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• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:00:07
  1 minute

  I’m advised that Senator Levin will soon be
  with us, so we’ll start this very important hearing.
  Every one of us who have been privileged—and I underline the
  word ‘‘privileged’’—to wear marine green are very pleased to have
  before us today the President’s nominee to be Commandant of the
  United States Marine Corps, succeeding General Hagee, who’s had
  a very distinguished career. Having gotten to know you quite well
  through the years, I am confident that you will find your place in
  the history of commandants and stand as tall as any of them, in
  terms of your accomplishments and leadership for the wonderful
  men and women of the United States Marine Corps.
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  I will forego the balance of my statement for a moment, and invite
  our distinguished colleague from Missouri, the chairman of the
  Seapower Subcommittee, landlocked State though it may be——
  [Laughter.]
  You handle your responsibilities very well.
  

• 

  Senator TALENT

  At 00:01:22
  

  We’re hopeful someday getting the Navy to
  steam up the Mississippi, Mr. Chairman, maybe turn St. Louis into
  a blue-water port. [Laughter.]
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:01:22
  

  Didn’t Grant do that at one time? [Laughter.]
  

• 

  Senator TALENT

  At 00:01:22
  

  I think he maybe steamed down and up at the
  same time. [Laughter.]
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:01:22
  17 seconds

  Yes, that’s my recollection. [Laughter.]
  

• 

  Senator TALENT

  At 00:01:39
  2 minutes

  Mr. Chairman, it’s with great pleasure that I
  introduce a fellow Missourian to the committee. He certainly needs
  no introduction to this committee, but I reintroduce him, might be
  the better way of putting it. I also want to welcome him and his
  wife, Annette, and their son, Scott, and his wife, Tara, to the committee
  today.
  Lieutenant General Conway grew up in St. Louis, Mr. Chairman.
  He played football, baseball, and basketball at Roosevelt High
  School. As the General and I were discussing yesterday, if you’re
  from St. Louis, where you went to high school is a big deal, so, you
  have to mention that in any introduction. However, he went on to
  graduate from Southeast Missouri State University in Cape
  Girardeau, a great institution, where he met his wife, Annette.
  The General comes from a tradition of service, and he is now the
  leader of a true Marine Corps family. His father was a World War
  II veteran who was wounded three times. His sons, Brandon and
  Scott, are Marine Corps officers, and his daughter is married to a
  marine.
  The General served two combat tours in Iraq as the 1st Marine
  Expeditionary Force (MEF) commander. He led his marines to
  Baghdad, and he returned a little over a year later to support the
  new democracy there.
  He brings, Mr. Chairman, a wealth of knowledge and experience
  to this new post which he has gleaned from his 36-plus years in
  the Marine Corps. His service includes a 13-month deployment off
  the coast of Beirut in the early 1980s, an 8-month deployment as
  a battalion commander in Operation Desert Storm, command of the
  Marine Corps Officers Training in Quantico, President of the Marine
  Corps University, and all the way up through his current job
  as Director of Operations, or J–3, on the Joint Staff.
  He has a lot of challenges in front him, Mr. Chairman. We all
  are familiar with those. I have a great deal of confidence in him.
  I’m very hopeful that the committee will quickly vote to confirm
  him, and the Senate will do, as well, so he can get to this new post.
  It’s certainly a pleasure for me to welcome General Conway, a
  great Missourian who’s going to go on and do even greater things
  for his country.
  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:03:48
  15 seconds

  Thank you, Senator. Again, I commend you
  for your work on this committee, and particularly the Seapower
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  Subcommittee, of which the United States Marine Corps is a part
  of our Marine Corps team.
  

• 

  Senator TALENT

  At 00:04:03
  

  Mr. Chairman, we share a special interest in
  the Navy, don’t we? Yours, a little bit longer-standing than mine.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:04:03
  7 minutes

  I was going to put into the record—I think
  it’s important for me to establish that my serial number is
  050488——[Laughter.]
  —date of rank, June 1949. That’s before most
  of the people in this room were born. But, anyway, I’m proud to
  still be here, and I tell you, I’ve said it before, I would not be in
  the United States Senate today had it not been for what the men
  and women of the Armed Forces did for me, not what I did, maybe,
  for them, in training me in both the Navy and the Marine Corps,
  and I’m everlastingly grateful. Together with my good friend Senator
  Levin and colleagues on this committee, we try to do our very
  best for the current generation of men and women in the United
  States Services. That is our duty and our responsibility. We owe
  them no less.
  This morning, Senator Levin and I had breakfast with the Secretary
  of Defense, and we started that breakfast by saying that we
  all recognize in the executive branch and the legislative branch,
  that never before in the history of this country have we ever had
  a finer group of men and women in uniform than America has
  today in its Armed Forces. The Marine Corps is an integral part
  of that structure. I am confident that you will be confirmed, and
  that you will—I believe it’s in November—take over the leadership
  of that Corps.
  We welcome everybody. I wanted to talk a little bit about another
  facet of your distinguished career, and that relates to your
  wonderful family, and most particularly your wife. We did a careful
  bit of research, because the military today is very much a familyoriented
  organization. All branches of the Services, and the families
  play such a pivotal and important role. But a word or two about
  Annette Conway, what she has done for the men and women of the
  Armed Forces: she has been a volunteer for the United Service Organization
  (USO) and the Armed Services Young Men’s Christian
  Association; presently serves on the board of directors of the Injured
  Marine Semper Fi Fund, which was founded on May 18,
  2004, by a small group of concerned Marine Corps spouses to provide
  financial grants and other assistance to marines, to sailors,
  and to families of those injured serving our Nation. The Injured
  Marine Semper Fi Fund has assisted in over 1,400 cases, and given
  more than $2.7 million in grants to our wounded heroes and their
  families. How fortunate you are, General, to have had this extraordinary
  individual as your partner for life.
  A word to your sons. I’ve always been very proud of my father,
  who was a medical doctor and served in the trenches in World War
  I as a young Army captain caring for the wounded. He, indeed, was
  an inspiration to me throughout my life. I’ll never forget one time.
  We were in here confirming a chief of staff of the United States Air
  Force, and I recollected to him that when I was Secretary of the
  Navy, his father was chief of staff of the United States Air Force,
  and I asked him, ‘‘As a First Lieutenant, how did you manage that
  relationship?’’ He unhesitatingly responded to the committee. He
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  said, ‘‘Every morning I got up, I tried to determine where the old
  man was, and then tried to position myself on the other side of the
  world.’’ [Laughter.]
  So, good luck to the two sons and the sonin-
  law. [Laughter.]
  General Conway was commissioned in 1970 as an infantry officer,
  and has had an extraordinary career commanding marines in
  recruiting, training, and educational capacities and in operational
  assignments at the company, battalion, division, and expeditionary
  force levels. You’ve served through all the branches from the bottom
  to the very top, served as an operation officer for the 31st Marine
  Amphibious Unit, which served off the coast of Lebanon just
  prior to the suicide attacks on the marine barracks of October 23,
  1983. You and I, in our discussion this week, paused a moment to
  think about that incident. John Tower was chairman of the Committee
  of the Armed Services then, and I remember he corralled
  me, and we saddled up and arrived just over 48 hours after that
  tragedy. I can still see those barracks, a heap of rubble, smoke still
  coming up, and operations going on to make sure there was no one
  still alive. We’ll not witness that chapter again, but we’ll not forget
  it.
  General Conway commanded the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines in
  1990 in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, assumed command
  of the 1st Marine Division in 2000, and of the 1st Marine Expeditionary
  Force in November 2002, commanded the 1st MEF during
  two combat tours in Iraq, and currently serves as the Director
  of Operations, J–3, of the Joint Staff.
  General, you have been recognized for your leadership from the
  time that you were a company officer all the way through these
  distinguished assignments. You will assume this office, if confirmed,
  as an individual who has had the experience needed to
  meet this complex world which we face today.
  If I could just make one other observation, and that is, I do have
  recollections of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and today, and I
  have never seen, in the history of the United States, a more complex,
  a more challenging set of problems than faces the Commander
  in Chief, our President, and his team of leaders in uniform
  and out of uniform. We’re fortunate that you and your family are
  willing to step up and take on another 4 years of service as a part
  of that team.
  Senator Levin.
  STATEMENT OF SENATOR CARL LEVIN
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 00:11:16
  4 minutes

  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  Let me add my thanks to General Conway and to his family.
  Your comments about his family are right on target, Mr. Chairman.
  They are shared by every member of this committee. We understand
  the role of the families in making it possible for people
  like General Conway to serve our country. We are as grateful to
  them as we are to you, and that is mighty grateful.
  I want to say, up front, that I believe that General Conway is
  an excellent choice to lead the U.S. Marine Corps. I am impressed
  by his military record, but I’m even more impressed by his ability
  to think critically and with great insight about the challenges fac-
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  ing the Marine Corps and this Nation. I particularly appreciate his
  candor and willingness to tell it like it is. I believe that trait has
  served him, the Marine Corps, and this Nation well in the past,
  and will be even more important in the future.
  General Conway is one of our most experienced combat commanders.
  He commanded the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force during
  the major combat operations in Iraq, and then subsequently returned
  with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Unit to begin to deal
  with the burgeoning insurgency. He understands the tactics required
  to conduct full-spectrum warfare. He understands how those
  tactics need to be adjusted to deal with the complexities of a
  counterinsurgency campaign. His advice and counsel in that regard
  have been, and will continue to be, invaluable. I, for one, expect to
  tap into that advice and counsel frequently.
  Our marines have served magnificently in Iraq, Afghanistan, and
  other trouble spots around the globe. They have never failed us,
  and I know that they never will.
  However, the Marine Corps is under increasing stress maintaining
  a significant portion of its force structure in Iraq over the last
  3 years. There is stress on the marines, themselves, who have
  served multiple combat tours, and there is stress on equipment,
  which has been used extensively in very harsh conditions.
  The marines went to war with units that were not optimallyequipped
  or organized for a long counterinsurgency effort. Unit
  equipment lists had to be adjusted to add more radios, machine
  guns, night-vision devices, and armored trucks, including up-armored
  Humvees, to lightly equip marine units to allow them to operate
  over extended distances for a long ground campaign. To do
  so, pre-positioned stocks were stripped, and marine units outside of
  Iraq were raided for equipment to supply units in theater.
  While the Marine Corps is taking steps to fix those problems,
  unit readiness rates have fallen, particularly for those units which
  have rotated out of Iraq, but which don’t have enough equipment
  on which to train for their next rotation.
  I am very concerned about the consequences, should those units
  be required for contingencies outside of Iraq. The Marine Corps has
  been requesting supplemental funding to meet its requirements for
  reset and the costs of war, but I believe there is quite justifiable
  angst in the Marine Corps that the supplemental funding will not
  keep pace with its needs, especially as the war drags on and equipment
  is used up.
  I share those concerns. I look forward to General Conway’s testimony
  on the extent of the readiness challenges facing the Marine
  Corps, his assessment of the level of readiness and the risk incurred
  because of that level of readiness, and what must be done
  to raise Marine Corps readiness to acceptable levels.
  The President has said that as Iraqi security forces stand up, we
  will stand down. The training and equipping of those Iraqi security
  forces is nearly complete. General Dempsey, who is responsible for
  that training and equipping, has said that the Iraqi army should
  be fully-manned and trained by the end of this year. General
  Casey, commander of our forces in Iraq, has said, on more than one
  occasion, that he believes that there will be fairly substantial U.S.
  troop reductions in Iraq this year. Given his experience in Iraq, I
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  am very interested in hearing General Conway’s perspective on the
  general situation in Iraq, on the strategy and tactics of the U.S.
  forces, and what he foresees for the future.
  Again, Mr. Chairman, I very warmly welcome General Conway
  and his family. He is a highly-experienced and dedicated officer,
  and he will make a magnificent commandant.
  Thank you.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:15:52
  

  Senator Levin, we thank you. That is a very
  fine statement that you’ve delivered on behalf of this distinguished
  nominee. I personally appreciate it.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 00:15:52
  10 seconds

  Thank you.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:16:02
  

  Senator McCain.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 00:16:02
  31 seconds

  I don’t have any statement, Mr. Chairman, except
  to say that obviously this is a highly qualified and outstanding
  member of the United States Marine Corps, and I’m pleased to
  have him continue to serve. I, like Senator Levin, have some questions,
  and will seize this opportunity to ask some questions about
  his view of the situation in Iraq. I’m sure he will respond with his
  usual candor.
  I thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:16:33
  58 seconds

  Thank you, Senator McCain.
  Therefore, I’ll proceed with the matters of routine for all nominees,
  and then, Senator McCain, I’ll yield to you first for questions,
  because I’m going to stay throughout the whole hearing.
  We’ve asked the General, as we ask all of our nominees, a series
  of advance policy questions. You’ve responded to those questions.
  Without objection, I’ll make the questions and responses a part of
  the record.
  May I thank Charlie Abell, Rick DeBobes, and other staff who,
  when I returned from the Pentagon the other day and decided we’d
  go forward, it’s through their very able work that we are going forward
  here today.
  I also have certain standard questions we ask of every nominee
  who appears before the committee. So, General, if you’d please respond
  to each of these questions:
  Have you adhered to applicable laws and regulations governing
  conflict of interest?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:17:31
  

  Yes, sir, I have.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:17:31
  

  Have you assumed any duties or undertaken
  any actions which would appear to presume the outcome of the confirmation
  process?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:17:31
  

  No, sir, I have not.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:17:31
  19 seconds

  Will you ensure that your staff complies with
  deadlines established for requested communications, including
  questions for the record, in the hearings before the Congress of the
  United States?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:17:50
  

  Yes, sir, I will.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:17:50
  

  Will you cooperate in providing witnesses
  and briefers in response to congressional requests?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:17:50
  

  Yes, sir, I will.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:17:50
  12 seconds

  Will those witnesses be protected from any
  possible reprisal for their testimony or briefings?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:18:02
  

  Yes, sir, they will.
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• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:18:02
  

  Do you agree, if confirmed, to appear and
  testify, upon request, before this committee?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:18:02
  8 seconds

  Yes, sir, I do.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:18:10
  17 seconds

  Do you agree to give your personal views—
  I repeat, your personal, professional views when asked before this
  committee to do so, even if those views differ from those of your
  superiors in the administration?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:18:27
  

  Yes, sir, I do.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:18:27
  16 seconds

  Do you agree to provide documents, including
  copies of electronic forms of communication, in a timely manner
  when requested by a duly constituted committee of Congress or to
  consult with the committee regarding the basis for any good-faith
  delay or denial in providing such documents?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:18:43
  

  Yes, sir, I will.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:18:43
  

  General, the floor is yours for such statement
  as you may wish to make.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:18:43
  2 minutes

  Thank you, sir.
  STATEMENT OF LT. GEN. JAMES T. CONWAY, USMC, NOMINEE
  FOR APPOINTMENT TO THE GRADE OF GENERAL AND TO BE
  COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS
  Thank you for your gracious comments, both
  Mr. Chairman and Senator Levin, regarding my family.
  Senator Warner, Senator Levin, Senator McCain, thank you. I
  am humbled and honored to be nominated to serve as the 34th
  Commandant of the Marine Corps. I fully appreciate the enormity
  of the challenges that lie before our Nation and the Marine Corps’
  critical role in helping to meet those challenges.
  My duties as the J–3, as well as leading your marines in combat,
  have offered a unique opportunity to view the remarkable flexibility
  and responsiveness that forward-deployed marines bring both to
  warfighting and to crisis response. Even while having so many marines
  deployed in harm’s way in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Marine
  Corps has still answered every call—humanitarian assistance in
  Indonesia, in the Philippines; peacekeeping operations in Haiti;
  hurricane relief at home, on the Gulf Coast; and the ongoing noncombatant
  evacuation operations in Lebanon, to mention just a
  few.
  If confirmed, I will strive to ensure our Nation continues to have
  a Marine Corps that is capable and ready, both to win this generation’s
  war on terrorism and to settle the inevitable crisis for which
  the Nation calls upon her Corps of Marines. America deserves
  nothing less.
  I will remain committed to one of our preeminent legislatively
  mandated missions to be most ready when the Nation is least
  ready. Your Marine Corps remains steadfast, but, to continue to do
  so, we will need your assistance. The immediate task before us demands
  a stubborn commitment to the reconstitution of our current
  force, and modernization to keep it strong.
  Clearly, the individual marine is the centerpiece for our future.
  In my 36 years of service, I have never failed to be inspired by the
  selfless sacrifice of our young men and women. I have seen some
  of our Nation’s finest perform so very unselfishly in ways that I
  would not have thought possible. They remain committed to the
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  best ideals our country stands for, while asking almost nothing in
  return. To these stalwart marines we owe everything, the best in
  training, the best in leadership, and the best equipment. I want to
  express my thanks to each of you for your continued support for
  these valiant young men and women.
  Finally, if confirmed, I look forward to working with you to meet
  the challenges ahead. While your role is constitutional oversight,
  my role, when I come before you, will be to always tell the truth,
  only the truth. I pledge that you will always have my honest assessment
  of what is required to maintain the health of our Marine
  Corps and the security of our great Nation.
  Mr. Chairman, Senator Levin, Senator McCain, thank you,
  again, for the opportunity to come before this committee, and I look
  forward to your questions.
  Thank you.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:21:39
  

  Thank you, General.
  Senator McCain.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 00:21:39
  14 seconds

  Thank you, General. Thank you for, again,
  your outstanding service.
  For the record, describe your duties in the Iraq war.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:21:53
  1 minute

  Sir, I was the 1st MEF commander. That’s the
  Marine Expeditionary Force, constituted of about 60,000 marines
  and about 25,000 British forces, before we crossed the line of departure.
  We were part of the 3rd Army. 5th Corps was our Army
  counterpart, and the main attack during the movement to Baghdad.
  Following securing Baghdad, and ultimately Tikrit, sir, we
  were then directed to move to the southern provinces, where we
  had moved through originally, to assume reconstruction responsibilities
  for a period of about 51⁄2 or 6 months before we redeployed.
  The second time was about 5 months later. We came home
  in November. I redeployed in February, again as the MEF commander,
  this time in command of about 25,000 marines in the al
  Anbar province out west. For that period of time, about 7 months
  before I was relieved by Lieutenant General Sattler, we went about
  trying to secure that area and assist the people in recovering their
  country.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 00:22:53
  

  Was that during the battle of Fallujah?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:22:53
  21 seconds

  Sir, we had what we term now the first battle
  of Fallujah while I was in command, the second time in the al
  Anbar province. The larger battle of Fallujah actually occurred in
  November, and, again, I had the change of command in Fallujah,
  on 13 September of that same year.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 00:23:14
  40 seconds

  I know a lot of books have been written already,
  General Conway, like Cobra II, Assassin’s Gate, and others,
  that are sort of a depiction of the conduct of the war. I know that
  many of these issues are important to you, given the people under
  you who have sacrificed. Do you agree with the general assessment
  that we didn’t have enough troops to secure Iraq after our initial
  victory?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:23:54
  57 seconds

  Sir, we had sufficient troops to conduct the
  movement and win the Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) aspect of it
  quickly. Our intent, at that point, was to capitalize on the Iraqi
  army. It was, we felt, the most respected institution in the country,
  and my personal view at the time was that, as we would be able
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  to stand up these Iraqi army units, we wanted to put them in the
  lead as rapidly as we could. So, I felt, initially, that there were
  enough U.S. forces committed to be able to accomplish that.
  When the Iraqi army was not returned to duty, there was a requirement
  on the part of my ground command element commander,
  Major General Mattis, at that point, to move units about to be able
  to amass this combat power to accomplish certain things. In that
  regard, we did not have enough troops to fully cover the areas for
  which we were responsible.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 00:24:51
  22 seconds

  At one point, a decision was made, you may not
  have been there at the time—basically to deBaathification. No one
  who had been a member of the Baathist party would be allowed to
  serve in the military. Do you recall that decision?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:25:13
  

  Yes, sir. I recall it.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 00:25:13
  1 minute

  I think it was made by Ambassador Bremer.
  It’s unfair for me to ask you whether you think that was the right
  decision or not. I’m trying not to cause you difficulty, because I
  know you wear the uniform, and I know you carry out orders.
  Maybe you would tell me, in a positive fashion, if it’s possible—
  what could we have done better? I think we accept the situation
  is very difficult right now, as we speak, great problems within
  Baghdad. Apparently, we’re going to have to move troops, probably
  marines, from the al Anbar province into Baghdad, even when we
  know that Fallujah and Ramadi, particularly, are still not under
  control. What could we have done better, in your view, General
  Conway? Maybe put a positive spin on it so that I don’t cause you
  difficulties.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:26:14
  1 minute

  Sir, I can only give you my personal impression
  and the discussions I had with my commanders. We felt that
  there were people who were Baathists, who were compelled to be
  Baathists because of Saddam’s reign of terror. Nevertheless, those
  people occupied key positions in the government and in the infrastructure
  that ran the country. When we weren’t able to maximize
  on the capacities of those people, I think we probably suffered
  some, and we had to try to conduct makeshift mitigations, those
  manner of things.
  We felt that if there were Baathists with blood on their hands
  in any form or fashion, that those people needed to be rooted out
  and held accountable to the Iraqi people, and that we perhaps
  could have been more discerning as to ‘‘who was who.’’
  In terms of the army, once again, a similar scenario. There were
  army units, which, I think, were very brutal with their own people.
  Where an army commander had been judged to do those types of
  things, he should not be brought back to any position of responsibility,
  but we felt that had the army been brought back, we would
  have been able to capitalize on that immensely and take advantage,
  again, of this inherent respect that the Iraqis still maintained
  for their army over the decades.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 00:27:35
  

  The initial training of the Iraqi army was not
  successful, correct?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:27:35
  9 seconds

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 00:27:44
  27 seconds

  So, we had to go back and start a more intensive
  and more thorough type of training operation. We lost a lot of
  time during that period. Would you agree that the situation now,
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  to a significant degree, given the political environment here in the
  United States, is, to some degree, up to the Iraqi Government and
  military as to whether they can function or not?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:28:11
  25 seconds

  Sir, I think that’s exactly right. Since June
  2004, Iraq has been a sovereign nation, and every effort on the part
  of those forces assigned to Iraq has been to postulate that with the
  Iraqis and cause them to resume normal functioning and control of
  their country as soon as that could possibly be made to happen.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 00:28:36
  

  Let me just ask one more question, Mr. Chairman.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:28:36
  

  Go ahead.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 00:28:36
  36 seconds

  I’m concerned that we may be making the mistake
  that we made during the Vietnam conflict, and that is lowering
  recruiting standards. I think all of us agree, in retrospect, in
  viewing the Vietnam war, that we took people into the Marine
  Corps and the Army that we should not have. They didn’t meet certain
  minimum standards, and we waived certain standards. That’s
  just a matter of record. Are we doing that again, General?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:29:12
  32 seconds

  Sir, I can only speak for the United States Marine
  Corps, and I can give you a categoric response that we are not.
  My eldest son, who is a Marine major and is not here this morning,
  is the commanding officer of a Marine Corps Recruiting Station in
  Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I have a direct source of information,
  of course, through him.
  Even without that, I can tell you that our recruiting goals are
  being met, our retention goals are being met, and in no way are
  we reducing the standards that we have always held for marines
  coming on Active service.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 00:29:44
  

  We don’t have waivers that would lower standards?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:29:44
  34 seconds

