WEBVTT 00:00.040 --> 00:02.040 we have little impact with folks in 00:02.040 --> 00:04.262 uniform these days . Uh , which is also 00:04.262 --> 00:06.262 I think troubling . Um , I was , my 00:06.262 --> 00:08.484 question is whether the D . O . D . Has 00:08.484 --> 00:10.080 any thoughts or or plans to 00:10.080 --> 00:12.600 institutionalize an outreach program to 00:12.600 --> 00:15.020 link up the american people with men 00:15.020 --> 00:18.370 and women in uniform . I think that 00:18.370 --> 00:22.280 the way we do that best . I think 00:22.280 --> 00:25.480 one of the worries all along about the 00:25.480 --> 00:29.140 all volunteer force , Although I first , 00:29.140 --> 00:31.140 I will tell you that I don't know a 00:31.140 --> 00:33.362 single senior military officer and have 00:33.362 --> 00:35.560 never known one in the last 15 years 00:36.440 --> 00:38.496 who does not think the All volunteer 00:38.496 --> 00:40.607 force is the best military the United 00:40.607 --> 00:42.773 States has ever had and wouldn't trade 00:42.773 --> 00:45.440 it for a draft for anything that said , 00:45.440 --> 00:47.551 one of the worries I think has been , 00:48.040 --> 00:51.380 does an all volunteer force create some 00:51.380 --> 00:54.890 kind of uh , an elite element that has 00:54.890 --> 00:57.112 no connection to the american people as 00:57.112 --> 01:00.170 a whole . And what I would say is that 01:00.170 --> 01:03.190 our best connection to the american 01:03.190 --> 01:06.710 people and to communities is in fact 01:06.720 --> 01:08.980 the Reserve component , the National 01:08.980 --> 01:12.200 Guard and the Reserves . Uh , and the 01:12.200 --> 01:14.422 fact that they have been turned into an 01:14.422 --> 01:16.589 operational reserve and have served in 01:16.589 --> 01:19.020 Iraq and Afghanistan and go back to 01:19.020 --> 01:22.080 their communities , I think has had a 01:22.080 --> 01:24.191 huge impact . And I think that if you 01:24.191 --> 01:27.160 think that the military has been , 01:28.240 --> 01:30.073 has become too detached from the 01:30.073 --> 01:32.296 american people and the american people 01:32.296 --> 01:36.190 to um , uh , un appreciative 01:36.200 --> 01:38.720 of the sacrifices that people in the 01:38.720 --> 01:41.280 military make , all you have to do is 01:41.280 --> 01:45.080 read about the , what happens in towns 01:45.080 --> 01:47.550 and cities when our fallen come home 01:48.340 --> 01:51.570 where the whole town turns out and the 01:51.570 --> 01:53.840 Boy Scouts and everybody with flags and 01:53.840 --> 01:56.500 lining the streets and so on . So I I 01:56.500 --> 01:58.500 actually think that there is a good 01:58.500 --> 02:01.830 connection there . Uh and frankly it 02:01.830 --> 02:03.941 was one of the reasons why I made the 02:03.941 --> 02:07.130 decision if the families agreed to 02:07.130 --> 02:10.480 allow media coverage at Dover so that 02:10.480 --> 02:12.780 the american people could see in the 02:12.790 --> 02:15.330 most real and graphic possible terms 02:15.330 --> 02:17.552 the sacrifices their sons and daughters 02:17.552 --> 02:20.130 are making . So I this is actually as I 02:20.130 --> 02:22.297 go around the country and so on . This 02:22.297 --> 02:24.710 is something I had worried about . But 02:24.710 --> 02:26.710 I think the reality is particularly 02:26.710 --> 02:28.960 with the guard and the reserve . Um , 02:29.540 --> 02:33.420 and uh , and just the general 02:33.430 --> 02:35.652 feelings of the american people for the 02:35.652 --> 02:38.530 military . This is not a concern that I 02:38.530 --> 02:41.800 have , frankly , I I got a I got an 02:41.800 --> 02:45.760 email from a friend of 02:45.760 --> 02:47.871 mine who's who was the Vice president 02:47.871 --> 02:50.038 for student affairs at texas A and M . 02:50.038 --> 02:53.380 When I was there and uh he was in the 02:53.380 --> 02:56.050 Dallas airport in one of the in one of 02:56.050 --> 02:59.090 the terminals and some guy came in to 02:59.090 --> 03:01.090 this crowded terminal and shouted , 03:01.090 --> 03:03.090 there's a bunch of guys coming back 03:03.090 --> 03:05.034 from Afghanistan downstairs and he 03:05.034 --> 03:07.034 emailed me that the entire terminal 03:07.034 --> 03:09.257 emptied as everybody went down to greet 03:09.257 --> 03:11.890 him . So I don't think this is a 03:11.890 --> 03:12.890 problem . 