to our country . Um I'd like to follow 

419
00:17:02,780 --> 00:17:05,560
up a little bit with your comments uh 

420
00:17:05,570 --> 00:17:08,780
just now with regarding to the chinese 

421
00:17:08,780 --> 00:17:11,980
challenges that we have with regard to 

422
00:17:11,980 --> 00:17:14,036
chinese influence in latin America . 

423
00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:16,270
Since the end of World War two , the 

424
00:17:16,270 --> 00:17:18,610
South com er has been a secondary 

425
00:17:18,610 --> 00:17:20,840
concern to military planners , but I 

426
00:17:20,840 --> 00:17:23,560
wonder if it deserves more focus . 

427
00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:26,510
According to a july report by crs total 

428
00:17:26,510 --> 00:17:28,800
chinese latin american trade increased 

429
00:17:28,810 --> 00:17:31,540
from less than 18 billion in 2000 and 

430
00:17:31,540 --> 00:17:35,150
two To almost 316 billion in 

431
00:17:35,150 --> 00:17:38,030
2019 . The chinese have a clear 

432
00:17:38,030 --> 00:17:40,086
strategy of investing in minerals in 

433
00:17:40,086 --> 00:17:42,086
agricultural commodities throughout 

434
00:17:42,086 --> 00:17:44,420
South America . As we saw in africa 

435
00:17:44,420 --> 00:17:46,820
economic engagement will precede closer 

436
00:17:46,830 --> 00:17:49,510
military engagement . And indeed , 

437
00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:51,576
Admiral Faller . Excuse me . Admiral 

438
00:17:51,576 --> 00:17:53,798
Faller told this committee earlier this 

439
00:17:53,798 --> 00:17:56,350
year that china has increased its port 

440
00:17:56,350 --> 00:17:59,690
calls in the region by 70% Over the 

441
00:17:59,690 --> 00:18:03,240
last five years . Report from C . S . S 

442
00:18:03,250 --> 00:18:05,950
last year suggested that if war broke 

443
00:18:05,950 --> 00:18:08,690
out with china , the PRC may have 

444
00:18:08,690 --> 00:18:10,760
enough sway already in some latin 

445
00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:13,480
american capitals . Caracas , Quito 

446
00:18:13,490 --> 00:18:16,230
Havana menopause to use ports , 

447
00:18:16,230 --> 00:18:18,174
airfields and other facilities and 

448
00:18:18,174 --> 00:18:20,063
support of operations against the 

449
00:18:20,063 --> 00:18:22,286
United States . Do you have a reason to 

450
00:18:22,286 --> 00:18:24,397
believe this is an accurate depiction 

451
00:18:24,397 --> 00:18:26,619
of chinese influence in latin America . 

452
00:18:26,619 --> 00:18:28,674
And how can our armed forces work to 

453
00:18:28,674 --> 00:18:30,508
minimize this potential threat ? 

454
00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:34,580
Well , thank you senator . I assure 

455
00:18:34,580 --> 00:18:37,200
your concern . And certainly with the 

456
00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:40,820
expansion of uh of china across the 

457
00:18:40,820 --> 00:18:43,170
latin american region is concerning . 

458
00:18:43,540 --> 00:18:45,760
And so just with the belt and road 

459
00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:49,320
initiative , the B . R . I 19 countries 

460
00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:52,020
have uh have signed up for 

461
00:18:52,020 --> 00:18:53,964
infrastructure loans , billions of 

462
00:18:53,964 --> 00:18:56,350
dollars in loans for infrastructure 

463
00:18:56,350 --> 00:19:00,190
projects across the region . And so 

464
00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:02,380
quite honestly , very concerning . And 

465
00:19:02,380 --> 00:19:05,080
I I look at that all as even though 

466
00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:07,460
those are chinese data and enterprise 

467
00:19:07,460 --> 00:19:10,400
companies still , they can use those as 

468
00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:14,400
dual use facilities uh and utilize that 

469
00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:16,790
as global logistics and basing 

470
00:19:16,790 --> 00:19:19,600
infrastructure as they expand to to 

471
00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:22,470
project and sustain military power 

472
00:19:22,470 --> 00:19:24,359
globally and certainly within the 

473
00:19:24,359 --> 00:19:26,780
region . So again , I sure you're 

474
00:19:26,780 --> 00:19:28,947
concerned the way that we counter that 

475
00:19:28,947 --> 00:19:30,947
is through the security cooperation 

476
00:19:30,947 --> 00:19:33,169
engagement . We do have a lot of levers 

477
00:19:33,169 --> 00:19:35,169
to utilize . Admiral Faller and the 

478
00:19:35,169 --> 00:19:37,169
great team at South . Com have been 

479
00:19:37,169 --> 00:19:39,290
doing a very good job of aggressively 

480
00:19:39,290 --> 00:19:41,640
getting after those levers uh with 

481
00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:43,640
security cooperation , whether it's 

482
00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:46,400
with the uh institutional capacity 

483
00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:50,050
building , multinational exercises , uh 

484
00:19:50,060 --> 00:19:53,530
they picked back up uh with three big 

485
00:19:53,540 --> 00:19:55,762
exercises in the last six months , they 

486
00:19:55,762 --> 00:19:57,818
have four more on the horizon in the 

487
00:19:57,818 --> 00:20:00,210
next six months . This trains thousands 

488
00:20:00,210 --> 00:20:02,430
of soldiers . It increases readiness , 

489
00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:04,551
interoperability , domain awareness , 

490
00:20:04,551 --> 00:20:07,080
sharing of information . And so if 

491
00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:09,390
confirmed senator , I will certainly uh 

492
00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:12,520
take on this role uh to do uh with the 

493
00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:14,409
South um team has done before and 

494
00:20:14,409 --> 00:20:16,631
continue to have persistent presence in 

495
00:20:16,631 --> 00:20:19,060
the region . Thank you for that answer . 

496
00:20:19,940 --> 00:20:21,950
Let me change topics a little bit . 

497
00:20:22,340 --> 00:20:25,130
Reports out of CUBA suggests the 

498
00:20:25,130 --> 00:20:27,670
protests have been quelled for now . 

499
00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:30,351
However , there is no end in sight to 

500
00:20:30,351 --> 00:20:32,573
CUBA's economic failure . Most citizens 

501
00:20:32,573 --> 00:20:34,940
lack access to basic necessities . Nor 

502
00:20:34,940 --> 00:20:36,884
is there an end in sight to CUBA's 

503
00:20:36,884 --> 00:20:38,940
current covid surge which is getting 

504
00:20:38,940 --> 00:20:41,107
worse by the day and which will likely 

505
00:20:41,107 --> 00:20:43,051
further erode public confidence in 

506
00:20:43,051 --> 00:20:45,218
CUBA's communist government , assuming 

507
00:20:45,218 --> 00:20:47,440
the unrest has merely hit a pause . His 

508
00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:49,440
south com well positioned to act in 

509
00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:51,384
support of our relevant government 

510
00:20:51,384 --> 00:20:53,440
agencies . If waves of refugees head 

511
00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:56,720
for U . S . Shores or if the country 

512
00:20:56,720 --> 00:21:00,640
devolves into a civil war . And I guess 

513
00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:02,529
I would pose the same question in 

514
00:21:02,529 --> 00:21:04,473
regards to Haiti given the ongoing 

515
00:21:04,473 --> 00:21:05,973
unrest there following the 

516
00:21:05,973 --> 00:21:07,862
assassination of president zombie 

517
00:21:07,862 --> 00:21:10,580
movies . Um , what's your thoughts ? 

518
00:21:12,940 --> 00:21:15,530
So Senator ? Certainly the this is a 

519
00:21:15,530 --> 00:21:18,920
very fluid and dynamic situation uh and 

520
00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:22,780
the uh requires a whole of government 

521
00:21:22,780 --> 00:21:24,947
approach . Absolutely . With diplomacy 

522
00:21:24,947 --> 00:21:27,169
in the lead certainly have confirmed as 

523
00:21:27,169 --> 00:21:29,520
the centcom commander , I would be 

524
00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:31,630
ready to respond with whatever was 

525
00:21:31,630 --> 00:21:35,510
asked to uh Southern Command to be able 

526
00:21:35,510 --> 00:21:38,340
to do uh in terms of either one of 

527
00:21:38,340 --> 00:21:40,060
those situations . 

528
00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:44,296
Thank you . Mr Chairman . My time is 

529
00:21:44,296 --> 00:21:46,518
expiring . Thank you very much centered 

530
00:21:46,518 --> 00:21:48,351
around . So let me now recognize 

531
00:21:48,351 --> 00:21:50,573
Senator Kaine please . Mr Chair . Thank 

532
00:21:50,573 --> 00:21:52,518
you so much . General Richardson , 

533
00:21:52,518 --> 00:21:54,684
congratulations on your nomination . I 

534
00:21:54,684 --> 00:21:56,851
hope to work with you . Um I guess all 

535
00:21:56,851 --> 00:21:58,962
of our favorite Kors is north com but 

536
00:21:58,962 --> 00:22:01,240
next to north Korea and South comments . 

537
00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:03,296
My favorite a Ri was a missionary in 

538
00:22:03,296 --> 00:22:05,420
Honduras . I am the chairman of the 

539
00:22:05,420 --> 00:22:07,364
Western Hemisphere subcommittee of 

540
00:22:07,364 --> 00:22:09,420
Senate Foreign Relations . We have a 

541
00:22:09,420 --> 00:22:11,587
huge latino population in Virginia who 

542
00:22:11,587 --> 00:22:13,809
have family all over the Americas . But 

543
00:22:13,809 --> 00:22:15,976
I feel like our military operations as 

544
00:22:15,976 --> 00:22:18,198
well as diplomatic and other operations 

545
00:22:18,198 --> 00:22:19,976
in the Americas are often under 

546
00:22:19,976 --> 00:22:22,031
resourced and our attention often is 

547
00:22:22,031 --> 00:22:24,198
episodic . We pay attention if there's 

548
00:22:24,198 --> 00:22:26,309
a crisis and then we we drift back to 

549
00:22:26,309 --> 00:22:28,364
focusing on an east west axis of the 

550
00:22:28,364 --> 00:22:30,531
world rather than our neighbors in the 

551
00:22:30,531 --> 00:22:32,698
Americas . Over the years as I've been 

552
00:22:32,698 --> 00:22:35,031
on this committee and Foreign Relations , 

553
00:22:35,031 --> 00:22:37,087
I've often heard from latin american 

554
00:22:37,087 --> 00:22:36,630
heads of state . We'd much rather deal 

555
00:22:36,630 --> 00:22:38,908
with the United States than with china . 

556
00:22:38,940 --> 00:22:40,607
We were worried about chinese 

557
00:22:40,607 --> 00:22:42,700
motivations . They put us into debt 

558
00:22:42,700 --> 00:22:44,867
traps that we don't like . But they're 

559
00:22:44,867 --> 00:22:46,978
present and they're putting resources 

560
00:22:46,978 --> 00:22:49,089
on the table and you're not present . 

561
00:22:49,089 --> 00:22:51,610
Um Recently I returned from a code L . 

562
00:22:51,610 --> 00:22:53,554
To the Americas for nations Mexico 

563
00:22:53,554 --> 00:22:56,110
Guatemala Ecuador and Colombia with six 

564
00:22:56,110 --> 00:22:58,054
senators , three democrats , three 

565
00:22:58,054 --> 00:23:00,054
republicans . And I was very struck 

566
00:23:00,054 --> 00:23:02,166
that we have a moment in time where a 

567
00:23:02,166 --> 00:23:04,221
window is really open for the United 

568
00:23:04,221 --> 00:23:06,499
States . They are thrilled about the U . 

569
00:23:06,499 --> 00:23:08,832
S . Delivery vaccines vaccine diplomacy . 

570
00:23:08,832 --> 00:23:10,777
You mentioned this in your opening 

571
00:23:10,777 --> 00:23:12,888
statement . They look at the US gifts 

572
00:23:12,888 --> 00:23:14,832
of vaccines and President biden is 

573
00:23:14,832 --> 00:23:16,888
making an announcement today I think 

574
00:23:16,888 --> 00:23:19,054
about delivery of 100 million vaccines 

575
00:23:19,054 --> 00:23:21,277
around the world . But they look at the 

576
00:23:21,277 --> 00:23:23,388
U . S . Gift of vaccines and they say 

577
00:23:23,388 --> 00:23:25,554
these are the highest quality vaccines 

578
00:23:25,554 --> 00:23:25,550
in the world . And they compare it with 

579
00:23:25,550 --> 00:23:27,550
the china or Russia willing to sell 

580
00:23:27,550 --> 00:23:29,772
them vaccines that they don't think are 

581
00:23:29,772 --> 00:23:31,439
so high quality . And they're 

582
00:23:31,439 --> 00:23:33,700
incredibly grateful You and I talked 

583
00:23:33,710 --> 00:23:35,877
briefly and again . You referred to it 

584
00:23:35,877 --> 00:23:37,710
in your opening statement , I've 

585
00:23:37,710 --> 00:23:41,170
visited us military operations in 

586
00:23:41,180 --> 00:23:43,180
Honduras for example that are doing 

587
00:23:43,180 --> 00:23:45,820
remote medical clinics in rural regions 

588
00:23:45,820 --> 00:23:48,900
of Honduras . That not only train us to 

589
00:23:48,900 --> 00:23:51,430
quickly set up mobile medical units but 

590
00:23:51,430 --> 00:23:53,430
also perform humanitarian work that 

591
00:23:53,430 --> 00:23:55,990
build goodwill throughout the Americas . 

592
00:23:55,990 --> 00:23:58,280
There's a need for help in deploying 

593
00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:01,270
vaccines into rural areas far away from 

594
00:24:01,270 --> 00:24:03,300
central cities in Guatemala . We 

595
00:24:03,300 --> 00:24:05,411
arrived on the code L . When the same 

596
00:24:05,411 --> 00:24:07,578
day that 1.5 million american vaccines 

597
00:24:07,578 --> 00:24:09,744
were delivered . Senator coons asked a 

598
00:24:09,744 --> 00:24:11,633
really challenging question . The 

599
00:24:11,633 --> 00:24:13,856
President Jammeh , to How many of these 

600
00:24:13,856 --> 00:24:16,022
vaccines will get more than 20 minutes 

601
00:24:16,022 --> 00:24:18,078
from the International Airport . How 

602
00:24:18,078 --> 00:24:20,300
many will get to indigenous communities 

603
00:24:20,300 --> 00:24:22,467
or places in Guatemala that don't have 

604
00:24:22,467 --> 00:24:24,467
good road network ? I see a massive 

605
00:24:24,467 --> 00:24:26,633
opportunity for the U . S . As part of 

606
00:24:26,633 --> 00:24:28,744
this vaccine diplomacy to regain lost 

607
00:24:28,744 --> 00:24:30,578
ground in the Americas and build 

608
00:24:30,578 --> 00:24:32,800
goodwill . And I actually think the U . 

609
00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:35,078
S . Military has expertise in this way . 

610
00:24:35,078 --> 00:24:36,800
I've seen my Virginia guard at 

611
00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:38,633
everything during covid from the 

612
00:24:38,633 --> 00:24:40,189
testing clinics to the food 

613
00:24:40,189 --> 00:24:42,300
distribution to the vaccine clinics . 

614
00:24:42,300 --> 00:24:44,522
And so I know it's an expertise share a 

615
00:24:44,522 --> 00:24:46,467
little bit about how should you be 

616
00:24:46,467 --> 00:24:48,633
confirmed ? You might want to um to be 

617
00:24:48,633 --> 00:24:50,744
involved , as you say , in a whole of 

618
00:24:50,744 --> 00:24:52,633
government exercise to accelerate 

619
00:24:52,633 --> 00:24:54,522
american vaccine diplomacy in the 

620
00:24:54,522 --> 00:24:56,970
Americas . Thank you Senator for the 

621
00:24:56,970 --> 00:24:59,270
opportunity to talk about that . And uh 

622
00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:02,550
as in North Common Army North have been 

623
00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:05,290
been dealing with the effects of covid 

624
00:25:05,290 --> 00:25:07,820
across our nation with our military 

625
00:25:07,820 --> 00:25:09,931
medical providers and hospitals . And 

626
00:25:09,931 --> 00:25:12,200
then uh and everything that we learned 

627
00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:16,160
with that as well as across uh the 

628
00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:18,270
United States with vaccine centres . 

629
00:25:18,270 --> 00:25:20,920
And so uh we've learned an awful lot , 

630
00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:24,460
but this is absolutely uh an area where 

631
00:25:24,460 --> 00:25:26,640
covid with covid distribution . And I 

632
00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:30,330
know the the administration is um Has 

633
00:25:30,330 --> 00:25:32,710
talked about getting out 500 million 

634
00:25:32,710 --> 00:25:35,660
vaccine doses across the across the 

635
00:25:35,660 --> 00:25:38,330
globe over the next year . And so quite 

636
00:25:38,330 --> 00:25:40,740
honestly , as we were looking to 

637
00:25:40,740 --> 00:25:44,220
desperately create the vaccine uh , 

638
00:25:44,230 --> 00:25:47,010
last december , for example , uh and 

639
00:25:47,010 --> 00:25:49,177
getting that out and getting shots and 

640
00:25:49,177 --> 00:25:51,232
arms as quickly as possible . I know 

641
00:25:51,232 --> 00:25:52,899
that uh in south calm and the 

642
00:25:52,899 --> 00:25:55,121
capabilities that the military has with 

643
00:25:55,121 --> 00:25:58,260
distribution , logistics , lessons 

644
00:25:58,260 --> 00:26:01,360
learned , being able to provide PPE and 

645
00:26:01,360 --> 00:26:03,620
those sorts of things . And so I think 

646
00:26:03,620 --> 00:26:07,370
this is a huge opportunity uh 

647
00:26:07,380 --> 00:26:10,430
for uh the United States allies and 

648
00:26:10,430 --> 00:26:12,810
partners with vaccine distribution . Uh 

649
00:26:12,820 --> 00:26:14,987
I think the other very important point 

650
00:26:14,987 --> 00:26:17,130
is that with the United States there 

651
00:26:17,130 --> 00:26:19,860
aren't strings attached . There's no 

652
00:26:19,870 --> 00:26:23,070
fine print , small print . We don't use 

653
00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:26,380
this as leverage . Whereas the chinese 

654
00:26:26,380 --> 00:26:28,324
and the Russians are using this as 

655
00:26:28,324 --> 00:26:30,102
leverage to change . You know , 

656
00:26:30,102 --> 00:26:32,213
countries mind we'll give you vaccine 

657
00:26:32,213 --> 00:26:34,810
if if you take on our five G from 

658
00:26:34,810 --> 00:26:37,340
Huawei for example . And so we don't do 

659
00:26:37,340 --> 00:26:39,562
that . We don't have strings attached . 

660
00:26:39,562 --> 00:26:41,618
When we uh when we are talking about 

661
00:26:41,618 --> 00:26:44,260
vaccine diplomacy , I think general , 

662
00:26:44,260 --> 00:26:46,690
that last fact is not lost on these 

663
00:26:46,690 --> 00:26:48,910
leaders and they are really seeing in 

664
00:26:48,910 --> 00:26:51,077
America that wants to help them out of 

665
00:26:51,077 --> 00:26:53,430
this once in a century . Health care 

666
00:26:53,430 --> 00:26:55,652
crisis . In a way that china and Russia 

667
00:26:55,652 --> 00:26:57,763
are not , let's take advantage of the 

668
00:26:57,763 --> 00:26:59,930
moment South um has a big role to play 

669
00:26:59,930 --> 00:26:59,620
in it . I look forward to supporting 

670
00:26:59,620 --> 00:27:01,787
your nomination . Thank you Mr Chair . 

671
00:27:01,787 --> 00:27:03,787
Thank you . Senator Kaine , Senator 

672
00:27:03,787 --> 00:27:05,953
Arts , please . Thank you Mr Chair and 

673
00:27:05,953 --> 00:27:07,620
thank you very much . General 

674
00:27:07,620 --> 00:27:09,620
Richardson , I am so pleased to see 

675
00:27:09,620 --> 00:27:11,453
your nomination in front of this 

676
00:27:11,453 --> 00:27:13,564
committee . I also want to thank your 

677
00:27:13,564 --> 00:27:15,564
family as well . General Richardson 

678
00:27:15,564 --> 00:27:17,509
Lauren , thank you so much for the 

679
00:27:17,510 --> 00:27:19,677
support of your wife and your mother . 

680
00:27:19,677 --> 00:27:21,621
We know how important our military 

681
00:27:21,621 --> 00:27:23,732
families are , so thank you for being 

682
00:27:23,732 --> 00:27:26,160
here today . Um General Richardson 

683
00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:28,860
again , Congratulations and and we know 

684
00:27:28,860 --> 00:27:31,540
that we do have a lot going on in this 

685
00:27:31,540 --> 00:27:34,900
hemisphere and focusing on South com is 

686
00:27:34,900 --> 00:27:37,940
extremely important , as Admiral Faller 

687
00:27:37,940 --> 00:27:39,996
has told us over and over again , we 

688
00:27:39,996 --> 00:27:42,180
have many malign actors that are 

689
00:27:42,180 --> 00:27:46,000
engaging in our own neighborhood and we 

690
00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:48,056
certainly need to make sure that our 

691
00:27:48,056 --> 00:27:51,060
interests in our country are protected . 

692
00:27:51,340 --> 00:27:53,770
So we do see those new threats coming 

693
00:27:53,770 --> 00:27:57,160
from chinese and Russian influence in 

694
00:27:57,160 --> 00:27:59,910
particular . We have many of these 

695
00:27:59,910 --> 00:28:02,270
transnational criminal organizations 

696
00:28:02,270 --> 00:28:06,090
that are engaging and what we have seen 

697
00:28:06,090 --> 00:28:09,270
coming through those T . C . O . S . Uh 

698
00:28:09,340 --> 00:28:12,190
About $90 billion dollars of annual 

699
00:28:12,190 --> 00:28:15,550
revenue generated from those T . C . O . 

