Rep. Norman D. Dicks Holds a Hearing On the National Guard and Army Reserve Readiness

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Rep. Norman D. Dicks Holds a Hearing On the National Guard and Army Reserve Readiness

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEFENSE HOLDS A HEARING ON THE NATIONAL GUARD AND ARMY RESERVE READINESS

APRIL 14, 2010

SPEAKERS: REP. NORM DICKS, D-WASH. CHAIRMAN REP. PETER J. VISCLOSKY, D-IND. REP. JAMES P. MORAN, D-VA. REP. MARCY KAPTUR, D-OHIO REP. ALLEN BOYD, D-FLA. REP. STEVEN R. ROTHMAN, D-N.J. REP. SANFORD D. BISHOP JR., D-GA. REP. MAURICE D. HINCHEY, D-N.Y. REP. CAROLYN CHEEKS KILPATRICK, D-MICH. REP. DAVID R. OBEY, D-WIS. EX OFFICIO

REP. C.W. BILL YOUNG, R-FLA. RANKING MEMBER REP. RODNEY FRELINGHUYSEN, R-N.J. REP. TODD TIAHRT, R-KAN. REP. JACK KINGSTON, R-GA. REP. KAY GRANGER, R-TEXAS REP. HAROLD ROGERS, R-KY. REP. JERRY LEWIS, R-CALIF. EX OFFICIO

WITNESSES: GENERAL CRAIG MCKINLEY, CHIEF, NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU

LIEUTENANT GENERAL HARRY WYATT, DIRECTOR, AIR NATIONAL GUARD

MAJOR GENERAL RAYMOND CARPENTER, ACTING DIRECTOR, ARMY NATIONAL GUARD

LIEUTENANT GENERAL JACK STULTZ, CHIEF, U.S. ARMY RESERVE

[*] DICKS: The committee will be in order. This afternoon, the committee will hold a hearing on the National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve readiness. We will focus primarily on near-term readiness issues related to personnel training and equipment, repair, reset, and battle loss replacement.

Because the senior services have consistently underfunded the Reserve components, Congress has provided funding for the National Guard and Reserve equipment account for over 30 years. And at times, this funding has made all the difference in the ability of units to perform critical missions.

We are pleased to welcome several distinguished general officers as witnesses. From the National Guard, General Craig R. McKinley, the chief of the National Guard Bureau and the first four-star chief of the National Guard. And he is accompanied by Lieutenant General Harry M. Wyatt, III, director of the Air National Guard and Major General Raymond W. Carpenter, the acting director of the Army National Guard.

Additionally, we are pleased to welcome the chief of the U.S. Army Reserve, Lieutenant Jack C. Stultz. General Stultz, we will discuss Army Reserve requirements and help the committee to better determine their needs. Generals, welcome we are eager to hear your testimony on better determining the needs of Guardsmen and Reservists employed around the world. These officers are very well qualified to answer the questions of the committee. Thank you all for testifying before this subcommittee.

Gentlemen, the committee is concerned about the readiness of the National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve. Your soldiers and airmen are performing magnificently in Iraq, Afghanistan and many other hot spots around the globe. The committee would like to commend the soldiers and airmen of the Guard and Reserve for their dedication throughout these years in Iraq and Afghanistan. We look forward to your testimony.

Now, before we hear your testimony, I would like to call on the ranking member, my friend, Bill Young, and former chairman of this subcommittee, for his comments.

YOUNG: Well, Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. And I want to add my welcome to yours, to our very distinguished guests. I think probably no other committee in Congress understands the strain that is placed on our military, including our Guard and Reserve Forces. And it's good to have the leaders of those who manage and direct and control these very, very important segments of our overall national defense.

In fact, you know, the old weekend warrior saying, I think it's sort of faded from everybody's vocabulary when we see the amount of time that our Guard and Reserve Forces are deployed to the region. So we appreciate what you do, we understand the importance of your manpower and womanpower. But we also understand how the best forces in the world really have a hard time doing their job if they don't have the proper equipment.

So, today we need to hear some of the heartburn issues that you might have on equipment, that is, absolutely necessary, number one, for you to train your troops, two, for you then to have the tools to perform the mission, and number three, to be able to protect themselves while they're doing that.

So, small order, but we're looking forward to hearing from you just what it is you need to make sure that these three components are -- are very well covered. I gather you'll find some interesting questions from the committee. Now, this committee has always been a very strong supporter of our Guard and Reserve Forces. And thank yo...

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