i [H.A.S.C. No. 113–83] HEARING ON NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2015 AND OVERSIGHT OF PREVIOUSLY AUTHORIZED PROGRAMS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION FULL COMMITTEE HEARING ON FISCAL YEAR 2015 NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BUDGET REQUESTS FROM THE U.S. PACIFIC COMMAND, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND, AND U.S. AFRICA COMMAND HEARING HELD MARCH 5, 2014 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 87–615 WASHINGTON : 2014 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, http://bookstore.gpo.gov. For more information, contact the GPO Customer Contact Center, U.S. Government Printing Office. Phone 202–512–1800, or 866–512–1800 (toll-free). E-mail, [email protected]. COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS HOWARD P. ‘‘BUCK’’ MCKEON, California, Chairman MAC THORNBERRY, Texas ADAM SMITH, Washington WALTER B. JONES, North Carolina LORETTA SANCHEZ, California J. RANDY FORBES, Virginia MIKE MCINTYRE, North Carolina JEFF MILLER, Florida ROBERT A. BRADY, Pennsylvania JOE WILSON, South Carolina SUSAN A. DAVIS, California FRANK A. LOBIONDO, New Jersey JAMES R. LANGEVIN, Rhode Island ROB BISHOP, Utah RICK LARSEN, Washington MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio JIM COOPER, Tennessee JOHN KLINE, Minnesota MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO, Guam MIKE ROGERS, Alabama JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut TRENT FRANKS, Arizona DAVID LOEBSACK, Iowa BILL SHUSTER, Pennsylvania NIKI TSONGAS, Massachusetts K. MICHAEL CONAWAY, Texas JOHN GARAMENDI, California DOUG LAMBORN, Colorado HENRY C. ‘‘HANK’’ JOHNSON, JR., Georgia ROBERT J. WITTMAN, Virginia COLLEEN W. HANABUSA, Hawaii DUNCAN HUNTER, California JACKIE SPEIER, California JOHN FLEMING, Louisiana RON BARBER, Arizona MIKE COFFMAN, Colorado ANDRE´ CARSON, Indiana E. SCOTT RIGELL, Virginia CAROL SHEA-PORTER, New Hampshire CHRISTOPHER P. GIBSON, New York DANIEL B. MAFFEI, New York VICKY HARTZLER, Missouri DEREK KILMER, Washington JOSEPH J. HECK, Nevada JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas JON RUNYAN, New Jersey TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois AUSTIN SCOTT, Georgia SCOTT H. PETERS, California STEVEN M. PALAZZO, Mississippi WILLIAM L. ENYART, Illinois MO BROOKS, Alabama PETE P. GALLEGO, Texas RICHARD B. NUGENT, Florida MARC A. VEASEY, Texas KRISTI L. NOEM, South Dakota PAUL COOK, California JIM BRIDENSTINE, Oklahoma BRAD R. WENSTRUP, Ohio JACKIE WALORSKI, Indiana BRADLEY BYRNE, Alabama ROBERT L. SIMMONS II, Staff Director ALEX GALLO, Professional Staff Member MIKE CASEY, Professional Staff Member AARON FALK, Clerk (II) C O N T E N T S CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF HEARINGS 2014 Page HEARING: Wednesday, March 5, 2014, Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Budget Requests from the U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. Central Command, and U.S. Africa Command ................................................................................... 1 APPENDIX: Wednesday, March 5, 2014 ..................................................................................... 47 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014 FISCAL YEAR 2015 NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BUDGET REQUESTS FROM THE U.S. PACIFIC COMMAND, U.S. CENTRAL COM- MAND, AND U.S. AFRICA COMMAND STATEMENTS PRESENTED BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS McKeon, Hon. Howard P. ‘‘Buck,’’ a Representative from California, Chair- man, Committee on Armed Services .................................................................. 1 Smith, Hon. Adam, a Representative from Washington, Ranking Member, Committee on Armed Services ............................................................................ 2 WITNESSES Austin, GEN Lloyd J., III, USA, Commander, U.S. Central Command ............. 5 Locklear, ADM Samuel J., USN, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command .............. 4 Rodriguez, GEN David M., USA, Commander, U.S. Africa Command ............... 7 APPENDIX PREPARED STATEMENTS: Austin, GEN Lloyd J., III ................................................................................ 82 Locklear, ADM Samuel J. ................................................................................ 56 McKeon, Hon. Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ .................................................................... 51 Rodriguez, GEN David M. ............................................................................... 129 Smith, Hon. Adam ............................................................................................ 53 DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD: [There were no Documents submitted.] WITNESS RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS ASKED DURING THE HEARING: Mrs. Davis ......................................................................................................... 