Contact: Josh Holly; 202.226.3988
Washington D.C. –Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ), ranking Republican on the Air and Land Forces Subcommittee, today released the following opening statement from the Joint Readiness and Air and Land forces Subcommittee Hearing on Army Equipment Reset:
“First, I’d like to thank Chairman Ortiz, Chairman Abercrombie, and of course the Ranking member on the Readiness subcommittee, Mrs. Davis, for having this joint hearing. This is not the first time that our subcommittees have come together in regards to Army equipment reset. I am very pleased that the tradition of our subcommittees’ working closely together continues in the 110th Congress.
“To our witnesses, thank you for being here. We are very fortunate to have each of you serving our country, and we are very fortunate to have you here today.
“I believe our depots are a national asset and that they should be treated and funded accordingly. This will require a long term plan that includes effective and efficient partnerships with industry. I understand based on the Army’s written statement that the Army’s plan for resetting the force is on track.
“But what good is a perfectly executed plan if we don’t get the equipment when we need it? And how confident should Congress be that the future force plans are on track when we can’t more quickly reset and take care of the current force? I believe the ultimate metric of success is whether or not we are getting the proper equipment into the hands of our brave warfighters in time for them to train before they go into harms way.
“Let’s not be sitting here a year from now listening to the next Chief of Staff of the Army telling us that he still has 600 tanks sitting at a depot. Again, I want to thank all of you for your service to our country.”
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