700
00:28:15,550 --> 00:28:17,772
S . And just last week we saw the Coast 

701
00:28:17,772 --> 00:28:20,150
Guard cutter Harriet Lane interdicting 

702
00:28:20,150 --> 00:28:24,140
$16 million worth of illicit drugs 

703
00:28:24,140 --> 00:28:27,090
which were likely moving towards 

704
00:28:27,100 --> 00:28:30,800
America in the Caribbean sea . So we do 

705
00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:33,240
have a lot of risk from these Tco s . 

706
00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:36,250
Can you maybe talk a little bit about 

707
00:28:36,250 --> 00:28:39,020
how they are working with those malign 

708
00:28:39,020 --> 00:28:41,940
actors like china and Russia and the 

709
00:28:41,950 --> 00:28:44,660
implications that has to the United 

710
00:28:44,660 --> 00:28:48,620
States ? Certainly thank 

711
00:28:48,620 --> 00:28:52,010
you senator . And uh with the uh T . C . 

712
00:28:52,010 --> 00:28:54,230
O . S . Uh transnational criminal 

713
00:28:54,230 --> 00:28:56,063
organizations threatened partner 

714
00:28:56,063 --> 00:28:58,440
nations stability as well as regional 

715
00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:00,820
security . And certainly the violence 

716
00:29:00,820 --> 00:29:03,170
that they create quite honestly , they 

717
00:29:03,180 --> 00:29:05,347
feed off of each other the T . C . O . 

718
00:29:05,347 --> 00:29:08,560
S . Or the external state actors um of 

719
00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:12,450
china Russia and Lebanese , Hezbollah . 

720
00:29:12,450 --> 00:29:16,210
And so certainly , uh again , the uh , 

721
00:29:16,220 --> 00:29:18,490
they're expanding their diversifying 

722
00:29:18,500 --> 00:29:21,070
their destabilizing in the region . 

723
00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:23,700
There are major security threat in the 

724
00:29:23,710 --> 00:29:26,170
in the A . O . R . And drug trafficking 

725
00:29:26,170 --> 00:29:28,226
is their number one funding source . 

726
00:29:28,226 --> 00:29:31,560
And so certainly uh , the what south 

727
00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:34,140
com has at its are the levers that it 

728
00:29:34,140 --> 00:29:37,430
utilizes for security cooperation . And 

729
00:29:37,430 --> 00:29:39,541
again , that has to be a persistent , 

730
00:29:39,541 --> 00:29:42,450
persistent presence . And certainly we 

731
00:29:42,450 --> 00:29:44,672
would like our more allies and partners 

732
00:29:44,672 --> 00:29:46,783
to join us in the region to . So it's 

733
00:29:46,783 --> 00:29:49,410
not just the United States , but quite 

734
00:29:49,410 --> 00:29:53,080
honestly , I the multilateral exercises 

735
00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:55,136
that I spoke about before , really a 

736
00:29:55,136 --> 00:29:58,250
low cost , high return on investment uh , 

737
00:29:58,260 --> 00:30:00,580
to train with our partner nations 

738
00:30:00,590 --> 00:30:02,257
increases the readiness , the 

739
00:30:02,257 --> 00:30:04,670
interoperability , the domain awareness . 

740
00:30:04,670 --> 00:30:07,610
Because we have to be able to have uh , 

741
00:30:07,620 --> 00:30:10,270
the security advantage in all domains 

742
00:30:10,270 --> 00:30:12,600
as well as the sharing of information 

743
00:30:12,610 --> 00:30:16,080
and intelligence . Thank you . And even 

744
00:30:16,090 --> 00:30:18,210
to build further on that . One of my 

745
00:30:18,210 --> 00:30:21,020
favorite topics when we have uh 

746
00:30:21,030 --> 00:30:23,520
commanders in front of us is our state 

747
00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:25,430
partnership programs through the 

748
00:30:25,430 --> 00:30:27,950
National Guard and I'm very proud of 

749
00:30:27,950 --> 00:30:30,570
our own partnership Iowa is partnered 

750
00:30:30,570 --> 00:30:33,360
with Kosovo and we've seen a great 

751
00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:35,950
return on investment with a tremendous 

752
00:30:35,950 --> 00:30:38,850
country in europe . We see that as well 

753
00:30:38,850 --> 00:30:41,860
in South America with many of our state 

754
00:30:41,860 --> 00:30:44,790
National Guards partnering with host 

755
00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:47,240
nations , uh , the best bang for the 

756
00:30:47,240 --> 00:30:49,490
buck . Um , coming from those types of 

757
00:30:49,490 --> 00:30:52,530
agreements , you also mentioned allies 

758
00:30:52,530 --> 00:30:55,180
and partners , um other countries that 

759
00:30:55,180 --> 00:30:57,402
are engaging with us . And I think it's 

760
00:30:57,402 --> 00:30:59,513
important to remember that we do have 

761
00:30:59,513 --> 00:31:01,680
to continue to collaborate with others 

762
00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:03,624
that have our shared interests and 

763
00:31:03,624 --> 00:31:05,740
values in the region . Can you talk 

764
00:31:05,740 --> 00:31:08,710
about some of the great partnerships we 

765
00:31:08,710 --> 00:31:12,390
do have with allies as we're engaging 

766
00:31:12,390 --> 00:31:15,230
against some of the malign actors and T 

767
00:31:15,230 --> 00:31:17,452
C . O . S that we see maybe some of the 

768
00:31:17,452 --> 00:31:19,430
key partners we would have . So 

769
00:31:19,430 --> 00:31:21,670
certainly uh in the current position 

770
00:31:21,670 --> 00:31:24,150
that I've that I'm in an army north and 

771
00:31:24,150 --> 00:31:26,560
under us north calm and we have the 

772
00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:29,290
theater security relationship with our 

773
00:31:29,290 --> 00:31:31,730
ally Canada and our partner in Mexico . 

774
00:31:31,730 --> 00:31:35,290
But uh specifically being able to uh to 

775
00:31:35,290 --> 00:31:37,970
work with them , have them uh train at 

776
00:31:37,980 --> 00:31:40,410
our training centers , for example , 

777
00:31:40,410 --> 00:31:42,577
our Joint Readiness Training center at 

778
00:31:42,577 --> 00:31:44,500
Fort Polk which uh the Canadians 

779
00:31:44,500 --> 00:31:47,980
routinely train their battalion level . 

780
00:31:47,990 --> 00:31:49,990
We're going to have a company , our 

781
00:31:49,990 --> 00:31:52,160
partner nation of Mexico , a company 

782
00:31:52,170 --> 00:31:54,270
participate in the first year TC 

783
00:31:54,270 --> 00:31:57,220
rotation next spring . And then by 24 

784
00:31:57,220 --> 00:31:59,109
we hope to have a battalion level 

785
00:31:59,109 --> 00:32:02,130
participation . So uh it's just uh I 

786
00:32:02,130 --> 00:32:05,040
think it just helps us uh I look at it 

787
00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:07,210
as an integrated deterrence when we 

788
00:32:07,210 --> 00:32:09,790
work with our allies and partners uh 

789
00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:11,856
together because we're much stronger 

790
00:32:11,856 --> 00:32:14,190
and more powerful together to counter 

791
00:32:14,190 --> 00:32:16,580
the external influence . Thank you very 

792
00:32:16,580 --> 00:32:18,802
much . And General Richardson , my time 

793
00:32:18,802 --> 00:32:21,136
has expired . Thank you . Mr . Chairman . 

794
00:32:21,136 --> 00:32:23,024
I look forward to supporting your 

795
00:32:23,024 --> 00:32:25,080
nomination . Thank you . Thank you . 

796
00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:27,247
Senator Ernest . No , let me recognize 

797
00:32:27,247 --> 00:32:30,300
via webex . Senator King . Thank you . 

798
00:32:30,300 --> 00:32:31,967
MR Chairman First . I want to 

799
00:32:31,967 --> 00:32:34,189
congratulate General Richardson and her 

800
00:32:34,189 --> 00:32:36,411
husband . I think between your family , 

801
00:32:36,411 --> 00:32:38,744
there are more stars than the Milky Way . 

802
00:32:38,744 --> 00:32:41,600
I mean , this is extraordinary . I 

803
00:32:41,610 --> 00:32:44,010
don't think we've ever had this many uh 

804
00:32:44,020 --> 00:32:46,570
this high level in both sides of a 

805
00:32:46,580 --> 00:32:49,070
family . So congratulations on your 

806
00:32:49,070 --> 00:32:51,750
nomination . Uh I've been asking the 

807
00:32:51,750 --> 00:32:53,972
same question for about five years . It 

808
00:32:53,972 --> 00:32:56,083
may be is getting marginally better . 

809
00:32:56,083 --> 00:32:58,194
But what really frustrates me is that 

810
00:32:58,194 --> 00:33:01,940
we know about 100 drug shipments from 

811
00:33:02,010 --> 00:33:05,920
the Latin American Hor And we can 

812
00:33:05,930 --> 00:33:09,190
we have the capacity to interdict 25 , 

813
00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:12,150
maybe 30% of them . I hope that you 

814
00:33:12,150 --> 00:33:14,830
will advocate for more resources , 

815
00:33:14,990 --> 00:33:17,101
whether it's naval training vessels , 

816
00:33:17,101 --> 00:33:20,030
additional Coast Guard , Whatever it is , 

817
00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:23,880
there's given the tragedy that's 

818
00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:27,190
going on . I mean , we're losing tens 

819
00:33:27,190 --> 00:33:29,301
of thousands of people every year , I 

820
00:33:29,301 --> 00:33:31,980
think 90,000 this year , uh including 

821
00:33:31,990 --> 00:33:34,530
four or 500 I think over 500 in my 

822
00:33:34,540 --> 00:33:37,090
state of Maine to overdoses , 

823
00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:40,960
please amp up the 

824
00:33:41,340 --> 00:33:44,790
ramp up the capacity to interdict these 

825
00:33:44,790 --> 00:33:47,280
shipments . And also the is are to know 

826
00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:50,790
where they are . Well , thank you , 

827
00:33:50,790 --> 00:33:53,830
senator . And uh and certainly as 

828
00:33:53,830 --> 00:33:55,941
Admiral Fowler has said , is we can't 

829
00:33:55,941 --> 00:33:58,240
interdict our way out of this . And so 

830
00:33:58,250 --> 00:34:01,700
uh not only will uh will uh if 

831
00:34:01,700 --> 00:34:04,760
confirmed work very aggressively on 

832
00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:08,090
this on this way forward uh through J 

833
00:34:08,090 --> 00:34:09,979
Out of South , which is the Joint 

834
00:34:09,979 --> 00:34:12,146
Interagency Task Force South under U . 

835
00:34:12,146 --> 00:34:15,790
S . South com uh that uh that has the 

836
00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:17,967
air and maritime mission for detective 

837
00:34:17,967 --> 00:34:19,911
monitoring for this , but also the 

838
00:34:19,911 --> 00:34:22,133
whole of government approach . You have 

839
00:34:22,133 --> 00:34:24,078
the inter agency that's integrated 

840
00:34:24,078 --> 00:34:26,300
within J out of South as well . We have 

841
00:34:26,300 --> 00:34:28,411
partner nations that are part of this 

842
00:34:28,411 --> 00:34:31,230
team . The partner nations participated 

843
00:34:31,230 --> 00:34:33,490
in 60% of the interdictions that 

844
00:34:33,490 --> 00:34:36,570
occurred uh last year . And so I think 

845
00:34:36,570 --> 00:34:39,810
that uh just continuing to work on that . 

846
00:34:39,810 --> 00:34:41,866
But absolutely , I will advocate for 

847
00:34:41,866 --> 00:34:43,866
that senator . Well , we may not be 

848
00:34:43,866 --> 00:34:46,088
able to interdict their way out of it , 

849
00:34:46,088 --> 00:34:48,032
but we can do a heck of a lot more 

850
00:34:48,032 --> 00:34:50,254
interdiction than we are doing . Uh And 

851
00:34:50,254 --> 00:34:52,254
that's just a lack of facilities of 

852
00:34:52,254 --> 00:34:55,640
ships . So I want you I hope that you 

853
00:34:55,640 --> 00:34:57,850
will be very aggressive with your 

854
00:34:58,340 --> 00:35:00,910
colleagues in the Navy and the Coast 

855
00:35:00,910 --> 00:35:04,470
Guard that we just need more 

856
00:35:04,470 --> 00:35:06,840
resources . It's inexcusable that we 

857
00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:08,729
know of 100 shipments and we only 

858
00:35:08,729 --> 00:35:10,860
interdict 30 . I mean that's that is 

859
00:35:10,860 --> 00:35:13,082
one thing if we don't know about them , 

860
00:35:13,082 --> 00:35:15,304
but if we know about him and can't stop 

861
00:35:15,304 --> 00:35:17,471
them uh and people are dying up here , 

862
00:35:17,471 --> 00:35:19,249
that's that's not uh that's not 

863
00:35:19,249 --> 00:35:21,416
acceptable . Let me change the subject 

864
00:35:21,416 --> 00:35:24,250
for a moment . How do we bolster 

865
00:35:25,240 --> 00:35:27,930
the Northern Triangle countries 

866
00:35:27,940 --> 00:35:31,390
economically and in terms of internal 

867
00:35:31,390 --> 00:35:34,390
security in order to to slow the flow 

868
00:35:34,390 --> 00:35:36,557
of the migrants to our border ? How do 

869
00:35:36,557 --> 00:35:40,420
we do that while dealing with what are 

870
00:35:40,420 --> 00:35:42,830
often essentially corrupt governments ? 

871
00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:44,896
How do we , how do we get around the 

872
00:35:44,896 --> 00:35:47,062
government ? It doesn't do any good to 

873
00:35:47,062 --> 00:35:49,284
send millions or billions of dollars to 

874
00:35:49,284 --> 00:35:51,507
these countries if it gets siphoned off 

875
00:35:51,507 --> 00:35:55,170
bye bye regimes that aren't serving 

876
00:35:55,170 --> 00:35:58,860
the people only themselves well 

877
00:35:58,860 --> 00:36:00,770
senator , certainly through uh 

878
00:36:00,780 --> 00:36:03,250
institutional capacity building is 

879
00:36:03,260 --> 00:36:06,780
extremely important and uh and 

880
00:36:06,790 --> 00:36:10,430
working not not giving up with our 

881
00:36:10,430 --> 00:36:12,541
partner nations and continuing to try 

882
00:36:12,541 --> 00:36:15,310
to work with them . Uh As I said before , 

883
00:36:15,310 --> 00:36:17,480
the core principle in the U . S . 

884
00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:21,130
Military uh is human rights and the 

885
00:36:21,140 --> 00:36:23,260
rule of law . And we have to continue 

886
00:36:23,260 --> 00:36:26,610
to uh to uh have this 

887
00:36:26,620 --> 00:36:30,190
um have this within all of our training 

888
00:36:30,190 --> 00:36:33,370
which it is and continue to uh to 

889
00:36:33,370 --> 00:36:35,830
leverage that not just institutional 

890
00:36:35,830 --> 00:36:37,886
capacity building but the military's 

891
00:36:37,886 --> 00:36:40,163
are very well respected in this region . 

892
00:36:40,163 --> 00:36:43,120
And quite honestly a lot of uh a lot of 

893
00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:45,287
the people look at the military's as a 

894
00:36:45,287 --> 00:36:48,360
way to have a better life and a way to 

895
00:36:48,370 --> 00:36:51,980
get out of the the 

896
00:36:51,990 --> 00:36:54,650
poverty and the and the violence and 

897
00:36:54,650 --> 00:36:56,539
things like that . And so again , 

898
00:36:56,539 --> 00:36:58,840
persistent engagement with security 

899
00:36:58,840 --> 00:37:01,740
cooperation , the exercises , uh , the 

900
00:37:01,740 --> 00:37:04,410
train and equip uh foreign military 

901
00:37:04,410 --> 00:37:06,880
sales , foreign military financing , 

902
00:37:06,890 --> 00:37:09,130
Senator ernst mentioned the National 

903
00:37:09,130 --> 00:37:11,690
Guard State Partnership Program . Uh , 

904
00:37:11,700 --> 00:37:14,840
nine members on this committee have uh , 

905
00:37:14,850 --> 00:37:17,190
have state partnerships with the 

906
00:37:17,200 --> 00:37:19,311
countries in latin America . So there 

907
00:37:19,311 --> 00:37:21,478
are a lot of , a lot of lovers that we 

908
00:37:21,478 --> 00:37:23,700
have to continually be persistent about 

909
00:37:23,700 --> 00:37:27,620
utilizing in this region . Well , 

910
00:37:27,630 --> 00:37:30,630
I , uh , I hope you were asking you 

911
00:37:30,630 --> 00:37:32,852
questions as if you've been there three 

912
00:37:32,852 --> 00:37:35,019
years and I hope these are things that 

913
00:37:35,019 --> 00:37:36,908
will be on your mind . We have to 

914
00:37:36,908 --> 00:37:39,130
figure out how to support and encourage 

915
00:37:39,130 --> 00:37:41,297
and repair and rebuild those countries 

916
00:37:41,297 --> 00:37:43,850
without the sometimes outside of the 

917
00:37:44,030 --> 00:37:46,030
the corrupt local governments . The 

918
00:37:46,030 --> 00:37:47,974
other thing that I'm interested in 

919
00:37:47,974 --> 00:37:50,141
following as you're on this job is the 

920
00:37:50,141 --> 00:37:52,363
course of chinese influence and whether 

921
00:37:52,363 --> 00:37:54,530
they can maintain their influence when 

922
00:37:54,530 --> 00:37:56,586
the bills come due because what they 

923
00:37:56,586 --> 00:37:58,474
are really engaged in now is debt 

924
00:37:58,474 --> 00:38:00,586
diplomacy . And I think some of those 

925
00:38:00,586 --> 00:38:02,697
deals aren't going to look as good to 

926
00:38:02,697 --> 00:38:04,752
those countries when the chinese are 

927
00:38:04,752 --> 00:38:06,974
looking for repayment . But in any case 

928
00:38:06,974 --> 00:38:09,086
I appreciate your testimony . General 

929
00:38:09,086 --> 00:38:11,197
congratulations and I to look forward 

930
00:38:11,197 --> 00:38:13,363
to supporting your nominations . Thank 

931
00:38:13,363 --> 00:38:15,641
you . Senator . Thank you Senator King . 

932
00:38:15,641 --> 00:38:17,641
Let me recognize senator to be real 

933
00:38:17,641 --> 00:38:16,340
please . 

934
00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:25,340
No sir not yet . 

935
00:38:28,020 --> 00:38:29,631
There maybe that will work . 

936
00:38:31,820 --> 00:38:33,987
General thank you for being here today 

937
00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:38,150
and your husband and your daughter . My 

938
00:38:38,150 --> 00:38:40,261
two kids grew up with the coaches , a 

939
00:38:40,261 --> 00:38:42,870
dad disciplinarian . I can't imagine 

940
00:38:42,870 --> 00:38:44,759
your daughter growing up with two 

941
00:38:44,759 --> 00:38:46,592
generals . Uh That would be very 

942
00:38:46,592 --> 00:38:48,814
interesting . I'd love to be around the 

943
00:38:48,814 --> 00:38:50,926
breakfast table sometimes . Uh I know 

944
00:38:50,926 --> 00:38:52,840
she's got some stories ah 

945
00:38:55,020 --> 00:38:57,242
appreciate your training in Fort Rucker 

946
00:38:57,242 --> 00:38:59,390
in Alabama to aviation training . 

947
00:38:59,420 --> 00:39:01,960
That's awesome . You know , your area 

948
00:39:01,960 --> 00:39:03,793
of responsibility . The Southern 

949
00:39:03,793 --> 00:39:06,016
Command sometimes gets overlooked , but 

950
00:39:06,020 --> 00:39:08,450
it is getting more important every day 

951
00:39:08,820 --> 00:39:10,970
and we can just see the drugs in this 

952
00:39:10,970 --> 00:39:13,026
country being a coach I've seen over 

953
00:39:13,026 --> 00:39:15,350
the years and of all the kids that 

954
00:39:15,350 --> 00:39:17,406
we're losing to drugs and just in my 

955
00:39:17,406 --> 00:39:19,572
career , I can imagine now with what's 

956
00:39:19,572 --> 00:39:21,794
coming across the border and that's got 

957
00:39:21,794 --> 00:39:25,440
to be a huge , huge undertaking in the 

958
00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:27,496
future because there's so much money 

959
00:39:27,496 --> 00:39:30,120
involved in it . Um You know , I told 

960
00:39:30,120 --> 00:39:32,550
Admiral Fuller or Faller and we 

961
00:39:32,550 --> 00:39:34,940
testified in March that dealing with 

962
00:39:34,940 --> 00:39:37,480
criminal organizations , Haiti and cuba , 

963
00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:40,580
china and Russia coming coming our way . 

964
00:39:40,590 --> 00:39:42,757
Uh they're pressing us every day . You 

965
00:39:42,757 --> 00:39:44,980
got your hands full . You know , I 

966
00:39:44,980 --> 00:39:47,440
believe sooner or later the american 

967
00:39:47,450 --> 00:39:49,970
people are going to wake up to what's 

968
00:39:49,970 --> 00:39:52,980
going on in our and the caribbean in 

969
00:39:52,980 --> 00:39:55,540
the southern part of the country . Uh , 

970
00:39:56,020 --> 00:39:58,410
and I hope it doesn't take for china to 

971
00:39:58,410 --> 00:40:00,688
float an aircraft carrier between CUBA , 

972
00:40:00,688 --> 00:40:03,790
between Miami and the Bahamas for us to 

973
00:40:03,790 --> 00:40:07,200
wake up because it's coming . Uh , I 

974
00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:09,256
think in the next three years you're 

975
00:40:09,256 --> 00:40:11,367
gonna see a lot of changes and you're 

976
00:40:11,367 --> 00:40:13,422
gonna be right on top of it . So I'm 

977
00:40:13,422 --> 00:40:15,478
anxious to watch and see what you do 

978
00:40:15,478 --> 00:40:17,589
and how you do it . Because we're all 

979
00:40:17,589 --> 00:40:19,756
gonna be counting on you . And if ever 

980
00:40:19,756 --> 00:40:21,756
you need anything , uh , you know , 

981
00:40:21,756 --> 00:40:21,740
please let this committee . No . 