  Sir, there are X number of waivers each year
  that are given to what we would call CAT IV marines, those that
  can’t necessarily pass a given test. But those waivers have not been
  increased, let’s say, since this global war on terrorism has begun.
  There’s always been X number for young, motivated men and
  women who, obviously, we think will make good marines, but have
  not, at that point, completed all of the standards.
  [Additional, clarifying information provided for the record follows:]
  I would like to clarify my statement that ‘‘there are X number of waivers.’’ Our
  CAT IV waivers are, by Marine Corps policy, less than 1 percent of our total accessions.
  This standard was established in 1999 and reiterated in our Marine Corps
  Accession Strategy in 2005 and we have not deviated from that policy.
  I would also like to take this opportunity to put waivers in context. A more telling
  indicator of our long-term commitment to sustaining quality accessions is that our
  first-term expiration of active service (EAS) attrition—that is, marines who leave
  the Marine Corps prior to the expiration of their contracted enlistment—has decreased
  by 17 percent in the past 4 years. That means the individuals we are recruiting
  and training are proving that our faith in their capability is not misplaced;
  they have proven to be the quality marines that our commanders in the field need.
  I strongly believe that the individual marine is the centerpiece for our future and
  I will continue to monitor this issue to ensure we do not lower our standards in
  order to ‘‘get the numbers.’’ Recruiting and retaining the right people in the Marine
  Corps is one of my highest priorities. I pledge to keep you informed if ever my review
  of this matter indicates that the quality of our recruits are not providing us
  with the Corps America needs to ensure her security. But as I said, I think our rate
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  of first-term non-EAS attrition is telling me that we are making marines that America
  deserves.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 00:30:18
  

  Are you concerned about retention in the Marine
  Reserve?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:30:18
  

  Sir, we have to be concerned about all of it. We
  have to keep our eyes on it and watch the trends.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 00:30:18
  12 seconds

  Are the numbers indicating that there’s reason
  for concern?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:30:30
  14 seconds

  Sir, at this point, we’re keeping our numbers
  up. Our retention is still good, but as this global war continues and
  we do rely upon the Reserves, we’ll have to watch to make sure
  that their needs are met.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 00:30:44
  

  Do you see signs of problems?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:30:44
  

  Not at this point, sir.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 00:30:44
  12 seconds

  I thank you, and thank you for your service.
  Congratulations to your family.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:30:56
  

  Thank you.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 00:30:56
  

  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:30:56
  

  Thank you, Senator McCain.
  Senator Levin?
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 00:30:56
  39 seconds

  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  On the point that Senator McCain began with, there were many
  of us that were concerned about the total disbanding of the Iraqi
  army. The ones, as you point out, that had blood on their hands
  should not have been returned, but the bulk of the army did not
  have blood on their hands. Do you know whether or not our uniformed
  military leaders were consulted on that decision, or was
  that basically a decision made by civilian leaders?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:31:35
  12 seconds

  I’m sorry, Senator Levin, I do not know. I’m
  afraid my site picture was pretty narrow at that point in Iraq.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 00:31:47
  14 seconds

  But it is your judgment that if the Iraqi army
  could have been reconstituted, that that would have been a major
  plus, in terms of security, and that we had, in fact, to some extent,
  in the planning, counted on that.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:32:01
  39 seconds

  Yes, sir, that was the original plan, as we understood
  it, as we discussed phase 4 while still in Kuwait, at Camp
  Doha. Again, it was our expectation and anticipation that that was
  intended to be the case.
  To answer the second part of your question, I do think it was
  possible. When we were given a policy to pay former members of
  the Iraqi army, we had to go through some very sophisticated planning,
  in terms of how we were going to manage the numbers in
  various locations. So, they did appear from all over the country,
  really, for those opportunities.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 00:32:40
  37 seconds

  The President assured the American people and
  the Iraqis that as Iraqi security forces stand up, our forces would
  stand down. Give us your judgment as to whether or not that policy
  should be effectuated and as to whether or not, for that and
  perhaps other reasons, we should follow through with what General
  Casey has said he expected would happen, which would be
  troop reductions beginning by the end of this year.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:33:17
  1 minute

  Sir, I think it’s a sound policy. If you look at
  General Casey’s lines of operation, security is paramount among
  them. When security is achieved, we think that the other lines of
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  operation will be much more plausible and be able to take shape.
  The growth of the Iraqi army, in particular—to some lesser degree,
  the Iraqi police—is constant. The equipment is trailing the training
  a little bit and putting those folks in the field, but I still think that,
  under Iraqi security forces, we will be able to eventually effect a
  downsizing of our forces.
  I personally believe that you have Iraqis who have started to
  look at us as occupiers and are resisting us, in some instances;
  whereas, they would not resist an Iraqi force doing precisely the
  same thing. I also think that General Casey believes that, as he’s
  discussed the opportunity to draw down. So, I think that the strategy
  is sound, sir, and will be effected in time.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 00:34:20
  22 seconds

  In terms of the message to Iraqis—as to the importance
  of their taking over responsibility, is it important that
  they understand that our presence is not open-ended and unlimited,
  and that they have the responsibility, as they get trained, to
  take over the major bulk of the responsibility?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:34:42
  29 seconds

  Sir, I think it’s absolutely critical that they understand
  that. There is a strategic communications effort afoot on
  the part of the insurgents that would tell the people of Iraq that
  we are truly occupiers. We’re there to steal their wealth and consume
  their oil. In that regard, I think we have to counter that message
  with an eventual reduction of forces, in proof of the fact that
  we’re only going to stay there until such time as the Iraqi Government
  can self-govern and secure their own country.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 00:35:11
  14 seconds

  General Casey has stated, on a number of occasions,
  that he expects that there will be a reduction of U.S. forces
  in Iraq in 2006, and he said that recently at a Pentagon press conference.
  Do you believe that will happen?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:35:25
  39 seconds

  Sir, I do believe it will happen. Right now,
  we’re experiencing sectarian violence, on a level since the bombing
  of the Samarra Mosque, that we have not seen in the country.
  Baghdad, in particular, seems to be a center of activity. I think he
  has to solve that problem first. That’s a new and different problem
  from what we have seen in months before, but I think he will need
  to address that. The new prime minister, Maliki, has a number of
  programs that I think he is trying to put into place to strengthen
  his government and quell the insurgency, in large measure. I think
  a number of those efforts, in tandem, will have some results by the
  end of the year.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 00:36:04
  18 seconds

  Is it important, in terms of persuading and pressuring
  the Iraqis to reach political compromises, that they accept
  the idea that our commitment is not open-ended?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:36:22
  17 seconds

  Yes, sir. I think if you study insurgencies,
  you’ll see that it’s been that type of effort over time. The negotiation,
  if you will, the ability for people to come together—that has
  been more effective, really, than the kinetic activities of trying to
  put those insurgencies down.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 00:36:39
  

  What do you mean by ‘‘kinetic activities’’?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:36:39
  9 seconds

  Well, sir, armed force.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 00:36:48
  23 seconds

  On readiness issues, can you give us your assessment
  of the ability of the Marine Corps to keep their units ready,
  given the tremendous effort and stress that has been placed on the
  Corps? What’s the state of readiness in the Marine Corps?
  VerDate 11-SEP-98 14:22 Jun 28, 2007 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00344 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6602 36311.TXT SARMSER2 PsN: SARMSER2
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:37:11
  55 seconds

  Senator Levin, the state of readiness of the
  forces in Iraq are topnotch, what we would call C1. They’re fully
  ready for the missions that they’re assigned. That does come at
  some cost, however. We have opted to leave the equipment for
  those units in Iraq, and maintain the maintenance on all of that
  gear through means of forward-deployed depots, keeping the mechanics
  and the spare parts flowing so that the vehicles are quickly
  repaired. The impact that has on the rest of the Marine Corps is
  what has us concerned, at this point. The readiness of the remainder
  of the equipment, ground, and particularly aviation, is suffering,
  and, as a result, our readiness ratings for the remainder of the
  force are not what we would ordinarily show.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 00:38:06
  

  What needs to be done, in your opinion?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:38:06
  54 seconds

  I think General Hagee has commented that we
  need to be able to recapitalize that equipment, to ‘‘reset,’’ I think
  is the term that’s being used. Principally, at this point, it’s being
  conducted through supplemental funding. There is an annual cost
  of war that is required, certainly, but there is an additional cost
  of maintaining this equipment—in some cases, replacing that
  equipment—that is significant. I know that General Hagee submitted
  a request for $11.7 billion, initially. He received along the lines
  of about $5.1 billion against that. The leftover, plus another $5-billion-
  plus, puts the Marine Corps’ bill, at this point, in excess,
  again, of $11 billion, just to be able to recap this equipment and
  give us all the Marine Corps that we think we need to have.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 00:39:00
  

  Thank you.
  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:39:00
  47 seconds

  Thank you very much, Senator Levin.
  General, this committee will eventually examine in detail the allegations
  and the findings with respect to several incidents in Iraq
  involving marines. I don’t wish to discuss what you may know
  about the specifics of the report, but in the hopes that I can take
  your nomination before the Senate, I’d like to be able to say that
  you have represented to the committee, to the extent you have
  knowledge of those reports, you, personally and professionally, are
  in no way involved. Would that be correct?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:39:47
  

  Yes, sir, that is correct.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:39:47
  44 seconds

  Thank you very much.
  On the question of Iraq, you draw on a great deal of experience
  from your two successive tours of duty, and now in your current
  position following the daily operations there. I think every hearing
  of this committee, we pause for a moment, to reflect on the enormity
  of the sacrifice of over 2,500 who have lost their lives, the tens
  of thousands, 22-some-odd-thousand, wounded, and the sacrifices of
  the families.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:40:31
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:40:31
  48 seconds

  As you pointed out, Prime Minister Maliki
  and his new government are striving to establish sovereignty, control,
  and accept the full responsibility of sovereignty of the Nation
  of Iraq so that this country can have its own self-sustaining democracy
  and take its place in the world.
  Things have not gone as well as we’d hoped there in the last 30
  or 40 days. In my understanding, the incidents, as you record
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  those, have gone up appreciably in the last 30 days, am I not correct
  in that?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:41:19
  

  Can I ask what you mean by ‘‘incidents,’’ precisely,
  sir?
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:41:19
  

  I mean conflicts, sectarian violence, insurgency.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:41:19
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:41:19
  18 seconds

  Unfortunately, a great deal of criminality
  that’s taking place. The Iraqis are suffering a loss of roughly on the
  average of 100 citizens a day, is that correct?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:41:37
  

  That is correct.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:41:37
  11 seconds

  There has been an appreciable increase in
  the last 30 or so days. You are nodding in assent that it has.
  To the extent you can share with the committee here in open session.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:41:48
  

  Yes, sir. If you chart the attacks, they are on
  an increasing scale.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:41:48
  3 minutes

  This brings me to the responsibilities of our
  Nation, as a strong supporter of Israel and hopefully, in the capacity
  of our traditional role of the United States of an honest broker,
  to work on that situation—and I’m not about to discuss the various
  options before us. I think the Secretary of State has handled herself
  very well. The President has spoken very clearly. Yesterday I
  was privileged, on three occasions, to be in the presence of Prime
  Minister Maliki.
  As a matter of fact, I want the record to reflect that I was extremely
  impressed in the manner in which he spoke at Fort
  Belvoir, in a very informal way, to a gathering of about 300 uniformed
  personnel—Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines—and he spoke
  from the heart about his gratefulness to the people of this Nation;
  in particular, as he said, the brothers and sisters of our military
  who have lost their lives, and the families who have paid the price,
  and those who are continuing to support the Iraqi security forces
  in their effort to achieve a secure situation in that country. He did
  so in a very heartfelt way, with the President, who likewise spoke
  and expressed the gratitude of our Nation to the men and women
  in uniform. It was a very moving experience. Then, I might add,
  just for those who are interested, there were 25 tables of soldiers,
  sailors, airmen, and marines, and the President and the Prime
  Minister stopped at every table, took pictures, and spoke to the individuals.
  It wasn’t one of these hurry-up photo-ops. It was a very
  sincere appreciation by the people of Iraq, through their prime
  minister, for the contributions of this country.
  But, back to the conflict between Israel and Lebanon, and, to an
  extent, the Palestinian situation, the heat, the bitterness, the acrimony
  that is flowing out of that. My concern is that, in the Muslim
  world, it could be transmitted up to the Iraq area of responsibility
  (AOR) and, indeed, possibly put our uniformed people at greater
  risk. All I have said, and I repeat saying this, that it’s a responsibility
  of our Nation as we fulfill our mission trying to help bring
  about a sustainable cease-fire of that conflict. We take those steps,
  being mindful of the investment of over 3 years that we’ve had in
  Iraq, the progress that we’re slowly making, in my judgment, but
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  also the extremely delicate situation that exists today and tomorrow
  and in the foreseeable future. Do you share those views?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:45:02
  39 seconds

  Sir, I do. I can only say, I think, in open session,
  that we are seeing reports, comments made in Iraq that reflect
  the opinion of what’s—in effect—an Arab opinion on what’s
  taking place in Israel and south Lebanon, and they’re not encouraging.
  These people feel an alliance with the Hezbollah, and it’s
  disconcerting. We have not yet seen indication of additional action
  in the wake of those comments, but certainly there is great knowledge
  of what’s taking place there, and great sympathy for both the
  Lebanese people and the Hezbollah.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:45:41
  25 seconds

  Yes. I thank you for that recognition. As you
  continue as the chief watch officer for the military, let us make
  sure that those who are trying to work out solutions in the Israel/
  Lebanon area of operations are not unmindful of the consequences
  that can flow to our forces in that AOR, because they’re all linked
  together.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:46:06
  

  They are, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:46:06
  1 minute

  I’m not here to try and sort out exactly what
  the government, or the individuals in the Government of Iraq, have
  said on this matter, but I’m more concerned with the people in the
  streets and the press and a lot of other things that are bringing
  influence on those individuals who could do harm to our brave soldiers,
  sailors, airmen, and marines that are in that battle, and, indeed,
  their coalition partners.
  Improvised explosive devices (IED)—you experienced the serious
  situation with regard to those weapons. I think the President and
  the Secretary of Defense are taking measures with the creation of
  General Meigs’ outfit that succeeds another, I thought, rather effective
  outfit, but it was just enlarged and brought up to a higher
  level, through rank, of attention in the Department, and those are
  positive steps. For the members of this committee, General Meigs
  will soon be briefing this committee, as he does regularly. As I
  watched the evolution of the various organizations tasked with the
  responsibility for IEDs in the Department, I hope that I carefully
  left a message that the Marine Corps was doing a very important
  segment of that work on IEDs, somewhat independent, as it should
  be, from the Department of Defense, but, at the same time, contributing
  all of their findings, results, and recommendations to the Department.
  I would hope that you could assure the committee, as
  Commandant, that you will put a watchful eye on that, and that
  that contribution by the Marine Corps, particularly down in
  Quantico, can continue.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:48:02
  48 seconds

  Absolutely, sir. If you calculate the percentage
  of casualties that occur day-in and day-out in Iraq, easily 70 percent
  of them are still attributable to IEDs. We have a very adaptive
  enemy. So, it is absolutely our first priority.
  Where appropriate, and in that the United States Army, United
  States Marine Corps, are in the same location, essentially, with the
  same mission, facing the same threat, we do ally our efforts with
  them immensely, but, at the same time, I don’t think you can have
  too many people looking at this problem from too many perspectives.
  We do differ sometimes in our approach to testing, and the
  people that we talk to who may have new concepts or new ideas.
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  I think, in answer, you’re exactly right, that is helpful, and certainly
  we share everything that we find, as the Army is doing, to
  try to overcome the problem.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:48:50
  11 seconds

  Will you assure the committee that you will
  continue to allocate such resources as is needed by the Marine component
  of the work going on, on IEDs?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:49:01
  

  Absolutely, Mr. Chairman.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:49:01
  8 seconds

  Good. I’ll resume my questions, but I’ll now
  turn to our colleague, Senator Thune.
  

• 

  Senator THUNE

  At 00:49:09
  1 minute

  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  Thank you, General, for your extraordinary service to our country.
  Please extend our appreciation to the troops who serve under
  you. I congratulate you on this nomination. Your combat credentials
  and your overall career biography are more than enough information
  to give me a comfort level with the nomination, and hopefully
  a speedy confirmation. What I also would like to note for the
  record that stands out is the people who have served under you,
  in their descriptions of you as an enlisted marine’s general. I think
  that’s a great compliment and, I think, a great tribute to the qualities
  of character that you bring to the job, and the fact that you
  always put the best interests of the troops first, and, obviously, the
  mission first. Those are great statements about your character, and
  those are echoed by a lot of people who have served with you, and
  under you. So, when it comes to your command philosophy and the
  way you go about conducting your job and the leadership that you
  provide for our country and for our troops, it’s very commendable.
  I just want to acknowledge that, as well.
  I have a statement, Mr. Chairman, I’d like to have included in
  the record.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:50:31
  

  Without objection.
  [The prepared statement of Senator Thune follows:]
  PREPARED STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN THUNE
  General Conway, your combat credentials and overall impressive career biography
  gives me more than enough information to allow me the opportunity to make a comprehensive
  decision regarding your confirmation. However, what I find most extraordinary
  about your service to this great Nation is the leadership style in which you
  have commanded the marines under your care. I’ve found numerous accounts of marines
  describing you as an ‘‘enlisted marine’s general’’ in your dedication to the keystones
  of successful leadership including your objectiveness in decisionmaking, communicating
  with your marines, humility, and leading from the front in both training
  and in war, to name just a few. An incident that stands out to me was your candor
  regarding the decision to have your 1st Marine Expeditionary Force invade the city
  of Fallujah in early April 2004 as a response to the brutal killings of four U.S. civilian
  contractors, and then subsequently be ordered to halt attacks just days later.
  While you were following orders from your superiors, you were documented as voicing
  concerns over what you perceived as first a very hasty decision and then later
  extracting prematurely before achieving victory. In the aftermath unfortunately it
  is not irrational to say your assessments were valid ones. However it shows that
  your concerns for the overall success of the mission and the protection of our young
  men and women who are willing to give up their lives to defend our freedom remains
  paramount in your command philosophy. That mentality, I believe, is what
  will serve you best should you be confirmed to this position.
  

• 

  Senator THUNE

  At 00:50:31
  1 minute

  As we undertake what are a lot of challenges
  around the planet right now, and many of which have been touched
  on already this morning, I want to discuss a couple of things. I was
  over there on my most recent trip to Iraq, probably about 4 months
  ago, with Senator McCain and some other Members of Congress
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  and Governors, and we talked about the progress that is being
  made. Obviously it has been three steps forward, two steps back,
  but one of the things that we felt good about, and I think is important,
  in terms of the criteria for our ability to succeed there, as well
  as our ability to begin bringing some of our troops home, is getting
  the Iraqi security forces up and trained and prepared to take on
  more responsibilities there. At that time, when we were there,
  about 75 percent of the battlespace, about 75 percent of the missions,
  were being performed either independently with Iraqis or
  with them in the lead and our troops supporting them. I’m wondering
  if that’s still a fairly accurate characterization. Is that improving?
  What is it and where are we, relative to that benchmark, that
  was shared with us last time we were there?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:51:38
  13 seconds

  Sure, I think that is about right, without having
  benefit of a map to show you. I don’t recall any battlespace
  being turned over to Iraqi main-force units in the last 30 days or
  so, so I think your information is still current.
  

• 

  Senator THUNE

  At 00:51:51
  14 seconds

  Good. Do you still feel, overall, that there is
  progress being made, that we continue to see them being more and
  more up to the task?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:52:05
  35 seconds

  Yes, sir, I do. I’ve not met the man, but I’m
  encouraged by what is reported to be the strength of character of
  the new prime minister. He is facing, of course, a difficult startup
  period, but he does not seem especially deterred by the difficulty.
  He wants to ram through his programs, and he’s demanding results
  from his ministers, who have, likewise, been elected to their
  position—selected, in some cases; but, in others, elected to the positions.
  So, there is an air of confidence for the long-term. We’re certainly
  in a tough fight right now. This sectarian violence thing has
  to be stopped.
  

• 

  Senator THUNE

  At 00:52:40
  

  Right.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:52:40
  

  But I am confident, in the long-term.
  

• 

  Senator THUNE

  At 00:52:40
  2 minutes

  It seems to me, at least, that the sectarian violence
  part of this goes back to the bombing of the Samarra shrine.
  That whole component of this fight had really heated up at that
  time, and it continues, to this day. I was very impressed, as was
  the chairman, with the statements that were made by the new
  prime minister, and the very forceful, strong, decisive way, I think,
  of the approach that he’s taking to getting the government up and
  running and making it successful. That, of course, is the other criteria
  by which, I think, we can measure our success there, and that
  is, one, the capability of security forces, and, two, the stability and
  longevity of the government, and its ability to bring some sort of
  national unity, so that you don’t have all this sectarianism going
  on. The message that we tried to deliver when we were over there
  last time, is that it’s really important that they focus on that and
  that they get the various factions pulling in the same direction. I
  hope we can make progress on that. His comments were certainly
  encouraging.
  I want to come back to one other point that the chairman mentioned
  earlier; I have been up to Walter Reed several times, as
  have most of my colleagues, I think. You talked about the casualties,
  and we talked about the injuries that our troops are sustaining
  there, most of which are attributable to IEDs. I know that this
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  is a public session, and you’re probably limited to what you can
  say, but I’m always interested in hearing what steps we are taking
  to address that situation. As you noted, we have a very adaptive
  enemy. It seems as soon as we figure out how they’re detonating
  these things and develop countermeasures, they then come up with
  a new way of doing it. That has to be just the top priority in terms
  of our focus right now, one of the most critical things that we can
  look at and figure out solutions to. I know you probably can’t get
  into the weeds here in great detail, but I would be interested in
  your additional comments?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:55:00
  

  Sure.
  

• 

  Senator THUNE

  At 00:55:00
  10 seconds

  General observations about steps that we are
  taking to address what is the most lethal weapon, I think, that our
  enemy has at their disposal.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:55:10
  23 seconds

  Senator, may I ask your indulgence for a moment?
  I have to appear, momentarily, before the Commerce Committee,
  right down the hall. Would you continue to chair this hearing?
  If there comes a point in time when you’ve completed your
  work, would you put the hearing in recess, and then I’ll be right
  back to resume additional matters that I wish to cover.
  Thank you.
  

• 

  Senator THUNE

  At 00:55:33
  

  Mr. Chairman, so I should not adjourn, but recess?
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 00:55:33
  

  That’s correct.
  

• 

  Senator THUNE [presiding]

  At 00:55:33
  

  All right. Very well.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:55:33
  2 minutes

  Sir, I think your analysis is spot-on. We do
  have a very adaptive enemy. I think it is safe to say, in open session,
  that he evolves his tactics as we present our defensive measures.
  In some cases, it’s cyclical. What we see right now is a threat
  that is pretty much pressure-plate initiated. He’s attacking the
  undersides of our vehicles, because he gets more value from the explosive
  that is applied.
  We are attacking that capability, from a number of different approaches.
  Even when I was there—and this was in more of its rudimentary
  stages—we tried to look at, ‘‘What is the weak link?
  Where is it that we can attack to be most successful?’’ The British
  would tell us that you look for the bombmakers, for the people with
  the technical expertise, and go after them. We have done that. Unfortunately,
  Iraq still remains, in great part, an arsenal, or an armory,
  with regard to ordnance that is available. So, we don’t think
  that supply—or that link is necessarily one that we can be as successful
  in countering.
  Our training efforts are immense, in terms of the time spent just
  recognizing IEDs, looking for the indicators, looking for the patterns
  of life, if you will, that might indicate that there’s an explosive
  device in the area. Our success with jammers has been intermittent,
  but we continue to work that, as an inherent capability,
  to, if not destroy the device, certainly render it ineffective as our
  vehicles pass. Again, they’re not effective against every device, but,
  given the right frequency and the right overrides, they can be quite
  effective.
  So, we’re approaching the problem through a number of means.
  We don’t expect, necessarily, that we are going to find a silver bullet.
  We don’t think that somewhere in a garage there’s a guy with
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  pens in his pocket and fuzzy hair and thick glasses who’s going to
  come and render us a solution. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t
  keep trying, and we never should stop trying, until we have found
  a way to completely defeat these things.
  

