During Thursday’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) questioned military officials about U.S. operations in the Indo-Pacific region.
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00:00Thank you, Madam Chair and gentlemen. Thank you for being here, Admiral Paparo and General Brunson.
00:05Chief, good luck to you in your retirement. Thank you so much for your service.
00:10I'll go ahead and start with Indo-PACOM. Admiral, thank you so much. As you've clearly laid out for
00:16the committee today, the Indo-Pacific is growing very dangerous. It is extremely complex. Our
00:24deterrence depends not just on our warfighting capability, but also on the ability to sustain
00:31our operations. I started my career as an engineer, became a transporter, and ended my career as a
00:39logistician. Not a big sexy topic here in this committee, but it is absolutely necessary that
00:46we talk about it. If we wish to win the fight, we've got to sustain the fight. So, Admiral,
00:53what gaps still exist in our theater logistics network that put our forward posture at risk?
01:00Morning, Senator. Significant gaps in sea lift. First, the combat logistics force in total is
01:07about 60% of the actual requirement. We account for that by hiring console tankers and by contracting
01:15other capabilities. But when the unforgiving hour comes, the only ships that we'll be able to commit
01:21to areas to put into harm's way will be gray ships. And as I utter these words, 17 of those combat
01:29logistics force ships are laid up for lack of manpower. In addition, I discussed in the previous
01:37committee, we have to have many millions of pounds of jet fuel in the air for every capability. And so,
01:47our tanker fleet is below what we need. We account for that for some contract air services as well. But once
01:55again, those same factors obtain for, you have to have a gray tail. And then finally, just cargo lift and
02:05the number of short tons of C-17 lift. Like for instance, just having moved a Patriot battalion into the
02:15CENCOM AOR, it took 73 C-17 loads to move that Patriot battalion. 73. What's that? 73 of one battalion of a force
02:31settlement. So our lift requirements must be paid attention to. And I share your passion for sustainment.
02:41That's what won World War II. Absolutely. So those logisticians, the maintenance dudes
02:48and dudettes that are out there working every day to make sure that our warriors are able to
02:54fight the good fight. So with that, you talked about contractors and we use them extensively.
03:04But how can Congress help accelerate the improvements necessary in Indopaycom when that hour comes?
03:10Well, I think we've got to get at the problems of why we don't have enough combat logistics force,
03:18and that's shipbuilding, why we don't have enough labor. And those are looking hard at pay and incentives in order to recruit
03:26and retain those people. Rates of production and diversifying the tanker fleet is key. And then, you know,
03:38continuing on to find alternatives of lift capability that we can order into harm's way.
03:46And then over top of all of this, we're incorporating artificial intelligence tools with command and control
03:54tools so that it's not an on-demand system, but so that we are executing that absolutely indispensable
04:02joint function as effectively as we possibly can. You know, we are an AI-enabled headquarters,
04:08and that's important too. But you can't AI your way out of a material deficiency.
04:15Right. I agree completely. And we need to spend more time on this topic. But just very briefly,
04:20General Brunson, I apologize. I've got 30 seconds. We rely heavily on allies, neighbors,
04:26friends, or force multipliers, but so do our adversaries. We've heard that there are North
04:31Koreans now that are fighting the fight over in Ukraine. Can you tell us what are the North Koreans
04:40learning from this experience and what will they take back to your region?
04:44Ma'am, I've said several times now in several hearings that we can't confuse the tactical
04:50lessons that they're learning with strategic benefit. What we've got to understand is that
04:54they've gone over, they've done some things, there's been strategic movement, there's been
04:58operational maneuver, that they're learning some things. But it's the technology that's coming back in
05:04that is of threat to the Republic of Korea and the world. Wonderful. Thank you, gentlemen, very much.
05:10Thank you, Senator Ernst. Senator King, you're-