982
00:40:22,110 --> 00:40:24,388
Because sometimes the Southern Command , 

983
00:40:24,388 --> 00:40:26,443
along with , you know , with all the 

984
00:40:26,443 --> 00:40:28,499
drugs and so many different factions 

985
00:40:28,499 --> 00:40:31,480
that's challenging our country . Uh , 

986
00:40:31,490 --> 00:40:33,601
you're gonna need more and more every 

987
00:40:33,601 --> 00:40:36,260
day and that can't be overlooked . What 

988
00:40:36,260 --> 00:40:38,204
do you think it's going to be your 

989
00:40:38,204 --> 00:40:40,371
biggest obstacle ? You know , when you 

990
00:40:40,371 --> 00:40:42,740
take this job , when you're confirmed , 

991
00:40:43,110 --> 00:40:45,277
what what do you think your number one 

992
00:40:45,277 --> 00:40:47,277
concern will be as you look at it ? 

993
00:40:48,710 --> 00:40:50,990
Well Senator , thank you . Thank you 

994
00:40:50,990 --> 00:40:52,879
for the question and I share your 

995
00:40:52,879 --> 00:40:55,200
concern about the area of operations . 

996
00:40:55,200 --> 00:40:58,240
It is a huge , it's a huge area 

997
00:40:58,710 --> 00:41:00,830
and quite a lot of ground to cover . 

998
00:41:01,210 --> 00:41:03,580
Just to use a sports analogy . You 

999
00:41:03,580 --> 00:41:05,747
gotta have your jersey on , you got to 

1000
00:41:05,747 --> 00:41:07,858
have your number and you've got to be 

1001
00:41:07,858 --> 00:41:09,969
on the field and you can't just be on 

1002
00:41:09,969 --> 00:41:12,080
the field once every couple of months 

1003
00:41:12,080 --> 00:41:14,191
engaging with countries . It's got to 

1004
00:41:14,191 --> 00:41:13,470
be consistent . It's got to be 

1005
00:41:13,470 --> 00:41:16,520
persistent and uh , and constantly 

1006
00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:18,409
engaging with our partner nations 

1007
00:41:18,409 --> 00:41:20,640
knowing I think it also sends that were 

1008
00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:23,340
the U . S . Is committed to this region . 

1009
00:41:23,340 --> 00:41:26,500
And so a lot of levers are available 

1010
00:41:26,500 --> 00:41:29,860
And so the utilizing those uh those low 

1011
00:41:29,860 --> 00:41:32,620
cost , high return on investment uh 

1012
00:41:32,630 --> 00:41:35,320
initiatives and certainly working cross 

1013
00:41:35,320 --> 00:41:38,240
Combatant Command as well . Because I 

1014
00:41:38,250 --> 00:41:39,972
think a lot of things that are 

1015
00:41:39,972 --> 00:41:42,194
happening in different Kors and the end 

1016
00:41:42,194 --> 00:41:44,380
of pacific into uh , into the european 

1017
00:41:44,380 --> 00:41:47,650
command africom , certainly everything 

1018
00:41:47,650 --> 00:41:50,150
is very globally interconnected these 

1019
00:41:50,150 --> 00:41:52,450
days . And so working with my fellow 

1020
00:41:52,450 --> 00:41:54,672
combatant commanders and obviously with 

1021
00:41:54,672 --> 00:41:57,006
the commander of U . S . North . Com uh , 

1022
00:41:57,006 --> 00:41:59,172
to help strengthen those relationships 

1023
00:41:59,172 --> 00:42:01,620
and our commitment in the region . I 

1024
00:42:01,620 --> 00:42:03,564
don't think it's fair to ask you a 

1025
00:42:03,564 --> 00:42:05,787
question this question today . But when 

1026
00:42:05,787 --> 00:42:07,842
you come back for another hearing in 

1027
00:42:07,842 --> 00:42:09,676
the future , I want to know your 

1028
00:42:09,676 --> 00:42:12,100
thoughts about Guantanamo Bay . Uh , I 

1029
00:42:12,110 --> 00:42:14,277
want to know what you think about it , 

1030
00:42:14,277 --> 00:42:16,400
what the future for it is . I think 

1031
00:42:16,400 --> 00:42:18,678
that's a huge region for us down there . 

1032
00:42:18,678 --> 00:42:20,844
I've spent a lot of years in Miami got 

1033
00:42:20,844 --> 00:42:23,011
a lot of Cuban friends and and they're 

1034
00:42:23,011 --> 00:42:25,011
they're very passionate about their 

1035
00:42:25,011 --> 00:42:27,870
their country in CUBA . And I think 

1036
00:42:27,880 --> 00:42:30,047
you're gonna be right in the middle of 

1037
00:42:30,047 --> 00:42:32,269
that because you see things starting to 

1038
00:42:32,269 --> 00:42:35,310
starting to happen down there . My time 

1039
00:42:35,310 --> 00:42:37,032
is almost up . I took a little 

1040
00:42:37,032 --> 00:42:39,088
controversy over this question , but 

1041
00:42:39,088 --> 00:42:41,088
I'm going to ask you , our military 

1042
00:42:41,088 --> 00:42:43,199
needs to grow . We're losing more and 

1043
00:42:43,199 --> 00:42:45,421
more and our military to be able to get 

1044
00:42:45,421 --> 00:42:47,588
them in the military because of either 

1045
00:42:47,588 --> 00:42:49,699
education , drugs felonies . We don't 

1046
00:42:49,699 --> 00:42:51,810
have a lot choose from . And we got a 

1047
00:42:51,810 --> 00:42:53,866
lot of bright young men and women in 

1048
00:42:53,866 --> 00:42:56,032
this country . What do you think about 

1049
00:42:56,032 --> 00:42:58,199
drafting women in the future or having 

1050
00:42:58,199 --> 00:43:00,421
them at least sign up for the selective 

1051
00:43:00,421 --> 00:43:03,750
service ? Well , certainly the uh 

1052
00:43:03,760 --> 00:43:05,890
uh for women and having been in the 

1053
00:43:05,890 --> 00:43:08,340
military , uh , they're just huge 

1054
00:43:08,340 --> 00:43:11,010
opportunities to serve in the military . 

1055
00:43:11,020 --> 00:43:13,550
Very thankful that That I've been able 

1056
00:43:13,550 --> 00:43:15,930
to do that . Been a helicopter pilot 

1057
00:43:15,930 --> 00:43:18,940
for 34 years . I've been able to 

1058
00:43:18,950 --> 00:43:22,950
build and train teams to fight and win 

1059
00:43:22,950 --> 00:43:26,370
and combat . And quite quite honestly 

1060
00:43:26,370 --> 00:43:29,320
it is just my honor to be able to 

1061
00:43:29,700 --> 00:43:31,422
served with America's sons and 

1062
00:43:31,422 --> 00:43:33,810
daughters in the U . S . Military . 

1063
00:43:34,600 --> 00:43:36,600
Thank you very much . Thank you for 

1064
00:43:36,600 --> 00:43:38,600
service and look forward to working 

1065
00:43:38,600 --> 00:43:40,656
with you . Thank you Senator . Thank 

1066
00:43:40,656 --> 00:43:42,878
you Senator Bill . Let me recognize the 

1067
00:43:42,878 --> 00:43:44,878
via webex . Senator Warren please . 

1068
00:43:44,878 --> 00:43:46,989
Thank you Mr . Chairman and thank you 

1069
00:43:46,989 --> 00:43:49,100
for being here . General Richardson , 

1070
00:43:49,100 --> 00:43:51,322
congratulations on your nomination . As 

1071
00:43:51,322 --> 00:43:53,211
you know , many central and south 

1072
00:43:53,211 --> 00:43:55,100
americans , particularly from the 

1073
00:43:55,100 --> 00:43:56,933
Northern Triangle countries have 

1074
00:43:56,933 --> 00:43:59,320
migrated north in the last few years , 

1075
00:43:59,800 --> 00:44:02,570
rampant corruption , criminal gangs . 

1076
00:44:02,570 --> 00:44:05,240
Some of the world's highest rates of 

1077
00:44:05,250 --> 00:44:07,130
gender based violence in their 

1078
00:44:07,130 --> 00:44:10,240
countries are among the reasons why so 

1079
00:44:10,240 --> 00:44:12,640
many of them have embarked on a long 

1080
00:44:12,640 --> 00:44:15,300
and dangerous journey , as I've been 

1081
00:44:15,300 --> 00:44:17,300
saying for years now , dealing with 

1082
00:44:17,300 --> 00:44:20,370
these factors is crucial for responding 

1083
00:44:20,370 --> 00:44:23,710
appropriately to migration . Last week , 

1084
00:44:23,710 --> 00:44:25,890
the biden administration published its 

1085
00:44:25,890 --> 00:44:28,300
strategy for addressing the root causes 

1086
00:44:28,300 --> 00:44:31,000
of migration in Central America . And 

1087
00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:33,870
one of the pillars it identified was 

1088
00:44:33,870 --> 00:44:35,800
combating organized criminal 

1089
00:44:35,810 --> 00:44:38,990
organizations that have driven hundreds 

1090
00:44:38,990 --> 00:44:42,570
of thousands of innocent people from 

1091
00:44:42,570 --> 00:44:45,820
their homes through the persistent use 

1092
00:44:45,830 --> 00:44:48,940
of violence . Admiral Faller also 

1093
00:44:48,940 --> 00:44:51,420
identified these criminal organizations 

1094
00:44:51,430 --> 00:44:54,000
as a national security threat to the 

1095
00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:56,250
United States , as the combatant 

1096
00:44:56,250 --> 00:44:58,470
command responsible for Central and 

1097
00:44:58,470 --> 00:45:01,360
South America . Can you describe the 

1098
00:45:01,360 --> 00:45:04,430
role south com should play in President 

1099
00:45:04,430 --> 00:45:07,070
Biden strategy to address the root 

1100
00:45:07,070 --> 00:45:08,610
causes of migration . 

1101
00:45:10,990 --> 00:45:12,879
Yes , senator , thank you for the 

1102
00:45:12,879 --> 00:45:14,768
question . And uh , I assure your 

1103
00:45:14,768 --> 00:45:16,934
concern in terms of , and I agree with 

1104
00:45:16,934 --> 00:45:18,680
Admiral Faller in uh , in his 

1105
00:45:18,680 --> 00:45:20,736
assessment of transnational criminal 

1106
00:45:20,736 --> 00:45:23,070
organizations in this region . Uh they 

1107
00:45:23,070 --> 00:45:25,800
so violence , there's corruption again , 

1108
00:45:25,800 --> 00:45:29,060
trafficking . And uh when you're 

1109
00:45:29,060 --> 00:45:31,800
dealing with nations with poverty , and 

1110
00:45:31,800 --> 00:45:33,522
then of course , covid is just 

1111
00:45:33,522 --> 00:45:36,710
exacerbated all of that . And uh and 

1112
00:45:36,710 --> 00:45:38,543
quite honestly with the whole of 

1113
00:45:38,543 --> 00:45:40,654
government approach . Uh I look at it 

1114
00:45:40,654 --> 00:45:42,988
from the military perspective , Senator , 

1115
00:45:42,988 --> 00:45:45,043
obviously all the tools that I would 

1116
00:45:45,043 --> 00:45:46,988
have available if confirmed as the 

1117
00:45:46,988 --> 00:45:49,154
South com commander , to be able to be 

1118
00:45:49,154 --> 00:45:51,377
persistent and engaged with our partner 

1119
00:45:51,377 --> 00:45:54,100
nations in order to stem uh the flow of 

1120
00:45:54,100 --> 00:45:57,050
migration and all of the root causes 

1121
00:45:57,060 --> 00:45:59,570
that affect that I look forward if 

1122
00:45:59,570 --> 00:46:01,626
confirmed to be part of the whole of 

1123
00:46:01,626 --> 00:46:04,010
government solution to that . But again , 

1124
00:46:04,010 --> 00:46:06,770
I think that we have good strong 

1125
00:46:06,770 --> 00:46:09,830
partnerships and we just got to again 

1126
00:46:09,830 --> 00:46:12,310
keep our keep our jersey on beyond the 

1127
00:46:12,310 --> 00:46:14,500
field . Do that persistent engagement 

1128
00:46:14,510 --> 00:46:16,990
uh and work towards an integrated 

1129
00:46:16,990 --> 00:46:19,610
deterrence against these external 

1130
00:46:19,610 --> 00:46:22,250
influences while also bolstering our 

1131
00:46:22,250 --> 00:46:24,472
partner nations to be able to take care 

1132
00:46:24,472 --> 00:46:26,910
of of their security problems as well . 

1133
00:46:27,880 --> 00:46:31,370
Well , you say all of the tools , you 

1134
00:46:31,370 --> 00:46:33,537
know , one of the additional tools the 

1135
00:46:33,537 --> 00:46:35,790
administration identified was 

1136
00:46:35,800 --> 00:46:38,680
engagement with regional partners 

1137
00:46:38,690 --> 00:46:41,780
across and beyond . Central and South 

1138
00:46:41,780 --> 00:46:44,010
America . Last year , Admiral Faller 

1139
00:46:44,010 --> 00:46:46,010
highlighted the importance of these 

1140
00:46:46,010 --> 00:46:48,740
alliances and partnerships , saying , 

1141
00:46:48,740 --> 00:46:50,740
and I think I've got a quote here , 

1142
00:46:50,880 --> 00:46:53,190
strengthening partnerships is the best 

1143
00:46:53,190 --> 00:46:56,530
way to counter threats , uh enhance our 

1144
00:46:56,530 --> 00:46:59,330
collective readiness and capability to 

1145
00:46:59,330 --> 00:47:03,210
meet global challenges . End quote one 

1146
00:47:03,210 --> 00:47:06,040
tool that South . Com has available is 

1147
00:47:06,040 --> 00:47:08,151
the humanitarian assistance program . 

1148
00:47:08,480 --> 00:47:10,520
The program funds supplies and 

1149
00:47:10,530 --> 00:47:12,363
infrastructure that help nations 

1150
00:47:12,363 --> 00:47:14,980
prepare and respond to a wide range of 

1151
00:47:14,980 --> 00:47:17,490
emergencies like natural disasters or 

1152
00:47:17,490 --> 00:47:20,800
the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic general 

1153
00:47:20,800 --> 00:47:23,610
if confirmed . Can you tell me , what 

1154
00:47:23,610 --> 00:47:26,400
role do you envision for this program 

1155
00:47:26,780 --> 00:47:29,280
in helping address the root causes of 

1156
00:47:29,290 --> 00:47:33,100
migration ? And how can Congress ensure 

1157
00:47:33,480 --> 00:47:36,560
that this program is as impactful as 

1158
00:47:36,560 --> 00:47:39,020
possible ? Well , thank you for the 

1159
00:47:39,020 --> 00:47:41,131
question , senator . And uh certainly 

1160
00:47:41,131 --> 00:47:43,242
I've seen where Admiral Fowler in the 

1161
00:47:43,242 --> 00:47:45,460
south um team have utilized 

1162
00:47:45,460 --> 00:47:48,560
humanitarian assistance aid uh in order 

1163
00:47:48,560 --> 00:47:51,440
to uh counter some of the effects of 

1164
00:47:51,450 --> 00:47:53,850
Covid 19 and certainly with donating 

1165
00:47:53,850 --> 00:47:55,790
field hospitals for those 

1166
00:47:56,080 --> 00:48:00,030
ventilators . PPE . And lessons 

1167
00:48:00,030 --> 00:48:02,890
learned . And so I believe the numbers 

1168
00:48:02,890 --> 00:48:05,830
were somewhere over 400 projects , uh 

1169
00:48:05,840 --> 00:48:09,600
54 million to the Latin American region 

1170
00:48:09,610 --> 00:48:11,777
that they have done and certainly have 

1171
00:48:11,777 --> 00:48:13,777
confirmed senator . I pledge that I 

1172
00:48:13,777 --> 00:48:16,440
will absolutely continue with that uh 

1173
00:48:16,450 --> 00:48:18,710
that aggressive use of humanitarian 

1174
00:48:18,720 --> 00:48:22,240
assistance funding as a lever for 

1175
00:48:22,240 --> 00:48:24,351
security cooperation with our partner 

1176
00:48:24,351 --> 00:48:26,920
nations . Well , thank you . I think 

1177
00:48:26,920 --> 00:48:29,087
that having strong and stable partners 

1178
00:48:29,470 --> 00:48:31,192
throughout central and South , 

1179
00:48:31,192 --> 00:48:33,192
America's in the United States best 

1180
00:48:33,192 --> 00:48:35,840
interest and the best way to strengthen 

1181
00:48:35,840 --> 00:48:39,160
these partnerships is to de emphasize 

1182
00:48:39,160 --> 00:48:42,630
military tools and refocus our efforts 

1183
00:48:42,640 --> 00:48:45,740
on human rights on any corruption on 

1184
00:48:45,740 --> 00:48:48,430
humanitarian and development assistance 

1185
00:48:48,430 --> 00:48:52,320
programs led by state and U . S . A . I . 

1186
00:48:52,320 --> 00:48:55,450
D . But I am very glad to hear that 

1187
00:48:55,450 --> 00:48:57,970
South com is also committed to playing 

1188
00:48:57,970 --> 00:49:00,630
its part in ending this violence . 

1189
00:49:00,630 --> 00:49:02,630
Thank you very much . Thank you for 

1190
00:49:02,630 --> 00:49:04,908
being here and thank you . Mr Chairman , 

1191
00:49:04,908 --> 00:49:06,852
I yield back my time . Thank you . 

1192
00:49:06,852 --> 00:49:09,074
Senator Warren that we now recognize as 

1193
00:49:09,074 --> 00:49:11,690
Senator Blackburn . Please Thank you . 

1194
00:49:11,690 --> 00:49:13,450
Mr Chairman and general . 

1195
00:49:13,450 --> 00:49:16,840
Congratulations . Uh , and uh , look 

1196
00:49:16,840 --> 00:49:19,710
forward to working with you and 

1197
00:49:19,710 --> 00:49:22,650
appreciate your time for a phone call . 

1198
00:49:23,470 --> 00:49:26,550
I know you've been asked about china 

1199
00:49:26,560 --> 00:49:29,870
and the Milan influences that are there . 

1200
00:49:29,870 --> 00:49:31,981
We're all concerned about that as you 

1201
00:49:31,981 --> 00:49:34,880
are fully aware . Let me just follow on 

1202
00:49:34,880 --> 00:49:38,720
with that uh in planning for a conflict 

1203
00:49:38,730 --> 00:49:41,330
with the PRC . The U . S . Should 

1204
00:49:41,330 --> 00:49:43,650
realistically work through scenarios 

1205
00:49:43,650 --> 00:49:47,610
that go beyond those for indo pak calm 

1206
00:49:47,620 --> 00:49:50,100
and should take into account other 

1207
00:49:50,100 --> 00:49:53,020
areas in which the P . L . E . P . L . 

1208
00:49:53,020 --> 00:49:56,800
A . Forces are operating . So how are 

1209
00:49:56,810 --> 00:50:00,510
or how will you approach that As you 

1210
00:50:00,510 --> 00:50:03,180
look at South calm knowing that china 

1211
00:50:03,190 --> 00:50:06,310
is trying to plant their flag in so 

1212
00:50:06,310 --> 00:50:09,730
many different countries ? Well , thank 

1213
00:50:09,730 --> 00:50:11,786
you , Senator , I share your concern 

1214
00:50:11,786 --> 00:50:14,580
with that . Uh and as we watch all the 

1215
00:50:14,590 --> 00:50:17,540
belt and road initiative uh B . Ri and 

1216
00:50:17,550 --> 00:50:19,800
19 countries in latin America that have 

1217
00:50:19,800 --> 00:50:22,140
signed on to that uh with 

1218
00:50:22,150 --> 00:50:24,760
infrastructure projects , they come 

1219
00:50:24,760 --> 00:50:28,040
with very sophisticated plans in order 

1220
00:50:28,040 --> 00:50:31,680
to uh capture the interest of the 

1221
00:50:31,690 --> 00:50:35,600
country's uh willing to uh to loan 

1222
00:50:35,600 --> 00:50:38,450
billions of dollars as well . Uh And 

1223
00:50:38,450 --> 00:50:40,228
again , I look at that from the 

1224
00:50:40,228 --> 00:50:42,650
military lens of projecting and 

1225
00:50:42,650 --> 00:50:45,700
sustaining military power uh for the P . 

1226
00:50:45,700 --> 00:50:48,370
L . A . Uh with this expansion , so not 

1227
00:50:48,370 --> 00:50:51,250
just in the indo pacific region or 

1228
00:50:51,260 --> 00:50:54,410
africa but also in this region . And so 

1229
00:50:54,410 --> 00:50:56,500
we have to aggressively continue to 

1230
00:50:56,500 --> 00:50:58,556
work with our partner nations . Show 

1231
00:50:58,556 --> 00:51:00,611
that the U . S . Allies and partners 

1232
00:51:00,611 --> 00:51:03,380
are committed work with our interagency 

1233
00:51:03,380 --> 00:51:05,269
whole of government approach with 

1234
00:51:05,269 --> 00:51:08,260
Department of State and US . I'd and I 

1235
00:51:08,270 --> 00:51:10,780
just continue to be persistent . I 

1236
00:51:10,780 --> 00:51:13,420
appreciate that . I'm pleased to know 

1237
00:51:13,430 --> 00:51:17,080
that you are attentive 

1238
00:51:17,560 --> 00:51:20,420
and thoughtful about how that would be . 

1239
00:51:20,520 --> 00:51:23,500
That would be approached . We discussed 

1240
00:51:23,500 --> 00:51:26,880
is our when we talked and my concern 

1241
00:51:26,880 --> 00:51:29,680
about the lack of attention on is our 

1242
00:51:30,160 --> 00:51:33,390
in the south . Um A . R . And 

1243
00:51:33,760 --> 00:51:37,270
um uh the president knew over the 

1244
00:51:37,270 --> 00:51:41,120
horizon strategy that relies on basing 

1245
00:51:41,130 --> 00:51:43,660
s our support far away from the 

1246
00:51:43,660 --> 00:51:46,880
battlefield is something that is of 

1247
00:51:46,880 --> 00:51:49,890
concern to me because it will put 

1248
00:51:50,560 --> 00:51:53,560
uh constraints on D . O . D . S . I . S . 