03:23.740 --> 03:26.073 First of all sir . I'd like to say that . 03:26.073 --> 03:28.530 Uh , I appreciate your budget and I 03:28.530 --> 03:30.760 think that it uh it's appropriate . 03:30.760 --> 03:32.871 There's just one question I have with 03:32.871 --> 03:35.660 it and that is um We've got 19 Btu's at 03:35.660 --> 03:38.450 White Men were gonna by about seven or 03:38.450 --> 03:42.400 1700 joint strike fighters given 03:42.400 --> 03:44.860 the strategic imperative both of the 03:44.860 --> 03:47.340 nuclear deterrence and conventional 03:47.340 --> 03:49.630 power projection and the flexibility 03:49.640 --> 03:51.650 you mentioned , both strategic and 03:51.650 --> 03:54.860 flexibility uh that the bomber 03:54.870 --> 03:58.060 provides for all phases of conflict . 03:58.440 --> 04:00.590 Um the B-2 was used in the initial 04:00.590 --> 04:02.890 phases of the war . B- 52s and the ones 04:02.890 --> 04:05.640 have been used extensively uh in phase 04:05.640 --> 04:09.630 for now . Um doesn't make sense to reef 04:09.640 --> 04:11.790 shift . Some pare down some of that 04:11.790 --> 04:14.012 joint strike fighter so that we can buy 04:14.012 --> 04:16.350 more of the long range 04:16.740 --> 04:20.080 persistent strike craft . Well , this 04:20.080 --> 04:22.191 is one of the questions that I that I 04:22.191 --> 04:24.820 have that I think that the quadrennial 04:24.820 --> 04:27.910 Defense review has to address . Um you 04:27.910 --> 04:29.910 know , there are a lot of decisions 04:29.910 --> 04:32.132 that I made that I haven't talked about 04:32.132 --> 04:34.299 publicly . For example , I decided not 04:34.299 --> 04:36.521 making not to make any change in the 76 04:36.521 --> 04:39.950 deployed B52s , that force will remain . 04:40.740 --> 04:44.320 Um But the question is depending on 04:44.320 --> 04:46.920 where post start ends up if we go down 04:46.920 --> 04:49.087 significantly in the number of nuclear 04:49.087 --> 04:52.100 weapons that we have deployed . The 04:52.100 --> 04:54.100 question is whether the traditional 04:54.100 --> 04:56.322 triad makes sense anymore . And I think 04:56.322 --> 04:58.700 we have to address that also when you 04:58.700 --> 05:00.756 when you're looking for a long range 05:00.756 --> 05:02.980 persistent capability , maybe a man 05:02.980 --> 05:06.460 bomber isn't the answer . Um and F 16 05:06.460 --> 05:09.210 has a range of about 500 nautical miles 05:09.220 --> 05:12.430 reaper has a range of 3000 miles . It 05:12.430 --> 05:14.900 has a long dwell capability and we can , 05:14.900 --> 05:17.011 as you all know , we can load them up 05:17.011 --> 05:19.233 with weapons . So I think these are the 05:19.233 --> 05:21.456 kinds of issues that we have to look at 05:21.456 --> 05:23.678 in the QDR as we look forward to a very 05:23.678 --> 05:25.567 different environment than we had 05:25.567 --> 05:27.960 during the Cold War . Yeah . 05:32.240 --> 05:35.850 Yeah . Yeah . 05:36.740 --> 05:38.962 Sir . Lieutenant Colonel Loony from the 05:38.962 --> 05:41.018 Air War College . I'm an HH 60 pilot 05:41.018 --> 05:43.760 from the Alaska National Guard . The 05:43.760 --> 05:45.910 advocates the advocacy for Air Force 05:45.910 --> 05:48.021 Rescue seems to have been sidetracked 05:48.440 --> 05:51.210 by the C CRX acquisition program to the 05:51.210 --> 05:54.900 detriment of our mission itself . While 05:54.900 --> 05:57.540 I recognize the arguments that drove 05:57.540 --> 05:59.762 your recommendation to cancel the CRX , 06:01.030 --> 06:03.141 I know that Air Force rescue is not a 06:03.141 --> 06:06.080 single or does not merely have a single 06:06.080 --> 06:08.136 purpose itself . As you know , we've 06:08.136 --> 06:10.220 performed thousands of joint and 06:10.220 --> 06:12.750 coalition recoveries in centcom , 06:13.240 --> 06:15.870 largely because the operational 06:15.870 --> 06:17.537 flexibility of our profession 06:18.240 --> 06:20.770 transcends the risk capability of other 06:20.770 --> 06:24.650 recovery forces and allows uh 06:25.940 --> 06:28.160 often hey uh 06:30.940 --> 06:33.240 often provides the best chance if you 06:33.240 --> 06:35.407 will to recover a wounded soldier from 06:35.407 --> 06:38.220 the point of injury back to effective 06:38.220 --> 06:40.276 trauma care within the golden hour . 