[Senate Hearing 117-]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


 
       DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022

                              ----------                              


                         TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 2021

                                       U.S. Senate,
           Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The subcommittee met at 10 a.m., in room 192, Dirksen 
Senate Office Building, Hon. Jon Tester (chairman) presiding.
    Present: Senators Tester, Leahy, Baldwin, Shaheen, Shelby, 
Murkowski, Blunt, Moran, Hoeven, and Boozman.

                         DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

                         Department of the Army

                        Office of the Secretary

STATEMENT OF HON. CHRISTINE E. WORMUTH, SECRETARY


                opening statement of senator jon tester


    Senator Tester. Good morning. Let me begin by welcoming our 
witnesses. Christine Wormuth was recently confirmed as the 25th 
Secretary of the Army. She is no stranger to breaking barriers, 
and I look forward to working with her to tackle the tough 
issues in store over the coming years. General James McConville 
is the 40th Chief of Staff of the Army. He is a war fighter 
first, having received too many awards and decorations to list 
in this short opening statement. His expertise as a 
distinguished helicopter pilot makes him uniquely qualified to 
help oversee the Army's current aviation modernization efforts. 
General, I want to thank you for your service, and we look 
forward to your testimony.
    As we continue our efforts to confront growing threats from 
abroad, the Army has recognized the need to become a more 
distributed and agile force. In plain English, this means being 
able to fight on the move, across the ground, air, sea, space, 
and cyber domains. There is always more room to collaborate 
with other services working in these domains, and I commend the 
Army for embarking on a historic change in how it will fight 
the wars of the future. To do this, the Army is on an 
aggressive pursuit of modernization, including ground combat 
vehicles, soldier lethality, aviation, and long range attack 
capabilities. The Army has tried this before, the last two 
decades, tens of billions spent on R&D programs, but we have 
little to show for it.
    Today, we are beginning to see these modernization programs 
not only in advanced development stages, but also initial 
production. Secretary Wormuth and General McConville, this is 
promising news. And I ask you to keep the Army on this good 
track. The Army's budget took an overall top line reduction, 
but still increased investment in its top priorities. As a 
subcommittee, we need to know whether the dollars in this 
budget are enough to continue development and increase 
production on all of these new capabilities without 
jeopardizing today's readiness.
    We must also look down the road a few years and ask if the 
Army is prepared to afford all these new systems that they are 
getting ready to procure. High tech weapons are expensive, and 
we must be able to buy them fast enough if budgets remain 
stable. Once again, I want to thank Secretary Wormuth and 
General McConville for appearing here today. I look forward to 
your testimony and perspective on the fiscal year 2022 budget. 
Senator Shelby.


                 statement of senator richard c. shelby


    Senator Shelby. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Secretary, warmest 
welcome to your first hearing before our subcommittee in your 
new role. Congratulations. General McConville, thank you also 
for being here. You are no stranger to this place. I look 
forward to hearing about the Army's budget proposal for 2022. 
This discussion is particularly important, I believe, because 
the Army's budget proposal reflects a 2 percent reduction from 
fiscal year 2021.
    The reduction is proposed despite the need to maintain 
readiness and make progress on key modernization priorities 
like the long range hypersonic missile and improve lethality 
capabilities. You are both well aware that our adversaries, 
including China and Russia, pose new and increasing threats 
that erode our traditional technological and battlefield 
advantages. They are making unprecedented investments in their 
capability and capacity. And China specifically has stated--has 
a stated object of surpassing us by the middle of the century. 
They made a lot of progress.
    We can't let them do that though. Given that the overall 
funding request for the Department of Defense does not keep 
pace with inflation, and the Army budget proposal reflects a 
decrease from last year, I am concerned that we are sending the 
wrong message to both our allies and our adversaries. I look 
forward to hearing today regarding the 2022 budget request and 
I look forward to question and answer time. Thank you.
    Senator Tester. Thank you, Senator Shelby. We will start 
out with your testimony, Secretary Wormuth.