1249
00:51:53,560 --> 00:51:56,420
R . Availability . And this compounds 

1250
00:51:56,420 --> 00:52:00,090
the challenges that South com already 

1251
00:52:00,100 --> 00:52:03,810
has with its I . S . R . Allocation . 

1252
00:52:03,820 --> 00:52:07,260
Um Are you prepared to operate with 

1253
00:52:07,270 --> 00:52:09,750
even less I . S . R . Support than 

1254
00:52:09,750 --> 00:52:11,770
South com has right now ? 

1255
00:52:14,950 --> 00:52:17,420
Senator ? The certainly that's a 

1256
00:52:17,430 --> 00:52:21,010
concern and the Admiral Fowler has said 

1257
00:52:21,020 --> 00:52:24,120
uh the uh being able to interdict is 

1258
00:52:24,120 --> 00:52:26,250
very important . Obviously you can't 

1259
00:52:26,260 --> 00:52:29,310
interdict what you can't see and so 

1260
00:52:29,320 --> 00:52:32,260
going forward . Uh As I've seen what uh 

1261
00:52:32,350 --> 00:52:34,128
Southern Command has done being 

1262
00:52:34,128 --> 00:52:36,072
innovative with the tools that are 

1263
00:52:36,072 --> 00:52:39,090
available 21st century tradecraft of 

1264
00:52:39,090 --> 00:52:43,020
being able to uh use uh ai machine 

1265
00:52:43,020 --> 00:52:45,131
learning to be able to data mine open 

1266
00:52:45,131 --> 00:52:47,840
source information uh utilizing the 

1267
00:52:47,840 --> 00:52:50,980
inter agency as well as partner nations 

1268
00:52:50,990 --> 00:52:53,840
uh and they're sharing of information 

1269
00:52:53,840 --> 00:52:56,062
and things like that in the O . R . But 

1270
00:52:56,062 --> 00:52:57,729
if confirmed senator , I will 

1271
00:52:57,729 --> 00:53:00,600
absolutely aggressively work towards 

1272
00:53:00,600 --> 00:53:02,870
that . And if I will do an assessment 

1273
00:53:03,350 --> 00:53:05,900
immediately upon taking command of 

1274
00:53:05,900 --> 00:53:07,622
confirmed and come back to the 

1275
00:53:07,622 --> 00:53:11,000
secretary of defense with whatever is 

1276
00:53:11,000 --> 00:53:12,833
needed . In addition to that , I 

1277
00:53:12,833 --> 00:53:16,650
appreciate that . Um I would like to 

1278
00:53:16,650 --> 00:53:18,770
get your assessment . This could be a 

1279
00:53:18,770 --> 00:53:22,540
question for the record or mR 

1280
00:53:22,540 --> 00:53:24,820
chairman . We may want to have this as 

1281
00:53:24,820 --> 00:53:28,740
something right after you are confirmed . 

1282
00:53:28,880 --> 00:53:31,580
I think it is important to have an 

1283
00:53:31,580 --> 00:53:33,980
assessment of the I . S . R . 

1284
00:53:33,990 --> 00:53:36,830
Availability and it needs to be a 

1285
00:53:36,840 --> 00:53:40,130
compete and win strategy in the 

1286
00:53:40,130 --> 00:53:43,860
utilization of I . S . R . And I'm 

1287
00:53:43,860 --> 00:53:45,970
concerned um 

1288
00:53:47,850 --> 00:53:50,040
I'm concerned that we are not setting 

1289
00:53:50,050 --> 00:53:53,990
you and our troops up for success 

1290
00:53:54,450 --> 00:53:57,800
um in the south . Um A are 

1291
00:53:57,810 --> 00:54:01,470
we know that china is very aggressive 

1292
00:54:01,940 --> 00:54:05,650
in this area so I'm going to continue 

1293
00:54:05,650 --> 00:54:09,450
to work um to focus on these . I do 

1294
00:54:09,450 --> 00:54:12,430
have about out of time . I will send to 

1295
00:54:12,430 --> 00:54:14,430
you for the record . Senator Warren 

1296
00:54:14,430 --> 00:54:16,541
touched on the trafficking and border 

1297
00:54:16,541 --> 00:54:20,110
security . And I do have some concerns 

1298
00:54:20,120 --> 00:54:22,820
about the drug trafficking , uh the 

1299
00:54:22,820 --> 00:54:26,680
human trafficking , the efforts that 

1300
00:54:26,680 --> 00:54:30,340
we have going on uh dealing with this 

1301
00:54:30,350 --> 00:54:32,160
illicit trafficking and the 

1302
00:54:32,160 --> 00:54:35,030
effectiveness . So I will come to that , 

1303
00:54:35,040 --> 00:54:37,262
come to you with that as a question for 

1304
00:54:37,262 --> 00:54:39,429
the record . Thank you . You're back . 

1305
00:54:39,840 --> 00:54:42,200
Thank you very much . Senator Blackburn . 

1306
00:54:42,200 --> 00:54:44,120
Now , let me recognize my webex . 

1307
00:54:44,120 --> 00:54:46,610
Senator Gillibrand , please . Thank you 

1308
00:54:46,610 --> 00:54:49,440
very much . Mr . Chairman General , 

1309
00:54:49,450 --> 00:54:51,670
your predecessor , Admiral Fowler 

1310
00:54:52,240 --> 00:54:54,410
testify to this committee that Russia 

1311
00:54:54,410 --> 00:54:56,577
has eagerly flooded online communities 

1312
00:54:56,577 --> 00:54:58,632
in latin America with disinformation 

1313
00:54:58,632 --> 00:55:00,354
intended to undermine faith in 

1314
00:55:00,354 --> 00:55:02,466
democratic institutions in the United 

1315
00:55:02,466 --> 00:55:04,188
States , separately , china is 

1316
00:55:04,188 --> 00:55:06,354
investing heavily in their information 

1317
00:55:06,354 --> 00:55:08,220
technology that can be easily 

1318
00:55:08,220 --> 00:55:10,331
manipulated by the chinese government 

1319
00:55:10,331 --> 00:55:12,331
at their direction for espionage or 

1320
00:55:12,331 --> 00:55:14,553
cyber intrusions . Do you feel South um 

1321
00:55:14,553 --> 00:55:16,664
is adequately equipped to do its part 

1322
00:55:16,664 --> 00:55:18,831
to handle the separate but overlapping 

1323
00:55:18,831 --> 00:55:20,553
risks posed by these efforts . 

1324
00:55:22,540 --> 00:55:24,596
So Senator I share your concern with 

1325
00:55:24,596 --> 00:55:27,120
that . And if confirmed , I will uh 

1326
00:55:27,130 --> 00:55:29,186
that will be one of the first things 

1327
00:55:29,186 --> 00:55:31,186
that I assess when I get to U . S . 

1328
00:55:31,186 --> 00:55:33,900
Southern command uh the disinformation 

1329
00:55:33,910 --> 00:55:36,132
and the information operations that are 

1330
00:55:36,132 --> 00:55:37,966
occurring . I will definitely do 

1331
00:55:37,966 --> 00:55:39,970
assessment and come back to the 

1332
00:55:39,970 --> 00:55:41,914
Secretary of Defense with whatever 

1333
00:55:41,914 --> 00:55:44,081
resources might be required to counter 

1334
00:55:44,081 --> 00:55:47,100
that . Thank you . Um General as you 

1335
00:55:47,100 --> 00:55:49,156
pointed out , while china's economic 

1336
00:55:49,156 --> 00:55:51,410
coercion practices are only one element 

1337
00:55:51,410 --> 00:55:53,521
of its strategy to exert influence in 

1338
00:55:53,521 --> 00:55:55,299
the region , It certainly is an 

1339
00:55:55,299 --> 00:55:57,243
important one . Is there a way for 

1340
00:55:57,243 --> 00:55:59,450
South.com and other US entities to 

1341
00:55:59,450 --> 00:56:01,561
facilitate opportunities for economic 

1342
00:56:01,561 --> 00:56:03,672
engagement where we can highlight the 

1343
00:56:03,672 --> 00:56:05,672
benefits of working with the United 

1344
00:56:05,672 --> 00:56:07,506
States as opposed to China . The 

1345
00:56:07,506 --> 00:56:09,561
Bahamas come to mind where China has 

1346
00:56:09,561 --> 00:56:11,228
filled a gap left by previous 

1347
00:56:11,228 --> 00:56:13,394
administrations after Hurricane Dorian 

1348
00:56:13,394 --> 00:56:17,340
in 2019 . So certainly senator with the 

1349
00:56:17,350 --> 00:56:19,720
security cooperation lovers that are 

1350
00:56:19,730 --> 00:56:22,280
afforded to US Southern Command to be 

1351
00:56:22,280 --> 00:56:25,490
able to counter that the exercises 

1352
00:56:25,500 --> 00:56:28,200
the the 

1353
00:56:28,210 --> 00:56:30,960
international military education and 

1354
00:56:30,960 --> 00:56:33,860
training program I met . We also have 

1355
00:56:33,860 --> 00:56:35,916
the National Guard State Partnership 

1356
00:56:35,916 --> 00:56:39,360
Program And uh the section 333 train 

1357
00:56:39,360 --> 00:56:41,830
and equip . Also , foreign military 

1358
00:56:41,830 --> 00:56:45,250
sales . Foreign military financing are 

1359
00:56:45,260 --> 00:56:47,210
also tools that are available to 

1360
00:56:47,210 --> 00:56:49,880
utilize as well . Also in the region . 

1361
00:56:49,880 --> 00:56:52,920
Senator uh security force assistance 

1362
00:56:52,920 --> 00:56:54,976
teams from from the army , which are 

1363
00:56:54,976 --> 00:56:57,087
also very effective on the ground . I 

1364
00:56:57,087 --> 00:56:59,309
think uh , you know , that goes to that 

1365
00:56:59,309 --> 00:57:01,660
persistent engagement with our partner 

1366
00:57:01,660 --> 00:57:03,438
nations to counter the external 

1367
00:57:03,438 --> 00:57:07,300
influence . Um , as we've seen by 

1368
00:57:07,300 --> 00:57:09,780
recent events in Haiti and CUBA , there 

1369
00:57:09,780 --> 00:57:11,502
are plenty of humanitarian and 

1370
00:57:11,502 --> 00:57:13,558
governance concerns within the South 

1371
00:57:13,558 --> 00:57:16,230
com domain that are in close proximity 

1372
00:57:16,230 --> 00:57:18,570
to the U . S . First . What role do you 

1373
00:57:18,570 --> 00:57:20,792
foresee South com playing and providing 

1374
00:57:20,792 --> 00:57:22,903
humanitarian support to our neighbors 

1375
00:57:22,903 --> 00:57:25,940
and two in what ways can South South 

1376
00:57:25,940 --> 00:57:28,730
com partner with other agencies to be 

1377
00:57:28,730 --> 00:57:30,563
helpful to people suffering from 

1378
00:57:30,563 --> 00:57:32,563
instability , corruption or climate 

1379
00:57:32,563 --> 00:57:35,670
change ? Senator ? I do . Uh I do agree 

1380
00:57:35,670 --> 00:57:37,980
that the this is it requires a whole of 

1381
00:57:37,980 --> 00:57:40,190
government approach with diplomacy and 

1382
00:57:40,190 --> 00:57:42,023
the lead . Absolutely . And then 

1383
00:57:42,023 --> 00:57:44,357
certainly from the military perspective , 

1384
00:57:44,357 --> 00:57:46,579
being able to provide that humanitarian 

1385
00:57:46,579 --> 00:57:48,579
assistance if required . And I know 

1386
00:57:48,579 --> 00:57:50,746
that U . S . South com is always ready 

1387
00:57:50,746 --> 00:57:52,468
to be able to do that . And if 

1388
00:57:52,468 --> 00:57:54,579
confirmed , I certainly will be ready 

1389
00:57:54,579 --> 00:57:57,120
to do that as well . President Biden 

1390
00:57:57,120 --> 00:57:59,064
has made it clear that the current 

1391
00:57:59,064 --> 00:58:01,231
situation in Haiti doesn't necessitate 

1392
00:58:01,231 --> 00:58:03,398
us military assistance at this point . 

1393
00:58:03,398 --> 00:58:05,620
Do you agree with that assessment ? And 

1394
00:58:05,620 --> 00:58:07,453
if so , what signals will you be 

1395
00:58:07,453 --> 00:58:09,398
looking for that might change your 

1396
00:58:09,398 --> 00:58:12,090
advice on this matter ? So Senator uh 

1397
00:58:12,100 --> 00:58:15,080
certainly support the president and the 

1398
00:58:15,080 --> 00:58:17,570
uh the administration in terms of the 

1399
00:58:17,570 --> 00:58:20,400
diplomacy uh leading with diplomacy and 

1400
00:58:20,400 --> 00:58:22,622
the whole of government approach and uh 

1401
00:58:22,622 --> 00:58:24,511
and being ready to if required to 

1402
00:58:24,511 --> 00:58:26,456
provide humanitarian assistance or 

1403
00:58:26,456 --> 00:58:28,678
whatever assistance would be required . 

1404
00:58:28,678 --> 00:58:30,920
And if confirmed senator , I pledge 

1405
00:58:30,920 --> 00:58:33,710
that I will be ready to provide that 

1406
00:58:33,710 --> 00:58:36,250
provide as a combatant commander 

1407
00:58:36,250 --> 00:58:38,139
options for the president and the 

1408
00:58:38,139 --> 00:58:41,880
Secretary of defense . Last um 

1409
00:58:41,890 --> 00:58:43,900
I saw in your written statement 

1410
00:58:43,910 --> 00:58:46,132
comments about your support for the I . 

1411
00:58:46,132 --> 00:58:48,210
R . C . Recommendations and Senator 

1412
00:58:48,220 --> 00:58:50,331
Secretary Austin's decision to remove 

1413
00:58:50,331 --> 00:58:52,387
sexual assault and domestic violence 

1414
00:58:52,387 --> 00:58:54,498
prosecution from the chain of command 

1415
00:58:54,498 --> 00:58:56,498
as a convening authority yourself . 

1416
00:58:56,498 --> 00:58:58,331
Your voice on this issue is very 

1417
00:58:58,331 --> 00:59:00,553
important . I did have one question for 

1418
00:59:00,553 --> 00:59:02,664
you about our policies . If you agree 

1419
00:59:02,664 --> 00:59:04,887
that sexual assault prosecution will be 

1420
00:59:04,887 --> 00:59:06,990
improved by leaving it to trained 

1421
00:59:06,990 --> 00:59:08,879
military prosecutors . Is there a 

1422
00:59:08,879 --> 00:59:10,934
reason why you wouldn't also improve 

1423
00:59:10,934 --> 00:59:13,268
the prosecution of other serious crimes ? 

1424
00:59:13,268 --> 00:59:15,546
Well , Senator , as a , as a commander , 

1425
00:59:15,546 --> 00:59:17,434
I'm responsible for standards and 

1426
00:59:17,434 --> 00:59:20,520
discipline within my command and within 

1427
00:59:20,520 --> 00:59:23,660
my organization . And certainly as the 

1428
00:59:23,660 --> 00:59:25,800
secretary of defense had said , and , 

1429
00:59:25,810 --> 00:59:28,620
uh , that , uh , that he supports the 

1430
00:59:28,620 --> 00:59:30,676
change for sexual assault and sexual 

1431
00:59:30,676 --> 00:59:33,600
harassment . And , uh , and , uh , I 

1432
00:59:33,600 --> 00:59:35,970
agree with that as well in terms of 

1433
00:59:35,980 --> 00:59:39,270
other crimes . I think that , uh , in 

1434
00:59:39,270 --> 00:59:41,492
support of the Secretary of Defense , I 

1435
00:59:41,492 --> 00:59:43,548
think that we do need to review that 

1436
00:59:43,548 --> 00:59:45,548
and study that because to me , it's 

1437
00:59:45,548 --> 00:59:48,490
very important that I be able to have 

1438
00:59:48,490 --> 00:59:52,150
the ability for and the 

1439
00:59:52,150 --> 00:59:55,030
responsibility to provide , 

1440
00:59:55,520 --> 00:59:58,150
um , standards and discipline within 

1441
00:59:58,150 --> 01:00:00,317
the organization . I think that's very 

1442
01:00:00,317 --> 01:00:02,539
important . That's a commander's role . 

1443
01:00:02,539 --> 01:00:05,400
And so , uh , I do believe that that 

1444
01:00:05,400 --> 01:00:07,890
requires further study . Thank you . 

1445
01:00:07,890 --> 01:00:10,001
Thank you . Mr . Chairman . Thank you 

1446
01:00:10,001 --> 01:00:12,112
very much . Senator Gillibrand led me 

1447
01:00:12,112 --> 01:00:14,168
to recognize that a holly . Please . 

1448
01:00:14,168 --> 01:00:16,168
Thank you . Mr . Chairman General , 

1449
01:00:16,168 --> 01:00:18,223
thank you for being here . Thank you 

1450
01:00:18,223 --> 01:00:17,650
for your service to our country . Thank 

1451
01:00:17,650 --> 01:00:19,817
you for being willing to continue that 

1452
01:00:19,817 --> 01:00:21,983
service . Let me start if I could with 

1453
01:00:21,983 --> 01:00:24,150
the problem of drugs coming across our 

1454
01:00:24,150 --> 01:00:26,372
southern border . I represent the state 

1455
01:00:26,372 --> 01:00:28,261
of Missouri . We have been deeply 

1456
01:00:28,261 --> 01:00:30,372
harmed . My state has by the amount , 

1457
01:00:30,372 --> 01:00:32,539
the volume of drugs pouring across the 

1458
01:00:32,539 --> 01:00:34,372
southern border and pouring into 

1459
01:00:34,372 --> 01:00:36,650
unfortunately , every part of my state . 

1460
01:00:36,650 --> 01:00:39,050
Schools , neighborhoods , small towns , 

1461
01:00:39,050 --> 01:00:41,640
big towns everywhere . If you are 

1462
01:00:41,640 --> 01:00:43,751
confirmed , how do you intend to work 

1463
01:00:43,751 --> 01:00:45,973
with countries in the South South Kamio 

1464
01:00:45,973 --> 01:00:48,029
are on counter narcotics and to make 

1465
01:00:48,029 --> 01:00:50,930
sure that that effort is strong . So 

1466
01:00:50,930 --> 01:00:52,986
thank you . Senator and I share your 

1467
01:00:52,986 --> 01:00:55,060
concern as well . Uh worked very 

1468
01:00:55,060 --> 01:00:57,290
closely with our partner nations and 

1469
01:00:57,290 --> 01:00:59,960
the inter agency to counter this . Uh I 

1470
01:00:59,960 --> 01:01:03,030
think that it just stems and uh creates 

1471
01:01:03,030 --> 01:01:05,530
violence , corruption , trafficking , 

1472
01:01:05,530 --> 01:01:09,320
poverty . Uh It just it's a recipe 

1473
01:01:09,330 --> 01:01:12,010
of a lot of things coming together 

1474
01:01:12,010 --> 01:01:14,530
which are all very , very negative and 

1475
01:01:14,530 --> 01:01:16,586
create insecurity instability in the 

1476
01:01:16,586 --> 01:01:20,030
region . And do you have any any 

1477
01:01:20,030 --> 01:01:22,197
thoughts about how you might work with 

1478
01:01:22,197 --> 01:01:24,252
with the countries in the O . R . To 

1479
01:01:24,252 --> 01:01:26,419
bolster the counternarcotics effort to 

1480
01:01:26,419 --> 01:01:28,641
make it stronger than it currently is ? 

1481
01:01:28,641 --> 01:01:30,752
Well , certainly , uh senator through 

1482
01:01:30,752 --> 01:01:33,050
our security cooperation programmes and 

1483
01:01:33,050 --> 01:01:35,050
being able to do the subject matter 

1484
01:01:35,050 --> 01:01:38,540
expert exchanges uh in the section 333 

1485
01:01:38,540 --> 01:01:40,096
the train and equip there's 

1486
01:01:40,096 --> 01:01:42,570
counternarcotics training , military 

1487
01:01:42,580 --> 01:01:45,490
intelligence operations training , uh 

1488
01:01:45,500 --> 01:01:47,870
continuing to reinforce the rule of law , 

1489
01:01:47,870 --> 01:01:50,660
human rights as we go forward with the 

1490
01:01:50,660 --> 01:01:53,160
training . But it's persistent . It's 

1491
01:01:53,170 --> 01:01:55,059
trying to do that with allies and 

1492
01:01:55,059 --> 01:01:57,281
partners as well , not just the U . S . 

1493
01:01:57,281 --> 01:01:59,970
Alone . Uh And so to bolster that and 

1494
01:01:59,970 --> 01:02:02,081
have an integrated deterrence in this 

1495
01:02:02,081 --> 01:02:04,303
region . Very good . Let me shift gears 

1496
01:02:04,303 --> 01:02:06,526
to talk about china earlier this year . 