• 

  Senator THUNE

  At 00:57:54
  1 minute

  I appreciate your commitment to that end. I just
  can’t think of anything, in terms of protecting our troops, more important,
  and I know that they are constantly evolving, in terms of
  their technologies and the things that our enemies are doing. I just
  think we have to focus like a laser on how we protect people in the
  field. If it’s a resource issue, I hope you will make clear to us, as
  a committee, and to Congress, what your needs are so that we can
  take the appropriate steps to help you best combat what, again, is
  a very serious and lethal capability the enemy has, and one that
  I know it is not easy to be able to solve. In any case, it’s a question
  I try and pose as folks come in front of this committee, just to get
  some insights about how we can do a better job, and how we can
  better serve you, in terms of resources.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 00:59:01
  13 seconds

  Sir, I would take the opportunity to say that,
  from our perspective inside the Department of Defense, we appreciate
  your recognition of this being the significant problem that it
  is. It appears to us that you have very well resourced those people
  that are attempting to overcome it.
  

• 

  Senator THUNE

  At 00:59:14
  16 seconds

  I appreciate your answers. Again, thank you. I
  just can’t tell you how much we appreciate what you’re doing for
  the country and your service. So, thank you for that.
  I think the Senator from Michigan is back. The chairman is gone,
  Senator, so if you had another round of questions, feel free.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 00:59:30
  41 seconds

  I just have a few. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  General, on the question of Marine Corps end strength, the
  Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) proposed to stabilize the Marine
  Corps’ end strength at 175,000 Active and 39,000 Reserve component
  personnel by fiscal year 2011. General Hagee, however, has
  stated he is not sure the Active-Duty Marine Corps end strength
  should be reduced below 180,000 marines, and he said that he
  planned to conduct a capabilities assessment to re-examine the
  issue.
  Has that assessment been completed, do you know? Or do you
  know what the status of it is?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:00:11
  31 seconds

  Yes, Senator Levin, it has been completed.
  There was a group of about probably 40 officers who convened
  down at Quantico for a period of about 3 months, who gave a series
  of reports back to General Hagee and his three-star generals in the
  area. I think that what the assessment group has essentially validated
  for the Commandant is what he now says, that he believes
  that we need a Marine Corps of about 180,000 in order to be able
  to continue to engage in this long war on terrorism.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:00:42
  

  Do you know if it will be presented within the
  next month or so, to Congress or to the Secretary?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:00:42
  16 seconds

  Sir, I’m sorry, I do not know the answer to
  that. I have not had that specific conversation with General Hagee.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:00:58
  22 seconds

  All right. In terms of approximately 180,000
  being the correct end strength, in the best judgment of that study,
  should that end strength be built into the permanent budget, or
  should it be left, in part, up to a supplemental budget?
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• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:01:20
  36 seconds

  Sir, we think it needs to be in the Marine
  Corps budget, as such. Personnel are expensive. Once we bring
  those people on, we bring them on for 4 years. The Marine Corps
  would not be able, with its budget such as it is, to absorb those
  costs for personnel, were the supplementals not there. So, for purposes
  of planning, for purposes of long-range understanding of
  what our capabilities are going to be, I think we would much prefer
  to see it in the top line, as opposed to presented in a supplemental.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:01:56
  35 seconds

  Gotcha. On a question of relocation of some of our
  marines to Guam from Japan, there has been a recent agreement
  with the Government of Japan to relocate 8,000 marines from Okinawa
  to Guam. I’m wondering what your reaction is to that and
  whether or not that will have a negative impact on the ability of
  the marines to support Pacific Command’s requirements for providing
  presence and security cooperation in Asia.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:02:31
  49 seconds

  Sir, the most important part first. We think
  that it will not impact on our ability to provide to the combatant
  commander what he has to have for marine forces in the Pacific.
  This same capabilities assessment group was asked by the Commandant
  to examine how best to deploy those forces once we commence
  moves off of both Okinawa and portions of mainland Japan.
  What we would like to see, as a Marine Corps, is a determination
  as to the ultimate disposition of these forces, more along the lines
  of the operational requirements, the administrative and logistics
  sets, that may have initially driven the discussion. That’s where we
  are. It’s still fairly early in the negotiation process, both with our
  Government and the Japanese Government, but we hope to effect
  that with that proposition.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:03:20
  19 seconds

  Thank you. I think it was the chairman who, as
  I had to leave, was asking a question relative to the Haditha investigations,
  and you may have already answered this. Do we have
  any idea when those investigations will be completed? If you’ve already
  answered it, I can——
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:03:39
  52 seconds

  I have not answered it, sir, and I will give you
  the information to the best of my knowledge. There were two investigations,
  of course, I think you’re aware. The 15–6, the Army version
  of the preliminary investigation that was ordered by General
  Chiarelli, has been completed. General Chiarelli has a copy. He’s
  passed his recommendations on to General Casey, and, at this
  point, General Casey and General Abizaid are reviewing the investigation.
  Similarly, the ultimate convening authority, if you will,
  will be the Marine component commander, Lieutenant General
  Sattler, 1MEF commander at Camp Pendleton right now. He also
  has a copy, and is reviewing it, at present.
  The other investigation, the NCIS investigation, has not been
  completed, but I am told it is nearing completion.
  That is as much as I can give you, sir, towards an answer to your
  question as to when you’ll see both those things.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:04:31
  15 seconds

  Thank you, General.
  I was just going to ask Senator Warner’s staff whether he was
  on his way back. I have completed my questions, and I was just
  going to thank the General, but now you can thank him.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER [presiding]

  At 01:04:46
  2 minutes

  Thank you very much. I appreciate
  the opportunity to resume presiding again. I thank you and
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  Senator Thune.
  I thought Senator Thune’s questions, together with
  yours, have been very much on point.
  General, one of the most remarkable chapters of our military history—
  if I may say, as a person who’s been privileged to watch a
  half a century of our military history—occurred in this conflict in
  Iraq, the successive conflicts, and that’s the role of the National
  Guard and the Reserve component of all of our Services. Those individuals
  willingly responded to orders to leave their jobs, their
  homes, their families, and take their places alongside the Regular
  Forces and quickly get up to speed professionally. There have been
  a remarkable number of incidents of their personal bravery and
  professional achievements at all levels in this conflict, not only on
  the battlefield, but in the aviation components and all types of
  things, and aboard ships. I don’t like to talk about my inconsequential
  career, but I served in the Reserves in the Marine Corps, and
  volunteered to come up to duty in the Korean War, and served in
  Korea. When that was concluded, I had no obligation to stay in the
  Reserves, but I did it, and many of my colleagues who served with
  me in Korea, when we returned home, they, likewise, stayed in the
  Reserves, because we felt that we—although my tour was fairly
  limited—had a valuable contribution to make to our Reserve components.
  I stayed in some 10 or 12 years.
  Tell us about the Reserves in the Marine Corps and what you
  plan to do. I just hope that you share my tremendous respect for
  what they have done through the years, and that the Corps, under
  your leadership, will continue what it’s doing today, and perhaps
  enhance and, if necessary, if you so desire, enlarge the Reserve
  component of the Marine Corps.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:07:08
  1 minute

  Sir, first of all, I completely agree with your
  salute to the Reserves and the Guard. I would add, before I address
  the Marine Corps aspect of it, that in some regards it’s absolutely
  amazing that the Army can go about a transformation of sorts, a
  modularization, if you will, of its brigades at a time when there’s
  a serious war taking place. In the place of the Active Force units,
  the Army has gone to Reserve and the National Guard Forces, and
  they’ve just done marvelous work, as you say. So, hats off to those
  folks, and they really have stepped up when their country needed
  them most.
  Sir, without being parochial with regard to the Marine Reserves,
  I do think that ours is truly a model system. We call it the Total
  Force, and we mean that in every sense of the word, with regard
  to equipment, with regard to the expectations that they will be
  there when we need them most. They have just never let us down.
  Now, there’s an investment that goes with that. We have Active-
  Duty people, some of our best lieutenant colonels, command
  screened, who are out there as the inspector/instructor. He’s in
  charge of a number of young company-grade officers. Some of our
  best company commanders go out and work with the Reserves on
  a routine basis to make sure that they’re able to maintain and
  apply those standards, should the country need.
  We’re extremely proud of who they are and what they do. It
  comes at a cost, but we are more than willing, I think, because of
  the capability that’s added, to accept those costs and continue to
  make them a real combat addition.
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• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:08:41
  

  Do you think that you need some expansion
  of the size of the Corps’ component?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:08:41
  15 seconds

  Sir, I’ll be honest, I have not sat down to look
  at that in close quarters.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:08:56
  34 seconds

  You have 39,600, currently, men and women
  in the Marine Corps Reserve. As you sit down to look at it, hopefully
  you will have the benefit of the Commission on the National
  Guard and Reserves, headed by a fellow marine, General Arnold
  Punaro, who will be working on recommendations. So, I hope that
  you take to heart what recommendations they come up with, and
  would have no reluctance to come before this committee if you need
  such authority to make modifications.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:09:30
  14 seconds

  Absolutely, sir. I would make two comments,
  sir. One is that I think we have a smaller percentage of Reserves,
  if you compare the ratio Marine to Army.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:09:44
  

  Yes, I am aware.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:09:44
  23 seconds

  So, that should compel us to ask if that percentage
  is right.
  The second part, though, I think would have to look at the determination
  as to whether or not, for the long war, we would see reaccessing
  the Reserves in order to apply their capabilities once
  again. That would help us to determine whether or not we want
  to expand the size of the Reserve Force.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:10:07
  52 seconds

  All right. Let’s turn our attention to those
  who have survived the wounding in these current combat operations
  and who are now trying, together with the love and affection,
  hopefully, of their families, to rehabilitate themselves. I think
  it was 2 or 3 years ago, I put in an initiative to encourage the Department
  of Defense to make possible every one of those individuals
  could stay in, assuming he or she so desired, and that the
  wounds that they sustained would not severely limit their ability
  to perform valued services. I hope that you will continue to foster
  that program.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:10:59
  

  Absolutely, sir. That has been the Commandant’s
  directive, and it’s a wonderful program. I intend to continue
  it, certainly, if confirmed.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:10:59
  31 seconds

  The committee has been concerned that the
  other programs and coordinated efforts of the Services, including
  the ‘‘Marine For Life’’ Program, anticipate problems and seek out
  the severely wounded soldiers, sailors, and airmen that need assistance,
  the funding levels and so forth. Will you examine that to
  make sure that that is adequate?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:11:30
  24 seconds

  Yes, sir. We have, at present, grant blocks of
  money available to those who have been wounded, based upon the
  nature of their wounds. We have some tremendous private organizations
  who work hard—not least, the Semper Fi Fund—to be a
  help to the families. But there also, I think, is a national responsibility
  to continue to ensure that our wounded are provided for.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:11:54
  

  Mrs. Conway, will you commit to the committee
  that if he doesn’t measure up, you will step forward, is that
  correct? [Laughter.]
  

• Mrs. CONWAY

  At 01:11:54
  

  I absolutely will, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:11:54
  

  Thank you very much. Let the record reflect
  that clear and concise response. [Laughter.]
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• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:11:54
  16 seconds

  She means that.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:12:10
  39 seconds

  On the QDR, according to the QDR 2006, the
  Department is focusing on bringing the needed capabilities to the
  Joint Force more rapidly by fashioning a more effective acquisition
  system and associated set of processes. One of the QDR recommendations
  is to integrate the combatant commanders more
  fully into the acquisition process. Now, that acquisition, at the moment,
  is shared by the military departments, and the Department
  of Defense, and we’re looking at how the combatant commanders
  can have a stronger voice. Do you have any views on that?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:12:49
  48 seconds

  Sir, we have recently had a senior executive
  conference within the Department, that the Secretary chaired, to
  talk somewhat about that issue as it relates to the requirements
  of the combatant commanders on the global war on terrorism. We
  are looking at adjustments to our contemporary programs as to
  how their requirements can be better understood and met by the
  title 10 responsibilities of the military departments. So, I would say
  yes, sir, I think that is ongoing. Of course, the Service Secretaries
  and Service Chiefs still bear the responsibility for the ‘‘organize,
  train, and equip’’ functioning as directed by title 10, but those that
  we provide forces for, we have to understand clearly what their
  needs are and be able to provide.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:13:37
  49 seconds

  The Riverine Force. I happen to have very
  high regard for those capabilities. When I was Secretary of the
  Navy, I visited Vietnam on occasion, and went down and saw those
  operations. I commended the Department of the Navy for bringing
  back the concept, and recently working it into their force structure.
  The 2005 QDR included the Navy’s decision to field new capability
  in support of Riverine operations, and, in January 2006, the Naval
  Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) was established to stand
  up this capability.
  What is the impact of this new Navy capability and organization
  on the Corps’ operations and requirements?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:14:26
  47 seconds

  Sir, we think it’s going to be extremely helpful.
  I salute Admiral Mullen and all that he’s done with the NECC. He
  has set aside 40,000 or 50,000 of his Navy personnel to assist in
  this global war on terrorism, and they’re taking on a number of additional
  roles that, in some cases in the past, soldiers and marines
  have had to accomplish, that now frees them to go do something
  else. An important part of that is the Riverine capability. If you listen
  to the intelligence analysts and hear what they have to say, in
  terms of where the trouble spots in the globe will continue to be,
  there are a lot of rivers, a lot of deltas. We think that Riverine
  Forces, properly manned and equipped, can, and will, be very effective
  in employment.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:15:13
  15 seconds

  I point out—and I regret I don’t have that
  statistic at my fingertips—the population of the world that live
  within 200 miles of either a major waterway or an ocean. Isn’t that
  correct? It’s a very high percentage.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:15:28
  

  Yes, sir, it’s huge.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:15:28
  20 seconds

  Can you represent to this committee that, if
  confirmed as Commandant, if there are any issues of roles and missions
  of the Corps and the Navy on this—the new Riverine Force,
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  that is—that you’ll come before the committee, and hopefully we
  can work out the problem?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:15:48
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:15:48
  

  I’d much prefer to do it that way, rather
  than let it fester down in the sinews of the organization.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:15:48
  9 seconds

  I understand, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:15:57
  10 seconds

  Could you describe the command structure
  that you would envision for integrating overlapping areas of responsibility
  between the Navy and the Marine Corps in the execution
  of a Riverine operation?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:16:07
  46 seconds

  Sir, it would vary, of course, with each situation
  on the ground. If I were told that I had a Navy Riverine Force
  coming to join me for operations, if they had a parent command in
  the area, then I would see if the relationship needed to be tactical
  command of those that were assigned to me, with operational command
  remaining with that parent headquarters, so they could provide
  them with the sustenance and the things that they would need
  that are organic to the Force. We have had that relationship work
  superbly in many other areas where you have this crossover or
  overlap. It is now analogous to what we call ‘‘supporting/supported.’’
  I would be the supported commander, and the supporting
  commander—i.e., the Riverine Force commander, would be providing
  assets to me to accomplish the mission.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:16:53
  46 seconds

  All right. In your answers to the advance
  questions, you state your interest in the long-term health effects of
  combat operations and tempo, and in the sufficiency of medical care
  provided. Operational stress has intensified in the war on terror,
  and is manifest in mental health problems among military members
  and their families. While resilience continues to be the hallmark
  of our military members—in other words, they bring themselves
  back to reality, and salute again and march off—some may
  need help, and more help than we envision at this time. What is
  your assessment of the adequacy of mental health screening and
  assistance programs for our marines today?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:17:39
  1 minute

  Mr. Chairman, it’s a disturbing trend to see
  the number of folks who are increasingly either discharged or
  treated for mental issues. Trend lines, again, are slightly up, compared
  to what they have been in previous years. I think it’s an area
  that we have to be prepared to take a look at. I think that diagnosis
  is key. We are sustaining both what’s traditionally called Post
  Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in people who have seen a great
  deal at a very young age. We also are sustaining, actually, physical
  brain injuries through a lot of the concussions and the effects of the
  IEDs. We’re just now learning what the relationship to those two
  types of injuries are. We need to pay close attention to it. We need,
  I think, to push the medical field to become more expert at the
  treatment and the resolution of those problems that our young people
  face.
  I really think that it’s important, at the command level and at
  every subordinate level, that people understand that we will treat
  the mind just as certainly as we treat a body wound to get our marines
  and sailors back into shape. It is no embarrassment. There
  should be no stigma associated with the fact that you’re having
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  problems from something you have done or experienced or seen in
  a combat zone.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:19:04
  1 minute

  That’s very encouraging, General, because
  it’s a part of our medical science that has somehow not received,
  in years past, the needed support. I find within our military today,
  a recognition that this is just as serious as that open wound that
  someone, fortunately, can survive from with modern medical technology.
  So, that is encouraging.
  The Corps is moving to a new operational concept called ‘‘distributed
  operations.’’ The concept involves changing the way infantry
  battalions operate, providing specialized training for many of the
  marines in those battalions, and increased amounts of equipment.
  How will this new concept affect the Marine Corps warfighting capability?
  How will the support requirements for new equipment affect
  the Marine Corps budget? The other question I would have is
  that, as the Army goes to a changed configuration away from the
  division and the regiment concept of years past, and when the
  Corps, as we are doing today, is interoperable with Army units,
  how will the modifications in the Army affect your ability, with today’s
  Corps, to work?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:20:32
  2 minutes

  I understand, sir. A number of questions there,
  sir. Let me see if I can take them on.
  First of all, we see distributed operations as a logical extension
  of maneuver warfare. What we saw in Operation Iraqi Freedom is
  that the accuracy of our fire support systems is such that there’s
  tremendous combat power held in the hands of a very few people.
  That was the case both in Iraq, as well as in Afghanistan. It is our
  thinking that we can certainly cover a huge amount of terrain,
  with conditions and the situation on the ground permitting, with
  smaller units, in distributed fashion, having access to this kind of
  firepower. So, it is a tool in the kitbag of the commander. There
  will be times, I suspect, where the situation won’t suit that, but,
  nevertheless, a battalion, or any size Marine unit really, that has
  more equipment, better communications, or more capability vested
  in the training of our smaller units, means a better Marine Corps.
  Will it be expensive? Yes, sir. There was a price tag associated
  with that, but we think, in the end, again, the value of what it provides
  to us, potentially with deploying even a smaller force to accomplish
  the same objectives, makes it appealing.
  In terms of how we would conduct that function with the Army,
  I don’t see a conflict. We see that the Army is moving more to brigade-
  size formations, as opposed to, say, the 3rd Infantry Division
  (ID) that we fought alongside of in Operation Iraqi Freedom. We
  think that’s not problematic. If anything, these individual brigades
  have as much, or more, combat power than what we saw in the brigades
  of the old 3rd ID.
  That our units would be able to operate alongside them, or even
  integrated with them, in terms of bringing aboard that additional
  firepower, meshing the communications, those are things now that
  we have taken note of since OIF. Our communications capability
  needs to be much better netted than it was as late as 2003. Those
  problems are being addressed actively by Joint Forces Command,
  by the Joint Staff, and we think that, when that’s all settled, that
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  we will still be able to mesh very nicely with Army brigades and
  Marine battalions operating in a distributed manner.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:22:58
  18 seconds

  Compare the MEF, which has been a concept
  of the Marines now for well over a decade or more—I can’t recall
  the origin of that—with the Army brigade today, from the standpoint
  of the components, the structure, and the command-and-control.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:23:16
  48 seconds

  Sir, it’s probably more appropriate to compare
  the MEF—and its origins were the Marine Amphibious Force
  (MAF), going all the way back to Vietnam days—with an Army
  corps. Probably the biggest difference rests in two or three areas.
  First of all, we bring our own logistics with us. A MEF has 60 days
  of inherent or organic sustainability that it can employ before we
  ever have to tie into theater-level resources. So, it is truly an expeditionary
  capability, a package, if you will, that can go virtually
  anywhere and immediately get into action. The Army buildup and
  the logistics and all that type of thing are operated quite differently
  at the corps level. That, I think, is one distinction.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:24:04
  11 seconds

  But a corps is several divisions linked together.
  In terms of total numbers, that would be much larger, I
  presume, than a MEF.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:24:15
  

  Sir, an Army division is about 20,000. A corps
  is somewhere between two and, let’s say, five divisions.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:24:15
  

  Right.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:24:15
  

  I think it has the command-and-control capacity
  to command that large a force. We had 90,000 in our MEF
  when we crossed the line of departure.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:24:15
  12 seconds

  Did you really?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:24:27
  

  We have the command-and-control to manage
  it, as well.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:24:27
  12 seconds

  Although the structures are different, we can
  operate together in the same battlespaces and make it work.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:24:39
  1 minute

  Yes, sir, we did.
  Two other things I would highlight, sir, to maybe finish the answer
  to your question. One, the organic air that the MEF commander
  owns is absolutely amazing. It is such a capability, especially
  given the open desert terrain, where we fought Operation
  Iraqi Freedom, but I would say virtually in any campaign where
  you intend to use air. On any given day, I had accessible to me 300
  sorties of fixed-wing and Cobra air that I could put against any target.
  That is an amazing capability when you’re fighting the deep
  fight, trying to soften things up for your division.
  The other difference I think that is compelling in this global-war
  concept on terrorism is the number of infantry that is brought
  about by a Marine division versus what exists now in an Army division.
  We have almost as many boots on the ground, if you will,
  in a Marine regiment as you find in an Army division. I’m not making
  a negative comparison here. I’m just saying, where you have to
  be able to dismount troops and go accomplish something in a village
  or even in an entire province, what the Marine Corps can
  bring to bear with regard to those individual troops going about
  their business is, I think, significant and, in some ways, remarkable.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:25:54
  

  Senator Levin, you had a question.
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• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:25:54
  28 seconds

  Just one additional question. There has been a
  recent series of articles criticizing strategy and tactics of our forces
  in Iraq as sometimes being too heavy-handed and alienating the civilian
  population, and perhaps fueling the insurgency, as a result.
  You had some real experience. I know you have done a lot of thinking
  about that subject, and I wonder whether you would share both
  with us.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:26:22
  1 minute

  Sir, I think you have to be extremely aware of
  a culture when you are going to operate in any foreign country, and
  whether it’s phase 0 all the way through phase 3 combat operations.
  The thing that I think that we need to be extremely conscious
  of is an individuals’ pride. If you look at an Iraqi, let’s say,
  a farmer who lives in a mud hut, and he has six children and a
  wife, he may look as though he is as poor as any man on the face
  of the Earth, but I’ll guarantee you, that man has a source of pride
  in his country, in what Iraq has meant to world history, and we
  need to be very understanding of that, and we need to avoid stepping
  on it. Even though the early security forces may have been
  very low quality by our standards, we can’t appear to, in any way,
  be talking down to them if we expect them to step up and do the
  job.
  I think we have to be very careful with regard to unintended consequences
  when we have the accidents that we had, where large
  numbers of Iraqis were killed in and around Fallujah, and families
  approaching entry control point checkpoints, those types of things.
  Any population would have a long memory for those kinds of
  things, and, although it may have been done by a previous unit,
  you’re going to bear the effects of it. So, I just think that we have
  to very much train our troops and understand the culture we’re
  about to deal with, speak the language as much as we possibly can
  so we can gather the subtleties, and then not trample on their
  pride, or their sense of civic awareness, as we engage.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:28:09
  

  Thank you, General.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:28:09
  1 minute

  Thank you, Senator Levin.
  The Detainee Treatment Act of 2006 was a product of the work
  of this committee—most notably, Senator McCain, Senator Levin,
  and the Senator from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham, and myself.
  I think the four of us were very active in this. That established
  the Army Field Manual 34–52, as the standard for interrogation
  techniques, and also prohibits cruel and inhuman, degrading
  treatment of prisoners. It’s a landmark piece of legislation. We’re
  still awaiting—and that’s not the question to you—the promulgation
  of the most recent Army Field Manual. I think it’s somewhat
  perplexing that it’s taken so long, but, anyway, that’s not the question
  I put to you, because that’s not in your lane. But how do you,
  as Commandant, intend to implement and ensure compliance with
  the provisions of the law and the new Army Field Manual once it’s
  promulgated?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:29:16
  1 minute