06:41.340 --> 06:44.020 Given the economy between the current 06:44.030 --> 06:46.700 issues and that objective , can you 06:46.700 --> 06:50.050 clarify for us , please , what is your 06:50.060 --> 06:53.160 vision for Air Force Rescue as a core 06:53.160 --> 06:56.650 function of the Air force and what uh 06:56.660 --> 06:58.882 would be a more sustainable approach at 06:58.882 --> 07:01.049 this time ? Well , I think if you look 07:01.049 --> 07:04.620 back at the last time we um had a 07:04.620 --> 07:07.780 pilot down in hostile territory , It 07:07.780 --> 07:10.760 was in the Balkans and it ended up 07:10.760 --> 07:13.150 involving several services including 07:13.150 --> 07:15.970 the special forces to rescue that that 07:15.970 --> 07:19.650 pilot . Um the notion of 07:20.140 --> 07:23.530 the design of C CRX was 07:23.530 --> 07:26.450 basically To have a helicopter with the 07:26.450 --> 07:29.900 range to rescue a downed pilot 250 07:29.900 --> 07:32.560 miles inside enemy territory . 07:33.640 --> 07:36.480 Uh frankly , the notion of an unarmed 07:36.480 --> 07:39.810 helicopter going 250 miles behind enemy 07:39.810 --> 07:43.060 lines by itself to rescue somebody did 07:43.060 --> 07:45.290 not seem to me to be a real realistic 07:45.290 --> 07:48.960 cop con . So what I want is 07:48.970 --> 07:52.600 as a is a joint effort and we're also 07:52.600 --> 07:54.822 not just talking about Air Force pilots 07:54.822 --> 07:57.044 here . So what I want and we will start 07:57.340 --> 08:00.760 Uh in uh in Fy 10 08:01.240 --> 08:05.130 is to look at what we do next on 08:05.140 --> 08:09.080 combat search and rescue . It is an 08:09.080 --> 08:11.136 area where we need more capability . 08:11.136 --> 08:13.191 There's no question about that . But 08:13.191 --> 08:15.302 this is an area a little bit like the 08:15.302 --> 08:17.191 presidential helicopter where the 08:17.191 --> 08:19.024 acquisition and the requirements 08:19.024 --> 08:21.530 process got out of control and and so I 08:21.530 --> 08:23.697 think that we need to take a hard look 08:23.697 --> 08:26.670 at it and a joint look at it and then 08:26.670 --> 08:29.720 go ahead and try and do something that 08:29.730 --> 08:32.350 we can bring to fruition . But again , 08:32.350 --> 08:34.072 I think it needs to be a joint 08:34.072 --> 08:36.183 capability . Nobody cares more than I 08:36.183 --> 08:38.350 do about that Golden hour . And one of 08:38.350 --> 08:40.406 the things that I've been devoting a 08:40.406 --> 08:42.461 lot of time to over the last several 08:42.461 --> 08:45.280 months is how do we get our troops in 08:45.280 --> 08:47.840 Afghanistan within that envelope of the 08:47.840 --> 08:51.160 Golden Hour ? And we pulled uh sixties 08:51.340 --> 08:53.562 From around the country and we added 10 08:53.562 --> 08:57.360 helicopters a couple of months ago 08:57.740 --> 09:00.090 To give us the kind of and 33 09:00.090 --> 09:02.160 additional field surgery surgical 09:02.160 --> 09:05.550 hospitals to Afghanistan to make sure 09:05.550 --> 09:08.060 that we could provide that capability 09:08.060 --> 09:10.171 for the troops there . That need will 09:10.171 --> 09:12.227 be met when the next when the combat 09:12.227 --> 09:15.320 aviation brigade deploys in May . So I 09:15.320 --> 09:18.240 feel very strongly about giving our 09:18.240 --> 09:20.462 troops on the ground the assurance that 09:20.462 --> 09:22.573 somebody will be there within an hour 09:22.573 --> 09:25.330 forum . And and we will we will provide 09:25.330 --> 09:28.130 that capability . But we will provide 09:28.130 --> 09:30.850 it , I think more on a joint basis and 09:30.850 --> 09:31.860 an affordable one .