1497
01:02:06,526 --> 01:02:08,414
Admiral Followers share with this 

1498
01:02:08,414 --> 01:02:10,414
committee his growing concern about 

1499
01:02:10,414 --> 01:02:12,359
china's military presence in Latin 

1500
01:02:12,359 --> 01:02:14,470
America . I want to ask you if you're 

1501
01:02:14,470 --> 01:02:16,581
worried that china might one day seek 

1502
01:02:16,581 --> 01:02:18,581
to establish a regular or permanent 

1503
01:02:18,581 --> 01:02:20,800
military presence in our hemisphere in 

1504
01:02:20,800 --> 01:02:23,530
the self Kamio are well , certainly 

1505
01:02:23,530 --> 01:02:25,770
with their uh look at their belt and 

1506
01:02:25,770 --> 01:02:27,992
road initiative . 19 countries in Latin 

1507
01:02:27,992 --> 01:02:30,159
America have signed on to that as well 

1508
01:02:30,159 --> 01:02:33,920
as the 29 Deepwater port deals , newer 

1509
01:02:33,920 --> 01:02:36,600
improved ports that they've invested 

1510
01:02:36,600 --> 01:02:38,767
billions of dollars in as well . And I 

1511
01:02:38,767 --> 01:02:41,130
look at this as the P . L . A . Looking 

1512
01:02:41,130 --> 01:02:43,620
to project and sustain military power 

1513
01:02:43,620 --> 01:02:45,630
eventually in the region . And so I 

1514
01:02:45,630 --> 01:02:47,852
think that we have to be very concerned 

1515
01:02:47,852 --> 01:02:50,019
about that would be a violation of the 

1516
01:02:50,019 --> 01:02:52,074
Monroe doctrine . If P . L . A . Did 

1517
01:02:52,074 --> 01:02:54,186
indeed attempt to project and sustain 

1518
01:02:54,186 --> 01:02:56,186
as you say , a military presence in 

1519
01:02:56,186 --> 01:02:58,019
this hemisphere , I think the as 

1520
01:02:58,019 --> 01:03:00,241
chinese state owned enterprises come in 

1521
01:03:00,241 --> 01:03:03,550
and look as if their commercial 

1522
01:03:03,550 --> 01:03:06,210
enterprises creating these 

1523
01:03:06,220 --> 01:03:08,430
infrastructure . The infrastructure 

1524
01:03:08,800 --> 01:03:12,630
goes to that global logistics and 

1525
01:03:12,630 --> 01:03:15,260
basing infrastructure but also to dual 

1526
01:03:15,260 --> 01:03:18,120
use facilities . So they might look 

1527
01:03:18,120 --> 01:03:21,080
like they're civilian facilities where 

1528
01:03:21,080 --> 01:03:23,820
actually they could be used by the LA 

1529
01:03:23,830 --> 01:03:27,370
uh if you're confirmed , how would you 

1530
01:03:27,370 --> 01:03:29,314
seek to counter china's efforts to 

1531
01:03:29,314 --> 01:03:31,370
expand its military and intelligence 

1532
01:03:31,370 --> 01:03:33,520
efforts in your what would be your er 

1533
01:03:34,000 --> 01:03:37,230
so senator , we will uh the lovers uh 

1534
01:03:37,240 --> 01:03:39,360
that south Korea has to compete with 

1535
01:03:39,360 --> 01:03:41,300
china in this region , a security 

1536
01:03:41,300 --> 01:03:43,411
cooperation and engagement . And it's 

1537
01:03:43,411 --> 01:03:45,300
having your jersey on having your 

1538
01:03:45,300 --> 01:03:47,133
number and on the field with our 

1539
01:03:47,133 --> 01:03:50,140
partners each and every day . Uh as I 

1540
01:03:50,140 --> 01:03:52,251
talked about before having allies and 

1541
01:03:52,251 --> 01:03:54,473
partners is also part of that . So it's 

1542
01:03:54,473 --> 01:03:57,080
not just the United States but these 

1543
01:03:57,080 --> 01:03:59,420
exercises that self com has done three 

1544
01:03:59,420 --> 01:04:01,642
in the past six months has four more on 

1545
01:04:01,642 --> 01:04:03,698
the horizon in the next six months . 

1546
01:04:03,698 --> 01:04:05,753
Trains thousands of soldiers and our 

1547
01:04:05,753 --> 01:04:08,490
partner militaries , but also ally and 

1548
01:04:08,490 --> 01:04:12,010
partner nation militaries as well . If 

1549
01:04:12,010 --> 01:04:14,066
you're confirmed general , would you 

1550
01:04:14,066 --> 01:04:15,899
commit to informing us informing 

1551
01:04:15,899 --> 01:04:17,899
Congress of any attempt by china to 

1552
01:04:17,899 --> 01:04:20,350
deploy missiles to the south Camilo are 

1553
01:04:20,360 --> 01:04:22,360
that could range the US homeland or 

1554
01:04:22,360 --> 01:04:24,416
other american forces in the Western 

1555
01:04:24,416 --> 01:04:26,138
hemisphere ? Senator , I would 

1556
01:04:26,138 --> 01:04:28,304
absolutely have confirmed as the South 

1557
01:04:28,304 --> 01:04:30,360
com commander would make sure that I 

1558
01:04:30,360 --> 01:04:32,710
informed the Secretary of defense and 

1559
01:04:32,710 --> 01:04:35,043
the administration and Congress of that . 

1560
01:04:35,043 --> 01:04:37,150
Very good . Finally here , my last 

1561
01:04:37,150 --> 01:04:39,317
remaining seconds still on the subject 

1562
01:04:39,317 --> 01:04:41,483
of china . Just give us a sense if you 

1563
01:04:41,483 --> 01:04:43,428
could have the challenges that are 

1564
01:04:43,428 --> 01:04:45,594
opposed . We talked about china trying 

1565
01:04:45,594 --> 01:04:47,817
to project its , its military influence 

1566
01:04:47,817 --> 01:04:47,210
but also its economic influence . You 

1567
01:04:47,210 --> 01:04:49,432
mentioned the Belt Road initiative . So 

1568
01:04:49,432 --> 01:04:51,654
describe for us the challenges that are 

1569
01:04:51,654 --> 01:04:53,654
posed by their efforts , especially 

1570
01:04:53,654 --> 01:04:55,377
when it comes to port access , 

1571
01:04:55,377 --> 01:04:57,599
telecommunications infrastructure . The 

1572
01:04:57,599 --> 01:04:59,599
Panama Canal give us a sense of the 

1573
01:04:59,599 --> 01:05:01,766
challenges there . Certainly if I just 

1574
01:05:01,766 --> 01:05:03,877
take the Panama Canal , the two ports 

1575
01:05:03,877 --> 01:05:06,099
on either end of the canal are owned by 

1576
01:05:06,099 --> 01:05:08,210
Chinese state owned enterprises . And 

1577
01:05:08,210 --> 01:05:10,377
so that's very concerning again . I go 

1578
01:05:10,377 --> 01:05:12,266
back and I look at it through the 

1579
01:05:12,266 --> 01:05:15,650
military lens of uh of the law trying 

1580
01:05:15,650 --> 01:05:18,060
to project and sustain power uh , 

1581
01:05:18,070 --> 01:05:19,903
within the region and having the 

1582
01:05:19,903 --> 01:05:23,250
capability to do so under the cover of 

1583
01:05:23,260 --> 01:05:26,500
global logistics and basing 

1584
01:05:26,500 --> 01:05:28,333
infrastructure that looks benign 

1585
01:05:28,333 --> 01:05:30,800
because it looks commercial but again , 

1586
01:05:30,800 --> 01:05:33,330
could be used for dual use . Very good . 

1587
01:05:33,340 --> 01:05:35,451
Thank you very much . General . Thank 

1588
01:05:35,451 --> 01:05:37,673
you . Mr Chairman . Thank you . Senator 

1589
01:05:37,673 --> 01:05:39,507
Holly . Let me recognize Senator 

1590
01:05:39,507 --> 01:05:42,290
Blumenthal , please . Thanks . Mr 

1591
01:05:42,290 --> 01:05:45,550
Chairman . I was 

1592
01:05:45,560 --> 01:05:48,660
alarmed as I know many of the pentagon 

1593
01:05:48,660 --> 01:05:52,010
were by reports about Iranian 

1594
01:05:52,020 --> 01:05:55,940
senators from icon . Ah , it is 

1595
01:05:55,940 --> 01:05:58,610
on . Thank you . Uh , 

1596
01:06:00,280 --> 01:06:04,140
but I'll begin again . I 

1597
01:06:04,150 --> 01:06:07,360
know many were alarmed by the reports 

1598
01:06:07,370 --> 01:06:10,410
of Iranian missiles . Iranian vessels . 

1599
01:06:10,880 --> 01:06:13,970
Herring arms potentially including 

1600
01:06:14,170 --> 01:06:17,300
missiles too . Venezuela was speculated 

1601
01:06:17,310 --> 01:06:21,250
that those shipments were designed 

1602
01:06:21,250 --> 01:06:25,200
to fill a deal that Iran in Venezuela 

1603
01:06:25,200 --> 01:06:28,570
made a year ago and that the types of 

1604
01:06:28,580 --> 01:06:31,900
weapons might include long range 

1605
01:06:32,680 --> 01:06:36,060
missiles . Commercial satellite imagery 

1606
01:06:36,060 --> 01:06:39,060
of one of the ships showed fast attack 

1607
01:06:39,070 --> 01:06:43,070
boats loaded on the gap of those 

1608
01:06:43,070 --> 01:06:46,050
vessels . Ultimately , as you know , 

1609
01:06:46,060 --> 01:06:49,790
the missile , the vessels were rerouted 

1610
01:06:50,380 --> 01:06:52,970
and didn't transmit anything to 

1611
01:06:52,970 --> 01:06:56,920
Venezuela . But given the volatility 

1612
01:06:56,920 --> 01:06:59,190
of oil prices and the current situation 

1613
01:06:59,190 --> 01:07:02,980
in Venezuela , how concerned are you 

1614
01:07:02,980 --> 01:07:05,900
that the Iranians will again attempt 

1615
01:07:06,380 --> 01:07:09,190
possibly to complete a shipment of arms 

1616
01:07:09,190 --> 01:07:10,190
to Venezuela . 

1617
01:07:12,980 --> 01:07:14,980
Senator ? I only heard part of that 

1618
01:07:14,980 --> 01:07:17,091
last part of your question . And so I 

1619
01:07:17,091 --> 01:07:19,580
think that has to do with the miC on 

1620
01:07:19,580 --> 01:07:22,600
the concern of Iran with Venezuela in 

1621
01:07:22,600 --> 01:07:24,740
the region . And those two ships that 

1622
01:07:24,740 --> 01:07:28,510
were headed for Venezuela , but ended 

1623
01:07:28,510 --> 01:07:30,500
up not not arriving there . 

1624
01:07:32,380 --> 01:07:34,658
Let me shift to a different microphone . 

1625
01:07:38,680 --> 01:07:42,530
Uh , how concerned are you that 

1626
01:07:42,610 --> 01:07:45,740
Iran may again attempt possibly to ship 

1627
01:07:45,740 --> 01:07:48,100
missiles or other arms to Venezuela ? 

1628
01:07:49,980 --> 01:07:53,220
So very concerned , Obviously , the 

1629
01:07:53,230 --> 01:07:55,397
largest state sponsor of terror , they 

1630
01:07:55,397 --> 01:07:57,770
will continue their malign influence in 

1631
01:07:57,770 --> 01:08:00,190
the region . And certainly they 

1632
01:08:00,190 --> 01:08:04,000
exchange with Venezuela petroleum for 

1633
01:08:04,010 --> 01:08:07,960
arms uh to avoid sanctions . And so 

1634
01:08:07,960 --> 01:08:10,280
I expect this would probably continue . 

1635
01:08:10,290 --> 01:08:12,100
And uh and certainly it's very 

1636
01:08:12,100 --> 01:08:16,040
concerning in the region . What action 

1637
01:08:16,050 --> 01:08:18,050
would you suggest the United States 

1638
01:08:18,050 --> 01:08:20,106
ought to take in response to another 

1639
01:08:20,106 --> 01:08:24,030
trip ? And so um the uh I look at 

1640
01:08:24,030 --> 01:08:26,141
this senator is a whole of government 

1641
01:08:26,141 --> 01:08:29,830
approach that has to uh lead from the 

1642
01:08:29,830 --> 01:08:32,710
front . And obviously in terms of uh if 

1643
01:08:32,710 --> 01:08:34,654
confirmed as a South com commander 

1644
01:08:34,654 --> 01:08:36,543
would work with the international 

1645
01:08:36,543 --> 01:08:38,654
agency as well as our partners In the 

1646
01:08:38,654 --> 01:08:41,560
sharing of information and intelligence . 

1647
01:08:41,560 --> 01:08:45,400
As long as we have the 5G clean path uh 

1648
01:08:45,410 --> 01:08:48,470
entry and exit of data uh sharing of 

1649
01:08:48,470 --> 01:08:52,190
intel uh within this region to uh 

1650
01:08:52,200 --> 01:08:55,980
to um continue to be able to uh 

1651
01:08:55,990 --> 01:08:59,680
see what is occurring . In 

1652
01:08:59,680 --> 01:09:02,100
your in your posture statement , you 

1653
01:09:02,100 --> 01:09:04,267
stated that China and Russia are using 

1654
01:09:04,267 --> 01:09:07,970
COVID-19 . COVID-19 pandemic to gain 

1655
01:09:07,980 --> 01:09:11,310
greater influence in south America . 

1656
01:09:11,310 --> 01:09:13,620
Can you give more specifics about how 

1657
01:09:13,620 --> 01:09:17,260
that's occurring ? Yes , Senator , 

1658
01:09:17,260 --> 01:09:19,830
thank you . And I think that uh quite 

1659
01:09:19,830 --> 01:09:21,997
honestly they're using there's strings 

1660
01:09:21,997 --> 01:09:24,110
attached . It's uh , as I said in my 

1661
01:09:24,110 --> 01:09:26,166
opening statement , it's the hand of 

1662
01:09:26,166 --> 01:09:28,280
exploitation . Um we'll give you this 

1663
01:09:28,280 --> 01:09:31,850
vaccine but you need to pay for it and 

1664
01:09:31,850 --> 01:09:34,070
uh and we'll provide it . And so it 

1665
01:09:34,070 --> 01:09:36,237
comes with strings attached . It comes 

1666
01:09:36,237 --> 01:09:40,070
with fine print uh and uh or to be 

1667
01:09:40,070 --> 01:09:43,640
used later as leverage uh to 

1668
01:09:43,650 --> 01:09:46,050
coerce the car in the country or 

1669
01:09:46,050 --> 01:09:48,740
partner nation into something else that 

1670
01:09:48,740 --> 01:09:51,210
happening with specific nations that 

1671
01:09:51,220 --> 01:09:55,220
you can cite Senator . I believe 

1672
01:09:55,220 --> 01:09:58,980
it's uh with vaccine , uh brazil 

1673
01:09:58,980 --> 01:10:01,550
and I believe it's Dominican republic 

1674
01:10:01,560 --> 01:10:04,980
uh that if uh china 

1675
01:10:04,980 --> 01:10:07,880
would provide some vaccine if they 

1676
01:10:07,890 --> 01:10:10,930
agreed to um if they agreed to the five 

1677
01:10:10,930 --> 01:10:14,860
G . With Huawei . Finally 

1678
01:10:15,860 --> 01:10:17,916
and I apologize if this question has 

1679
01:10:17,916 --> 01:10:21,550
been asked , are you familiar with the 

1680
01:10:21,560 --> 01:10:24,970
so called Havana syndrome ? And 

1681
01:10:26,160 --> 01:10:28,380
do you think that the United States 

1682
01:10:28,760 --> 01:10:32,500
should be taking additional efforts 

1683
01:10:32,500 --> 01:10:34,910
to counter it ? To understand it ? To 

1684
01:10:34,910 --> 01:10:38,630
study it ? Uh And will you commit 

1685
01:10:38,630 --> 01:10:42,550
to undertaking Senator ? I share 

1686
01:10:42,550 --> 01:10:44,661
your concern on the Havana syndrome . 

1687
01:10:44,661 --> 01:10:46,550
I've seen the news reports on the 

1688
01:10:46,550 --> 01:10:48,810
Havana syndrome and uh the effects that 

1689
01:10:48,810 --> 01:10:50,921
it has . And I'm absolutely committed 

1690
01:10:50,921 --> 01:10:54,260
have confirmed to being part of that 

1691
01:10:54,260 --> 01:10:56,427
whole of government approach . Is that 

1692
01:10:56,427 --> 01:10:59,330
is as that is addressed . Thank you . 

1693
01:10:59,340 --> 01:11:01,610
Thanks Mr Chairman thank you . Senator 

1694
01:11:01,610 --> 01:11:03,666
Blumenthal . Senator Tillis please . 

1695
01:11:04,960 --> 01:11:06,738
Thank you . Mr Chairman General 

1696
01:11:06,738 --> 01:11:08,960
Richardson thank you for being here and 

1697
01:11:08,960 --> 01:11:11,182
for your years of service . Uh you know 

1698
01:11:11,182 --> 01:11:13,349
I've been here for 6.5 years and every 

1699
01:11:13,349 --> 01:11:15,460
time I meet with the Celcom commander 

1700
01:11:15,460 --> 01:11:17,682
resources always comes up as one of the 

1701
01:11:17,682 --> 01:11:19,571
top issues or lack of resources , 

1702
01:11:19,571 --> 01:11:21,627
particularly around manpower and ice 

1703
01:11:21,627 --> 01:11:24,460
are um do you going into this role ? Do 

1704
01:11:24,460 --> 01:11:26,627
you share that concern that we we need 

1705
01:11:26,627 --> 01:11:28,793
to really focus on resourcing and your 

1706
01:11:28,793 --> 01:11:32,400
future area of responsibility ? Senator . 

1707
01:11:32,400 --> 01:11:34,780
I have seen uh Admiral Fowler talk 

1708
01:11:34,780 --> 01:11:37,150
about the resourcing constraints and uh 

1709
01:11:37,150 --> 01:11:39,030
and the issues and certainly if 

1710
01:11:39,030 --> 01:11:42,010
confirmed , I'm committed to uh 

1711
01:11:42,020 --> 01:11:44,290
certainly having a full review of the 

1712
01:11:44,300 --> 01:11:46,522
resources that are allocated to U . S . 

1713
01:11:46,522 --> 01:11:48,467
South . Com and coming back to the 

1714
01:11:48,467 --> 01:11:50,189
Secretary of Defense if I need 

1715
01:11:50,189 --> 01:11:52,411
additional resources . Well we've heard 

1716
01:11:52,411 --> 01:11:54,480
uh I've heard a number of them have 

1717
01:11:54,490 --> 01:11:57,370
expressed their frustration that they 

1718
01:11:57,370 --> 01:11:59,426
may have situational awareness , but 

1719
01:11:59,426 --> 01:12:01,648
they don't have operational capacity to 

1720
01:12:01,648 --> 01:12:04,450
interdict a number of illicit what they 

1721
01:12:04,450 --> 01:12:06,617
believe are ostensibly illicit actions 

1722
01:12:06,617 --> 01:12:08,890
in the in the area of responsibility . 

1723
01:12:08,900 --> 01:12:11,122
What's your view of the Coast Guard and 

1724
01:12:11,122 --> 01:12:13,233
how important they are and partnering 

1725
01:12:13,233 --> 01:12:16,420
with you and your in South com hugely 

1726
01:12:16,420 --> 01:12:18,531
important senator . And thank you for 

1727
01:12:18,531 --> 01:12:20,364
asking about the Coast Guard and 

1728
01:12:20,364 --> 01:12:22,587
certainly through our Joint Interagency 

1729
01:12:22,587 --> 01:12:24,753
Task Force South that's underneath U . 

1730
01:12:24,753 --> 01:12:26,809
S . South com , commanded by a Coast 

1731
01:12:26,809 --> 01:12:28,920
Guard officer . And I understand also 

1732
01:12:28,920 --> 01:12:31,142
on the South com staff , the operations 

1733
01:12:31,142 --> 01:12:33,253
officer is from the Coast Guard . But 

1734
01:12:33,253 --> 01:12:35,420
certainly with the ships , the cutters 

1735
01:12:35,420 --> 01:12:37,587
that are provided by the Coast Guard , 

1736
01:12:37,587 --> 01:12:37,210
their ability to conduct their law 

1737
01:12:37,210 --> 01:12:40,250
enforcement mission as well as well as 

1738
01:12:40,260 --> 01:12:42,470
uh what the U . S . Navy provides in 

1739
01:12:42,470 --> 01:12:44,860
terms of ships to U . S . South com as 

1740
01:12:44,860 --> 01:12:47,770
well , hugely important and helpful . 

1741
01:12:48,450 --> 01:12:50,450
The uh I know some of my colleagues 

1742
01:12:50,450 --> 01:12:52,672
have asked questions about Russia china 

1743
01:12:52,672 --> 01:12:54,783
and Iran's activities in your area of 

1744
01:12:54,783 --> 01:12:57,006
responsibility . Could you just briefly 

1745
01:12:57,006 --> 01:12:59,760
explain and kitchen table terms why the 

1746
01:12:59,760 --> 01:13:01,927
american people should be as concerned 

1747
01:13:01,927 --> 01:13:03,649
as most of the members of this 

1748
01:13:03,649 --> 01:13:05,816
committee ? Well , certainly the south 

1749
01:13:05,816 --> 01:13:09,000
kor uh , the proximity to the United 

1750
01:13:09,000 --> 01:13:11,167
States , this is ours , Admiral flower 

1751
01:13:11,167 --> 01:13:12,833
has referred to it are shared 

1752
01:13:12,833 --> 01:13:14,889
neighborhood are shared hemisphere . 

1753
01:13:14,889 --> 01:13:16,833
And so the proximity to the United 

1754
01:13:16,833 --> 01:13:19,056
States , the economic ties that we have 

1755
01:13:19,056 --> 01:13:21,167
with the region as well , uh in terms 

1756
01:13:21,167 --> 01:13:23,820
of just economy , trade , uh those 

1757
01:13:23,820 --> 01:13:27,020
sorts of things . Familial ties uh just 

1758
01:13:27,020 --> 01:13:30,180
off the charts in terms of the families 

1759
01:13:30,180 --> 01:13:32,290
that um , that are interconnected in 

1760
01:13:32,290 --> 01:13:34,512
this region . And then certainly having 

1761
01:13:34,512 --> 01:13:38,500
china uh in our neighborhood is a 

1762
01:13:38,500 --> 01:13:41,720
concern between Russia 

1763
01:13:41,730 --> 01:13:45,640
china and Iran . What can you tell 

1764
01:13:45,640 --> 01:13:49,110
us about disinformation ? Uh They're uh 

1765
01:13:49,120 --> 01:13:51,690
they're open and sometimes covert 

1766
01:13:51,700 --> 01:13:55,560
campaigns to misinform the folks that 

1767
01:13:55,560 --> 01:13:57,116
live in your future area of 

1768
01:13:57,116 --> 01:13:59,116
responsibility . Is it rampant ? It 

1769
01:13:59,116 --> 01:14:02,450
seems to be absolutely the pace at 

1770
01:14:02,450 --> 01:14:04,760
which is expanding is in and far 

1771
01:14:04,760 --> 01:14:07,710
reaching , uh , is very much concerning . 