  Sir, we have, in our experiences in Iraq, been
  very conscious of how we treat detainees. It gets back to Senator
  Levin’s question, in terms of how you deal with the population. If
  you are going to have detainees—and I suppose that is a consequence
  of attempting to root out an insurgency—I think that you
  have to go right by the numbers in terms of how you deal with
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  these people, because what you don’t want to create is an insurgent
  who didn’t have those intentions before.
  Marines have routinely attempted to put our proper people, corrections
  people, mature staff noncommissioned officers (NCOs) and
  officers, in charge of those facilities. We conduct frequent inspections.
  We invite any number of people that want to come and take
  a look to make sure that we are meeting standards in those manner
  of things. There’s an internal issue there, where you want to
  make sure that interrogators and the detainee handlers are doing
  their jobs simultaneously so that there’s a two-man rule there, and
  that there are no excessive treatments in either category. Just
  transparency, sir, with regard to families coming in. Any visitors
  that want to come tend to help those things police themselves. We
  need to continue to do that.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:30:34
  1 minute

  Will you commit to the committee here that
  as you assume your role, if confirmed, that you put in place some
  control measures? In other words, no matter how much training,
  somebody has to watch to make sure it’s being implemented. Also,
  do not hesitate to come back to the committee if you feel that certain
  aspects of this are inhibiting the ability of your units to perform
  their missions in combat to obtain that very valuable realtime
  intelligence which is needed to perform our operations, and perform
  it with minimal harm to our own warfighters. I think this is an ongoing
  problem, and we don’t intend to assign a lawyer to every platoon
  to follow through what they’re doing and read the Miranda
  rights to the enemy and all of those sort of things on the battlefield.
  This is a new chapter, but a necessary chapter—I don’t mean
  to, in any way, belittle it—a new chapter in military life, in military
  responsibility and operations. It’s certainly far different than
  anything that I ever witnessed in my somewhat modest and limited
  observation of those engaged in combat operations, but that’s going
  to be your task.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:32:11
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:32:11
  22 seconds

  That’s what this country stands for. The
  image of the country in the eyes of the world is something that
  every marine wants to take pride in, because he and his forebears
  have contributed to credibility and the effectiveness of this Nation
  as a leader in the world in so many ways.
  So, we have your assurance on that.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:32:33
  23 seconds

  Mr. Chairman, you do. You are correct in your
  earlier statement that as J–3 operations, detainee resolution has
  not been one of my responsibilities, but it certainly, if confirmed,
  will become that. I certainly will need to examine it more closely
  and determine if it’s something that we can live with. If not, I
  would be more than willing—in fact, I would see it necessary to
  come back before this committee.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:32:56
  

  Always remember Harry Truman, that little
  sign on this desk, ‘‘The buck stops here.’’
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:32:56
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:32:56
  14 seconds

  You ought to get one of those and put it on
  your desk. He was a great soldier and, I think, a great President.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:33:10
  

  I agree, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:33:10
  54 seconds

  You are a Joint Speciality Officer (JSO). You
  exemplify that. DOD and the Joint Staff have developed the Strate-
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  gic Plan for Joint Officer Management and brought forward legislative
  changes to the current system by which an officer qualifies to
  become a JSO. This legislation would bring more flexibility to the
  process of awarding credit for joint tours of duty of varying lengths
  and giving greater discretion to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
  to identify, fully, joint-qualified officers. What is the assessment
  that you have of the need for change in this area? Do you think
  that individual officers who have served well in joint capacities are
  getting the credit and recognition under the present system that
  they should receive?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:34:04
  1 minute

  Sir, once again, I will be very honest and say
  I have not looked at this in detail. I can give you my impressions,
  having been in joint billets now a number of times, and currently
  in a joint billet, and even having heard the chairman and his immediate
  staff talk about it. I do think that it would be helpful were
  we to have some greater level of flexibility offered to the Chairman
  of the Joint Chiefs to award, if you will, recognition for joint service.
  There are some billets for which that just seem to make sense,
  and we scratch our heads as to why that person, with his day-today
  contact, would not be awarded a joint job.
  I do think that it’s a marvelous concept to try to enforce the fact
  that jointness occur. Jointness, sir, is a way of doing business
  today. There are still some mechanics that have to be solved, but
  every officer that’s been around the other Services knows that
  there’s synergy in that. That’s the way that we have to be able to
  fight and work on a daily basis.
  I do think that there’s legislation in place to ensure that the importance
  of joint duty is recognized. Every time I see a promotion
  list, it has associated with it the numbers of joint officers and their
  selection rate, in comparison to the service headquarters selection
  rate. What I have seen over time now, and I experienced this as
  a colonel’s monitor years ago, is that you send your best and
  brightest to joint duty to make sure that you don’t get your knuckles
  rapped if your percentages should come back less than expected.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:35:40
  

  That’s a very good response, and if I may
  say, with a degree of immodesty, I think we’ve had a very good
  hearing. I hope you share that, my distinguished colleague.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:35:40
  

  I do, indeed.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:35:40
  43 seconds

  We have explored, indepth, a wide range of
  issues, and I compliment you on your responses. As Senator Levin
  said, we’ll get the facts, and nothing but the facts, and the truthful
  facts. That, you have provided, and given us also your views and
  opinions.
  So, we wish you and your family well.
  This record will remain open until close of business today, should
  other members, who, for various reasons, are unable to attend the
  hearing wish to put questions to you.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:36:23
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:23
  26 seconds

  As soon as our two chiefs of staff indicate
  that the record has been completed, Senator Levin and I hopefully
  will bring this nomination to the full committee for a vote early
  next week, and then, subsequently, to the floor for what I believe
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  will be a well-recognized and well-earned confirmation by the
  United States Senate.
  Anything that you have to close on now?
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you. Thank you, General and family.
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Senator
  Levin, for the opportunity.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you to all in attendance. This hearing
  is adjourned.
  [Whereupon, at 11:41 a.m., the committee adjourned.]
  [Prepared questions submitted to Lt. Gen. James T. Conway,
  USMC, by Chairman Warner prior to the hearing with answers
  supplied follow:]
  QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
  DEFENSE REFORMS
  Question. The Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of
  1986 and the Special Operations reforms have strengthened the warfighting readiness
  of our Armed Forces. They have enhanced civilian control and the chain of
  command by clearly delineating the combatant commanders’ responsibilities and authorities
  and the role of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. These reforms
  have also vastly improved cooperation between the Services and the combatant commanders,
  among other things, in joint training and education and in the execution
  of military operations.
  Do you see the need for modifications of any Goldwater-Nichols Act provisions?
  Answer. Not as the act specifically applies to the Military Departments; however,
  in the broader interagency context there are changes that could improve U.S. response
  to world events.
  Question. If so, what areas do you believe might be appropriate to address in
  these modifications?
  Answer. The complexities of the global war on terror have demonstrated the need
  for broader participation and closer coordination by other Federal departments in
  order to effectively harness all elements of national power. Specifically, we need to
  continue to make progress in achieving greater efficiencies and effectiveness
  through the streamlining of interagency coordination, reducing duplication of effort
  across the Departments and accelerating the decisionmaking cycle.
  DUTIES
  Question. What is your understanding of the duties and functions of the Commandant
  of the Marine Corps?
  Answer. The duties of the Commandant of the Marine Corps are primarily spelled
  out in title 10, section 5043, which I won’t repeat. Fundamentally, the duties and
  responsibilities are to prepare the Marine Corps to fight and win the Nation’s wars.
  Also, they are to advise the President, the National Security Council, the Secretary
  of Defense, and Secretary of the Navy on military matters. The Commandant executes
  these responsibilities as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
  One of the most important institutional responsibilities borne by the Commandant
  is the responsibility to lead our marines. Leadership in this context means continuously
  adapting the doctrine by which the Marine Corps will fight, and ensuring that
  this doctrine is converted into the training, tactics, and equipment to be used in executing
  our missions across the full spectrum of conflict and in support of humanitarian
  and other missions, as the President directs. The job of the Commandant is
  to ensure that the marines are ready. My unwritten responsibility, if confirmed, is
  to keep Congress, in its constitutional oversight role, informed of the truth.
  Question. What background and experience, including joint duty assignments, do
  you possess that you believe qualifies you to perform these duties?
  Answer. I have had the good fortune to serve in key service billets and joint assignments
  within the Department of Defense. I have commanded marines at virtually
  every level from platoon to Marine Expeditionary Force and in educating and
  training marines at every level. As a general officer, I have served as both the Deputy
  Director of Operations J–3 for Combating Terrorism and in my current billet
  as the Director for Operations, J–3. Both of these billets along with my recent responsibilities
  as a Division and MEF commander in combat have given me great insight
  into what combatant commands (COCOMs) require from the Marine Corps.
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  My current responsibilities have provided me a unique opportunity to understand
  the challenges facing all the Service Chiefs today as they strive to meet their title
  10 responsibilities in support of the combatant commanders.
  Question. Do you believe that there are any steps that you need to take to enhance
  your ability to perform the duties of the Commandant of the Marine Corps?
  Answer. No, I believe that with your continued assistance, the advice of my fellow
  Joint Chiefs, the continued exceptional performance of our marines and the strong
  support of my family, I have the abilities to perform the duties that will be expected
  of me, if confirmed.
  MAJOR CHALLENGES AND PRIORITIES
  Question. In your view, what are the major challenges that will confront the next
  Commandant of the Marine Corps?
  Answer. The major challenges confronting the next Commandant of the Marine
  Corps center on organizing, training, equipping, and manning units deploying in
  support of combatant commanders in the long war and transforming the force for
  the future. I believe the following specific issues will be important for the next Commandant
  to address:
  We are a Nation at war and our highest priority will remain our focus on the long
  war. At the same time we will seek to balance these priorities with our efforts to
  reset the force so that your marines remain most ready when the Nation is least
  ready.
  As a former MEF Commander and Director for Operations during Operation Iraqi
  Freedom (OIF), I am cognizant of the wear and tear we have put on our gear. We
  need to be honest with ourselves and the taxpayer on what it will take to properly
  reestablish our readiness. We must ensure that our material requirements are validated
  and resourced in order to ‘‘reset’’ the force for both near- and long-term readiness.
  This will require rigorous reexamination of basic unit requirements in view
  of OIF, and disciplined assessments of material degradation from several years of
  employment under arduous climatic conditions and high-usage rates. I intend to be
  a very prudent steward of the resources entrusted to me, as marines have always
  been, and intend to manage these resources so that we maximize the capabilities
  that we make available to the combatant commanders.
  I will be working with my naval partner, the Chief of Naval Operations, to design
  and build tomorrow’s fleet. My expectation is that the next 2 decades will place a
  premium on flexible and mobile sea-based maneuver. In a world of uncertainty, we
  should exploit the global commons and maneuver at sea for advantage ashore.
  As we go forward it is critical to continue our improvements to our training and
  education in the Marine Corps. We have made changes to our Professional Military
  Education that have improved the educational experience for our finest asset, the
  individual marine. The challenge for the way ahead is to adapt and stay ahead of
  our adversaries through continual assessment and implementation of our lessons
  learned from our current engagements. If confirmed, I will sustain the numerous
  initiatives in place to advance the training and education so that our marines are
  tactically cunning, culturally savvy, disciplined warriors who are led by mentally
  agile commanders.
  You have a fantastic Marine Corps and you are rightfully proud of them. The
  challenge will be continuing to attract, recruit, sustain, and retain quality marines.
  I am especially interested in the long-term effects of our combat Deployment Tempo
  (DEPTEMPO) and in the sufficiency of medical care provided to our marines, particularly
  those recovering from injuries received in Operation Enduring Freedom
  (OEF) and OIF. While our attention is naturally drawn to preparing for operations
  far away, we must ensure we provide for the families of our marines while they are
  away and upon their return.
  Question. Assuming you are confirmed, what plans do you have for addressing
  these challenges?
  Answer. I have only just begun to look at these issues in preparation for the confirmation
  hearing. While I am most concerned with readiness, I will continue to
  seek counsel from Congress, visit my general officers, the combatant commanders,
  and work with my sergeant’s major to develop plans to address these issues. If confirmed,
  I will set my agenda and disseminate my vision during the initial days of
  assuming duties as the Commandant of the Marine Corps.
  Question. If confirmed, what broad priorities would you establish in terms of
  issues that must be addressed by the Commandant of the Marine Corps?
  Answer. If confirmed as Commandant of the Marine Corps, my first priorities will
  be to make sure marines are well-trained, well-equipped, and well-led. The underlying
  foundation is our marines and their families—to them we owe the best in train-
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  ing, leadership, and equipment. We will continue to train and educate to sustain
  a lean and agile Service ready to fight the global war on terrorism and ready to
  adapt to change in future environments. The lynchpin to this continued readiness
  for our Nation is a commitment to reconstitution of our force and an acceptable pace
  of modernization.
  ROLE OF THE MARINE CORPS IN THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM
  Question. The main focus of the United States military has been on the war in
  Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Marine Corps has had a major role in OIF and OEF.
  What do you see as the Marine Corps’ role in the continuing global war on terrorism?
  Answer. We will continue to be engaged in Iraq so long as it is a counterinsurgency.
  The Marine Corps remains committed to balancing an increase in irregular
  warfare capabilities with maintaining essential conventional warfighting capabilities.
  We believe this is necessary to identify the right mix of capabilities that
  support the global war on terror while maintaining our ability to respond to any
  contingency. We have established and are fielding the Marine Special Operations
  Command as an integral component of USSOCOM. Additionally, the Marine Corps
  is reprioritizing and improving our irregular warfare capabilities to better support
  SOCOM and other COCOM plans for the global war on terror. By accepting and
  managing risk in traditional capabilities, we will increase our SOF-like and irregular
  capabilities and capacities while still maintaining our ability to respond to major
  war plans.
  Additionally, our forward-deployed posture represents a unique capability to respond
  to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, assist other countries, and
  thwart terrorism through non-kinetic measures. It also supports theater security cooperation
  enabling us to build partner capacity to fight terrorism.
  Question. What role do you envision for the Marine Corps in homeland security
  and homeland defense?
  Answer. It is important to emphasize that defense of the homeland begins not on
  our shores, but on far shores as part of a collaborative interagency defense-in-depth.
  As a Total Force in readiness, this is and will continue to be the Marine Corps’ primary
  contribution to homeland defense.
  When and if directed by the President or Secretary of Defense, the Marine Corps
  uses its Active-Duty and Reserve Forces to rapidly respond to a threat in the homeland,
  whether the threat is from nature, such as a hurricane, or from terrorists. Marine
  Forces North is our lead component dealing with homeland defense and as such
  regularly participates in homeland defense exercises across the country. These marines
  bring the same esprit, hard work, and dedication to mission accomplishment
  and that our forward deployed forces bring to the fight overseas.
  Question. If confirmed, do you plan any major changes to Marine Corps
  warfighting doctrine?
  Answer. Major changes—no, I do not. There will likely be evolutionary changes
  associated with lessons learned in the global war on terror. Our warfighting doctrine
  is well-crafted and timely. New realities in the post-September 11 world have given
  cause to examine this doctrine and supporting documentation.
  MARINE FORCES SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND
  Question. Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command (MARSOC), is a
  new subordinate command to the USSOCOM that was established earlier this year.
  What is your assessment of the progress made in establishing MARSOC, and
  what do you consider to be the principal issues that must be addressed to make it
  fully operational?
  Answer. The Goldwater-Nichols Act for jointness and Department of Defense efforts
  at transformation have resulted in a Marine component of MARSOC. As noted,
  MARSOC was created earlier this year and will achieve full operational capability
  in fiscal year 2008. There are several issues we need to work through such as deployment
  and employment relationships, the impact of a tour in MARSOC on a marine’s
  career pattern, and how the Corps is best able to use their operational experience
  when they return from MARSOC to conventional Marine Corps Forces.
  EFFECTS OF DEPLOYMENTS ON READINESS
  Question. What is your assessment of the current state of readiness of the Marine
  Corps?
  Answer. We have ensured that all deployed forces are at the highest readiness
  levels. All units are trained, manned, and equipped to accomplish their assigned
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  missions. Our marines in harm’s way have the equipment and resources they need
  to fight and win.
  Over 2,100 Marine leaders are filling transition teams, manning joint headquarters,
  and providing critical capabilities to forward deployed units. Despite this,
  our manpower readiness remains high and morale remains strong. Overall, the current
  operations tempo (OPTEMPO) has not been detrimental to readiness at this
  point, however this is something that we will need to continue to examine in order
  to determine its impact over the course of the long war.
  Training levels are also high, particularly for units deploying to OIF. One of the
  great strengths of the Marine Corps has been the ability to rapidly garner lessons
  learned overseas and insert changes into our training plans and exercises. This
  flexibility has allowed us to stay at a high level of readiness for training. One area
  that does bear a close watch is the lack of training opportunities for our non-deploying
  units due to shortages in manpower and equipment. Overall, our current equipment
  readiness is good among the units deployed to Iraq; a testament to the young
  men and women who are taking care of their gear in severe conditions. However,
  I am concerned about long-term readiness. The long war’s harsh environmental conditions,
  higher than normal utilization rates, increased wear, and attrition will require
  the accelerated repair and replacement of ground and aviation equipment. In
  addition, depot maintenance repair requirements for our equipment will continue
  past the end of hostilities.
  For our non-deployed forces, replacing combat losses, fielding transition team requirements,
  and lower supply/maintenance priorities degrade their readiness.
  If confirmed, my priorities will be to reset the force and to support modernization.
  Question. In your judgment, are combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan adversely
  affecting the readiness or retention of marines on Active-Duty and in the
  Reserve component?
  Answer. In terms of retention, absolutely not. As evidenced with our most recent
  statistics on recruiting and retention, this country’s young people continue to demonstrate
  a willingness to join the Marine Corps and serve in the Nation’s defense.
  During past fiscal years, the Marine Corps has attained its accession goals and anticipates
  continuing this achievement for the foreseeable future. That said, if the
  current DEPTEMPO remains high, we could see long-term consequences. If confirmed,
  I will examine the long-term effect that combat DEPTEMPO has on a career.
  Question. If confirmed, what will be your priorities for maintaining readiness in
  the near-term, while modernizing the Corps to ensure readiness in the out-years?
  Answer. Current readiness, particularly for our deployed forces has, by law, always
  been the focus of the Marine Corps. Our long-term readiness however is dependent
  upon resetting and modernizing the force; I will seek additional funding to
  defray the cost of the war expenses that threaten to eat away at Marine Corps readiness
  and modernization planning for the future.
  RECRUITING AND RETENTION
  Question. What do you consider to be the key to the Marine Corps’ success in recruiting
  the highest caliber American youth for service and retaining the best personnel
  for leadership responsibilities?
  Answer. There will always be great American youth who want to accept the challenge
  to be a United States marine. In order to operate and succeed in potentially
  volatile times, marines must be physically fit, morally strong, intelligent, and comfortable
  with high technology. Recruiting quality youth ultimately translates into
  high performance, reduced attrition, increased retention, and improved readiness for
  the operating forces.
  Recruiting is the lifeblood of our Corps, and it is the foundation for the Marine
  Corps to ‘‘Make Marines, Win Battles, and Create Quality Citizens.’’ As such, the
  Corps recognizes the importance of assigning the best marines to fulfill this vital
  role in maintaining its operating forces. Therefore, the Marine Corps sends Headquarters
  Recruiter Screening Teams throughout the force to ensure the most qualified
  marines are selected for recruiting duty. The Marine Corps conducts an annual
  selection board to select Majors to command Recruiting Stations to ensure our best
  officers are assigned to recruiting duty.
  The Marine Corps Recruiting Command (MCRC) serves as the conduit that provides
  the Corps with a steady flow of quality enlisted and officer accessions. During
  fiscal year 2005, the MCRC succeeded in achieving its accession mission, ensuring
  the Marine Corps met its appropriate end strength. Unique in this process is the
  command relationship between the recruitment and initial training of these young
  men and women. The commanding general of each recruiting region is also respon-
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  sible for the initial recruit training or ‘‘boot camp.’’ Therefore, each commanding
  general is responsible for the recruitment and initial training has direct influence
  on the quality of young men and women arriving at boot camp. Additionally, each
  recruiter is evaluated on his applicant’s success at boot camp. Quality of individuals
  is stressed at all levels throughout the process of transforming marines. This results
  in young marines who are committed to fulfilling a promise to their Nation—that
  they be ready to fight and win when she calls.
  Question. What steps do you feel should be taken to ensure that current operational
  requirements and tempo do not adversely impact the overall readiness, recruiting
  and retention, and morale of the Marine Corps?
  Answer. As stated earlier, I am also concerned with the possibility of long-term
  effects of combat DEPTEMPO on career progression. Optimally, we would like to
  achieve a sustainable deployment ratio, employ our Reserves as envisioned, and better
  manage the personnel tempo of those marines in high demand-low density
  MOSs. General Hagee has stated the USMC will require about 180,000 marines. If
  confirmed, I will address this challenge. To ensure the Nation retains a viable, capable
  Marine Corps and avoid hollowing our force, endstrength changes require a considerable,
  concomitant investment—in manpower accounts, for infrastructure, and
  equipping the force.
  QUALITY OF LIFE
  Question. What do you consider to be the most essential elements supporting the
  quality of military life for marines and their families, and if confirmed, what would
  be your goals in this regard?
  Answer. Quality of life means ensuring marines are well-trained, well-equipped,
  and well-led, so when we ask them to fight, they can win—and return home to their
  families. If I am confirmed, this will be my number one priority.
  Individually, marines define quality of life as sufficient financial compensation, a
  reasonable OPTEMPO, health care, housing, infrastructure/installation management,
  and community services. This means that while our marines are deployed, we
  will take care of their families as if they are our own. When our marines return
  to their home stations, we will do our best to ensure that their needs are met, and
  the wide range of community services that we provide are well-tailored to support
  the requirements of the marines and their families.
  Question. Have you recently visited the regimental level enclaves at Camp Pendleton?
  Answer. Not since I was the commanding general of 1st Marine Division in 2002.
  Question. Does the single unaccompanied Marine Corps housing there meet your
  standards for an appropriate quality of life?
  Answer. Absolutely not. Our marines expect better; they deserve better. Historically,
  in providing for our marine families, we were forced into a situation that we
  could not concurrently provide for our single marines. As division commander, I visited
  all of those regimental camps and I found that single, unaccompanied Marine
  Corps housing at Camp Pendleton did not meet my standards for an appropriate
  quality of life. The Marine Corps is currently committed to resolve all remaining
  bachelor housing deficiencies by fiscal year 2012, under a program initiated by the
  Commandant. If confirmed, I intend to carry out General Hagee’s commitment.
  RECAPITALIZATION
  Question. The Marine Corps intends to concurrently recapitalize several of its
  front line systems. The MV–22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, the Expeditionary Fighting
  Vehicle, and the Joint Strike Fighter are all scheduled to be in production at the
  same time.
  Do you believe that these production plans are realistic in light of the demands
  on resources imposed by maintaining current readiness?
  Answer. We have no other choice. The dual requirements of modernizing the force
  for the long war while sustaining combat operations in support of the global war
  on terror does strain the limited resources available to the Marine Corps. We could
  not accomplish both these tasks without the responsive effort of Congress. The
  Corps has been very careful to ensure that we have clearly identified our requirements
  and that we field only those capabilities necessary for our Nation’s defense.
  Through the efforts of marines, industry, and Congress, we have an achievable longterm
  plan to provide better trained and equipped marines for the long war.
  ARMY AND MARINE CORPS CAPABILITIES
  Question. What are your views regarding the joint development and acquisition
  of Army and Marine Corps equipment?
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  Answer. I fully support the joint development and acquisition of Army and Marine
  Corps equipment. Our two Services share a great deal in common with regard to
  tactics, and the operational environment. Further, insofar as the global war on terrorism
  is concerned, we fight the same enemy side-by-side, on the same ground. We
  often find that we share common requirements. When that occurs, joint development
  and acquisition are clearly warranted; it reduces costs and ensures compatibility. I
  would add a cautionary note, however: under some circumstances there are differences
  in roles and missions that drive differences in requirements. These provide
  the Nation with the broad spectrum of capabilities it requires.
  Question. Do you believe the Joint Staff should have a role in synchronizing Army
  and Marine Corps requirements and service programs?
  Answer. Both Joint Forces Command and the Joint Staff are in a position to assist
  the Army and Marine Corps in identifying opportunities to exploit commonality
  in our requirements, and to facilitate cooperative development of systems. Joint
  Staff oversight of requirements definition maximizes the interoperability that is critical
  to battlefield success, and ensures requirements for those Service unique capabilities
  are met.
  Question. What programs would you consider to be candidates for joint program
  development for the Army and Marine Corps?
  Answer. Where the Army and Marine Corps find commonality in missions, tactics,
  and operational environments, there will be opportunities for joint program development.
  The global war on terrorism provides many examples. Army and Marine
  Corps forces in Iraq and Afghanistan face the same threat, under the same conditions,
  and are accomplishing the same mission. Accordingly, the two Services require
  similar mobility capabilities. As we seek a replacement for the aging fleet of
  High Mobility, Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicles, the Army and Marine Corps should
  pursue a common replacement, such as the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. Similarly,
  because the Army and Marine Corps have the same requirements in force protection,
  comprehensive vehicle survivability measures are sound candidates for joint
  development. Other areas include command and control systems, some infantry
  weapons, and artillery systems. Our goal is to continue to achieve the same resounding
  success the Army and Marine Corps realized with the joint development
  of the 155mm howitzer.
  SEA BASING
  Question. The Sea Base has long been envisioned as an element of the Department
  of the Navy’s Sea Power 21 concept and has emerged in this future years defense
  program as one of the centerpieces of the future force.
  If confirmed, how will you ensure that the Sea Base concept of operations is fully
  integrated with the Marine Corps operational requirements?
  Answer. The Marine Corps uses a concept based requirements system, in which
  our baseline requirements are derived from a family of warfighting concepts. We
  have adopted the Joint Seabasing Concept as one of our own, and it appears within
  our most recently published volume of Service concepts. At our Marine Corps Combat
  Development Command, we have established a Seabasing Integration Division
  that is organized and manned specifically for the purpose of ensuring that the actions
  we take to implement the tenets of the Joint Seabasing Concept are fully integrated
  with our other requirements. We vet each requirement for its applicability
  to seabasing to ensure that our equipment and our organizational structure are designed
  to facilitate seabased operations.
  Question. What are the Marine Corps’ greatest challenges in projecting power
  from the Sea Base in support of operations ashore?
  Answer. Our single greatest challenge is the availability of sufficient amphibious
  and maritime prepositioning ships to enable the strategic deployment and operational
  employment of a credible and sustainable seabased force. We work closely
  with our Navy counterparts to address the design and resourcing of these ships,
  which provide our Nation with proven capabilities in forward presence and forcible
  entry.
  JOINT FORCES COMMAND
  Question. In your view, what is the appropriate role for the U.S. Joint Forces
  Command (USJFCOM) with respect to Marine Corps experimentation, acquisition,
  and exercise planning and execution?
  Answer. The greatest impact that the USJFCOM can have is through its influence
  on joint standards and harmonization. With respect to acquisition programs, while
  we do not want to sacrifice what are truly unique contributions to national security
  in the name of jointness, it is important that we rigorously consider alternatives.
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  USJFCOM can serve as a catalyst for this consideration through its experimentation
  efforts. It is appropriate for USJFCOM to work in partnership with the regional
  combatant commanders to coordinate and synchronize of worldwide joint exercises,
  provide joint training models and scenarios, and establish joint training
  tasks, conditions, and standards.
  NAVAL SURFACE FIRE SUPPORT
  Question. The DD(X) program was initiated to fill the capability gap for naval surface
  fire support. The original requirement for 24 to 32 DD(X) ships, each with two
  155mm Advanced Gun Systems, was reduced to 12 ships, and then to 10 ships in
  prior years and has been further reduced to 7 ships in the proposed fiscal year 2007
  budget.
  In your view, does this significant reduction in the number of DD(X) destroyers
  meet the Marine Corps’ requirement for Naval Surface Fire Support?
  Answer. Our operational lessons learned from Iraq and Afghanistan emphasizes
  the value of volume and precision fires. We have 230 years of naval interest in this
  area and know that the transformational technology the Navy is developing will
  make NSFS relevant and vital to our concepts for conducting Expeditionary Maneuver
  Warfare in the future.
  Given the current fiscal environment, there is additional risk due to the reduction
  in planned DD(X)s procurement; this results in some unaddressed targets and increased
  time to accomplish the mission during a forcible entry scenario.
  JOINT ACQUISITION PROGRAMS
  Question. What are your views regarding joint acquisition programs, such as the
  Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) and the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)?
  Answer. The Marine Corps fully supports more joint development where common
  capability gaps exist. The end result of a joint program office is to achieve commonality
  and affordability. Services participating in joint programs leverage off each
  others strengths to ensure that the program delivers an affordable solution to a joint
  requirement.
  The JSF program is an excellent example of a joint program fulfilling the joint
  common solution. With the USAF and the USN, the JSF program is based on delivering
  three variants of aircraft that will still allow each Service to fill its particular
  mission set, but strives to maintain affordability of the program with commonality.
  The JSF Program Office maintains personnel from all Services and also includes an
  additional eight countries who are interested in procuring the JSF, allowing each
  Service to work on common solutions yet still meet their specific mission requirements
  for the aircraft.
  Another example of a successful joint program office is the V–22. Additionally, the
  Marine Corps is partnering with the Air Force on the C–130J.
  JTRS may be a classic example of a single program that is challenged by both
  technology and the attempt to provide all of the capabilities desired by all Services.
  In this case, both requirements and technology need to be properly synchronized.
  Question. Do you see utility in encouraging the Services to conduct more joint development,
  especially in the area of helicopters and unmanned systems?
  Answer. Yes, there is utility and cost savings inherent in the joint development.
  In the area of unmanned aircraft system development opportunity exists to jointly
  develop common capability sets. Service specific requirements most often require
  unique attributes of the air vehicle: speed, range, stealth characteristics, payload capacity,
  launch and recovery method, etc. but command and control methods and
  payload capabilities are often ‘‘commodity capabilities’’ that lend to joint development.
  For helicopters, there is utility in collaboration on aircraft subsystems, aircrew
  safety/survivability, aircraft safety/survivability, avionics for situational awareness
  and communication devices. We must continue this process for the long-term and
  explore a joint follow-on aircraft development. However, the unique nature of shipboard
  operations is a prevailing characteristic that marines must address and
  operationalize in our procurement processes.
  Question. If so, what enforcement mechanisms would you recommend to implement
  more joint program acquisition?
  Answer. I have not had an opportunity to study the specifics of joint program acquisition
  in enough detail to provide an acceptable answer to the committee.
  SERVICE IN IRAQ
  Question. During your prior combat tours of duty in Iraq, were there any incidents
  within your command of detainee abuse or allegations of abuse of civilians like those
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  at Haditha and Hamandiya? If so, please explain the circumstances and the describe
  the actions that you took in response to these incidents?
  Answer. My prior tours in Iraq presented, in some ways, a uniquely different set
  of circumstances. OIF Part I was the more traditional combat mission. So the interface
  and interaction with the civilians was fundamentally different than that found
  in Iraq today. However, there was the expectation then, as there is today, that marines
  will comply with our core values and that we protect those on the battlefield
  that we should protect and that we will not harm those that come under our control.
  We did have some substantiated cases of detainee abuse, but there were very few
  of those. There were cases that included actions such as assault (the assault in one
  case was severe enough that the detainee subsequently died), destruction of property,
  and mistreatment of detainees. The marines involved were held accountable
  at a variety of different disciplinary forums—some were court-martialed and others
  received non-judicial punishment. In sum, if a marine went beyond the bounds of
  acceptable behavior they were held accountable.
  CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT
  Question. In order to exercise its legislative and oversight responsibilities, it is important
  that this committee and other appropriate committees of Congress are able
  to receive testimony, briefings, and other communications of information.
  Do you agree, if confirmed for this high position, to appear before this committee
  and other appropriate committees of Congress?
  Answer. Yes, sir.
  Question. Do you agree, when asked, to give your personal views, even if those
  views differ from the administration in power?
  Answer. Yes, sir.
  Question. Do you agree, if confirmed, to appear before this committee, or designated
  members of this committee, and provide information, subject to appropriate
  and necessary security protection, with respect to your responsibilities as Commandant
  of the Marine Corps?
  Answer. Yes, sir.
  Question. Do you agree to ensure that testimony, briefings, and other communications
  of information are provided to this committee and its staff and other appropriate
  committees?
  Answer. Yes, sir.
  [Question for the record with answer supplied follows:]
  QUESTION SUBMITTED BY SENATOR JOHN THUNE
  CHANGES TO THE MARINE CORPS
  1. Senator THUNE. General Conway, as Commandant of the Marine Corps, you
  would obviously have enormous responsibility in attending to the organization and
  readiness of the Marine Corps and for advising the President. Given your reputation
  as an officer who is consistently objective, honest, and dedicated to the success of
  the mission, in conjunction with your extensive combat experience, what are some
  changes, if any, that you would propose the Marine Corps make?
  

