House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) released the following schedule featuring one (1) event the week of November 6-10: Thursday, November 9, 2017 "Aviation Readiness: What's the Flight Plan?"Subcommittee on Readiness10:30 AM PM – 2212 Rayburn – Open Witnesses: Lieutenant General Chris Nowland Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters, US Air Force United States A... Read More »
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee made the following statement on the Navy's investigation into several collisions that took place in the Pacific over the course of the last year. Thornberry's comments follow a briefing he received from Admiral John Richardson, Chief of Naval Operations. "I am disturbed by the systemic problems the Navy has uncovered in the... Read More »
"Every day we live under a continuing resolution is a day we do damage to our military." - Mac Thornberry, Chairman, House Armed Services Committee Supporting Ukraine THE PROBLEM: As Russia continues its push to destabilize Ukraine, the U.S. must continue to provide security assistance to allow it to better defend itself against persistent Russian aggression. WHAT WE ARE DOING TODAY: While the Un... Read More »
The Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ-11), and the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Mac Thornberry (TX-13), have returned to the United States from Iraq following a weekend visit to the Central Command area of operations. Thornberry and Frelinghuysen met with key military leaders and troops. Thornberry and Frelinghuysen are charged... Read More »
"Every day we live under a continuing resolution is a day we do damage to our military." - Mac Thornberry, Chairman, House Armed Services Committee Deterring Russia THE PROBLEM: Russia's aggressive posture, coupled with their cyberwarfare activities and propaganda operations present a significant challenge to America and our European allies. After a post-Cold War pullback, America's military is wo... Read More »
y SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR. - Breaking Defense - October 31, 2017 : A massive maintenance backlog has idled 15 nuclear-powered attack submarines for a total of 177 months, and the Navy's plan to mitigate the problem is jeopardized by budget gridlock, two House Armed Services Committee staffers told Breaking Defense. That is almost 15 submarine-years, the equivalent of taking a boat from the 2018 bud... Read More »
"Every day we live under a continuing resolution is a day we do damage to our military." - Mac Thornberry, Chairman, House Armed Services Committee "Wielding a Butter Knife" THE PROBLEM: Giving US forces in the Pacific all that they need to reassure our allies, deter North Korea, and stand up to China is critical to our national security. As Admiral Harris, the head of US Pacific Command, said thi... Read More »
"Every day we live under a continuing resolution is a day we do damage to our military." - Mac Thornberry, Chairman, House Armed Services Committee Submarines Can't Submerge THE PROBLEM: Submarines must receive certification that they are capable of submerging. The Navy tries to have the expiration of these certifications coincide with a submarine's regularly scheduled maintenance period. Repeated... Read More »
"Every day we live under a continuing resolution is a day we do damage to our military." - Mac Thornberry, Chairman, House Armed Services Committee Air Force Pilot ShortageTHE PROBLEM: The United States Air Force is experiencing a shortfall that has been steadily increasing from 1,555 pilots, back in March, across all mission areas, including 1,211 fighter pilots (Lt. Gen. Gina Grosso testimony to... Read More »
Dayton Daily News Updated: 4:45 p.m. Monday, October 23, 2017 | Posted: 3:43 p.m. Monday, October 23, 2017WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE —The Air Force has been "hemorrhaging" pilots in a growing shortage that shows the impact sequestration has had on the military, a top congressional defense leader said.Making his first trek to Wright-Patterson, House Armed Services Committee chairman and U.S. R... Read More »
"Every day we live under a continuing resolution is a day we do damage to our military." - Mac Thornberry, Chairman, House Armed Services Committee Staying Ahead of the Missile ThreatTHE PROBLEM: The threat from missiles continues to grow around the globe. Our current missile defenses remain capable of defeating the threats today, but as events this year have shown, our adversaries are rapidly adv... Read More »
"Every day we live under a continuing resolution is a day we do damage to our military." - Mac Thornberry, Chairman, House Armed Services Committee Crumbling Infrastructure THE PROBLEM: Crumbling and mold-ridden barracks, hangars that are condemned, Air Traffic Control facilities and runways in disrepair, collapsed ceilings and contaminated water. Estimates of the number of facilities that now me... Read More »
MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEES WILL MEET TO BEGIN THE CONFERENCE PROCESS The conferees for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2018 will meet tomorrow to formally begin the conference process. Known as the "pass the gavel" meeting, the event is the first formal meeting of NDAA conferees, who work together to resolve differences between the defen... Read More »
"Every day we live under a continuing resolution is a day we do damage to our military." - Mac Thornberry, Chairman, House Armed Services Committee National Guard Modernization THE PROBLEM: The National Guard often operates with older model equipment. Specifically, the Guard flies some of the oldest model of Black Hawk helicopters in the inventory. In recent months, these Guard air crews have been... Read More »
"Every day we live under a continuing resolution is a day we do damage to our military." - Mac Thornberry, Chairman, House Armed Services Committee The Few, The Proud, The Ready?THE PROBLEM: According to the Orange County Register, "the number of ground and aviation mishaps per 100,000 Marines this year is 10.49, up about 60 percent from 2014. Now, concerned Pentagon officials are looking to possi... Read More »