1772
01:14:07,710 --> 01:14:11,290
And so , uh , china Russia used this to 

1773
01:14:11,300 --> 01:14:15,270
uh , Uh , exploit , deny , 

1774
01:14:15,270 --> 01:14:17,650
manipulate us allies and partners in 

1775
01:14:17,650 --> 01:14:19,630
the region in order to control the 

1776
01:14:19,630 --> 01:14:21,352
attitudes , perceptions in the 

1777
01:14:21,352 --> 01:14:24,740
behaviors and so very concerning Russia . 

1778
01:14:24,740 --> 01:14:27,530
Today 2009 is when it entered in the 

1779
01:14:27,530 --> 01:14:29,641
region , it's more than doubled now , 

1780
01:14:29,641 --> 01:14:31,641
had seven million listeners . Now , 

1781
01:14:31,641 --> 01:14:33,870
it's over 18 million . And so this is 

1782
01:14:33,870 --> 01:14:36,270
expanding at quite a quite a large rate . 

1783
01:14:36,640 --> 01:14:39,110
Last question is , you know , I've 

1784
01:14:39,110 --> 01:14:42,530
heard other uh , prior 

1785
01:14:42,530 --> 01:14:45,260
commanders in south , um , say that we 

1786
01:14:45,260 --> 01:14:47,610
really need to focus on working with 

1787
01:14:47,620 --> 01:14:51,000
partner nations to the best way to help 

1788
01:14:51,000 --> 01:14:53,570
secure our southern border is to work 

1789
01:14:53,580 --> 01:14:56,640
with Mexico and uh , nations on the 

1790
01:14:56,640 --> 01:14:58,584
southern border of Mexico . Do you 

1791
01:14:58,584 --> 01:15:00,584
agree with that assessment If we're 

1792
01:15:00,584 --> 01:15:02,696
going to make headway on stemming the 

1793
01:15:02,696 --> 01:15:04,584
tide of what we're seeing for the 

1794
01:15:04,584 --> 01:15:06,900
unprecedented uh , border crossings 

1795
01:15:06,900 --> 01:15:10,550
right now ? Yes , Senator I I agree 

1796
01:15:10,550 --> 01:15:12,772
with that . I think it's very important 

1797
01:15:12,772 --> 01:15:15,770
our relationship with with Mexico and 

1798
01:15:15,770 --> 01:15:18,430
under us North . Com . I have the 

1799
01:15:18,440 --> 01:15:20,051
theater security cooperation 

1800
01:15:20,051 --> 01:15:22,740
responsibilities to partner with Mexico 

1801
01:15:22,740 --> 01:15:25,350
and the Mexican army , which which we 

1802
01:15:25,350 --> 01:15:28,390
do and operate the border commanders 

1803
01:15:28,390 --> 01:15:31,580
program as well as security cooperation 

1804
01:15:31,580 --> 01:15:34,170
with Sedona . Thank you very much . 

1805
01:15:35,140 --> 01:15:37,140
Thank you . Senator Tillis . Let me 

1806
01:15:37,140 --> 01:15:39,960
recognize Centra Rosen via web epics . 

1807
01:15:41,940 --> 01:15:43,996
Well , thank you . Chairman Read and 

1808
01:15:43,996 --> 01:15:46,180
ranking member Inhofe appreciate the 

1809
01:15:46,180 --> 01:15:48,180
hearing and I want to thank General 

1810
01:15:48,180 --> 01:15:50,580
Richardson for speaking with me . Uh , 

1811
01:15:50,580 --> 01:15:52,580
I guess it was last week and and of 

1812
01:15:52,580 --> 01:15:54,858
course for your service to our country . 

1813
01:15:54,858 --> 01:15:57,140
So General Richardson back in March , 

1814
01:15:57,140 --> 01:15:59,140
current South South com Commander 

1815
01:15:59,140 --> 01:16:01,580
Admiral Faller . Well , he testified 

1816
01:16:01,590 --> 01:16:04,050
before this committee and when I asked 

1817
01:16:04,050 --> 01:16:06,272
him about Hezbollah's presence in Latin 

1818
01:16:06,272 --> 01:16:08,439
America , he mentioned they're growing 

1819
01:16:08,439 --> 01:16:10,217
presence in Venezuela and their 

1820
01:16:10,217 --> 01:16:12,439
continued involvement in the tri border 

1821
01:16:12,439 --> 01:16:14,383
region of Paraguay , Argentina and 

1822
01:16:14,383 --> 01:16:16,580
brazil . Since then , I've joined 

1823
01:16:16,580 --> 01:16:18,469
Senator Blackburn introducing the 

1824
01:16:18,469 --> 01:16:20,524
legislation that would shed light on 

1825
01:16:20,524 --> 01:16:22,580
Hezbollah's operations in the region 

1826
01:16:22,580 --> 01:16:24,413
and provide authorities in Latin 

1827
01:16:24,413 --> 01:16:26,413
America and here in the US with the 

1828
01:16:26,413 --> 01:16:28,469
tools necessary to crack down on the 

1829
01:16:28,469 --> 01:16:30,636
group's agenda . So General Richardson 

1830
01:16:30,636 --> 01:16:32,691
have confirmed , what strategy would 

1831
01:16:32,691 --> 01:16:34,913
you did deployed to disrupt Hezbollah's 

1832
01:16:34,913 --> 01:16:37,730
agenda in Latin America , including 

1833
01:16:37,730 --> 01:16:40,063
coordinating with our regional partners . 

1834
01:16:40,930 --> 01:16:43,300
Well , certainly senator , the security 

1835
01:16:43,300 --> 01:16:45,411
cooperation and engagement that we do 

1836
01:16:45,411 --> 01:16:48,390
are the uh , how we engage to counter 

1837
01:16:48,390 --> 01:16:50,446
this external influence , especially 

1838
01:16:50,446 --> 01:16:53,090
with the Lebanese Hezbollah on . Quite 

1839
01:16:53,090 --> 01:16:54,923
honestly , the connection to the 

1840
01:16:54,923 --> 01:16:57,480
Lebanese diaspora in this region is 

1841
01:16:57,480 --> 01:16:59,647
nine million people , which equates to 

1842
01:16:59,647 --> 01:17:01,702
about 200 million and Remittance per 

1843
01:17:01,702 --> 01:17:05,670
year back to Iran . And so this is uh 

1844
01:17:05,670 --> 01:17:07,726
I share your concern on this issue . 

1845
01:17:07,726 --> 01:17:09,892
And certainly the security cooperation 

1846
01:17:09,892 --> 01:17:12,059
working with are aggressively with our 

1847
01:17:12,059 --> 01:17:15,420
partner nation , military's um and uh 

1848
01:17:15,430 --> 01:17:18,200
working with our allies and partners in 

1849
01:17:18,200 --> 01:17:20,570
the to also participate with us in the 

1850
01:17:20,570 --> 01:17:22,880
region I think is extremely important 

1851
01:17:22,880 --> 01:17:26,000
to important to create this integrated 

1852
01:17:26,000 --> 01:17:28,830
deterrence across the region . I 

1853
01:17:28,830 --> 01:17:30,941
appreciate that . And I wonder if you 

1854
01:17:30,941 --> 01:17:33,163
could just update for everyone what you 

1855
01:17:33,163 --> 01:17:35,274
think are some of the most concerning 

1856
01:17:35,274 --> 01:17:37,720
threats that Hezbollah opposes to the U . 

1857
01:17:37,720 --> 01:17:40,053
S . Interests in the western hemisphere . 

1858
01:17:40,230 --> 01:17:43,430
Well , certainly the as they exchange 

1859
01:17:43,430 --> 01:17:47,350
with Venezuela uh exchange 

1860
01:17:47,360 --> 01:17:50,410
arms for petroleum continue to sow 

1861
01:17:50,410 --> 01:17:52,850
violence , corruption uh and just 

1862
01:17:52,850 --> 01:17:54,780
create instability and insecurity 

1863
01:17:54,780 --> 01:17:57,490
within the region . And uh and we have 

1864
01:17:57,490 --> 01:17:59,810
just got to counter this external 

1865
01:17:59,820 --> 01:18:02,140
malign influence that they continue to 

1866
01:18:02,140 --> 01:18:04,870
create within the region . Thank you . 

1867
01:18:04,870 --> 01:18:07,270
I appreciate that . I'd like to move on 

1868
01:18:07,270 --> 01:18:09,214
to talk a little bit about chinese 

1869
01:18:09,214 --> 01:18:11,240
technology in South America because 

1870
01:18:11,240 --> 01:18:13,930
it's no secret that the chinese have uh 

1871
01:18:13,940 --> 01:18:16,070
sponsored . They have state sponsored 

1872
01:18:16,070 --> 01:18:18,237
companies and those companies have the 

1873
01:18:18,237 --> 01:18:20,237
ambitions of assisting countries in 

1874
01:18:20,237 --> 01:18:22,292
South America and of course building 

1875
01:18:22,292 --> 01:18:24,403
their infrastructure , building their 

1876
01:18:24,403 --> 01:18:26,570
communications networks , C . T . E . 

1877
01:18:26,580 --> 01:18:28,358
Uh , and others already helping 

1878
01:18:28,358 --> 01:18:30,191
Venezuela to build a system that 

1879
01:18:30,191 --> 01:18:32,247
monitors people's behavior through a 

1880
01:18:32,247 --> 01:18:34,800
new identification card called a father 

1881
01:18:34,800 --> 01:18:37,650
land card . More countries are 

1882
01:18:38,320 --> 01:18:40,760
considering these vendors to close the 

1883
01:18:40,760 --> 01:18:42,871
technology gap . I'm deeply concerned 

1884
01:18:42,871 --> 01:18:44,704
about what this means to us . So 

1885
01:18:44,704 --> 01:18:46,870
general Richardson if confirmed , how 

1886
01:18:46,870 --> 01:18:48,814
will you work with our partners in 

1887
01:18:48,814 --> 01:18:51,037
latin America to prevent the widespread 

1888
01:18:51,037 --> 01:18:53,790
deployment of chinese technology that 

1889
01:18:53,800 --> 01:18:56,210
uh , we think it's going to pose a 

1890
01:18:56,220 --> 01:18:59,610
threat right here to us in America . So 

1891
01:18:59,610 --> 01:19:01,670
thank you senator . Again , I share 

1892
01:19:01,670 --> 01:19:03,837
concern on this and certainly with the 

1893
01:19:03,837 --> 01:19:06,040
smart city safe city technology , the 

1894
01:19:06,040 --> 01:19:08,520
personnel surveillance technology that 

1895
01:19:08,530 --> 01:19:11,510
china employs Safe city . Smart city 

1896
01:19:11,510 --> 01:19:15,150
sounds very like a very nice uh , term 

1897
01:19:15,150 --> 01:19:17,890
in order to , uh , to have this 

1898
01:19:17,890 --> 01:19:20,001
capability . But in turn turns out to 

1899
01:19:20,001 --> 01:19:22,430
be personnel surveillance technology , 

1900
01:19:22,820 --> 01:19:24,542
having voting records . As you 

1901
01:19:24,542 --> 01:19:26,598
mentioned , the fatherland card from 

1902
01:19:26,598 --> 01:19:28,764
the ZTE has produced in Venezuela that 

1903
01:19:28,764 --> 01:19:30,800
ties the voting record to access to 

1904
01:19:30,810 --> 01:19:33,160
food and access to health aide and 

1905
01:19:33,160 --> 01:19:34,827
things like that is extremely 

1906
01:19:34,827 --> 01:19:36,493
concerning . And so certainly 

1907
01:19:36,493 --> 01:19:38,549
countering working with our partners 

1908
01:19:38,549 --> 01:19:40,771
having that discussion and letting them 

1909
01:19:40,771 --> 01:19:42,882
know , we already have some countries 

1910
01:19:42,882 --> 01:19:46,840
that have been told that are , um , 

1911
01:19:47,220 --> 01:19:49,550
uh , don't like the fact that they 

1912
01:19:49,560 --> 01:19:51,800
signed up for this originally and , and 

1913
01:19:51,800 --> 01:19:53,990
now see what , what it has brought to 

1914
01:19:53,990 --> 01:19:55,990
their country and are interested in 

1915
01:19:55,990 --> 01:19:57,823
getting rid of it . And so quite 

1916
01:19:57,823 --> 01:19:59,879
honestly , I think having that frank 

1917
01:19:59,879 --> 01:20:01,990
conversation about what this actually 

1918
01:20:01,990 --> 01:20:04,320
means for them . Thank you . I 

1919
01:20:04,320 --> 01:20:06,487
appreciate both your answers because I 

1920
01:20:06,487 --> 01:20:08,770
do believe that Iranian backed 

1921
01:20:08,770 --> 01:20:11,510
terrorists , other terrorists coming to 

1922
01:20:11,520 --> 01:20:13,850
southern hemisphere , our national 

1923
01:20:13,850 --> 01:20:16,450
security with chinese technology 

1924
01:20:16,460 --> 01:20:18,670
getting proliferated throughout the 

1925
01:20:18,670 --> 01:20:21,130
southern hemisphere as well as deep 

1926
01:20:21,140 --> 01:20:23,418
implications for our national security . 

1927
01:20:23,418 --> 01:20:25,640
And I look forward to your confirmation 

1928
01:20:25,640 --> 01:20:28,040
working with you on preventing . Uh 

1929
01:20:28,510 --> 01:20:31,300
thank you Tom Rosen , let me recognize 

1930
01:20:31,300 --> 01:20:33,411
Senator Sullivan , please thank you . 

1931
01:20:33,411 --> 01:20:35,870
Mr Chairman and general congratulations . 

1932
01:20:35,880 --> 01:20:38,650
Congrats to your family . I think you 

1933
01:20:38,650 --> 01:20:40,817
have a very strong background . You've 

1934
01:20:40,817 --> 01:20:42,870
been a great example in many ways I 

1935
01:20:42,870 --> 01:20:45,730
look forward to in a strong supporter 

1936
01:20:46,210 --> 01:20:49,820
of yours and your your confirmation . 

1937
01:20:50,310 --> 01:20:52,870
Want to kind of take the question in a 

1938
01:20:52,870 --> 01:20:55,180
different direction . I had Secretary 

1939
01:20:55,190 --> 01:20:58,930
Austin In Alaska hosted him there about 

1940
01:20:58,930 --> 01:21:02,210
10 days ago . Um you know , the best 

1941
01:21:02,210 --> 01:21:04,550
part of those kind of trips when our 

1942
01:21:04,550 --> 01:21:07,120
military leaders , civilian or uniform 

1943
01:21:07,120 --> 01:21:09,064
come to my state , get to meet the 

1944
01:21:09,064 --> 01:21:11,120
community . It's so supportive . But 

1945
01:21:11,120 --> 01:21:13,231
really , really the best part was dis 

1946
01:21:13,231 --> 01:21:17,060
meeting the troops and the army airman , 

1947
01:21:17,070 --> 01:21:20,630
others so impressive . You know , 

1948
01:21:20,640 --> 01:21:22,930
black , white native , non native , you 

1949
01:21:22,930 --> 01:21:25,097
know , in the military , we don't talk 

1950
01:21:25,097 --> 01:21:27,152
about skin color . We talked about , 

1951
01:21:27,152 --> 01:21:29,374
are you good or not good and it . These 

1952
01:21:29,374 --> 01:21:31,430
men and women are the best and their 

1953
01:21:31,430 --> 01:21:34,060
families too . I think they're the best 

1954
01:21:34,060 --> 01:21:36,282
and brightest , most patriotic group of 

1955
01:21:36,282 --> 01:21:38,820
people we have in the country . It was 

1956
01:21:39,310 --> 01:21:42,520
great to show them off to the Secretary 

1957
01:21:42,520 --> 01:21:44,742
of defense . Would you agree with me on 

1958
01:21:44,742 --> 01:21:46,798
that , given your experience ? Yes , 

1959
01:21:46,798 --> 01:21:49,120
the families , by the way , Absolutely 

1960
01:21:50,210 --> 01:21:53,450
good . I do too . You know , there's 

1961
01:21:53,450 --> 01:21:55,910
been this narrative to be honest , it's 

1962
01:21:55,910 --> 01:21:59,680
post january six issues in the 

1963
01:21:59,680 --> 01:22:02,520
media . Some political commentators , 

1964
01:22:03,600 --> 01:22:05,822
unfortunately , maybe even some elected 

1965
01:22:05,822 --> 01:22:08,080
leaders that somehow the military is 

1966
01:22:08,080 --> 01:22:10,710
film filled with extremists and 

1967
01:22:10,710 --> 01:22:13,810
supremacists and you know , pick up the 

1968
01:22:13,810 --> 01:22:15,977
Washington post . They love to kind of 

1969
01:22:15,977 --> 01:22:18,660
fan the flames of this . No data ever 

1970
01:22:18,660 --> 01:22:20,771
presented . But it's always out there 

1971
01:22:20,771 --> 01:22:23,050
is the new narrative that our men and 

1972
01:22:23,050 --> 01:22:25,620
women heck we had an undersecretary 

1973
01:22:25,630 --> 01:22:27,463
testify here that one of his top 

1974
01:22:27,463 --> 01:22:29,920
priorities priorities was to stamp out 

1975
01:22:29,920 --> 01:22:32,270
systemic racism within the ranks . When 

1976
01:22:32,270 --> 01:22:34,214
I have some you ever served in the 

1977
01:22:34,214 --> 01:22:36,350
ranks ? No . If you have data to back 

1978
01:22:36,350 --> 01:22:38,239
up that claim , it's pretty broad 

1979
01:22:38,239 --> 01:22:42,010
aggressive claim . No , I have no data . 

1980
01:22:42,230 --> 01:22:45,790
So There's even one Bologna estimate 

1981
01:22:45,790 --> 01:22:48,620
out there , 10% of the force supposedly 

1982
01:22:49,100 --> 01:22:51,322
by some I don't know who estimated it . 

1983
01:22:51,322 --> 01:22:53,433
But it was repeated in a hearing here 

1984
01:22:53,500 --> 01:22:57,460
That 10% of forces extremists in the 

1985
01:22:57,460 --> 01:23:00,240
military , supremacists , that's 

1986
01:23:00,800 --> 01:23:02,856
Hundreds of thousands of troops . Do 

1987
01:23:02,856 --> 01:23:06,430
you believe that ? That's 10% . I don't 

1988
01:23:06,440 --> 01:23:10,170
I don't I don't even think it's but I 

1989
01:23:10,170 --> 01:23:13,200
want to know what you think . Well , 

1990
01:23:13,200 --> 01:23:15,311
Senator , I can I can talk about army 

1991
01:23:15,311 --> 01:23:17,644
North , which is what I'm in command of . 

1992
01:23:17,644 --> 01:23:19,533
And for example , I mean , you're 

1993
01:23:19,533 --> 01:23:21,533
you're a three star general getting 

1994
01:23:21,533 --> 01:23:23,311
ready before starting . In your 

1995
01:23:23,311 --> 01:23:23,080
experience , you think it's even 

1996
01:23:23,080 --> 01:23:25,247
remotely , let me give an example . We 

1997
01:23:25,247 --> 01:23:27,302
had to combatant commanders here . I 

1998
01:23:27,302 --> 01:23:29,302
put that number out , they said not 

1999
01:23:29,302 --> 01:23:31,630
only no , but given the vetting that 

2000
01:23:31,630 --> 01:23:33,797
goes on in their commands , they doubt 

2001
01:23:33,797 --> 01:23:35,963
there are any extremists . What's your 

2002
01:23:35,963 --> 01:23:38,750
what's your view ? Well , senator , I'm 

2003
01:23:38,760 --> 01:23:41,880
uh just in in in terms of my 

2004
01:23:41,880 --> 01:23:44,520
perspective , the I never say never , 

2005
01:23:44,520 --> 01:23:48,010
but the uh the in terms of my 

2006
01:23:48,020 --> 01:23:50,400
command and at Fort Sam Houston in 

2007
01:23:50,400 --> 01:23:52,630
texas and the command of Army North . 

2008
01:23:52,630 --> 01:23:54,852
And certainly we've gone through uh the 

2009
01:23:54,852 --> 01:23:57,700
extremism training how to identify it , 

2010
01:23:57,700 --> 01:23:59,700
how to report it and those sorts of 

2011
01:23:59,700 --> 01:24:02,750
things . And we have not had any 

2012
01:24:02,750 --> 01:24:04,806
reports within my command , which is 

2013
01:24:04,806 --> 01:24:07,028
what I can speak about . You're in your 

2014
01:24:07,028 --> 01:24:09,194
army experience 10% . You think that's 

2015
01:24:09,194 --> 01:24:11,417
even remotely in the ballpark ? I don't 

2016
01:24:11,417 --> 01:24:13,639
it's really important to me and I think 

2017
01:24:13,639 --> 01:24:15,639
you can just say it , say no if you 

2018
01:24:15,639 --> 01:24:17,750
don't think so , do you think tens of 

2019
01:24:17,750 --> 01:24:19,806
thousands , hundreds of thousands of 

2020
01:24:19,806 --> 01:24:21,583
military members fall into that 

2021
01:24:21,583 --> 01:24:23,806
category ? I don't experience , I don't 

2022
01:24:23,806 --> 01:24:26,083
in my experience , no , senator . Yeah , 

2023
01:24:26,083 --> 01:24:28,900
me either . So now when those generals 

2024
01:24:28,900 --> 01:24:30,956
made that statement , evidently some 

2025
01:24:30,956 --> 01:24:33,122
political guy in the pentagon came out 

2026
01:24:33,122 --> 01:24:35,178
the next couple days saying , oh the 

2027
01:24:35,178 --> 01:24:37,011
generals are wrong . Think these 

2028
01:24:37,011 --> 01:24:38,678
generals had over 80 years of 

2029
01:24:38,678 --> 01:24:41,011
experience . But somehow they are wrong . 