• 

  General CONWAY

  At 01:36:49
  

  There are many issues that I am studying as I prepare to assume
  the duties and responsibilities of Commandant of the Marine Corps. My goal
  will be to provide our Nation that which she has come to expect for the past 230
  years: marines, trained, educated, equipped; ready and determined to prevail over
  whatever challenges lay ahead all the while being prudent stewards of the country’s
  resources.
  Any changes will be designed to hone the unique air-ground-logistics capabilities
  inherent in all Marine air-ground task forces (MAGTFs). The ability of your marines
  to operate and win in complex environments depends on their ability to expertly
  coalesce all the combat power of an air-ground logistics force. The unique ability of
  marines to operate as a MAGTF provides our Nation with capabilities much greater
  than the sum of its parts—true in all sizes of the MAGTF from Marine Expeditionary
  Unit to Marine Expeditionary Force and equally true throughout the spectrum
  of warfare from humanitarian assistance to major combat operations. This unique
  ability will continue to be forged through intense training throughout our Marines’
  military service, from boot camp to battlefield, and at every level, from squad-level
  drills to MATGF staff planning.
  Furthermore, with the additive advantages of the right technologies and equipment,
  our core competencies of warfighting excellence will continue to provide cer-
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  tainty in execution whenever our country calls. Of course, continued improvement
  in training, equipping, and organization would be negligible if the force we have
  today is not properly and rapidly reconstituted and reset. Providing America a credible
  force—fully manned and equipped—is imperative. My plans will focus on ensuring
  that our Nation will continue to have a Corps of Marines, trained, manned, and
  equipped-ready to answer her call.
  I look forward to discussing these issues and solutions to these challenges with
  you in the future. I am confident that with your support, our Marine Corps will remain
  our Nation’s force in readiness.
  [The nomination reference of Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, USMC,
  follows:]
  NOMINATION REFERENCE AND REPORT
  AS IN EXECUTIVE SESSION,
  SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES,
  June 14, 2006.
  Ordered, That the following nomination be referred to the Committee on Armed
  Services:
  The following named officer for appointment as Commandant of the Marine
  Corps, and appointment to the grade indicated while assigned to a position of importance
  and responsibility under title 10, United States Code, sections 5043 and 601:
  To be General
  Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, USMC, 2270.
  [The biographical sketch of Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, USMC,
  which was transmitted to the committee at the time the nomination
  was referred, follows:]
  RE ´ SUME´ OF SERVICE CAREER OF LT. GEN. JAMES T. CONWAY, USMC
  Date of Rank: 2 Dec. 2002.
  Date of Birth: 26 Dec. 1947.
  Date Commissioned: 1 Nov. 1970.
  MRD: 1 Jul. 2009.
  Education/Qualifications:
  Southeast Missouri State University, BS, 1969.
  The Basic School, 1971.
  Marine Corps Command and Staff College, 1983.
  Air War College, 1989.
  CAPSTONE, 1998.
  Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course, 1998.
  Infantry Officer.
  Joint Specialty Officer.
  Language(s): None.
  Commands:
  Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force (Lieutenant General: Nov.
  2002–Sept. 2004).
  Deputy Commander, U.S Marine Forces Central Command (Major General: Aug.
  2002–Nov. 2002).
  Commanding General, 1st Marine Division (Major General: Aug. 2000–July 2002).
  President, Marine Corps University (Brigadier General: Oct. 1998–July 2000).
  Commanding Officer, The Basic School (Colonel: Apr. 1993–June 1996).
  Commanding Officer, 3d Battalion, 2d Marines, 2d Marine Division (Lieutenant
  Colonel: Jan. 1990–July 1991).
  Joint Assignments:
  Deputy Director, J–3 (NMCC–3; J–34), Joint Staff (Brigadier General: June 1996–
  Sept. 1998).
  Senior Aide to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Lieutenant Colonel: Sept.
  1985–0ct. 1987).
  Service Staff Assignments:
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  Head, Promotions Branch; Head, Officer Assignments Branch (Lieutenant Colonel/
  Colonel: July 1991–Apr. 1993).
  Operations Officer, G–3, 2d Marine Division (Lieutenant Colonel: May 1989–Jan.
  Head, Current Operations Branch, Plans, PP&O Department (Lieutenant Colonel:
  Oct. 1987–June 1988).
  Significant Combat Experience:
  Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force (Operation Iraqi Freedom I).
  Commanding Officer, 3d Battalion, 2d Marines (Operations Desert Shield/Storm).
  Operations Officer, 31st Marine Amphibious Unit (Beirut).
  [The Committee on Armed Services requires certain senior military
  officers nominated by the President to positions requiring the
  advice and consent of the Senate to complete a form that details
  the biographical, financial, and other information of the nominee.
  The form executed by Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, USMC, in connection
  with his nomination follows:]
  UNITED STATES SENATE
  COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
  Room SR–228
  Washington, DC 20510–6050
  COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES FORM
  BIOGRAPHICAL AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION REQUESTED OF
  NOMINEES
  INSTRUCTIONS TO THE NOMINEE: Complete all requested information. If more
  space is needed use an additional sheet and cite the part of the form and the question
  number (i.e. A–9, B–4) to which the continuation of your answer applies.
  PART A—BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
  INSTRUCTIONS TO THE NOMINEE: Biographical information furnished in this part
  of the form will be made available in committee offices for public inspection prior
  to the hearings and will also be published in any hearing record as well as made
  available to the public.
  1. Name: (Include any former names used.)
  James T. Conway.
  2. Position to which nominated:
  Commandant of the Marine Corps.
  3. Date of nomination:
  June 9, 2006.
  4. Address: (List current place of residence and office addresses.)
  [Nominee responded and the information is contained in the committee’s executive
  files.]
  5. Date and place of birth:
  December 26, 1947; Walnut Ridge, Arkansas.
  6. Marital Status: (Include maiden name of wife or husband’s name.)
  Married to Annette Louise Drury Conway.
  7. Names and ages of children:
  Brandon, age 34; Scott, age 32; and Samantha, age 28.
  8. Government experience: List any advisory, consultative, honorary, or other
  part-time service or positions with Federal, State, or local governments, other than
  those listed in the service record extract provided to the committee by the executive
  branch.
  None.
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  9. Business relationships: List all positions currently held as an officer, director,
  trustee, partner, proprietor, agent, representative, or consultant of any corporation,
  firm, partnership, or other business enterprise, educational, or other institution.
  None.
  10. Memberships: List all memberships and offices currently held in professional,
  fraternal, scholarly, civic, business, charitable, and other organizations.
  Sigma Phi Epsilon SE Missouri State University; President.
  Inter Fraternity Council SE Missouri State University; President.
  11. Honors and Awards: List all scholarships, fellowships, honorary society
  memberships, and any other special recognitions for outstanding service or achievements
  other than those listed on the service record extract provided to the committee
  by the executive branch.
  Scholarship; Southeast Missouri State University.
  Seminar XXI, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  Harvard Executive Leadership Series, 1999.
  Southeast Missouri State University Alumni of the Year, 2004.
  12. Commitment to testify before Senate committees: Do you agree, if confirmed,
  to appear and testify upon request before any duly constituted committee
  of the Senate?
  Yes.
  13. Personal views: Do you agree, when asked before any duly constituted committee
  of Congress, to give your personal views, even if those views differ from the
  administration in power?
  Yes.
  [The nominee responded to the questions in Parts B–E of the
  committee questionnaire. The text of the questionnaire is set forth
  in the Appendix to this volume. The nominee’s answers to Parts B–
  E are contained in the committee’s executive files.]
  SIGNATURE AND DATE
  I hereby state that I have read and signed the foregoing Statement on Biographical
  and Financial Information and that the information provided therein is, to the
  best of my knowledge, current, accurate, and complete.
  LT. GEN. JAMES T. CONWAY, USMC.
  This 6th day of June, 2006.
  [The nomination of Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, USMC, was reported
  to the Senate by Chairman Warner on August 1, 2006, with
  the recommendation that the nomination be confirmed. The nomination
  was confirmed by the Senate on August 2, 2006.]
  VerDate 11-SEP-98 14:22 Jun 28, 2007 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00372 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6602 36311.TXT SARMSER2 PsN: SARMSER2
  NOMINATIONS OF GEN BANTZ J. CRADDOCK,
  USA, FOR REAPPOINTMENT TO BE GENERAL
  AND TO BE COMMANDER, U.S. EUROPEAN
  COMMAND; VADM JAMES G.
  STAVRIDIS, USN, FOR APPOINTMENT TO BE
  ADMIRAL AND TO BE COMMANDER, U.S.
  SOUTHERN COMMAND; NELSON M. FORD TO
  BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE ARMY
  FOR FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND COMPTROLLER;
  AND RONALD J. JAMES TO BE
  ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE ARMY FOR
  MANPOWER AND RESERVE AFFAIRS
  TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2006
  U.S. SENATE,
  COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES,
  Washington, DC.
  The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:36 a.m. in room SH–
  216, Hart Senate Office Building, Senator John Warner (chairman)
  presiding.
  Committee members present: Senators Warner, McCain, Inhofe,
  Talent, Cornyn, Levin, and Reed.
  Committee staff members present: Charles S. Abell, staff director;
  and Leah C. Brewer, nominations and hearings clerk.
  Majority staff members present: William M. Caniano, professional
  staff member; Regina A. Dubey, professional staff member;
  Gregory T. Kiley, professional staff member; Sandra E. Luff, professional
  staff member; Derek J. Maurer, professional staff member;
  Elaine A. McCusker, professional staff member; David M.
  Morriss, counsel; Lynn F. Rusten, professional staff member; Sean
  G. Stackley, professional staff member; Scott W. Stucky, general
  counsel; Kristine L. Svinicki, professional staff member; Diana G.
  Tabler, professional staff member; and Richard F. Walsh, counsel.
  Minority staff members present: Richard D. DeBobes, Democratic
  staff director; Evelyn N. Farkas, professional staff member; Michael
  J. Kuiken, professional staff member; Gerald J. Leeling, minority
  counsel; Peter K. Levine, minority counsel; and Michael J.
  McCord, professional staff member.
  Staff assistants present: David G. Collins and Jessica L. Kingston.
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  Committee members’ assistants present: Russell J. Thomasson,
  assistant to Senator Cornyn; Bob Taylor and Stuart C. Mallory, assistants
  to Senator Thune; Mieke Y. Eoyang, assistant to Senator
  Kennedy; Frederick M. Downey, assistant to Senator Lieberman;
  Elizabeth King, assistant to Senator Reed; and William K. Sutey,
  assistant to Senator Bill Nelson.
  OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JOHN WARNER,
  CHAIRMAN
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Good morning, everyone.
  We’re pleased that we have four distinguished nominees before
  the committee this morning.
  On our first panel, we have General John Craddock, United
  States Army, who has been nominated to be Commander, United
  States European Command (EUCOM), and Vice Admiral James
  Stavridis, U.S. Navy, who has been nominated to be Commander,
  United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).
  On our second panel, we’ll consider two civilian nominations:
  Nelson Ford, who has been nominated to be Assistant Secretary of
  the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller, and Ronald
  James, who has been nominated to be the Assistant Secretary of
  the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.
  We welcome our nominees, and we welcome their families.
  I now ask General Craddock and Admiral Stavridis to introduce
  their guests. But, first, Senator Levin, do you have comments before
  we continue?
  STATEMENT OF SENATOR CARL LEVIN
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Let me ask that my full statement be inserted
  into the record and I will simply join you in welcoming our four
  well-qualified nominees. We welcome their families. I join you in
  saying, as we always do, how indebted we are to the families of our
  nominees, because they, indeed, sacrifice a great deal to make it
  possible for the nominees to perform their duties. We appreciate
  their willingness, as well as our nominees’ willingness, to continue
  in public service and to support that service.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  I very much associate myself with that. I
  usually wait until after they’re introduced, and then I’m able to
  speak to them, but we’ll go right ahead.
  General, won’t you introduce your family?
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would first like
  to introduce my wife, Linda, who is the best soldier in the
  Craddock family, by far. She and I have soldiered on several great
  adventures over the last 35 years in support of the Army and in
  support of our Nation’s Armed Forces. She takes care of soldiers
  and families, and now, in the joint world, our servicemembers and
  their families, and does it magnificently. So, I’m glad she’s here
  with us today.
  Also, I’d like to introduce a dear friend and neighbor from Coral
  Gables, Ana Navarro. We have established a wonderful friendship
  since my assignment down to U.S. SOUTHCOM in the Miami area,
  and I’m certainly glad—and Linda’s glad—that she’s here with us
  today.
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  I have two members, here on the front row, from the
  SOUTHCOM legislative affairs staff that probably are no stranger
  to most folks here, Kim Lowry and Paula Penson. I think they have
  done a magnificent job preparing us for today’s event.
  So, I thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you very much.
  Admiral Stavridis?
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you very much, Senator Warner.
  I have my own small delegation here today. Senior member, my
  mom, Shirley Stavridis. She was the wife of my dad, a retired Marine
  colonel, who’s passed away, but I hope is with us in spirit
  today. Also, my wife, Laura, who’s been with me throughout my entire
  Navy career, and been the keeper of the home fires on the 12
  operational deployments I’ve made in 30 years in the Navy. I’m
  very proud of her, and I’m proud she could be here with us today.
  Also, my two daughters, Christina, who’s a senior at the University
  of Virginia, where they call them ‘‘fourth-years.’’ She’s going to
  graduate, and hopes to come up and work here in Washington
  somewhere when she finishes in school. So, we’re all trying to talk
  her out of that, but she’ll probably end up coming anyway. My
  other daughter, Julia, who’s 15, and she’s a sophomore at Bishop
  O’Connell High School, in Arlington, Virginia. We have two good
  friends here, Greg and Diane Lengyel. Greg’s an Air Force colonel
  and is doing a fellowship over at Brookings, and thought he might
  come over here and see what a Senate hearing looks like. Lastly,
  Lieutenant Colonel Skip Sherrell, from the Joint Staff, who has
  been very helpful this week in enabling me to come and pay some
  calls on all the distinguished Senators.
  Thank you very much, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you, Admiral.
  I welcome all the families. As my colleague Senator Levin said,
  we recognize that we don’t get to these seats, with these ranks, unless
  there’s been a strong and full partnership with the family
  members throughout those long careers. Both of these gentlemen
  have been recognized by the President of the United States for
  their extraordinary professional capabilities. In these two men,
  subject to the confirmation by the Senate, the President and the
  Nation reposes a very heavy responsibility, not only as it relates
  to the men and women in uniform under their command, and the
  many civilians that are also associated, but entrusted them to keep
  the freedom that we enjoy here at home, and the credibility of the
  United States in the eyes of the world beyond our shores.
  I particularly enjoyed visiting with your mother. I reminisced
  about how cold it was in Korea, and she corroborated. Your father,
  her husband, had the same problem I had when we got back home.
  Thank you for that. That’s very reassuring.
  General Craddock, you currently serve as Commander of the U.S.
  SOUTHCOM, a position you have held since November 2004. You
  are an armor officer, by specialty; quite the distinguished career,
  with various operational assignments and units in the 3rd Armored
  Division, the 24th Infantry Division, was battalion commander during
  Operation Desert Storm, awarded the Silver Star, and the ‘‘Big
  Red One,’’ the 1st Infantry Division, which you commanded from
  2000 to 2002. You served previously on the Joint Staff as the As-
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  sistant Deputy Director of Strategy and Policy and as Senior Military
  Assistant to the Secretary of Defense. That’s a very distinguished
  career.
  Admiral, you currently serve as the Senior Military Assistant to
  the Secretary of Defense.
  You, too, have had an exceptional and
  distinguished military career: commanding officer of the U.S.S.
  Barry, the second in that class of ships, the DDG–52s, from 1993
  to 1995; subsequently commanded Destroyer Squadron 21, and on
  it goes with a number of ships. But we also talked a great deal
  about mutual friends that you have in the Navy, and particularly
  Admiral Mack, who is Superintendent of the Naval Academy, and
  what a profound influence he had on you.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  The committee has asked our nominees to
  answer a series of advanced policy questions. They’ve responded to
  those questions. Without objection, I will make the questions a part
  of the record.
  I also have certain standard questions we ask of each nominee
  who appears before the committee, and I’ll now propound those
  questions and ask if you will respond accordingly.
  Have you adhered to applicable laws and regulations governing
  conflicts of interest?
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Have you assumed any duties or undertaken
  any actions which would appear to presume the outcome of the confirmation
  process?
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  No, sir.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  No, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Will you ensure your staff complies with
  deadlines established for requested communications, including
  questions for the record in hearings?
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Will you cooperate in providing witnesses
  and briefers in response to congressional requests?
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Will those witnesses be protected from any
  reprisal for their testimony in the briefings?
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Do you agree, if confirmed, to appear and
  testify, upon request, before this committee?
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Do you agree to give your personal views, if
  asked by this committee to do so, even if those views differ or are
  inconsistent with the administration then in office?
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Do you agree to provide documents, including
  copies of electronic forms of communications, in a timely manner,
  when requested by a duly constituted committee of Congress,
  VerDate 11-SEP-98 14:22 Jun 28, 2007 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00376 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 36311.TXT SARMSER2 PsN: SARMSER2
  or to consult with the committee regarding the basis for any goodfaith
  delay or denial in providing such documents?
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  I’d like now to ask if either of the nominees
  has a statement.
  STATEMENT OF GEN BANTZ J. CRADDOCK, USA, NOMINEE FOR
  REAPPOINTMENT TO BE GENERAL AND TO BE COMMANDER,
  U.S. EUROPEAN COMMAND
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just have a
  short opening statement, if I may.
  First of all, Mr. Chairman, Senator Levin, and distinguished
  members of the committee, it is, indeed, a privilege to appear here
  before you today as the nominee for the positions of command of
  the United States European Command and as the Supreme Allied
  Commander, Europe.
  I am, indeed, honored and humbled by the nomination from the
  Secretary of Defense and from the President, to take command of
  these historic and, I believe, relevant and important commands.
  I’d like to note that I began my military career in Europe, arriving,
  my first assignment to Germany, in 1972. Since that time,
  Linda and I have spent some 14 years in Germany over five different
  tours, where we have seen, upclose and personal, the transformation
  of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from
  a focus on collective defense to one of collective security. We’ve experienced
  the dramatic drawdown of the United States forces in
  the EUCOM, a transformation, I believe, essential to fit the conditions
  of the changed security environment today.
  I believe the challenges are many, and I believe the opportunities
  are great. I must say, I am, indeed, fortunate to be sitting here
  today with a good friend, my partner. We shared a cubicle in the
  Pentagon in the J–5 office in 1996. We worked together there as
  action officers, and we have stayed friends since. He is a superb
  naval officer, and I know he will serve with distinction.
  Thank you for the opportunity to be here today, Senator.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you. I think that’s a nice personal
  touch.
  Admiral?
  STATEMENT OF VADM JAMES G. STAVRIDIS, USN, NOMINEE
  FOR APPOINTMENT TO BE ADMIRAL AND TO BE COMMANDER,
  U.S. SOUTHERN COMMAND
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Senator Warner, Senator Levin, and distinguished
  members of the committee, let me echo John Craddock’s
  words and simply say it’s an honor and it’s a privilege to be asked
  to appear here today and to be considered for a position at U.S.
  SOUTHCOM.
  I do want to thank the committee for taking the time to do this
  hearing. I know you have immense pressing responsibilities at this
  particular time, and I appreciate that very much.
  If confirmed, I just, as an overview, want to assure you that this
  job will receive my full energy and attention every moment that I
  bring to work.
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  I’d like to also say thank you to John Craddock for those nice
  words. It’s been a long hike. If you had told the two of us, in 1995,
  back in the Pentagon, that we’d be appearing here, I think we both
  would have laughed uproariously, and headed out for a beer somewhere.
  John, it’s good to be here with you today.
  Thank you very much. Thanks, Jim.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  I’d like to invite my colleagues—Senator
  McCain, do you have a word or two?
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  No, sir. I appreciate the very outstanding service
  that both of these fine officers have performed in behalf of our
  Nation. I do note that both of them have served as the Senior Military
  Assistant to the Secretary of Defense. I wonder if that’s the
  pathway to success these days in Washington.
  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you very much.
  Senator Inhofe?
  

• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  I have no statements, Mr. Chairman, other than
  I’m looking forward to getting these two fine gentlemen confirmed.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you very much.
  Senator Cornyn?
  

• Senator CORNYN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity.
  I’ll defer until it comes time to ask a few questions.
  But thank you both for being here. Congratulations to you and
  your families.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you very much.
  General Craddock, I’d like to start with Afghanistan, your perspectives.
  Preceding you in this office was General Jones, who is
  well known to this committee, who has a level of respect that—
  among all members, on both sides of the aisle—has done a remarkable
  job in his capacity. I recall, in my visits, and I’m sure colleagues
  had similar visits, because whenever, as a rule, Members
  of the Senate, I know—perhaps the House, also—who were traveling
  in Europe, he’d often make himself available, travel sometimes
  considerable distance to visit with the congressional delegations
  and to give his perspective on the whole area of responsibility
  (AOR) in which he served. I recall his early thoughts about getting
  NATO involved in Afghanistan after the U.S. had done the initial
  basic operations over there, with the assistance of some others.
  Now, that situation has not gone as the world had expected—most
  particularly, this country and those allies who have been with us.
  But NATO has stepped in with a measure of courage, putting to
  the side, in many instances, the national caveats that are of great
  concern to NATO commanders. I think, again, General Jones did
  a great deal to lessen the national caveat problem. Those troops are
  performing bravely and courageously, and have experienced considerable
  loss of life and limb. Let’s have your perspective on what
  you would hope to do, building, I hope, on General Jones’s work,
  thus far.
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  I just would like to, first, echo and amplify with you also, the
  great respect and admiration that I have for General Jim Jones. I
  know that is shared across the Armed Forces. He has done a remarkable
  job. There has been a reawakening of NATO in many different
  perspectives—and, I think, in Afghanistan.
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  I have talked a bit with General Jones about Afghanistan, obviously
  have seen some reports and read of what’s happening. I think
  that, as General Jones had characterized it, the assumption of the
  International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in the
  north and spreading to the west, proceeded about on plan. Upon
  assumption of that mission in the southern part of the country, I
  think that there was probably an underestimation of the insurgent
  forces there. That is a known area for the large cultivation of the
  poppies. The opium comes out of there—the trafficking, if you will.
  I think that the movement of NATO forces have encroached into
  areas that had been, for a long time, safe havens or operating areas
  for these forces, these forces of instability and insecurity. Now they
  are being challenged, and that’s led to the conflict that we’ve seen
  here recently.
  In watching this and having been there a few times, I agree with
  General Jones’ assessment.
  This is not a military problem. It is, to
  the extent the military will have to set the conditions for development,
  for the reconstruction. That it is essential to, one, offer alternatives
  to the farmers who grow the poppies, that are into the heroin
  trafficking, and also, then, to provide services, infrastructure,
  job opportunities to the people of Afghanistan, beyond the cities. It
  has to happen and occur in an organized, structured manner out
  in the countryside. The people have to believe, at the end of the
  day, that governance is a good thing, and that their government is
  making their lives better today, and will continue to do so tomorrow.
  So, I think that that is a good program. I think that General
  Jones is leading that.
  I think that in the future there will have to be much work done
  with the NATO members who are contributing to the ISAF to ensure
  that they remain steadfast in their commitment, that they understand
  that there will be challenges to the security and the stability.
  But the fact is that that is the first priority mission for
  NATO today. I think it will continue to be. It is very important
  that we support that, to the extent that we can, and we keep the
  countries together in a strong alliance.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  The question of whether or not additional
  forces are needed—there’s been some requests from the field commanders—
  I hope that you will give due attention to those requests
  and as soon as you’ve had a chance, subject to confirmation, to, as
  they say in the military, snap in. I hope that you address that
  problem early on.
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Absolutely, Mr. Chairman. Indeed, there is
  a force capability requirement, and that is the level to which the
  force needs to be resourced. Again, presuming confirmation, I
  would look at that, posthaste.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you.
  On the subject of Iran—you have followed that, I’m certain—we
  awakened this morning with the activities at the United Nations,
  and—I won’t go into the details because all of us know what the
  situation is. France has, as of this morning, made an unusual
  move, which I think is somewhat different than what the initial
  thoughts were as to how we were going to deal with this problem
  of Iran’s apparent desire to go forward with programs which could
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  enable them to someday build, construct, and perhaps even have
  a delivery system for fissionable nuclear weapons.
  I just would like, generally, to bring to your attention the history
  of the Cold War, which I’m sure you’ve studied, which this committee—
  as a member now for 28 years, we went through that, and
  how the containment and the deterrence between NATO and the
  Soviet Union worked. It could well be that if diplomacy fails, that
  NATO could once again begin to perform a role of deterrence, because
  Iran is a threat to the whole world, and particularly Europe
  and the Middle East. Just tuck that away in your memory bank,
  because that worked, and it worked successfully, the deterrents for
  the Soviet Union, and we may have to formulate how NATO—because
  I think, should we have any military involvement—and I’m
  not suggesting in any way that, at this time, it will be done, but
  it should be multinational, and a framework of NATO, it seems to
  me would be a good place to start.
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you for that, Mr. Chairman.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Admiral, we discussed, in my office yesterday,
  a matter that’s always been of great interest to me, and that’s
  the Panama Canal. Apparently, at this point in time, Panama, understandably—
  a sovereign nation, looking at a series of very significant
  upgrades to that canal, and it’s going to cost several billion
  dollars. Where will they go for the funding? What nations will come
  in? That all points to perhaps bringing in the influence of other nations
  in that key region of the world, and that lifeline which is so
  important, not only to economic trade, but to the transfer of military
  vessels, notably our vessels. Would you give us a comment or
  two of your views on that?
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir. Certainly, the canal is a vital resource
  for the United States. Sixty-five percent of the vessels that
  pass through it are bound for U.S. ports. It’s our means to swing
  ships between the Atlantic and Pacific fleets. It’s of immense importance
  to this country.
  The Panamanians are seeking, as I understand it, sir, to recapitalize
  a project, $3 to $4 billion. President Torrijos is going to the
  Panamanian public in a referendum to seek approval for this process.
  It is unclear, at this time, exactly where the funding would
  come from. Probably, part of it would be from internal taxed resources
  within the Republic of Panama. Part of it would be from
  outside investors.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  That’s what concerns me, who those investors
  might be.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Particularly the extent to which China might
  see this as an opportunity to begin to have greater influence in this
  hemisphere.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  I think it’s an issue that we should continue
  to follow, as we are following, in general, Chinese economic and
  military-to-military contacts throughout the region. Senator, if I’m
  confirmed, I’ll continue to look very hard at that.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  I hope this country might think of being a
  partner—an active partner—to help—respecting the sovereignty of
  that country, but, at the same time, recognizing the key strategic
  importance of that canal to our operations.
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  Finally, Venezuela—again, the current leader of that country is
  trying to utilize his influence not only throughout littoral nations
  that provide for Central America, but, indeed, throughout the
  world. Much of his rhetoric and actions is antithetical to the interests
  of our Nation, and just basic principles of freedom and fundamental
  democracy. What do you hope to achieve there?
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Senator, I agree. I would start by simply saying
  that historically, as a country, the United States has enjoyed
  very good relations with Venezuela. Unfortunately, the current government
  has taken many anti-U.S. positions in various international
  fora. There is very harsh rhetoric from the leader of the
  current Venezuelan Government, and ties to countries like Cuba,
  Syria, Iran, and Belarus, that are disturbing. It seems as though
  the current Venezuelan leadership is attempting to create a kind
  of a block of countries in Latin America which could then be influenced
  to take anti-U.S. positions.
  The Venezuelans are also in the midst of large arms increases.
  They’ve just purchased 100,000 AK–103 rifles from the——
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  I think the total bill was several billion dollars
  worth of acquisition.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir. It’s been, again, disturbing. It’s not
  just rifles, it’s jet aircraft and helicopters, big programs. They have
  a lot of oil money. It’s a concern in the region, and we need to
  watch carefully.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Those military sales are being acquired primarily
  from Russia?
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  That’s correct, sir. I would conclude by saying
  we still have some military-to-military contact with the Venezuelans.
  To the degree we can influence them to move in a positive
  direction, we should do that. But, at the moment, Venezuela’s
  actions, as articulated by their government, have to be of concern
  in the region. If confirmed, it would be an area I would focus on,
  sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you very much.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Senator Levin.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you.
  General, in your written answers to pre-hearing questions relative
  to Afghanistan, you said that, ‘‘If NATO’s political or military
  will is lost in the Afghanistan ISAF mission, the future of NATO
  out-of-area operations, and, thus, the NATO response-force concept,
  will be severely jeopardized.’’ You discussed with the chairman the
  call of General Jones for an additional 2,000 to 2,500 troops and
  transport helicopters to bolster the NATO effort in southern Afghanistan,
  but, so far, the only substantial troop offer has come
  from Poland.
  Do you believe, from what you know, that other NATO members
  are going to provide the additional troops that General Jones has
  called for?
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Senator, in discussions yesterday, in talking
  with General Jones, there are indications, now, other nations will
  be stepping forward.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  I hope so. Do you believe that other changes are
  going to be needed to support the NATO mission in Afghanistan?
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  For example, would you advocate transferring responsibility for operations
  and intelligence relative to Afghanistan to the European
  Command from the Central Command (CENTCOM)?
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  I don’t, at this time, have the finite level of
  detail to be able to determine, right now, whether or not, upon the
  assumption of stage 4 transfer of authority to NATO for the entire
  country ISAF operation, exactly how much or what kind of intelligence
  transfers are needed. I believe that in the future there will
  be a definite need for increased communications and intelligence
  and information transfers between U.S. forces in Afghanistan and
  NATO. The extent of that and how the modalities of that will come
  together, I don’t know at this time.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Our staff heard from U.S. military and civilian
  officials in Afghanistan last month that there are insufficient funds
  for the quick-turnaround, small-scale projects that are critical to
  recruiting the population away from the Taliban. There are also reports
  that the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International
  Development requested about $600 million in fiscal year
  2006 supplemental for Afghanistan, but that the White House approved
  only $43 million. It’s hard to tell how much of the Commanders’
  Emergency Response Program (CERP) funds are being
  used by the commander in Afghanistan for the Provincial Reconstruction
  Teams (PRTs), but, by all accounts, in Afghanistan, the
  need outstrips the funds that are available. Will you report back
  to the committee on what amount of CENTCOM’s CERP funds are
  being spent on small reconstruction and development projects, such
  as the ones being funded by the PRTs? Will you report back to us
  your own professional opinion, as we would expect you to do on all
  matters, as to what the needs are in that area?
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, Senator, I will.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Admiral, in June 2006, President Bush declared
  that he would ‘‘like to close Guantanamo.’’ Under what circumstances,
  if any, would you recommend that the facilities at
  Guantanamo be closed?
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Senator, I would start by saying that today
  I see a need for Guantanamo. We have a brutal enemy who seeks
  to do us harm, and it seems to me we need a place to legally, transparently
  incarcerate individuals—detain them, I should say. We
  have had as many as 770 or so in Guantanamo. We’ve been gradually
  reducing that number down to about 450. I think it would be
  a very good thing if we continued to reduce the number of people
  there. As the numbers go down, if we continue to get the other
  countries to take their own nationals back, one could see, eventually,
  an instance in which we would no longer have a need for
  Guantanamo. I think that’s the genesis of the President’s remarks.
  So, it’s really a matter of winning in this war on terror, and also
  convincing our allies and partners to take back the people who are
  there. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that that’s going to happen in
  the immediate future, but it would certainly be everybody’s hope—
  my own included, if I were confirmed as Commander,
  SOUTHCOM.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Admiral, did you review the recently-released revised
  Field Manual on Interrogations?
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• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir, I have reviewed it. It’s a very detailed
  document. I have not read every line of it. I’m in the process
  of doing that. If confirmed, before taking command I will have read
  every line in the Army Field Manual. I think it’s a good document
  and an improvement, and it’s a clear document.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  What is your assessment as to how it’s being received
  by military and civilian personnel?
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Sir, my assessment, talking not as the
  SOUTHCOM commander, but talking to my friends who are involved
  in this, including, for example, Admiral Harry Harris, who’s
  the current commander at Guantanamo—I believe that the document
  is well received because it’s written in a way that the soldiers,
  sailors, airmen, and marines who are involved in interrogations
  can understand it. I can understand it when I read it, and
  that’s a strong improvement. Also, it has no classified annex. It’s
  open and it’s transparent.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Do you believe that interrogators at Guantanamo
  can carry out their mission within the standards that are set forth
  in that field manual?
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Senator, I’m not an expert in interrogations,
  but my personal belief is that they can.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  My time is up. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you very much.
  

• 

  Senator McCain

  At 01:36:49
  

  
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  General Craddock, opium cultivation has
  reached record levels in Afghanistan. Should the United States
  military be actively engaged in poppy eradication? Or ISAF military?
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you, Senator. Tough question. In the
  original agreements, the Brits were to focus their efforts on the
  eradication of the poppy fields. That has not happened. Actually,
  as you said, their production is up. I think that there has to be a
  concerted effort to eradicate those fields. As a part of the attraction
  to the lawless element, to the traffickers, to the terrorists who use
  the proceeds, the revenues generated by that trade, it may well be
  ISAF is going to have to, as they move to provide security and stability,
  take on the eradication of those fields. I don’t know that, but
  I know it has to be done. As stage 4 occurs and more U.S. forces
  come under the NATO control, it may well be, U.S. forces will be
  involved in that too. That is the genesis of the funding for the radicals
  and extremist insurgents there.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  A vicious circle.
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  There have been media reports concerning
  some kind of a truce or treaty being concluded between the Pakistani
  Government, President Musharraf, and the Taliban, in the
  areas along the Afghan/Pakistan border. What do you think of
  that? Is it true? What kind of a problem does that create if there
  is some kind of sanctuary along the Pakistan/Afghan border?
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  I am aware of an agreement. I do not know
  the details, other than what I have read here recently. I think that
  the key here is in assessing it through implementation. We need
  to keep watch. On the surface, it may be an agreement that will
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  work to control the border. In application, everyday execution, it
  may not work. So, I think we have to be watching closely. We have
  to see this movement back and forth across these borders. If a safe
  haven is created, it will cause enormous problems for NATO and
  for U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Again, I have no detailed information, but it is
  very disturbing, if some kind of sanctuary is provided for the
  Taliban by the Pakistani Government. We continue to be concerned
  about bad relations between the two countries already. But General
  Jones has recommended that NATO send additional forces into
  Afghanistan. We all know our forces are there, but we’re also pretty
  well stretched. Are you disappointed, so far, in the reaction of
  the NATO allies to this request for additional troops?
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Senator, I am. I am not surprised, given my
  experience in Europe and having served in a NATO command in
  the Balkans. There was a statement of requirements that the plan
  lays out, ‘‘Here are the troops we need.’’ It appears that it was
  sourced to about 85 percent of the capability required. A decision
  was made then to accept that risk and to go ahead and assume the
  mission.
  The key here now is to continue to work with the nations to
  source the remaining capabilities required. I think there’s some airlift
  and some attack helicopters and a few other—a strategic response
  force, a battalion strategic force available. That’s what has
  to continue to be worked with the nations, because it’s a plan that
  was agreed to, now it’s a matter of owning up to the commitment.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  I think the facts on the ground indicate in Afghanistan
  that there has been a resurgence of Taliban influence
  and activities, to the point where we now have, some cases, hundreds
  of Taliban engaged in combat. That’s very concerning. I wonder
  what may have gone wrong over the last 4 years that has allowed
  this resurgence.
  An additional follow-up question. I notice, for example, I think
  four Canadian troops were killed yesterday. Sometimes our allies
  get a little shaky when their personnel, obviously, are in harm’s
  way, and killed or injured. Maybe you could give me an idea of
  what went wrong and what needs to be done differently if we’re
  going to reverse this trend.
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  In talking a bit with those who work this
  every day, to include General Jones, the belief is that these Taliban
  forces, insurgents, had located in that area as a safe haven, away
  from urban areas, out in to the countryside. Second, those are large
  cultivation fields for the poppies. So, that was a natural attraction—
  provides, if you will, the sanctuary. I think the movement in
  of about 8,000 NATO forces pushed out into the countryside and
  confronted these safe havens, these sanctuaries, and that caused
  the contact that maybe had not been done previously to the extent
  that allowed it. I think, again, that the forces are adequate. It’s a
  matter of, as you said, resolve. There will be casualties taken. The
  assumption of stage 4, it may well be that NATO ISAF finds that
  there’ll be tougher fights in the future over in the east. But I think
  that the fact that now they are being engaged in larger numbers
  would indicate that it may be they were there for a while, and
  there were never forces out there engaging them where they were
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  living, operating, and training, which has occurred. But we must
  stay the course here, we must continue to have the resolve, work
  with the nations, and do this in a smart, meaningful way to set the
  conditions, then, because if the development doesn’t come in after
  the security is established in those regions, the people will not believe
  in the government, and the Taliban will be back.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Of course, that’s based on the ability of the government
  to control the areas.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  I thank you.
  I congratulate both of our witnesses. We look forward to having
  you in place as soon as possible, General.
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you, Senator.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you, Senator McCain.
  I would simply add, the seriousness of this question that both of
  us addressed, and that is the question of force levels. We have
  watched that debate here in Iraq. It continues. You now will be the
  point person, you will be that field commander that has to make
  the recommendations, make them in accordance with your professional
  judgment, make it strong, make it so it’s not any equivocation.
  Because, I have to tell you, NATO did very well in the Balkans,
  was very successful, but the credibility of NATO for the future
  is on the line right now in this operation.
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Mr. Chairman, I wholeheartedly agree and
  I will promise you I will do that as soon as possible, once confirmed.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you.
  