147 Mr. Turner ........................................................................................................ 147 QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY MEMBERS POST HEARING: Ms. Duckworth .................................................................................................. 155 Mr. Lamborn ..................................................................................................... 154 Mr. LoBiondo .................................................................................................... 153 Mr. McKeon ....................................................................................................... 151 Mr. Shuster ....................................................................................................... 153 Ms. Speier ......................................................................................................... 154 (III) IV Page QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY MEMBERS POST HEARING—Continued Ms. Tsongas ...................................................................................................... 153 Mrs. Walorski ................................................................................................... 155 FISCAL YEAR 2015 NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZA- TION BUDGET REQUESTS FROM THE U.S. PACIFIC COMMAND, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND, AND U.S. AFRICA COMMAND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES, Washington, DC, Wednesday, March 5, 2014. The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:03 a.m., in room 2118, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon (chairman of the committee) presiding. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. HOWARD P. ‘‘BUCK’’ MCKEON, A REPRESENTATIVE FROM CALIFORNIA, CHAIRMAN, COM- MITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. The committee meets today to receive testimony on the fiscal year 2015 National Defense Au- thorization budget request for the U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. Cen- tral Command, U.S. Africa Command. Joining us today are Admiral Samuel Locklear, General Lloyd Austin, and General David Rodriguez. Thank you for being with us. Admiral Locklear, thank you for adapting your schedule to ac- commodate the Mid-Atlantic snow and ice. He is not here, but one of my good friends that sits on this com- mittee from Minnesota told me he was for global warming now. They have had 50 days below zero this winter. The scope of this hearing is immense and it is doubtful that we will address all of the important issues we have here today, so I encourage members to submit questions for the record. However, I do think the composite views of these three com- manders provides an interesting and interactive opportunity to dis- cuss the changing strategic environment, the global demand for forces, the implications of budget cuts and force reductions and risk among the commands. Today’s hearing is a study in contrast. The crisis unfolding in Ukraine is a sobering reminder that military strength, presence, and staying power in the world still matter. And just yesterday, we received a budget request and new de- fense strategy that continues to cut our military strength and re- duces our ability to respond to crises around the world. The President’s assumption that the tide of war is receding and that we can safely reduce American hard power in favor of soft power to assure our national security lies in stark contrast to re- ality. The majority of our vexing security challenges emanate from your three regions of the world: deterring an increasingly assertive (1) 2 China; preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons; denying Al Qaeda and its affiliates safe havens in Afghanistan and elsewhere to launch attacks against us and our allies; and stemming the vio- lence and instability in the Middle East and North Africa within the context of the Arab Awakening. These actors and others are surely watching how the United States responds to Russian aggression and some might be emboldened to further test U.S. resolve. Our allies and partners are also closely watching. But in con- trast, they worry about U.S. disengagement and the staying power of U.S. security agreements. The administration has committed to a rebalance to the Asia- Pacific while also sustaining a heightened alert posture in the Mid- dle East and North Africa. How well are we doing both? A declining defense budget, reduc- tion in troop strength and force structure, and diminished readi- ness, suggests that we can’t do both; or if we do, we do so at an increased risk to our forces and their missions. Nevertheless, the Department’s new defense strategy and budget request take us down this path. I hope you can provide us with your best military judgment on the advisability of such an ap- proach; how the strategy and budget reflect your mission require- ments; and the implications for your command’s force structure and needed capabilities. This is a challenging time and we appreciate the leadership