2030
01:24:41,011 --> 01:24:42,900
Here's my question and I think it 

2031
01:24:42,900 --> 01:24:45,122
should be an easy one . Will you commit 

2032
01:24:45,122 --> 01:24:47,344
to me in this committee to stand up for 

2033
01:24:47,344 --> 01:24:49,511
our troops ? You know them you're part 

2034
01:24:49,511 --> 01:24:52,840
of them when such unsubstantiated 

2035
01:24:52,840 --> 01:24:56,050
claims come from political appointees , 

2036
01:24:56,690 --> 01:25:00,100
members of Congress , the media , I 

2037
01:25:00,100 --> 01:25:02,322
think it's really important to have our 

2038
01:25:02,322 --> 01:25:04,378
uniform military , even though , you 

2039
01:25:04,378 --> 01:25:06,100
know , let's face it , today's 

2040
01:25:06,100 --> 01:25:08,156
environment takes a little courage , 

2041
01:25:08,156 --> 01:25:10,489
just so say no , that's not what I know , 

2042
01:25:10,489 --> 01:25:12,656
That's not what I understand . Can you 

2043
01:25:12,656 --> 01:25:14,822
commit to me as you become a four star 

2044
01:25:14,822 --> 01:25:16,767
general and combatant commander to 

2045
01:25:16,767 --> 01:25:18,767
stand up for our troops on what you 

2046
01:25:18,767 --> 01:25:21,490
think is really the truth on this ? 

2047
01:25:21,490 --> 01:25:23,546
Because it's really important in the 

2048
01:25:23,546 --> 01:25:26,480
narrative out there really undermines 

2049
01:25:26,480 --> 01:25:29,080
morale of the troops and the families . 

2050
01:25:29,110 --> 01:25:31,332
These are the best men and women in the 

2051
01:25:31,332 --> 01:25:33,690
country and yet they're being 

2052
01:25:33,690 --> 01:25:37,170
besmirched with no data and 

2053
01:25:37,170 --> 01:25:39,392
somehow they're a bunch of extremists . 

2054
01:25:39,392 --> 01:25:41,614
Will you commit to me in this committee 

2055
01:25:41,614 --> 01:25:43,837
when that comes up ? And it will do you 

2056
01:25:43,837 --> 01:25:45,948
look whoever is telling you and the I 

2057
01:25:45,948 --> 01:25:48,150
say no no that's not true . That's not 

2058
01:25:48,150 --> 01:25:50,490
my experience . Hit some data and we 

2059
01:25:50,490 --> 01:25:52,450
can discuss it but it's a really 

2060
01:25:52,450 --> 01:25:54,283
important issue . Can I get your 

2061
01:25:54,283 --> 01:25:56,617
commitment on that general ? Absolutely . 

2062
01:25:56,617 --> 01:25:58,783
Senator I give you my commitment and I 

2063
01:25:58,783 --> 01:26:01,006
will speak about what what I know about 

2064
01:26:01,006 --> 01:26:02,839
what I'm in command about are in 

2065
01:26:02,839 --> 01:26:04,672
command of Senator Good . I look 

2066
01:26:04,672 --> 01:26:06,894
forward to supporting your confirmation 

2067
01:26:06,894 --> 01:26:09,117
and will be asking additional questions 

2068
01:26:09,117 --> 01:26:10,894
for the record . Thank you . Mr 

2069
01:26:10,894 --> 01:26:13,228
Chairman . Thank you . Senator Sullivan . 

2070
01:26:13,228 --> 01:26:13,190
Now let me recognize Senator Manchin 

2071
01:26:13,190 --> 01:26:16,400
via webex . Thank you . Mr Chairman and 

2072
01:26:16,400 --> 01:26:18,622
thank you Lieutenant General Richardson 

2073
01:26:18,622 --> 01:26:20,733
for your service to our country . Can 

2074
01:26:20,733 --> 01:26:22,678
you hear me ? We can hear now Miss 

2075
01:26:22,678 --> 01:26:24,956
Senator . Okay , let me just say again , 

2076
01:26:24,956 --> 01:26:24,750
thank you . Lieutenant General 

2077
01:26:24,760 --> 01:26:26,840
Richardson for your service to our 

2078
01:26:26,840 --> 01:26:29,270
country . Uh , my question is , Russia 

2079
01:26:29,270 --> 01:26:30,992
has continued to destabilize , 

2080
01:26:30,992 --> 01:26:33,048
destabilize Venezuelan politics with 

2081
01:26:33,048 --> 01:26:35,310
its continued assistance to Madura . 

2082
01:26:35,410 --> 01:26:37,132
His leadership has effectively 

2083
01:26:37,132 --> 01:26:38,966
confirmed Venezuela status as an 

2084
01:26:38,966 --> 01:26:41,530
authoritarian nation . My question is , 

2085
01:26:41,530 --> 01:26:43,308
how do you plan to increase our 

2086
01:26:43,308 --> 01:26:45,197
engagement with partners in South 

2087
01:26:45,197 --> 01:26:47,197
America ? Latin America to stop the 

2088
01:26:47,197 --> 01:26:49,252
flow of narcotics out of Venezuela ? 

2089
01:26:51,280 --> 01:26:53,502
So I share your concern , senator . And 

2090
01:26:53,502 --> 01:26:56,180
certainly , uh , Russia is Venezuela's 

2091
01:26:56,180 --> 01:26:58,740
number one military partner . And uh , 

2092
01:26:58,750 --> 01:27:00,972
in Russia routinely conducts port calls 

2093
01:27:00,972 --> 01:27:03,130
with its worships into Venezuela as 

2094
01:27:03,130 --> 01:27:06,290
well as uh , refueling of strategic 

2095
01:27:06,290 --> 01:27:09,510
bombers . Uh , and Russia also sends 

2096
01:27:09,520 --> 01:27:12,750
military training support to Venezuela 

2097
01:27:12,750 --> 01:27:16,100
as well . Uh , the security cooperation 

2098
01:27:16,100 --> 01:27:18,600
and engagement Senator is what South 

2099
01:27:18,600 --> 01:27:21,630
com has to aggressively engaged in this 

2100
01:27:21,640 --> 01:27:24,130
in this region , certainly with partner 

2101
01:27:24,130 --> 01:27:26,850
nations , um , around Venezuela that 

2102
01:27:26,850 --> 01:27:28,920
are affected by what's going on . 

2103
01:27:28,930 --> 01:27:31,208
Certainly the humanitarian crisis with , 

2104
01:27:31,208 --> 01:27:33,900
with what's occurring there , Uh five 

2105
01:27:33,900 --> 01:27:36,770
million displaced personnel as well as 

2106
01:27:36,770 --> 01:27:39,360
1.5 million that are that have gone 

2107
01:27:39,360 --> 01:27:43,100
into Colombia alone . And so 

2108
01:27:43,580 --> 01:27:45,413
working with our partner nations 

2109
01:27:45,413 --> 01:27:47,636
knowing that making sure that they know 

2110
01:27:47,636 --> 01:27:49,691
that the U . S . Is committed with a 

2111
01:27:49,691 --> 01:27:51,858
whole of government approach regarding 

2112
01:27:51,858 --> 01:27:54,080
all of the activity that's occurring in 

2113
01:27:54,080 --> 01:27:56,970
this area of operations . Thank you 

2114
01:27:56,970 --> 01:27:59,192
very much in an effort to bring greater 

2115
01:27:59,192 --> 01:28:01,137
stability to the Northern Triangle 

2116
01:28:01,137 --> 01:28:03,248
nations of Honduras , El Salvador and 

2117
01:28:03,248 --> 01:28:05,359
Guatemala . I was pleased to see that 

2118
01:28:05,359 --> 01:28:07,248
the State Department restarts the 

2119
01:28:07,248 --> 01:28:09,414
central american minors program . It's 

2120
01:28:09,414 --> 01:28:09,410
going to allow for the processing of 

2121
01:28:09,410 --> 01:28:12,010
refugees within their own nations 

2122
01:28:12,010 --> 01:28:13,930
instead of participating and the 

2123
01:28:13,930 --> 01:28:16,041
dangerous trek across Central America 

2124
01:28:16,041 --> 01:28:18,263
to the United States southern border to 

2125
01:28:18,263 --> 01:28:20,208
claim asylum . Additionally , this 

2126
01:28:20,208 --> 01:28:22,319
program works with the United Nations 

2127
01:28:22,319 --> 01:28:24,097
to settle eligible refugees and 

2128
01:28:24,097 --> 01:28:26,152
multiple nations instead of creating 

2129
01:28:26,152 --> 01:28:28,486
dangerous back logs solely within the U . 

2130
01:28:28,486 --> 01:28:30,708
S . Immigration system . One issue I am 

2131
01:28:30,708 --> 01:28:32,874
worried about with this program is the 

2132
01:28:32,874 --> 01:28:34,986
matter of security for these refugees 

2133
01:28:34,986 --> 01:28:36,986
in their home nations before before 

2134
01:28:36,986 --> 01:28:38,874
being settled abroad . So can you 

2135
01:28:38,874 --> 01:28:41,280
commit to learning about the program 

2136
01:28:41,280 --> 01:28:43,613
and how south um can work to support it ? 

2137
01:28:43,613 --> 01:28:45,613
I've always believed that we should 

2138
01:28:45,613 --> 01:28:48,920
have um for lack of a better like safe 

2139
01:28:48,930 --> 01:28:51,152
safe havens for these people as they're 

2140
01:28:51,152 --> 01:28:53,152
going through the vetting process . 

2141
01:28:53,152 --> 01:28:55,152
We've been able to do it in America 

2142
01:28:55,152 --> 01:28:57,041
with violence shelters , domestic 

2143
01:28:57,041 --> 01:28:59,319
violence shelters all over our country . 

2144
01:28:59,319 --> 01:29:01,520
And I can't see why we can't find a 

2145
01:29:01,520 --> 01:29:03,631
better solution of how we can protect 

2146
01:29:03,631 --> 01:29:05,687
people who are looking for asylum to 

2147
01:29:05,687 --> 01:29:07,798
see if they qualify . So any thoughts 

2148
01:29:07,798 --> 01:29:10,650
on that would be appreciated . So 

2149
01:29:10,650 --> 01:29:13,150
Senator I do commit to learning more 

2150
01:29:13,150 --> 01:29:16,100
about that program uh as you described 

2151
01:29:16,100 --> 01:29:19,570
it , sir , honest , aggressively 

2152
01:29:19,570 --> 01:29:21,514
pursuing the practice of predatory 

2153
01:29:21,514 --> 01:29:23,681
lending and infrastructure projects in 

2154
01:29:23,681 --> 01:29:25,681
the south common area of operations 

2155
01:29:25,681 --> 01:29:27,792
grading what we call death traps with 

2156
01:29:27,792 --> 01:29:29,903
pork projects in Panama , Ecuador and 

2157
01:29:29,903 --> 01:29:32,070
Honduras And infrastructure projects . 

2158
01:29:32,070 --> 01:29:34,460
And over 2/3 23 of the 31 of the South 

2159
01:29:34,460 --> 01:29:36,770
American countries . If china gains 

2160
01:29:36,770 --> 01:29:38,714
control of major ports in areas of 

2161
01:29:38,714 --> 01:29:40,548
commerce and south com , we risk 

2162
01:29:40,548 --> 01:29:42,103
economic loss , intelligent 

2163
01:29:42,103 --> 01:29:44,320
intellectual property losses and the 

2164
01:29:44,320 --> 01:29:46,042
ability to effectively counter 

2165
01:29:46,042 --> 01:29:47,820
narcotics including the chinese 

2166
01:29:47,820 --> 01:29:50,460
supplied fentaNYL . Are you familiar 

2167
01:29:50,460 --> 01:29:52,404
with the latest attitudes from our 

2168
01:29:52,404 --> 01:29:54,690
allies in south America towards these 

2169
01:29:54,690 --> 01:29:56,357
predatory lending behaviors ? 

2170
01:29:59,670 --> 01:30:01,850
So Senator I am I am aware of the 

2171
01:30:01,850 --> 01:30:04,180
predatory lending lending behaviors of 

2172
01:30:04,180 --> 01:30:06,590
china and all of the country . The 

2173
01:30:06,590 --> 01:30:08,812
number of countries that have signed up 

2174
01:30:08,812 --> 01:30:10,979
for the Belt and Road Initiative , all 

2175
01:30:10,979 --> 01:30:12,812
the infrastructure projects with 

2176
01:30:12,812 --> 01:30:15,050
billions of dollars of of loans as well 

2177
01:30:15,050 --> 01:30:18,860
as uh five G and uh Huawei and 

2178
01:30:18,860 --> 01:30:21,390
subsidiaries of Huawei as well for the 

2179
01:30:21,390 --> 01:30:23,612
I . T . Infrastructure and I share your 

2180
01:30:23,612 --> 01:30:25,668
concern with that . And certainly if 

2181
01:30:25,668 --> 01:30:27,890
confirmed as the South um commander , I 

2182
01:30:27,890 --> 01:30:29,723
would work aggressively with our 

2183
01:30:29,723 --> 01:30:31,501
partner nations to counter that 

2184
01:30:31,501 --> 01:30:33,612
external influence . I think what has 

2185
01:30:33,612 --> 01:30:35,501
to be done there if if they had a 

2186
01:30:35,501 --> 01:30:37,501
better alternative , do you believe 

2187
01:30:37,501 --> 01:30:39,557
they would turn to the United States 

2188
01:30:39,557 --> 01:30:38,930
would rather work with the United 

2189
01:30:38,930 --> 01:30:41,440
States versus china ? And if that's the 

2190
01:30:41,440 --> 01:30:43,662
case and you know , to be so and true , 

2191
01:30:43,662 --> 01:30:45,662
are you going to prioritize in your 

2192
01:30:45,662 --> 01:30:47,884
budgetary request for this type of just 

2193
01:30:52,160 --> 01:30:55,750
senator ? Uh If it . Absolutely and and 

2194
01:30:55,750 --> 01:30:57,639
as I committed to you I will look 

2195
01:30:57,639 --> 01:31:00,170
further into this program and if it uh 

2196
01:31:00,180 --> 01:31:03,530
as you said uh furthers along the cause 

2197
01:31:03,530 --> 01:31:06,420
and uh working with our partner nations 

2198
01:31:06,420 --> 01:31:08,309
more closely to help them bolster 

2199
01:31:08,309 --> 01:31:11,160
against the external influence . We're 

2200
01:31:11,160 --> 01:31:13,327
going to have to be very aggressive on 

2201
01:31:13,327 --> 01:31:15,493
that one I appreciate . And we'll give 

2202
01:31:15,493 --> 01:31:15,030
you all the support you need because I 

2203
01:31:15,030 --> 01:31:17,141
think it's very dangerous to have our 

2204
01:31:17,141 --> 01:31:19,570
southern border being kind of over 

2205
01:31:19,960 --> 01:31:22,830
overcompensated by foreign ally , our 

2206
01:31:22,830 --> 01:31:25,250
foreign adversaries such as china and 

2207
01:31:25,250 --> 01:31:27,417
what their intent is . So look forward 

2208
01:31:27,417 --> 01:31:29,750
to working with you on this . Thank you . 

2209
01:31:29,750 --> 01:31:32,390
Thank you . Let me recognize Senator 

2210
01:31:32,390 --> 01:31:35,980
scott . Thank you . Chairman . 

2211
01:31:36,660 --> 01:31:38,882
Thank you . General Richardson for your 

2212
01:31:38,882 --> 01:31:40,882
service and congratulations on your 

2213
01:31:40,882 --> 01:31:42,827
nomination . You'll uh you'll love 

2214
01:31:42,827 --> 01:31:44,827
living in florida , you'll love the 

2215
01:31:44,827 --> 01:31:46,771
Miami community . It's a wonderful 

2216
01:31:46,771 --> 01:31:49,104
group of people who work in south Korea . 

2217
01:31:49,104 --> 01:31:51,580
Um what would happen in latin America 

2218
01:31:51,590 --> 01:31:54,030
if the Cuban regime failed and we 

2219
01:31:54,030 --> 01:31:56,530
actually had democracy and freedom in 

2220
01:31:56,530 --> 01:31:59,390
cuba . What would happen in Venezuela 

2221
01:31:59,390 --> 01:32:02,510
or the attacks were seen in Colombia or 

2222
01:32:02,720 --> 01:32:05,480
Ortega's power in Nicaragua . 

2223
01:32:07,350 --> 01:32:10,650
So certainly Senator the we have a long 

2224
01:32:10,650 --> 01:32:13,760
history with CUBA . And uh and they 

2225
01:32:13,760 --> 01:32:17,480
undermine uh the U . S . And uh and 

2226
01:32:17,950 --> 01:32:20,960
uh are an authoritarian advisor , so to 

2227
01:32:20,960 --> 01:32:23,380
speak with Venezuela and Nicaragua . 

2228
01:32:23,390 --> 01:32:25,520
And uh certainly prop up the Maduro 

2229
01:32:25,520 --> 01:32:27,687
regime in Venezuela . And certainly if 

2230
01:32:27,687 --> 01:32:30,170
we had democracy in CUBA , I think that 

2231
01:32:30,170 --> 01:32:32,460
would change things dramatically uh in 

2232
01:32:32,460 --> 01:32:36,370
the O . R . So how so how 

2233
01:32:36,370 --> 01:32:38,592
important do you think it is to get the 

2234
01:32:38,592 --> 01:32:40,648
internet back on in CUba to help the 

2235
01:32:40,648 --> 01:32:42,648
Cuban population be able to talk to 

2236
01:32:42,648 --> 01:32:44,703
each other to to be able to confront 

2237
01:32:44,703 --> 01:32:46,870
what's going on with the castro regime 

2238
01:32:46,870 --> 01:32:49,870
right now ? Well , certainly the 

2239
01:32:49,880 --> 01:32:52,047
senator , I I share your concern about 

2240
01:32:52,047 --> 01:32:54,047
them being able to communicate with 

2241
01:32:54,047 --> 01:32:56,269
each other . If confirmed . I commit to 

2242
01:32:56,269 --> 01:32:58,436
you to working aggressively as part of 

2243
01:32:58,436 --> 01:33:00,602
the whole of government approach as we 

2244
01:33:00,602 --> 01:33:02,760
deal with CUBA . So is there anything 

2245
01:33:02,760 --> 01:33:05,430
that South com can do on its own to try 

2246
01:33:05,430 --> 01:33:07,541
to get the internet back on in CUBA . 

2247
01:33:09,250 --> 01:33:11,430
Senator if confirmed as the South com 

2248
01:33:11,430 --> 01:33:13,430
commander , I would definitely look 

2249
01:33:13,430 --> 01:33:15,960
into that and uh and find out what what 

2250
01:33:15,970 --> 01:33:18,290
we could do or be a part of that whole 

2251
01:33:18,290 --> 01:33:20,346
of government approach in addressing 

2252
01:33:20,346 --> 01:33:22,790
that with CUBA as Commander of South 

2253
01:33:22,790 --> 01:33:26,300
Comedy , you would you use your pulpit 

2254
01:33:26,300 --> 01:33:28,411
to talk about the atrocities that are 

2255
01:33:28,411 --> 01:33:30,990
going on the torture of uh distance the 

2256
01:33:31,000 --> 01:33:33,970
attack on peaceful protesters and all 

2257
01:33:33,970 --> 01:33:36,026
the other atrocities that go on with 

2258
01:33:36,026 --> 01:33:39,490
the Cuban castro regime ? Certainly , 

2259
01:33:39,500 --> 01:33:42,560
uh the training that we provide in the 

2260
01:33:42,560 --> 01:33:44,282
United States and the security 

2261
01:33:44,282 --> 01:33:47,370
cooperation uh has as its core 

2262
01:33:47,370 --> 01:33:49,426
principle human rights , the rule of 

2263
01:33:49,426 --> 01:33:51,970
law and that is baked into all of the 

2264
01:33:51,970 --> 01:33:53,970
training . And we aggressively work 

2265
01:33:53,970 --> 01:33:56,026
that with all of our partner nations 

2266
01:33:56,026 --> 01:33:57,970
and our militaries that we conduct 

2267
01:33:57,970 --> 01:34:00,340
security cooperation with . So we would 

2268
01:34:00,350 --> 01:34:03,110
absolutely continue with that very 

2269
01:34:03,110 --> 01:34:05,370
aggressively . But do you have the 

2270
01:34:05,370 --> 01:34:08,010
ability to speak to the american public 

2271
01:34:08,020 --> 01:34:10,880
about what's going on in CUBA as a as 

2272
01:34:10,880 --> 01:34:12,991
Commander of South ? Um and would you 

2273
01:34:12,991 --> 01:34:15,230
do that ? Well , certainly uh Senator 

2274
01:34:15,230 --> 01:34:17,820
probably as the in support of the 

2275
01:34:17,820 --> 01:34:19,876
Department of State who has the lead 

2276
01:34:19,876 --> 01:34:22,130
for the diplomacy and engagement with 

2277
01:34:22,130 --> 01:34:24,580
CUBA and uh and supporting the 

2278
01:34:24,580 --> 01:34:26,636
administration with what's occurring 

2279
01:34:26,636 --> 01:34:29,010
there . I would be in support of that 

2280
01:34:29,020 --> 01:34:31,187
confirmed as the South com commander . 

2281
01:34:32,040 --> 01:34:34,096
And is there anything that you could 

2282
01:34:34,096 --> 01:34:36,151
that CNN has the ability to help get 

2283
01:34:36,151 --> 01:34:38,096
the internet back on by ? Is there 

2284
01:34:38,096 --> 01:34:40,207
anything that they could provide ? Is 

2285
01:34:40,207 --> 01:34:42,710
there are other resources uh in terms 

2286
01:34:42,710 --> 01:34:45,080
of engaging with the security 

2287
01:34:45,080 --> 01:34:47,247
cooperation and engagement , Senator , 

2288
01:34:47,247 --> 01:34:49,413
I would have to uh if confirmed . Look 

2289
01:34:49,413 --> 01:34:51,524
into that or take that for uh for the 

2290
01:34:51,524 --> 01:34:55,420
record senator . So as as commander of 

2291
01:34:55,420 --> 01:34:57,730
health comedy , you have heavy already 

2292
01:34:57,730 --> 01:35:00,170
formulated ideas on what you could do , 

2293
01:35:00,540 --> 01:35:03,830
whether it's too um eliminate the cash 

2294
01:35:03,830 --> 01:35:06,250
regime , Maduro regime there take a 

2295
01:35:06,250 --> 01:35:09,240
regime or stop the attacks and uh going 

2296
01:35:09,240 --> 01:35:11,462
on in Colombia . Do you have , have you 

2297
01:35:11,462 --> 01:35:13,684
thought through what you would be doing 

2298
01:35:13,684 --> 01:35:15,796
different than what Admiral followers 

2299
01:35:15,796 --> 01:35:19,690
doing ? Certainly as I've looked 

2300
01:35:19,690 --> 01:35:21,634
at how admiral following the south 

2301
01:35:21,634 --> 01:35:23,634
korean team have engaged in this in 

2302
01:35:23,634 --> 01:35:25,990
this region . I think that they've 

2303
01:35:26,000 --> 01:35:28,450
aggressively uh worked all of the 

2304
01:35:28,450 --> 01:35:31,160
levers and continued to improve upon 

2305
01:35:31,160 --> 01:35:33,271
what they're doing . Working with our 

2306
01:35:33,271 --> 01:35:35,049
partner nations and our partner 

2307
01:35:35,049 --> 01:35:37,104
militaries . I think also the allies 

2308
01:35:37,104 --> 01:35:39,049
and partners , the more allies and 

2309
01:35:39,049 --> 01:35:41,216
partners that are working alongside us 

2310
01:35:41,216 --> 01:35:42,882
uh to bolster that integrated 

2311
01:35:42,882 --> 01:35:45,049
deterrence and helping to increase our 

2312
01:35:45,049 --> 01:35:47,500
partner nations that are neighbors , uh , 

2313
01:35:47,510 --> 01:35:51,170
to Venezuela as well as Nicaragua 

2314
01:35:51,640 --> 01:35:54,060
and cuba is extremely important . 