• Senator Reed

  At 01:36:49
  

  
  

• Senator REED

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
  General Craddock, you have served in many critical positions,
  with great expertise and fidelity, but I must confess I’m a bit troubled
  about this nomination. Last July, you were here before the
  committee trying to explain why you would not support the recommendation
  of Lieutenant General Schmidt with respect to an adverse
  action against General Miller for his activities in Guantanamo.
  I said, at that point, and that time, it was a moment to draw
  the line for accountability, not just at sergeants and majors, but
  general officers.
  You didn’t draw that line. You said, ‘‘imprecise
  guidance policy,’’ you couldn’t hold them accountable, but you chose
  to disregard, I think, what was a very considered and thoughtful
  report by the Special Inspector General, in favor of avoiding accountability.
  Today, accountability still, I think, has been evaded.
  I just am troubled. I think that is the critical issue of whether or
  not an individual at your level will make tough decisions, regardless
  of the consequences to his fellow officers and regardless of consequences
  to his superiors. It should not go without comment that
  General Miller was intimately involved with civilians and the Secretary
  of Defense in this particular issue and that by exonerating
  him, I think, at least you gave some comfort to the Secretary of Defense
  and to others. I don’t know if that’s been reciprocated.
  But I must say that based upon your career, which is one of fidelity
  to the uniform, I was disappointed then, and I still remain
  disappointed. I said it then publicly, and I say it again now.
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  I am just dismayed about the failure of senior-level civilians and
  senior military officers to be fully held accountable for palpable
  mistakes that have been made, even when recommended by another
  officer like General Schmidt. So, I want that comment to be
  in the record.
  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  

• 

  Senator MCCAIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  General Craddock may wish to respond.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, I know he does.
  Please respond.
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Senator, I understand your comments. I’m
  not going to review my rationale today. I’ve done that many times,
  and twice, I believe, before this committee. I will stand on the
  record of what I have said.
  I will tell you though that as a professional officer over many
  years, these decisions are always difficult. I have to act on the facts
  as they are given to me. I have to weigh all of the issues at hand.
  There’s obviously deep consideration given.
  I will tell you that it’s my personal belief that I will always take
  the hard right as opposed to the easy wrong. There will be those
  who differ with my judgment and the rationale, but the fact is the
  report given to me, the facts presented to me, led me to that decision.
  I then, as I am bound to do, referred that to the Army Inspector
  General who conducted an investigation.
  The results of that
  turned out to be the same as my result and my finding. So, that’s
  all I can say to that, Mr. Chairman.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Senator Reed, do you have anything further?
  

• Senator REED

  At 01:36:49
  

  I have no questions, Mr. Chairman. I just think
  that this represents another example of a lack of accountability and
  being rewarded for being compliant and not accountable.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  As the committee well knows, we have pending
  before us a hearing, at which time it’s anticipated General Miller
  will once again appear before this committee to re-examine this
  issue. As soon as you can advise me, Senator Levin, on the matters
  that you raise in connection with preparing for that hearing, we’ll
  move forward.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Let me just check with staff.
  I think, Mr. Chairman, the issue is, I’m trying to gather what
  the question is, apparently there’s some preliminary questions that
  need to be asked by staff in preparation for such a hearing. But,
  as far as I’m concerned, the quicker we get to the bottom of that
  issue, the happier I’m going to be.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  I agree with that. It seems to me, given the
  short period within this Congress is still in business, we have to
  tweak that.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes. I will, again, check into the status of that
  inquiry.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  If you would advise me, I’d appreciate it very
  much.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  But I do think Senator Reed has raised a question
  about accountability at higher levels that has just not been answered
  satisfactorily. I hope that our hearing with General Miller
  can shed at least some light on that failure of accountability at
  higher levels. We will look into the status of our pre-hearing ques-
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  tions and make sure that they’re promptly done, if they’re not already
  prepared.
  Thank you.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  I’d simply add that it’s anticipated that Colonel
  Pappas also would be included as a part of that hearing series.
  He’ll appear before the committee.
  

• Senator Inhofe

  At 01:36:49
  

  
  

• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  As I’ve talked to you before, General Craddock, I’ve been disturbed
  for a long time about the way the continent of Africa is divided
  up. I think it’s confusing. It’s difficult to do things, such as,
  right now, when we’re looking at the African brigades. I’ve been
  very active in this area. It’s my understanding now, although I’ve
  not seen anything specific on it, that there’s going to be an African
  command. Now, I’d like to ask you what that structure would be.
  How does that relate to CENTCOM and to EUCOM as far as your
  understanding is concerned?
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you, Senator.
  Indeed, I understand there are ongoing discussions and deliberations.
  I believe EUCOM has been tasked by the Chairman of the
  Joint Chiefs and the Secretary to provide a proposal. I am a proponent
  of a dedicated command for Africa.
  

• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  Now, that would be an additional command, I
  guess?
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  That would be an additional combatant command.
  

• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  Okay.
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Now, the question becomes—and that is
  what the work in progress is—how is it done? What is the shape,
  substance? As you’ve said, right now Africa is shared by three combatant
  commands. So, how would the arrangement, the geography,
  change, in terms of the Horn of Africa, which is now CENTCOM,
  East African islands, PACOM, and then the rest, EUCOM? I think
  that we have to wait—and I believe it’s due here the next few
  weeks—for the first proposal. I think it’s on the fast track, that we
  all recognize that our critical national interests in Africa are, indeed,
  very important, both from the counterterrorism perspective,
  the secure and stable environment, to the humanitarian perspective,
  with HIV/AIDS, endemic disease; and then, obviously, the energy
  issues are also quite relevant.
  So, we know there’s work in progress. It’s being pushed to a fast
  track, and I’ll be very interested to watch how this develops, because
  it will, indeed, be a key aspect of EUCOM in the future.
  

• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  I’d like to have this committee get involved in
  that because I have some ideas. I know that General Abizaid has
  been concerned. How can you break off the Horn of Africa, for example,
  where you have Djibouti and you have a lot of the terrorist
  activities that’s moving in there as a result of the squeeze in the
  Middle East? So, it’s a difficult thing to deal with.
  Also, I personally like the idea of a complete command just dedicated
  to the continent of Africa, because it’s become so incredibly
  important.
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
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• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  As I’ve gone around and talked to—in the different
  areas of the proposed sites for the five African brigades, I
  just think—I just can’t imagine that that is going to work very well
  if it’s divided into two or three different commands. So, we’ll be
  watching that real closely.
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  It’s already been mentioned, Admiral—
  Stavridis?
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Perfect.
  

• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  —Stavridis—oh, yes; well, I’ve said it twice now;
  that’ll be the last time—of the concern that is there in that command
  in the SOUTHCOM with Chavez, with the changes in Castro—
  well, let’s start with Castro. Right now, we don’t know for sure
  what’s going to happen to him. We know a little bit about his
  brother, about as much as you need to know. What is your feeling,
  anything you’d like to say in an open hearing, as to how you see
  Cuba, in the event of Castro’s stepping aside?
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you, Senator.
  Certainly, Cuba is front and center on the windshield for any
  commander at U.S. SOUTHCOM. If confirmed, it’ll be at the center
  of my site picture. I think, like all of us, I’m very hopeful of a
  peaceful transition to a democratic regime in Cuba. I have to say,
  I’m not optimistic of that happening in the immediate future. The
  basic signals we seem to get from Cuba today are that if Fidel Castro
  were to step aside or pass on, his brother, Raoul, would probably
  take the reins of power there. I think, in the end, very little
  would change under that scenario. The Cuban economy is extremely
  rocky at this moment. It’s propped up, in large measure,
  by oil subsidies from Venezuela. As a result of all those factors, we
  experience about 8,000 migrants a year coming here to our shores
  from Cuba. I think as well, Cuba is, according to the State Department,
  a state sponsor of terrorism.
  So there is a basket of problems there. I don’t think there’s a
  hopeful outlook in the immediate future. What the United States
  can do is continue to be supportive of the Cuban people and to hope
  for them, and to assure them that in the event of a transition to
  a democratic regime, we would be there for them.
  

• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  Some of us have been around long enough that
  we can remember the instability in that whole area down there,
  back during the Reagan years, and the changes that took place,
  very positive changes.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  But with the contras and the Sandinistas and
  Daniel Ortega—and now he’s running again. The information I
  have, he’s leading. Their election is in, what, November, I believe?
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  What do you see happening in terms of Nicaragua,
  if Ortega were to win that thing?
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Senator, I’m not an expert at all on Nicaraguan
  politics, which are complicated, but common sense would
  tell me, looking back, as I think you do, from the nature of your
  question, that Daniel Ortega was an opponent of the United States,
  an anti-American force in that country. Certainly, the election is a
  free and democratic one. Nicaragua is a sovereign country, and
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  they should pick their own leaders. They will. But I think we would
  be concerned about linkages between Nicaragua, Venezuela, and
  other countries in the region which would continue to move toward
  this idea of a block of nations that we spoke about earlier that
  could take anti-American positions. So, that would be of concern.
  If confirmed, it would be something I would follow closely, Senator.
  

• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  Good. There’s not a lot of time left, but there
  is one other subject that I feel very strongly about and that is the
  International Military Education and Training (IMET) program. In
  the National Defense Authorization Bill that we hope that we’ll be
  able to pass here shortly, we have some provisions that give easier
  access to that program. There was a time, when it first began, that
  we thought we were doing other countries a favor by allowing them
  to come here and get training. That’s totally changed, in my thinking,
  anyway. I think that we’re the beneficiaries of this program.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  I’d like to know—because it’ll affect all countries—
  we found out, readily, that if we have any restrictions on our
  ability to bring in people to train, the Chinese and others are always
  there, ready to do it.
  Mr. Chairman, I can’t think of any single thing that we can do
  that gives us a greater inside track with these countries than to
  be able to get the training over here.
  So, I’d like to ask each one of you to comment as to your feeling
  about the program and where you see it going.
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you, Senator.
  I would say, first, we support the American Servicemembers’ Protection
  Act (ASPA). Unquestionably, we want our servicemembers
  protected around the world. Unfortunately, the unintended consequence
  of that is this IMET problem. We are losing, every day,
  engagement opportunities with many nations around the world.
  Over the years, as you said, this has benefited them. But to bring
  them to our schools, our institutions, they have the opportunity to
  live in our culture, see strong democratic institutions, and civilian
  leadership of the military as a powerful thing. We gain from the
  engagement, the contact. We understand them better. When we’re
  there, we’re more appreciative and knowledgeable of their culture.
  We’re losing that in very critical countries.
  I have been a strong advocate to de-link the IMET program from
  the ASPA sanction in order that we can engage and not lose contact
  with a generation or two or three of officers and noncommissioned
  officers, in countries that are important to us, and it’s important
  to them to be linked with us. So, I certainly support and
  endorse any way possible that we can get this program back on
  track.
  

• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, it was unintended consequences, and it’s a
  program that I really feel strongly about. Do you agree, pretty
  much, Admiral?
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir. I think the expression up here is, I’d
  like to associate myself with the remarks of General Craddock.
  

• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  That’s the expression.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  I do so, completely. I’ll just point out that
  within the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility, 32 countries, 11 of
  them are affected by this. So, it’s extremely significant in
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  SOUTHCOM, I completely agree with General Craddock’s assessment
  and would hope that we can continue the program.
  

• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you.
  Mr. Chairman, that’s another reason we need to really get that
  thing moved along, because this bill will offer new opportunities for
  your guys to take advantage of IMET.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  That would be great.
  

• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you.
  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Senator, I’ve always been a strong proponent,
  as you have, of the IMET, and it’s interesting, the chapter—
  for those following this hearing, that might not know the specifics—
  it’s young officers of the foreign nations who are brought
  here and then given an opportunity, usually of up to a year or so,
  to study in our various military colleges and institutions. As you
  well know, Senator, so often those officers who are, let’s just say,
  young captains or majors go back home, and they rise through the
  ranks and usually become the senior military officers in their respective
  nations. That bond is of great value in times of stress,
  should it occur, because they often turn to their counterparts here,
  in American uniforms, having served with them, to seek advice and
  guidance.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  So, you’re right on target.
  

• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  I would go one step further and say not just the
  educational institutions, but much like Fort Sill and the artillery
  training in some of our military installations. It’s very significant.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir. Agree.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  No question about it. Also, Senator, we want
  to recognize that on this committee I know of no member who has
  given more time to study Africa than you have. Indeed, how many
  times have you been, say, just in the last 2 years or so?
  

• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  I’d say about eight times, I think.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  About eight times—and several of those, into
  the Darfur region. You’re to be commended for finding the opportunity
  to study that, and you are an expert on it.
  

• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  Mr. Chairman, a lot of people talk about the
  Darfur problems, but if you get into northern Uganda and the
  Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) problems up there, they’re every bit
  as bad, but they don’t get the attention.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Correct.
  

• Senator INHOFE

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you very much for your comments.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you very much, Senator Inhofe.
  

• Senator Cornyn

  At 01:36:49
  

  
  

• Senator CORNYN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  Gentlemen, in the global war on terror we have come to, I think,
  a greater understanding of the enemy that we confront, and it is
  a form of extremism and radicalism that has hijacked one of the
  world’s great religions. Whether you call the enemy Islamic extremists,
  Islamic radicals—others have used other terminology—while
  there may be some fault lines between Islamic extremists in different
  parts of the world, it is, I believe, part of the same enemy,
  which in the words of General John Abizaid, celebrates the murder
  of innocent civilians in pursuit of its goals. Recently the people of
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  America, and the world, were reminded of one of those groups,
  Hezbollah, who rained down Katyusha rockets supplied by Iran
  through Syria on civilian populations in northern Israel. I don’t
  know many people who have doubt that if they had been able to
  supply more lethal weapons—I don’t know many people who doubt
  that Hezbollah would have refused to use them, causing more
  death, more injury to innocent civilians.
  One of the other things that the American people have been reminded
  of is that Hezbollah has killed more Americans than any
  other terrorist organization in the world, except al Qaeda, dating
  back to 1983 in Beirut when 241 marines were killed. So, I want
  to ask you a little bit about—and I’ve had some of these conversations
  with General Craddock; he knows where I’m heading, but Admiral,
  I want to bring this to your attention to our backyard—and
  that is, South America, where Hezbollah has a foothold, particularly
  in the triborder region, where we know, as a matter of fact,
  they supply money to radical causes, to the Hezbollah headquarters,
  so to speak, in the Middle East. We also, I think, can all
  acknowledge the ease with which terrorist financing can transition
  into operations if, in fact, some operators were dropped in, or if not
  homegrown in our backyard in South America. So, I would like to
  get, Admiral, from you, please, what you believe that we ought to
  be doing, if confirmed, as part of the SOUTHCOM to deal with this
  potential threat in our backyard.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Senator, thank you for the question.
  I’ve had a chance to read a variety of intelligence reports, some
  of which are classified and we can’t go into here. But, at the unclassified
  level, I’ve looked at a Congressional Research Service
  study and a State Department study recently, looked at materials
  provided from U.S. SOUTHCOM. It appears certainly true that
  Hezbollah has a foothold, is a good way to put it, in the
  SOUTHCOM area of responsibility. The triborder area of Bolivia,
  Paraguay, and Brazil—has probably the largest population that
  we’re aware of right now. But there are outposts throughout the region.
  At this point, the best I can tell, it appears to be largely financing,
  as you alluded to, but it can segue very easily into human trafficking,
  the ability to move special-interest aliens into our country
  through human smuggling routes, surveillance—we have indications
  of the surveillance of the Panama Canal, for example. So,
  within the region, it’s of real concern.
  What can we do about it? I think our role at SOUTHCOM, at
  this point, is to be very plugged into all the intelligence, to work
  very closely with all of our partners in the region. I mean, this is
  one that obviously we can’t go down and solve by ourselves. We
  have to work one-on-one with our partners, and also try and create
  a regional hemispheric, if you will, sense of cooperation in this
  topic. So, I would say building partnership capacity with our partners,
  working with them closely, using intelligence aggressively,
  and being very aware of the problem, and highlighting it in all of
  our military-to-military activities, sir.
  

• Senator CORNYN

  At 01:36:49
  

  General Craddock was talking to, I think, Senator
  McCain and other members of the committee about the connection
  between narcotrafficking and terrorist financing. In Af-
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  ghanistan, we continue to see that connection in South America
  and other parts of the world. But, in particular, I’d like to get your
  thoughts, Admiral, about Colombia, but primarily about what is
  happening now in Venezuela, where Revolutionary Armed Forces of
  Colombia (FARC) are getting safe haven, where perhaps there’s
  greater participation in illegal drug trafficking in Venezuela to help
  fund FARC’s anti-government activities. I am one who believes that
  the work that we’ve been able to do to support the Colombians in
  that country, with coca eradication and to enable them, through
  military training and otherwise, to fight and defeat the revolutionary
  forces there, FARC and others, has been a very positive development.
  But if, in fact, that illegal drug trafficking merely moves
  east in a country that if it doesn’t welcome them, at least tolerates
  it, what does that tell you about what we need to do with regard
  to the attention we pay to Venezuela, which is an avowedly anti-
  American government, one that is associating with the greatest
  threats to the United States, in Tehran, and welcoming armament
  factories from Russia and the like? How would you describe what
  our role should be with regard to the developing activity in Venezuela?
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you, Senator.
  I would start by saying—and I think you alluded to it—that Colombia
  has made tremendous progress over the last 4 or 5 years.
  They’re militarily very successful against the FARC. One of the
  other major groups there, the United Self-Defense Forces of Columbia,
  is demobilizing. The economy is doing fairly well. I think one
  significant part of helping in that region, in that border area, is
  continued support to Colombia so that their economy continues to
  improve, so that we operate with them in a military-to-military
  fashion, so that we continue to give them the benefit of all that we
  can as they fight this complex battle against narcotics and
  narcoterrorism.
  On the question of FARC operating in that border region with
  Venezuela, I have seen intelligence that indicates that is true.
  Again, I would not want to, in an open hearing, go much further
  than that. I’d like to come back to you on the record with an answer
  more specific to that particular question. It is of concern.
  [The information referred to follows:]
  [Deleted.]
  

• Senator CORNYN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you. General Craddock, I didn’t mean to
  leave you out, but since you’re moving over to EUCOM, I thought
  I would focus my attention on the Admiral and get his views. I
  know both of you realize that even though Northern Command is
  responsible for the homeland defense function for the continental
  United States, that we can’t ignore what is happening right out our
  back door right across the border.
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  I agree completely.
  

• Senator CORNYN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Because of what you’ve just described, Admiral,
  and what General Craddock and I have talked about previously,
  and that is, when you have international criminal organizations,
  they’re more than happy to finance their operations using any
  available commodity, whether it’s people, drugs, guns, WMD, or the
  like.
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• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Exactly.
  

• Senator CORNYN

  At 01:36:49
  

  I believe it’s absolutely imperative that the Department
  of Defense continue to focus greater attention on our
  international borders, and to help the Department of Homeland Security,
  which has the primary responsibility to control our international
  borders, through the use of technology, which the United
  States military has right now, and which could, I believe, be deployed
  with great beneficial effect, and in so doing, enhance our national
  security, because our backyard is important for all the reasons
  we’ve discussed.
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• Senator CORNYN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Mr. Chairman, thank you very much.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you very much, Senator Cornyn.
  We may, gentlemen, have several questions for the record. We’ll
  ask that you respond. The record will remain open until the recess
  of the Senate tonight.
  I do want to return to one line of discussion we’ve had today, and
  that is drug trafficking in Afghanistan, General Craddock, and
  your responses about how you felt there are certain responsibilities
  that NATO must face up to in that area. I think parallel and equal
  emphasis should be given to the role to be played by the Afghan
  military, perhaps, to some extent, the police forces, in which the
  United States put a very significant investment. There always will
  be certain instability in a government when it stands up. President
  Karzai has shown tremendous courage. In a recent visit that I had
  with him in Afghanistan a short time ago with several of our colleagues
  here, we talked about this situation. He seemed to be dedicated.
  But there are certain political realities that he’s faced with.
  This is a subject that has to be dealt with in such a way that it
  doesn’t cause an increase in the instability of his government, because
  that government simply has to succeed. It’s a freely elected
  government, so, while I’m hopeful that Karzai will remain in office,
  let’s hope it remains a freely elected government. Also, we had the
  privilege on this visit to meet for the first time with the parliamentarians,
  a very interesting group, rather a feisty, outspoken group
  of parliamentarians, and in our dialogue with them and it was
  hard to break off, they were so anxious to meet with, should we
  say, their counterparts from the United States, the parliamentarians
  and we legislators.
  So, I think that you have to work hand-in-hand with NATO and
  the Karzai government as we, hopefully, do a joint effort to begin
  to take down this ever-growing problem of the narcotics being
  raised there and the money that comes, as a consequence of that
  crop, into the sinews of that country in many ways. I just hope
  that, in that course of action that you will direct, together with the
  government, that the Afghan forces will have a very active, if not
  a greater role than, indeed, the NATO forces in resolving that problem.
  If you’d like to make a comment or two on that.
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  I totally agree with your statements. The Afghan national army
  has made great progress. We’re still training, still building that
  army, and it will, as it continues to grow and gain competence and
  professionalism and capability, be able to assume more and more
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  of that security burden. I think that they will be instrumental in
  maintaining the control, along with its nascent police force that
  also must be built, and it must gain the confidence of the people,
  out and about in the countryside so that these development programs
  can work.
  Now, the real power of those PRTs is that they are generally customized
  to each region. They work with the local elders and government
  officials. They bring in the national government, if you
  will, out of Kabul—to the extent where the people understand that
  there is a benefit to a new clinic, a school, a road, something we
  take for granted that is not there, infrastructure, a job opportunity—
  that government is a positive force in their life. The key is
  that the parliamentarians, the cabinet members, and President
  Karzai participate in that, they support that, and, at the end of the
  day, it’s an Afghan face; that in the meantime NATO will be providing
  some security and stability, but what we would want to do
  is work ourselves out of a job.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  I certainly understand that. But it’s a formidable
  job and it’s growing in terms of its challenge. But we must
  succeed.
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Indeed.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  I feel strongly that since we’ve invested so
  much in building up their military forces, that their military forces
  should take the lead in this eradication process. Now, you stop to
  think a moment—and you have, and those of us who have been
  over there and studied the problem—the amount of the dollars
  going to the farmers is minuscule. It seems to me some program
  could be devised, for a very modest sum of money, just to persuade
  them to sit back in their arm chairs, if necessary, maybe grow a
  little cabbage and broccoli, or whatever they want to do, but get
  them out of the poppy business. Because the big money in this is
  after it leaves the poppy field and these old and venerable farmers,
  you see them—they actually have to massage almost every poppy
  head to extract all the product and so forth as they go along. That’s
  not where the money is. The money is where it leaves that field,
  and then it goes on up through the many hands that deal with it.
  That’s where the big dollars are. It seems to me we can just persuade
  the farmers somehow to not grow it. It’s a sensitive situation,
  but it’s one that has to be dealt with. I think the Gross National
  Product (GNP). I’ve seen figures as high as three-quarters of
  the GNP of Afghanistan is monies coming from the poppy fields
  and the narcotics.
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  That’s right.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  That money, as it leaves the farmer, he gets
  a pittance, but as it moves up, certain monies flow back into the
  sinews of Afghanistan in various ways, and it’s a big challenge.
  General, the buck stops on your desk now.
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  I understand, Mr. Chairman. It is an enormous
  challenge. Recently some Colombians have met with Afghans
  to talk about their fight over the years. The Colombians have had
  some success with alternative development to the farmers to convince
  them that they’ll make as much money off of a licit crop as
  an illicit crop. It is successful in parts of that country. Those are
  the types of programs that, for a very low cost, can be very impor-
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  tant and beneficial. So, it’s a multifaceted approach. It’s not just security,
  but it’s offering alternative developments and opportunities.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  All right. I thank you both very much. I
  think we’ve had an excellent hearing. I commend you on your direct
  responses to the questions.
  We’ll take about a 2-minute recess as the next panel comes up.
  

