During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing prior to the Congressional recess, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) questioned former Lieutenant General John D. Caine, the nominee to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about the United States' role in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
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00:00Thank you, Senator Fischer. Senator Shaheen.
00:03General Cain, congratulations on your nomination, and thank you for your willingness to continue to serve the country.
00:09I appreciated the time we spent in my office talking about this role and the challenges that you will be facing.
00:19One of the things that we discussed was the Women, Peace, and Security legislation that was signed by President Trump during his first term,
00:27and it mandates that women should be at the table in conflict resolution and peace negotiations.
00:35And at DOD, that's meant having women involved in security cooperation programs that really give us, I think, an advantage over our adversaries like China and Russia.
00:49Can you, just for the record, are you familiar with the WPS program, General Cain?
00:56I am, Senator, yes.
00:58And do you believe that's a DEI program?
01:01I do not.
01:02Can you provide some examples of the operational advantage that, from your perspective, this gives us?
01:11Well, Senator, I can just give you my own personal recollections from being deployed before.
01:18This is precursors of the program, but when we would go out into the field and after concluding an assault,
01:26we would have members, female members, who would speak with those women and children who are on the objective,
01:34and they would help us to understand the human terrain in a new and novel way.
01:39And so WPS is, I think, a program that really helps us to understand the full spectrum of challenges that are in front of us.
01:48Thank you for that.
01:49One of the combatant commands that has been most effective in using the WPS law has been INDO-PACOM.
01:57Can you talk about how this contributes to the mission that INDO-PACOM has?
02:05Well, Senator, I'm not familiar with the INDO-PACOM-specific example.
02:10If confirmed, I'll look into it and come back to you with my thoughts on that matter.
02:15Great.
02:16I appreciate that.
02:16We've been hearing some rumors that have suggested that the administration is considering ending the dual-hat policy
02:25under which our commander of European command serves as the supreme allied commander of NATO.
02:32The commander of EUCOM has served as the supreme allied commander since Eisenhower,
02:37and part of the reason is to ensure that U.S. command and control of nuclear weapons on the continent
02:42also prevents nuclear proliferation in Europe.
02:46So, I'm not going to ask you to comment on what the policy of this administration may or may not be,
02:54since I assume it's not been determined.
02:56But can you talk about the importance of U.S. leadership in NATO as a result of this dual-hat arrangement,
03:03and how would you approach mill-to-mill obligations with NATO partners?
03:09Well, Senator, allies and partners are a critical component to our ability to protect and defend our values
03:16and virtues around the world.
03:18NATO is a key component to that.
03:21The president's been clear on his views of the importance of NATO, as has the secretary.
03:26You know, related to whether or not SACUR stays a U.S. military officer, I'll defer to the president on that.
03:32I think that's a discussion that he currently is ongoing.
03:35But I, you know, for me, in particular, I value our allies and partners,
03:40and if confirmed, that will be a significant portion of the job that I have ahead of me.
03:44Well, and I appreciate that that's a policy decision,
03:47but what I'm really asking is what the advantage is for the United States
03:52in having the SACUR be an American.
03:57And, you know, Senator, as always, any time we have U.S. forces deployed,
04:05we generally have wanted them under a U.S. commander,
04:08and that was the history behind the establishment of SACUR
04:12and putting the dual-hat UCOM commander and SACUR together.
04:16And I think it is an opportunity for global leadership, in particular in Europe,
04:21but again would defer to the president as he considers what the future policy may look like.
04:26And I know that Senator Reid asked you this question,
04:31and it was part of your official questions from Senator Wicker,
04:37but when you have situations where your military advice may be different
04:43from the direction that the administration is heading on policy,
04:47how do you intend to approach those situations,
04:50and how would you continue to make sure that the military perspective
04:56that you're supposed to represent is actually being presented?
05:00Well, Senator, the same way I have for 34 years with candor.
05:05Candor has gotten me here today,
05:08and candor will continue to allow me to do my job moving forward.
05:12The president doesn't have to accept the military advice or the secretary of the NSC,
05:18but we owe it to them for us to deliver that military advice.
05:22Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
05:25Thank you, Senator.