2315
01:35:54,740 --> 01:35:57,580
Emerald followers have been vocal about 

2316
01:35:57,690 --> 01:36:00,790
the malign chinese influence in latin 

2317
01:36:00,790 --> 01:36:02,901
America . Are you willing to be as as 

2318
01:36:02,901 --> 01:36:06,220
vocal as he is ? Senator if confirmed 

2319
01:36:06,220 --> 01:36:08,470
as the south com commander ? Uh , I 

2320
01:36:08,480 --> 01:36:10,710
think Admiral Fowler has uh has called 

2321
01:36:10,710 --> 01:36:13,010
it like it is and uh , if confirmed , I 

2322
01:36:13,010 --> 01:36:16,690
would do the same . What what use do 

2323
01:36:16,690 --> 01:36:18,746
you think Guantanamo Bay has besides 

2324
01:36:18,746 --> 01:36:22,150
holding terrorists ? I'm sorry , 

2325
01:36:22,150 --> 01:36:24,372
Senator could be used as Guantanamo Bay 

2326
01:36:24,372 --> 01:36:28,170
have besides holding terrorists . So 

2327
01:36:28,170 --> 01:36:30,630
senator that would be used if we had to 

2328
01:36:30,640 --> 01:36:33,510
conduct a noncombatant evacuation 

2329
01:36:33,510 --> 01:36:36,200
humanitarian assistance . For example , 

2330
01:36:36,200 --> 01:36:38,144
if there was a natural disaster or 

2331
01:36:38,144 --> 01:36:40,144
something like that , that would be 

2332
01:36:40,144 --> 01:36:42,256
used as a staging area . Uh , they're 

2333
01:36:42,256 --> 01:36:44,870
the naval station Guantanamo Guantanamo 

2334
01:36:44,870 --> 01:36:47,780
Bay . Thank you . Thank you . Thank you . 

2335
01:36:47,780 --> 01:36:49,947
Chairman , Thank you . Senator scott . 

2336
01:36:49,947 --> 01:36:51,950
Let me recognize Senator Peters via 

2337
01:36:51,950 --> 01:36:55,590
webex . Thank you . Thank you . Mr . 

2338
01:36:55,600 --> 01:36:57,950
Chairman and good morning General . 

2339
01:36:57,960 --> 01:37:01,500
Congratulations on your nomination to 

2340
01:37:01,500 --> 01:37:03,389
this very important position . Or 

2341
01:37:03,389 --> 01:37:05,222
you're certainly appreciate your 

2342
01:37:05,222 --> 01:37:07,444
willingness to serve plus your years of 

2343
01:37:07,444 --> 01:37:09,667
service today . And that's where I want 

2344
01:37:09,667 --> 01:37:11,611
to begin . First off , I'd like to 

2345
01:37:11,611 --> 01:37:14,220
recognize and thank Army North for all 

2346
01:37:14,220 --> 01:37:16,109
of its efforts across the country 

2347
01:37:16,109 --> 01:37:18,164
during the pandemic . But especially 

2348
01:37:18,164 --> 01:37:20,220
your administration of the Community 

2349
01:37:20,220 --> 01:37:23,080
vaccination Center at ford Field in 

2350
01:37:23,080 --> 01:37:24,913
Detroit . That was an incredible 

2351
01:37:24,913 --> 01:37:27,690
operation and really jump started our 

2352
01:37:27,690 --> 01:37:29,930
ability to to get folks vaccinated 

2353
01:37:29,940 --> 01:37:31,940
throughout throughout michigan . So 

2354
01:37:31,940 --> 01:37:34,051
thank you for your leadership and the 

2355
01:37:34,051 --> 01:37:36,273
men and women who you work with to make 

2356
01:37:36,273 --> 01:37:38,329
that happen general . Last week , we 

2357
01:37:38,329 --> 01:37:40,551
discussed that what may be probably the 

2358
01:37:40,551 --> 01:37:42,551
most fundamental challenge that you 

2359
01:37:42,551 --> 01:37:44,884
face if confirmed as commander of South . 

2360
01:37:44,884 --> 01:37:46,940
Um , and and and that's how to apply 

2361
01:37:46,940 --> 01:37:50,650
the military instrument of power to non 

2362
01:37:50,660 --> 01:37:53,030
military problems that exist throughout 

2363
01:37:53,030 --> 01:37:54,974
the region , from corruption to uh 

2364
01:37:55,030 --> 01:37:57,252
money laundering , climate change . And 

2365
01:37:57,252 --> 01:38:00,360
certainly the persistent requirement 

2366
01:38:00,370 --> 01:38:03,120
for humanitarian assistance . As you 

2367
01:38:03,120 --> 01:38:05,940
well know , Honduras , the Honduran 

2368
01:38:05,950 --> 01:38:09,110
Salvadorian guatemalans all routinely 

2369
01:38:09,130 --> 01:38:12,700
identify government failures is one of 

2370
01:38:12,700 --> 01:38:14,756
the most significant challenges that 

2371
01:38:14,756 --> 01:38:16,978
face their country . So my question for 

2372
01:38:16,978 --> 01:38:19,089
you is how can you help build partner 

2373
01:38:19,089 --> 01:38:21,640
capacity to bolster the capacity easy ? 

2374
01:38:21,640 --> 01:38:23,584
These governments , not just their 

2375
01:38:23,584 --> 01:38:26,720
military or security services but more 

2376
01:38:26,720 --> 01:38:29,570
broadly to help stabilize this region , 

2377
01:38:29,570 --> 01:38:32,960
particularly uh in Honduras , El 

2378
01:38:32,960 --> 01:38:35,660
Salvador and Guatemala as chair of the 

2379
01:38:35,670 --> 01:38:37,726
Senate Homeland Security Committee , 

2380
01:38:37,726 --> 01:38:39,781
very well aware that what happens in 

2381
01:38:39,781 --> 01:38:42,400
those countries has a direct impact on 

2382
01:38:42,400 --> 01:38:45,800
our southern border . Yes , thank you . 

2383
01:38:45,810 --> 01:38:47,977
Thank you for the question , senator . 

2384
01:38:47,977 --> 01:38:50,910
And certainly with uh the integration , 

2385
01:38:50,910 --> 01:38:53,250
I think the working with our partner 

2386
01:38:53,250 --> 01:38:55,390
militaries , but also with the 

2387
01:38:55,390 --> 01:38:57,223
integration of women . Peace and 

2388
01:38:57,223 --> 01:38:59,460
security is extremely important as well 

2389
01:38:59,460 --> 01:39:02,020
as the N . C . O . Development uh that 

2390
01:39:02,020 --> 01:39:05,100
we can uh continue to foster within 

2391
01:39:05,100 --> 01:39:07,230
these are partner nation militaries . 

2392
01:39:07,240 --> 01:39:10,510
Uh is a way to do that also all domains . 

2393
01:39:10,510 --> 01:39:12,410
It's critical that we have domain 

2394
01:39:12,410 --> 01:39:14,680
awareness and all our domains and and 

2395
01:39:14,680 --> 01:39:17,010
protect against cyber cyberspace and 

2396
01:39:17,010 --> 01:39:19,121
things like that . And I look forward 

2397
01:39:19,121 --> 01:39:21,121
to working withdrawal Nakasone from 

2398
01:39:21,121 --> 01:39:23,540
cyber . Com and Gerald Dickinson from 

2399
01:39:23,540 --> 01:39:26,380
space . Com for furthering our efforts 

2400
01:39:26,390 --> 01:39:28,400
uh in this region which is so very 

2401
01:39:28,400 --> 01:39:32,030
important . Well I 

2402
01:39:32,030 --> 01:39:33,863
appreciate that I appreciate you 

2403
01:39:33,863 --> 01:39:36,390
bringing up the cyber uh security 

2404
01:39:36,390 --> 01:39:38,930
aspects of it . And from your answer 

2405
01:39:38,930 --> 01:39:41,041
it's like it's clear that you believe 

2406
01:39:41,041 --> 01:39:43,152
that cyber security assistance should 

2407
01:39:43,152 --> 01:39:45,263
definitely include cybersecurity . We 

2408
01:39:45,263 --> 01:39:47,152
know that our neighbors are under 

2409
01:39:47,152 --> 01:39:49,263
constant attack by cybercriminals and 

2410
01:39:49,263 --> 01:39:51,152
as well as state sponsored actors 

2411
01:39:51,152 --> 01:39:53,374
whether they be chinese Russian or from 

2412
01:39:53,374 --> 01:39:55,597
the Iranian government . So that has to 

2413
01:39:55,597 --> 01:39:57,708
be a part of it and related to that . 

2414
01:39:57,708 --> 01:39:59,708
Is that one aspect that I find very 

2415
01:39:59,708 --> 01:40:02,160
concerning is The fact that we're 

2416
01:40:02,160 --> 01:40:04,410
seeing aggressive and sophisticated 

2417
01:40:04,410 --> 01:40:07,580
disinformation campaigns being used 

2418
01:40:07,590 --> 01:40:10,520
around the world by our adversaries and 

2419
01:40:10,520 --> 01:40:13,220
particularly used during election times . 

2420
01:40:13,230 --> 01:40:15,452
Uh and if I look at your region , there 

2421
01:40:15,452 --> 01:40:17,452
are nine head of state elections in 

2422
01:40:17,452 --> 01:40:19,674
Latin America over the next 18 months , 

2423
01:40:19,674 --> 01:40:22,890
not to mention local constitutional and 

2424
01:40:22,900 --> 01:40:25,011
legislative elections . And certainly 

2425
01:40:25,011 --> 01:40:27,830
these uh the voters in these countries 

2426
01:40:27,840 --> 01:40:31,090
deserve to participate in a democratic 

2427
01:40:31,100 --> 01:40:33,220
process free from disinformation 

2428
01:40:33,220 --> 01:40:36,580
operations . Uh If cyber commander cisa 

2429
01:40:36,590 --> 01:40:39,120
possess the capacity and the authority 

2430
01:40:39,130 --> 01:40:41,510
to empower regional allies with the 

2431
01:40:41,510 --> 01:40:43,621
information and training to deal with 

2432
01:40:43,621 --> 01:40:46,190
this threat , how can Southern command 

2433
01:40:46,200 --> 01:40:48,930
help enable this effort ? 

2434
01:40:50,910 --> 01:40:53,250
So certainly senator have confirmed I 

2435
01:40:53,250 --> 01:40:55,260
will work this very aggressively , 

2436
01:40:55,260 --> 01:40:57,316
especially with all the elections in 

2437
01:40:57,316 --> 01:40:59,538
the latin american region that are that 

2438
01:40:59,538 --> 01:41:01,760
are coming up in the very near future . 

2439
01:41:01,760 --> 01:41:04,870
And so would work to understand exactly 

2440
01:41:04,870 --> 01:41:07,080
how we can utilize to the best of our 

2441
01:41:07,080 --> 01:41:09,770
ability , um what cyber com has to 

2442
01:41:09,770 --> 01:41:12,530
offer as well as uh as well as space . 

2443
01:41:12,530 --> 01:41:15,350
Com . Uh but also , you know , the in 

2444
01:41:15,350 --> 01:41:17,572
terms of military information , support 

2445
01:41:17,572 --> 01:41:19,500
to operations extremely important 

2446
01:41:19,510 --> 01:41:21,710
regarding dynamic force , employment 

2447
01:41:21,710 --> 01:41:24,800
and and using uh you know , the ability 

2448
01:41:24,800 --> 01:41:28,480
of us uh us to be able to get forces 

2449
01:41:28,480 --> 01:41:30,313
into the region when we're doing 

2450
01:41:30,313 --> 01:41:33,180
multilateral training exercises , how 

2451
01:41:33,180 --> 01:41:35,236
quickly we can get a force in and on 

2452
01:41:35,236 --> 01:41:37,070
the ground . And we need to be 

2453
01:41:37,070 --> 01:41:39,940
highlighting all of the aspects of that 

2454
01:41:39,950 --> 01:41:41,820
and these multinational training 

2455
01:41:41,820 --> 01:41:43,840
exercises with all the capabilities 

2456
01:41:43,840 --> 01:41:46,470
that are brought to bear there uh and 

2457
01:41:46,470 --> 01:41:48,248
working with our partner nation 

2458
01:41:48,248 --> 01:41:50,359
militaries I think can also help with 

2459
01:41:50,359 --> 01:41:52,414
that strategic narrative and drowned 

2460
01:41:52,414 --> 01:41:55,970
out our competition . Thank you . 

2461
01:41:55,970 --> 01:41:58,081
General . Thank you . Mr . Chairman , 

2462
01:41:58,081 --> 01:42:00,081
Thank you . Senator Peters . Let me 

2463
01:42:00,081 --> 01:42:02,026
recognize Senator kelly , please . 

2464
01:42:02,100 --> 01:42:05,280
Thank you . Mr . Chairman , uh General 

2465
01:42:05,280 --> 01:42:08,560
Richardson . Congratulations on your 

2466
01:42:08,560 --> 01:42:10,880
historic nomination to command the 

2467
01:42:10,880 --> 01:42:13,650
United States Southern Command and your 

2468
01:42:13,650 --> 01:42:17,190
promotion to general earlier senator 

2469
01:42:17,190 --> 01:42:20,010
rounds and Senator holly . I had 

2470
01:42:20,010 --> 01:42:23,730
questions about bases um , and weapons 

2471
01:42:23,730 --> 01:42:25,990
systems , specifically senator holly 

2472
01:42:25,990 --> 01:42:29,390
about missiles uh , in the south com 

2473
01:42:29,390 --> 01:42:32,620
region . Um , you know , our 

2474
01:42:32,620 --> 01:42:35,760
partnership with South American nations 

2475
01:42:35,760 --> 01:42:38,140
are critical to ensuring safety and 

2476
01:42:38,140 --> 01:42:40,307
stability in the region . And today we 

2477
01:42:40,307 --> 01:42:42,580
enjoy a relatively peaceful Western 

2478
01:42:42,580 --> 01:42:44,691
hemisphere . So I want to follow up a 

2479
01:42:44,691 --> 01:42:47,050
little bit on and go a little more in 

2480
01:42:47,050 --> 01:42:50,120
detail on their line of questioning . 

2481
01:42:50,500 --> 01:42:53,540
I'm very concerned by china's efforts 

2482
01:42:53,540 --> 01:42:56,700
to pursue arms deals with countries 

2483
01:42:56,710 --> 01:42:59,320
right in our backyard . The potential 

2484
01:42:59,700 --> 01:43:01,589
of chinese fighter jets and South 

2485
01:43:01,589 --> 01:43:04,510
America is of great concern and we had 

2486
01:43:04,510 --> 01:43:06,621
a good discussion on the subject last 

2487
01:43:06,621 --> 01:43:08,843
week and I want to continue that here . 

2488
01:43:08,843 --> 01:43:12,360
Argentina Used to fly the Mirage 

2489
01:43:12,360 --> 01:43:16,220
three . It's a fighter jet build built 

2490
01:43:16,220 --> 01:43:18,580
by the french . I've flown it a couple 

2491
01:43:18,580 --> 01:43:21,620
times evaluated it , I could see why . 

2492
01:43:21,620 --> 01:43:23,770
In 2015 they decided to retire the 

2493
01:43:23,770 --> 01:43:26,200
Mirage three . They've been trying to 

2494
01:43:26,200 --> 01:43:28,590
acquire a replacement , including 

2495
01:43:28,590 --> 01:43:31,120
Western airplanes , but run into 

2496
01:43:31,120 --> 01:43:33,550
roadblocks because parts are often made 

2497
01:43:33,550 --> 01:43:35,890
in the UK and the fallout of the 

2498
01:43:35,890 --> 01:43:39,080
Falklands war , which started and ended 

2499
01:43:39,080 --> 01:43:41,510
while I was in high school . Um , it's 

2500
01:43:41,510 --> 01:43:44,590
still an issue , um , that we're having , 

2501
01:43:44,600 --> 01:43:47,230
it's challenging to sell Western 

2502
01:43:47,230 --> 01:43:50,020
fighter jets to Argentina . 

2503
01:43:50,900 --> 01:43:53,460
And because of that , they have looked 

2504
01:43:53,460 --> 01:43:57,350
at and pursued purchasing the JF 

2505
01:43:57,350 --> 01:44:00,260
17 from the chinese , which is of great 

2506
01:44:00,260 --> 01:44:03,970
concern to me and others . Um , 

2507
01:44:03,980 --> 01:44:06,091
so general , what do you think we can 

2508
01:44:06,091 --> 01:44:08,690
do with their Argentinean partners here 

2509
01:44:08,690 --> 01:44:10,940
to assist them in meeting their 

2510
01:44:10,940 --> 01:44:13,830
procurement needs with either our 

2511
01:44:13,830 --> 01:44:16,420
platforms or some of our allies ? 

2512
01:44:16,890 --> 01:44:19,570
A good replacement option for the 

2513
01:44:19,570 --> 01:44:22,310
Mirage three could be the F16 , but 

2514
01:44:22,310 --> 01:44:25,800
we've got this persistent issue , 

2515
01:44:26,290 --> 01:44:29,730
uh , surrounding parts that are built 

2516
01:44:29,740 --> 01:44:33,500
in the UK . So 

2517
01:44:33,500 --> 01:44:36,440
Senator Sherrod concern with chinese 

2518
01:44:36,440 --> 01:44:38,680
military equipment being in this area 

2519
01:44:38,680 --> 01:44:41,150
of operations in the south KOR and 

2520
01:44:41,150 --> 01:44:43,950
certainly our engagement with the 

2521
01:44:43,950 --> 01:44:46,970
country of Argentina and being able to 

2522
01:44:46,980 --> 01:44:49,036
have the discussions with them . The 

2523
01:44:49,036 --> 01:44:51,147
open discussions and continue to work 

2524
01:44:51,147 --> 01:44:53,091
as part of the whole of government 

2525
01:44:53,091 --> 01:44:55,036
approach with our foreign military 

2526
01:44:55,036 --> 01:44:57,091
sales are foreign military financial 

2527
01:44:57,091 --> 01:45:00,350
system . To be able to support this and 

2528
01:45:00,350 --> 01:45:02,550
counter that external influence being 

2529
01:45:02,550 --> 01:45:05,740
in our shared hemisphere and in our 

2530
01:45:05,740 --> 01:45:07,950
neighborhood general . You don't think 

2531
01:45:07,950 --> 01:45:10,061
this is at the level now , maybe this 

2532
01:45:10,061 --> 01:45:11,950
needs to be elevated to the State 

2533
01:45:11,950 --> 01:45:15,610
Department um , to ensure 

2534
01:45:16,090 --> 01:45:19,290
That the JF 17 is not sold to Argentina 

2535
01:45:19,300 --> 01:45:22,850
Argentina . Certainly 

2536
01:45:22,850 --> 01:45:25,120
if confirmed senator , I will work very 

2537
01:45:25,120 --> 01:45:27,850
closely with the State Department on 

2538
01:45:27,850 --> 01:45:30,130
our foreign military sales and FMF 

2539
01:45:30,140 --> 01:45:33,030
programs and uh , and work with our 

2540
01:45:33,030 --> 01:45:36,330
partner nation of Argentina , uh , to 

2541
01:45:36,340 --> 01:45:38,810
um , to try and counter against that . 

2542
01:45:39,290 --> 01:45:41,346
And by the way , I haven't confirmed 

2543
01:45:41,346 --> 01:45:43,290
this , but the JF 17 seems to have 

2544
01:45:43,290 --> 01:45:45,290
martin baker ejection seats in it , 

2545
01:45:45,690 --> 01:45:49,290
which is manufactured in the UK . 

2546
01:45:49,290 --> 01:45:52,730
So , um , seems to be a similar 

2547
01:45:52,740 --> 01:45:55,073
issue , but I hope we can overcome this . 

2548
01:45:55,220 --> 01:45:57,480
I mean , they're an ally of ours , Uh , 

2549
01:45:57,490 --> 01:46:01,050
to have JF 17 in our hemisphere 

2550
01:46:01,240 --> 01:46:03,690
I think is uh , you know , just takes 

2551
01:46:03,690 --> 01:46:05,801
us down a road that we do not want to 

2552
01:46:05,801 --> 01:46:08,760
go down . So thank you General and Mr . 

2553
01:46:08,760 --> 01:46:10,871
Chairman , I yield back the remainder 

2554
01:46:10,871 --> 01:46:13,038
of my time . Thank you . Senator Kelly 

2555
01:46:13,038 --> 01:46:15,204
and General Richardson . Thank you and 

2556
01:46:15,204 --> 01:46:17,149
your family for your extraordinary 

2557
01:46:17,149 --> 01:46:19,204
service to the nation and the Army . 

2558
01:46:19,204 --> 01:46:21,371
Over many years . We look forward to . 

2559
01:46:21,371 --> 01:46:23,482
I look forward to your nomination and 

2560
01:46:23,482 --> 01:46:25,970
to your service once again , thank you . 

2561
01:46:25,980 --> 01:46:28,730
Uh , With that I will adjourn the 

2562
01:46:28,730 --> 01:46:30,610
hearing . Thank you Chairman .