Let me say up front that the Army's readiness across its formations is
improving and if called upon today I am confident we would prevail in any
conflict this is due in part to the increased funding Congress has provided
recently for this I would like to say thank you.
However if we were to continue increasing our readiness to desired
levels and modernize the force we require predictable, adequate, sustained
and timely funding. The Army's mission is to defend the nation, the Army's mission
to defend the nation has not changed, but the strategic environment has we've
returned to an era of great power competition that makes the world ever
more complex and dangerous while the Army must be ready to deploy, fight and
win anytime anywhere against any adversary the national defense strategy
has identified China and Russia as the principal competitors against which we
must build sufficient capacity and capabilities. Both countries are playing
a more aggressive role on the world stage and either possess or our building
advanced capabilities that are specifically designed to reverse the
tactical overmatch we have enjoyed for decades. The Army has a comprehensive plan to ensure it's long term
dominance fiscal uncertainty though has done a great deal to erode our readiness
and hamper our modernization efforts late Appropriations challenge the Army
to execute funding well, which is why we are seeking increased flexibility to
spend these precious dollars when funding is delayed. To address the
challenges mentioned above I've identified three focused priorities for
the Army: readiness, modernization and reform. Readiness is the top priority because only
a ready total army; Regular Army, Guard and Reserve can deter conflict defeat
enemies and enable the joint force to win decisively and while the quality
training and esprit of our soldiers are what make the US Army the most ready and
lethal ground combat force in history this superiority is enabled by the best
weapons and equipment we can provide them. As such, the second priority is
modernization or future readiness to ensure overmatch on future battlefields,
the Army is now increasing its investments in modernizing the force.
We're also laying the groundwork for more increases in the coming years
the Army's modernization strategy is focused on one goal
make soldiers and units far more lethal and effective than any adversary can
imagine the establishment of the army futures command this summer is the best
example of our commitment to the future lethality of the force. Army Futures
Command will address the key shortcomings of the current acquisition
system providing unity of command effort and purpose to the modernization process.
The army has also identified its top six modernization priorities for the coming
years. Each of these priorities is detailed in
our written statement and is the purview of a newly established cross-functional
team the purpose of these CFTs is to determine the requirements of needed
capabilities to ensure all stakeholders are at the table from day one and to
focus army resources on accelerated experimentation prototyping and fielding.
My third priority is reform, freeing up time money and manpower to enhance
readiness accelerate modernization and ensure the efficient use of the
resources provided to us by the American people. Our reform efforts particularly
with the acquisition system are long overdue
while futures command is probably the boldest reform we are pursuing other
Army reform initiatives so much the acquisition authority's delegated to the
services in prior legislation with these authorities we are reinvigorating the
Army's requirements Oversight Council moving major defense acquisition
programs back to the service and using other transactional authorities to
accelerate fielding in limited situations although already and
modernized Army is critical to defend a nation we must not overlook what makes
us remarkable for this I've outlined three enduring priorities first taking
care of our Soldiers, civilians and their Families. Second, a service-wide
recommitment to the Army's values especially treating everyone with
dignity and respect and finally strengthening our allies and partners by
building stronger ties I look forward to discussing these with you as time
permits with that let me thank you again for this committee's continued support
of the Army and specifically the funding increases requested in FY 18 and the FY
19 budgets. I look forward to your questions and appreciate the opportunity
to discuss these important matters with you today. Thank you.