• General CRADDOCK

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  

• Admiral STAVRIDIS

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
  [Recess at 10:52 a.m., reconvening at 10:59 a.m.]
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  The committee will resume.
  Now I ask our two nominees, Mr. Ford and Mr. James, to introduce
  those persons who have accompanied you.
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  I’m accompanied today by my wife, Cecilia. She is a
  retired government attorney, 34 years with the Department of
  Health and Human Services, most recently as the chair of the Departmental
  Appeals Board. Our children are not able to be with us
  today. We have two on active duty, one in the Air Force in San Antonio,
  and our second son is in the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  I know you’re proud of them.
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  We are, thank you.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Very proud of them.
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  We have a daughter who’s a junior at the University
  of Virginia.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  I have some familiarity with that institution.
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  So does my wife. She’s a graduate of the law school.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  My law school class was originally 1953, but
  I went off to the Korean War for a period of time, and came back
  and finished with the class of 1954. You weren’t on planet Earth
  then, were you?
  

• Mrs. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  He was, actually. [Laughter.]
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  She’s class of 1972, I think.
  

• Mrs. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  1972.
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  1972.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Well, it’s a grand institution.
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  It is a wonderful school.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  I was privileged to go back and give the
  graduation speech at the University of Virginia 50 years from the
  year I graduated from the law school. I hope that you’ll have that
  same opportunity someday.
  Anyone else that you might have brought?
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  The folks from the Army legislative liaison team, Bernie
  Ingold and Mark Rivest.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Good.
  Mr. James, I know you have some of your friends here.
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  Yes, I’m very pleased to introduce Ms. Joyce Blackwell, who is
  my executive assistant, who is a very integral part of my team.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  She is——
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  She’s sitting——
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Please come up here. He needs all the support
  he can get.
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  I agree with that, Mr. Chairman, I need all the support
  I can get. I’m very pleased to introduce a long-time friend who
  is a surprise visitor here today, Betty Murphy.
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• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Won’t she come up and join us here?
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  I would hope that she would.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Front row, please?
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you very much.
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  Ms. Murphy and I have known each other for a number
  of years. We both graduated from the same law school.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Please. Thank you.
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  She is, in fact, primarily responsible for my first tour
  of duty as a presidential appointee in Washington in 1975, when
  she recommended to Secretary Dunlop that I be her successor as
  the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Isn’t that interesting.
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  So she’s been one of the tailwinds in my life.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  That’s very important, giving you that support.
  Likewise, she touched on my early career. So, we’re glad to
  see you here.
  All right. We welcome all of you. I wanted to make sure that we
  acknowledged the families and friends who support our nominees.
  Now, Mr. Ford, you currently serve as the Principal Deputy Assistant
  Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and
  Comptroller. From 2001 to 2004, you served as the Deputy Assistant
  Secretary of Defense for Health, Budgets, and Financial Policy.
  You have held senior management positions in various academic
  and medical disciplines, including as Chief Operating Officer of
  Georgetown University Medical Center. That was a challenge,
  wasn’t it?
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  It was, sir. It was. Academic medicine and the Army
  have many things in common, and not least of which is understanding
  all the jargon.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  I recently had just some routine matters to
  attend to, and I selected the Georgetown University Medical Center.
  I must say, it’s in good hands today.
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  I believe it is, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Further, as Executive Secretary of the
  Healthcare Financing Administration. You have a very impressive
  background in these fields and are eminently qualified.
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you very much.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Likewise, Mr. James, you are an eminently
  qualified individual nominated to be the Assistant Secretary of the
  Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. In 2003, you were appointed
  as the first Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department
  of Homeland Security, where you served through 2005, and are
  presently serving as an acting capacity.
  Mr. James previously has served as the Administrator of the
  Wage and Hour Division, U.S. Department of Labor, where you
  managed the enforcement activities, procedures, and standards of
  300 offices nationwide; served on active duty in the Army from
  1961 to 1963, and as a member of the 101st Airborne Division Artillery,
  and thereafter for several years in the Army Reserve.
  That’ll stand you well in this present position, because there is
  no substitute, really, for having had the privilege of wearing the
  uniform in our country and feeling as a part of the great team of
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  the men and women of the Armed Forces, irrespective of which uniform
  you wear. So, I congratulate you for that service.
  I understand you’ve also given up a very fine position to take
  this one on, at the request of the President and, I believe, the Deputy
  Secretary of Defense.
  Am I correct on that?
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, Mr. Chairman, that is correct.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Whereas, he went out and found you, so to
  speak. Would that be correct?
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  That is correct, Mr. Chairman.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Senator Levin, I believe, may be able to return
  here shortly, but in the meantime, you had both responded to
  a series of advance policy questions. Without objection, I’ll make
  those part of the record.
  Now I’ll ask you the same standard questions we ask of all nominees.
  Have you adhered to applicable laws and regulations governing
  conflicts of interest?
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Have you assumed any duties or undertaken
  any actions which would appear to presume the outcome of the confirmation
  process?
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  No, sir.
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  No, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Will you ensure your staff complies with
  deadlines established for requested communications, including
  questions for the record in hearings?
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Will you cooperate in providing witnesses
  and briefers in response to congressional requests?
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Will those witnesses be protected from any
  reprisal for their testimony or briefings?
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Do you agree, if confirmed, to appear and
  testify upon request before this committee or any other committee
  of Congress?
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Do you agree to provide documents, including
  copies of electronic forms of communication, in a timely manner
  when requested by a duly-constituted committee of Congress, or to
  consult with the committee regarding the basis for any good-faith
  delay or denial in providing such documents?
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Now, I’m going to ask, Mr. Ford, would you
  like to make some opening comments?
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  I would, sir. With your permission, I’d like to make
  some brief remarks.
  VerDate 11-SEP-98 14:22 Jun 28, 2007 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00397 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6602 36311.TXT SARMSER2 PsN: SARMSER2
  STATEMENT OF NELSON M. FORD, TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY
  OF THE ARMY FOR FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND
  COMPTROLLER
  It is an honor to appear before you this morning as
  the President’s nominee for Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial
  Management and Comptroller. I would like to thank the
  President for nominating me for this position, and Secretaries Harvey
  and Rumsfeld for their guidance, confidence, and support. I
  would also like to thank this committee for all it’s done over the
  years for the men and women of the Army.
  If I am confirmed, I look forward to working with the committee
  to address the many challenges facing the Army. Perhaps the
  greatest of these challenges is paying for the global war on terrorism
  while transforming the Army into the more effective formations
  needed for the 21st century security environment.
  We have to make sure that our soldiers are deployed with the
  best equipment and training, while developing the doctrine, tools,
  and facilities that will attract future generations of young men and
  women to Army careers. As the father of a soldier who spent a year
  in Afghanistan and whose unit is now preparing to return to the
  fight, I understand these challenges personally.
  The Army’s financial management must be based on sound stewardship
  and good business practices while enhancing our capabilities
  wherever we are called to serve.
  Finally, I’d like to thank my family for their support as I continue
  to serve the American people in this important time. I am
  grateful to them for their love and patience.
  Thank you, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Very thoughtful of you to say that, because,
  as I said in an earlier moment in this hearing today, the support
  of the families is essential for, certainly, not only the men and
  women in uniform, but for those in the civilian capacity. I had the
  privilege of serving in that building for over 5 years during the
  Vietnam War, and I know the stress that it placed upon my family
  and my children. We accept it.
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you. Thank you, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  You’ll never regret, of course, that service,
  both of you, in connection with the Defense Department and so
  forth, but it’s an important chapter of your life, and I hope you look
  back on it with a sense of satisfaction.
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Mr. James?
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  Mr. Chairman, with your permission, I have some
  brief opening remarks.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes.
  STATEMENT OF RONALD J. JAMES, TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY
  OF THE ARMY FOR MANPOWER AND RESERVE AFFAIRS
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  Mr. Chairman, I’m deeply honored and privileged to
  appear before this committee as the President’s nominee for Assistant
  Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.
  I’d like to echo my colleague’s—Mr. Ford’s, thanks to the President,
  the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of the Army for
  VerDate 11-SEP-98 14:22 Jun 28, 2007 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00398 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6602 36311.TXT SARMSER2 PsN: SARMSER2
  the confidence and trust they’ve shown in me by nominating me to
  serve as the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and
  Reserve Affairs.
  I would also like to take this opportunity to thank this committee
  for all the work it’s done over the years for the men and women
  of our Armed Forces. If I am confirmed, I look forward to the opportunity
  to serve my country again at a time when our national
  security environment is markedly different and perhaps more complex
  than it has been at any other time in our Nation’s history. If
  confirmed, I look forward to working with Congress, the Defense
  Department, and the Department of the Army to address the force
  and personnel challenges such as recruiting and retaining an All-
  Volunteer Force, building force capabilities, and advocating for Reserve
  component needs.
  I’d like to thank my family, and especially my wife, Pat, of 36
  years, who could not be here today, for their support as I continue
  to pursue opportunities to serve our country. I am very grateful to
  them for their continued understanding and affection.
  Mr. Chairman, I look forward to any questions you and the committee
  may have of me concerning this nomination. Thank you very
  much, Mr. Chairman.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you both. Those were very fine opening
  statements.
  First, Mr. Ford, last year’s National Defense Authorization Act
  required certification that military-to-civilian conversions not erode
  the quality or increase the cost of military health care services.
  Secretary Harvey, on June 19, 2006, provided that certification, indicating
  that he relied solely on the advice of the Surgeon General.
  If you are confirmed, what role would you play in future decisionmaking
  regarding the conversion of military billets to civilian positions,
  and, in particular, in determining the cost-effectiveness of
  such conversions? What is your overall assessment of the impact of
  military-to-civilian conversions on Army efficiency and readiness?
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you very much for that question, Mr. Chairman.
  That question, I think, goes back to some of my responsibilities
  that I had when I was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense
  for Health Budgets. Most of the health spending in the Department
  of Defense runs through the TRICARE program, the Defense
  health program. The spending for military personnel is about the
  only spending that actually runs through the departmental budgets.
  Our experience at the time was that the conversions of military
  billets to civilian billets didn’t have a negative impact; in fact, it
  had a positive impact. It freed up military personnel for deployment
  purposes. We will continue to monitor that as we go forward.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  All right. I think we’ll want to have you,
  from time to time, consult with our staff to clarify any problems
  that may arise.
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  I’d be happy to do that, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  This question goes to both of our nominees.
  The Army has established a Wounded Warrior Program designed
  to meet the special needs of the most severely wounded soldiers.
  Sailors, airmen, and marines, of course, are affected in some other
  ways by this same program. Each of the Services have some com-
  VerDate 11-SEP-98 14:22 Jun 28, 2007 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00399 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6602 36311.TXT SARMSER2 PsN: SARMSER2
  parable form of this. Additionally, the Army has conducted several
  comprehensive studies of the mental health conditions of acting Reserve
  component soldiers following deployment to the theater of operations.
  Have you formed any opinions about the adequacy of the
  resources being devoted to the needs of wounded soldiers and those
  who are in need of counseling and mental health services? The
  families of these individuals are also very much a part of this
  whole equation. What role will you play, if confirmed, in ensuring
  that these programs are adequately resourced and are proactively
  working to serve the needs of the soldiers and the families?
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  Mr. Chairman, if I am confirmed, I can assure you
  that this will be one of my highest priorities. We ask men and
  women to serve our country. We have an obligation to them to assure
  that they, in fact, have health care. I mean health care not
  just in the traditional sense, because often the effects from wartime
  are more mental than they are physical. If I am confirmed, I promise
  you that I will clearly turn my attention to this, because I view
  it as a sacred obligation, as a sacred payback to those who serve
  our country.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  I appreciate that. I’ve seen tremendous advancements
  in what modern science and the medical profession, in
  particular, can do for mental health. It’s come a long way. We must
  provide, for these brave individuals and their families, every bit of
  help we can, because this has been a very stressful military operation,
  really unlike any that this country has ever been engaged
  in—it’s a war on terror, not State-sponsored, no uniforms, by and
  large, worn by the adversaries. The adversaries are manifold,
  whether or not it’s sectarian strife, common hoodlums, insurgents
  from other nations, individuals whose minds are really so distorted
  with erroneous, I think, concepts of religion that they’d give their
  lives in suicidal attacks. We’re asking a lot of the young men and
  women in the Armed Forces today. Consequently, we, here at
  home, must give them every conceivable benefit we can to help
  them readjust themselves and once again take up, if they choose
  to leave the military Service, gainful and productive roles in the civilian
  economy.
  Mr. Ford, to financial management modernization, this committee
  has long been concerned about the pace of modernization of Department
  of Defense financial management systems. What progress
  have you observed in the Army’s modernization of its financial
  management systems and achievement of the goal of having fully
  auditable financial statements?
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you for that question. I’ve been working for the
  Army for about the last 15 months, and I think in that 15-month
  period we’ve made some substantial progress. Perhaps not as much
  as we would like to have made, but the trajectory is good. During
  the last 15 months, we’ve started the implementation of our new
  general fund accounting—enterprise-wide accounting—system, we
  have reinvigorated the development of the Defense Integrated
  Manpower System, which had been moribund. I think that’s back
  on track with a very aggressive implementation schedule. We’ve
  worked on new ways to improve our logistics management. All of
  these are designed to work together so that we can get to the point
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  where we are as careful and thoughtful about our assets and liabilities
  as we are about our income and our expenses.
  We’re pretty good at knowing what we get money for and how
  we spend it. We’re less able to really understand what our equipment
  is, what our facilities are, and when they need to be refreshed.
  Our new accounting systems will provide us the information
  we need to do that.
  It will take some time before audited financial statements are
  available, just because of the complexity of putting these new systems
  together. But every year, we produce a financial report, and
  that financial report is judged to be a good, thoughtful, clear explication
  of how the Army is using its resources.
  So, I think we’re well on the way, and we have much to do, but
  good progress is being made.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you very much. I think it’s important
  that you follow through that and strengthen it in every way you
  can.
  Mr. James, recruiting of the highest caliber young men and
  women for the All-Volunteer Army, Army Reserve, and the Army
  National Guard presents a challenge. All through history there
  have been ups and downs in this, but it is a challenge now, although
  I was pleased to see, I think, most of the goals have been
  met for fiscal year 2006. Indeed, in order to make recruiting goals,
  age limits for enlistments have been extended to age 42. That’s interesting.
  I find that very interesting, but there are a lot of fully
  able-bodied individuals at that age. I remember in World War II,
  the cutoff was 38 years, because I came in, in the last year of the
  war, and I remember our boot-camp class with 17-year-olds, as I
  was, and some 18s, and then some 36, 37, 38-year-old folks, and
  they had a bit of a struggle keeping up with the younger ones, but
  I hope this works out, at age 42. Aptitude standards have been
  modified to allow a greater number of recruits with lower scores to
  enlist in the Army. What role do you expect to play, if confirmed,
  in ensuring that the standards for recruiting in the Active and Reserve
  components remain high? Are there additional recruiting incentives
  that would be helpful, in your view, in assisting Army recruiters
  in making their recruiting goals?
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  I believe we have the finest Army in the world. I’m very proud
  to join that Army. I do not want my legacy to be that I let the
  standards slip. Having been involved in the private sector and with
  clients, the building of an excellent workforce, the critical factor of
  that is the recruiting and retaining of the best and the brightest,
  and providing the kind of work environment and the kind of incentives
  that, in fact, help you to do that. That has been my practice
  in the past. That’s been the counsel I give to clients. I would expect
  to continue that now. I would expect to be very aggressive about
  it, because without recruiting the best and the brightest and keeping
  the standards high, I would not want to come before this committee
  years from now and say that on my watch I let the best
  Army in the world slide or slip.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you very much. I’ll turn to Senator
  Levin momentarily here.
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  The management of the Army Senior Executive System (SES),
  Mr. James, in March 2006, Secretary Harvey announced implementation
  of significant changes in the manner in which senior civilian
  executives in the Army would be managed, including requiring civilian
  leaders to move into positions where they are most needed.
  You’ve indicated in your advance questions, however, that you do
  not anticipate having any role in the management of the Army’s
  senior executives, other than those assigned to your office. Based
  on your experience at the Department of Homeland Security, would
  it not be desirable that you and your office have a role in the implementation
  of the organizational change? In my own experience
  in the Pentagon, I relied so heavily on the senior civilian executives,
  as I did the military, of course, but we had a team in those
  days. We hardly noticed any different treatment. We were all part
  of the team. I hope that the senior civilians under your jurisdiction
  in the Army are treated with the same respect that we did many
  years ago when I was there.
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  Mr. Chairman, I’ll go back and read my statement,
  and, if I misspoke in that, I will correct it.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  I don’t think you misspoke. I wasn’t suggesting
  that.
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  I will correct it.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  You mean in your written statement?
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  My written statement, yes, sir.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes.
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  But let me respond to your concerns. It’s my understanding
  that the primary responsibility for the allocation and the
  assignment of SESs has been moved up to the Office of the Secretary.
  I would still anticipate, given my experience and background,
  that Secretary Harvey would, in fact, rely on me for advice
  and counsel. I do know that during the course of some discussions
  we have had, I’ve talked to him about my strong feeling about the
  need to model the Goldwater-Nichols legislation on the civilian
  side, that if, in fact—and this is the same thing I practiced and did
  and encouraged at Department of Homeland Security—that is, you
  need to have executives who, in fact, understand security and who
  understand moving of containers. The only way you get that done
  is that you, in fact, have a rotational program. You have a program
  that’s very much like what Goldwater-Nichols envisioned, that you
  have jointness. Only then do you really have solid executives.
  It’s often people like me who get the spotlight, but the fact is
  that if we really care about government, our most valuable resource
  for sustaining excellence in government is the senior leadership
  core, and I will, to the extent I am asked—and sometimes
  even when I’m not asked—raise issues and concerns about supporting
  that program.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you very much.
  Senator Levin, please proceed.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  First, Mr. Ford, let me ask you a couple of questions about the
  Army budget process. The budget of the Army has appeared to be
  about one step above complete chaos in recent months and years.
  We have seen a number of reprogrammings being sent to Congress
  to borrow from account B to fill a hole in account A, followed short-
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  ly by a second request to borrow from account C to repay account
  B, and so forth. We have had reprogrammings of this nature pending
  before us that would simultaneously move large amounts of
  money into and out of your operation and maintenance account at
  the same time. We have seen the Army initiate a modularity program
  before the Army had any plan to pay for it. Has the Army’s
  budgeting process been acceptable, in your view? What do you plan
  to do to improve it?
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you very much, Senator Levin.
  I have not had a great deal to do with the Army budgeting process
  for last 15 months. Most of my efforts have been in internal
  controls and in cost management. I think that it’s never good to
  have a budget process which is in chaos. I think, from the perspective
  of the Army, the current situation we’re in is not ideal. We are
  preparing, each year, a budget, at least two supplementals, and responding
  to numerous requests from the combatant commanders
  for operational needs that they identify. So, it’s been a difficult
  process.
  My own view is that we need to put as much of the activity of
  the Army as we can in the base budget to make sure that the base
  budgets are available to the Army on a timely basis and to have
  as little of the activity as possible in supplementals, and that’s
  what I would work to do, if I’m confirmed to this position.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  I understand that the Army has broken with
  longstanding internal DOD procedures and refused to submit a program
  objective memorandum (POM) for the fiscal year 2008 budget
  request to the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). Do you
  know if that’s correct?
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  Sir, we have not submitted our POM to the OSD.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Is that not a break with a longstanding tradition?
  

• Mr. FORD

  At 01:36:49
  

  It is a break, as I understand it, with a longstanding
  tradition. Let me explain, if I could, what’s happened.
  As we began the preparation of the POM this year, we identified
  a mismatch between the current fiscal guidance and the Army’s
  missions, as laid forth in the Quadrennial Defense Review. When
  we noticed this mismatch, we informed the OSD. We are, at this
  time, in constant conversation with OSD and with the Office of
  Management and Budget to understand what the scope of those
  differences are, and to look for solutions for those differences. As
  soon as we come to an agreement on that, we will prepare and submit
  our POM.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Okay, thank you.
  Mr. James, a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report
  noted a significant increase in recruiter misconduct between
  fiscal years 2004 and 2005. The economy, ongoing hostilities in
  Iraq, and pressures to meet recruiting goals have reportedly caused
  some recruiters to resort to overly aggressive tactics, which can adversely
  affect the Army’s ability to recruit and erode public confidence
  in the recruiting process. Other recruiters have been accused
  of various criminal offenses.
  The GAO found that the Services, including the Army, do not
  track all allegations of recruiter wrongdoing and likely underestimate
  the true number of recruiting irregularities.
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  If confirmed, will you act to ensure that the Army is aware of
  the full scope of alleged recruiter misconduct?
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  Senator Levin, the answer is yes. I have a history of
  teaching and lecturing in the area of sexual harassment. I have
  written extensively on the issue. It is cancerous to an organization
  to have allegations of any kind of harassment. It is unacceptable
  to have misconduct or misrepresentations. That will be a very high
  priority, if not the top priority. It will clearly be a very high priority.
  If the Army is to maintain excellence, if the Army is to maintain
  credibility, we simply can’t have that. I will not abide by that on
  my watch, if I am confirmed.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  You will keep track of those allegations in a form
  that you can report to the committee?
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir, because I have a history of experience in understanding
  that sexual harassment and allegations of this kind
  are always underreported, that normally if you go into a company
  and you get two or three harassments, that is more than likely the
  tip of the iceberg because there is a tendency by individuals, especially
  women, the data showed, not to report, or to ignore. So, I
  comment this with the understanding that I not only need to look
  at the hard numbers, I need to understand the reality of what may
  be happening.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you.
  Mr. James, just one last question. This relates to the use of contract
  recruiters. There is a pilot program which allows the Army
  to use contract recruiters. We have just received a report, the first
  one, on the effectiveness and efficiency of this pilot project. For 3
  years of recruiting, from 2003 through 2005, the report concluded
  that while contract recruiters were statistically less productive
  than traditional recruiters, that the contract recruiter performance
  improved during the first 2 years in the most critical areas, and it
  was determined to be a viable recruiting option. The report recommended
  continuing contract recruiting in some form after the
  end of the pilot test on September 30, 2007.
  I have a number of concerns about this program, about contractor
  recruiters. For example whether or not they are subjected to
  greater pressures than military recruiters to achieve or exceed recruiting
  goals because their compensation will be affected by the
  number of individuals that they are able to recruit.
  Can you give us, very briefly, your views on contracting out military
  recruiting? Second, do you know if recruiters are given a
  bonus for each person they recruit? If so, what is that bonus, and
  is that bonus a significant part of their pay?
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  Senator Levin, I regret that I simply don’t have the
  information to respond to that question. I don’t have the data that
  you do. I would, respectfully, suggest that the questions that you
  raise are excellent questions that need to be asked, regardless of
  whether recruiters are civilians or military. The question of, ‘‘are
  they more effective?’’ is obviously something that would need to be
  evaluated.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  If confirmed, will you provide to this committee
  your assessment of this program? Also, would you give us details
  on how these contractors are paid? Because if there is a financial
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  incentive to sign up people who otherwise should not be signed up,
  or to engage in pressure tactics which are unacceptable for recruiting,
  we should know that, and it ought to be part of our consideration
  and deliberation as to whether to extend this program. But
  if you could look into this program, see how it’s operating, see how
  it works, and report to this committee, I’d appreciate it.
  [The information referred to follows:]
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• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you, Senator. If I am confirmed, I understand
  my obligation is to apprise this committee about the burning issue
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  of recruiting and if we are being effective and if we are doing it
  in the right ways.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  The contracting.
  

• Mr. JAMES

  At 01:36:49
  

  Yes, sir, I understand there’s a myriad of questions.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  

  Senator Levin, those are important questions,
  and I would suggest that the nominee provide something for
  the record on that particular question as promptly as possible. My
  counselor back here has some knowledge on that program, and he’d
  be happy to tell you some of the source material that we are looking
  at on this important issue. I thank you, Senator, for bringing
  it up.
  

• 

  Senator LEVIN

  At 01:36:49
  

  Thank you.
  

• 

  Chairman WARNER

  At 01:36:49
  1 minute

  We will keep the record open for Senators,
  through close of business of the Senate today, to put their questions
  into the record.
  I thank the nominees, their families, and those who have joined
  us for this very important hearing.
  The committee stands in adjournment.