             summary statement of hon. christine e. wormuth


    Secretary Wormuth. Chairman Tester, Vice Chairman Shelby, 
distinguished members of the committee, thank you so much for 
your continued support for our Army and our people, and thank 
you for the warm welcome today. I am very glad to be here. It 
is a real privilege to be with you today, and I would like to 
very honestly and earnestly take a moment to thank General 
McConville for his lifetime of service to our Army and to our 
Nation. In my about month of time in the job, he has been a 
great partner and we are off to a running start.
    I am honored to be serving as the Secretary of the Army and 
to be working with Secretary Austin and Deputy Secretary Hicks 
once again. I thank them for their continued leadership. As I 
have stepped into the role, I am surprised--I am impressed but 
not surprised to see the State of our Army and its 
professionalism, the hard work of our soldiers and families, 
and the continued sacrifice that our soldiers and leaders make 
every day as part of our--the world's greatest land fighting 
force. I would like to highlight a few key observations on the 
state of our Army as I see them today.
    First, the Army must continue to heavily invest in the 
development of its people. People are the strength of our Army. 
We are steadily working to enhance our force structure, build 
inclusive leadership, and invest in quality of life 
initiatives. Like my predecessors, I can assure you that the 
character, culture, and climate within our formations at every 
installation will reflect a continued focus on placing people 
first.
    The harmful behaviors of sexual assault and harassment, 
racism, and extremism cannot and will not be tolerated. We will 
purposefully work to stem the tide of suicides that we have 
experienced in our Army in the last few years. Our 
responsibility is to ensure every soldier and civilian has the 
right leadership, policies, and resources to be safe and 
successful among their teams so that they can continue to be 
successful in our Nation's defense. Second, the Army is now a 
leader in new technology. From Army future's command to cross-
functional teams to the Rapid Capabilities and Critical 
Technologies Office, to fielding next generation soldier 
equipment for individual unit members, the Army is prototyping 
and experimenting with new capabilities and concepts.
    The Army is at the forefront of developing and fielding new 
technology in counter UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) directed 
energy, hypersonic weapons, next generation assured positioning 
navigation and timing devices, pushing software coding to the 
edge, and many other areas. Third, the Army is opening doors in 
the Indo-Pacific, Europe and beyond. The Army can be relied 
upon to engage with our allies, foster partnerships, maintain 
deterrence, and set conditions for success prior to or while 
engaging in conflict.
    Deterrence requires boots on the ground, and our Department 
of Defense must be present to succeed in crisis. The Army is 
recognized as an enduring, reliable partner that can directly 
contribute by bringing resources, training, and expertise to 
countries in regions around the world. Our partnership can lay 
the groundwork for access and cooperation and contingencies in 
crisis. Fourth, the next fight will be in all domain conflict. 
Future conflict will be in across all domains with ground 
forces to secure terrain, penetrate defenses, and achieve 
objectives. The Army's transformation is directly aimed at 
supporting joint war fighting that will depend on joint all 
domain command and control, expeditionary joint logistics, and 
joint maneuver across domains.
    As the Army continues to modernize, we will maintain our 
overmatch against near peer adversaries, helping make future 
conflict less likely by ensuring that the cost to our 
adversaries outweigh any benefit. And finally, the Army's 
readiness, gains, and modernization procurement requirements 
must be prioritized to continue. The Army recognizes the need 
to modernize concepts and capabilities to sharpen our global 
competitive edge. Working in close coordination with you all in 
Congress, we established a deliberate, achievable path to 
deliver a ready, modernized Army.
    Significant progress has been made, but success can only be 
assured through continued transformation. The Army has already 
made and will continue to make tough decisions to ensure the 
best use of resources to adapt to and stay ahead of the 
capabilities of our adversaries, whether they are near peer 
nations or newly emerging threats. The Army will also compete 
successfully below the threshold of conflict. The President's 
budget will help us to care for our people, maintain and 
enhance our readiness, and innovate and modernize. With your 
continued support, we will pivot to next generation 
capabilities to ensure we can win now and in the future.
    Our Army is in great shape, but we have important work 
ahead. I want to use this window of opportunity in the next few 
years to make certain that the Army will continue to provide 
modernized and ready forces capable of responding globally.
    I join General McConville in striving to ensure we provide 
the Army with the resources it needs to succeed. I know the 
Chief is eager to share his thoughts as well, and I look 
forward to your questions. Thank you.
    Senator Tester. Thank you, Secretary Wormuth. General 
McConville.
STATEMENT OF GENERAL JAMES C. McCONVILLE, ARMY CHIEF OF 
            STAFF
    General McConville. Well, thank you. And I would like to 
thank the Secretary for her leadership during this critical 
time in the Army. Chairman Tester, Vice Chair Shelby, 
distinguished members of the committee, thank you for the 
opportunity to be here today and your continued support for our 
Army and our people, our soldiers, our families, our civilians, 
and our soldiers for life, our retirees and veterans.
    The Army currently has 485,000 active duty soldiers in a 
little more than 1 million in the total force. That is roughly 
the same size Army that we had on 9/11. Army soldiers are 
presently supporting combatant commanders around the world and 
in more than 140 countries. They form the most lethal and 
decisive land force in the world, and they stand ready to fight 
and win the Nation's wars as part of the joint force. I could 
not be more proud of each and every one of them.
    Since last October, the Army's priorities have been people, 
readiness, and modernization, making us well aligned with 
emerging national security guidance. Putting people first means 
recruiting and retaining the best talent our Nation has to 
offer, maximizing their potential, and taking care of them. We 
are building a culture of cohesive teams that are highly 
trained, disciplined, and fit where everyone is treated with 
dignity and respect. And that is how we prevent the harmful 
behaviors that hurt our soldiers and break trust with the 
American people. These being sexual assault and harassment, 
acts of racism, extremism, and death by suicide.
    All three of my children, two sons and a daughter, plus my 
son in law, are currently serving in the Army. Providing a safe 
and secure environment for our soldiers is not only my 
responsibility as chief of staff the Army, it is also a deeply 
held personal commitment. We win through our people. The best 
fighting forces in the world ensured their soldiers and units 
are masters of their craft. That is why we are shifting to a 
foundational readiness model that prioritizes training at the 
company level and below first.
    The Army has rebuilt a high level of readiness with the 
support of Congress, but that readiness level is fragile. We 
must sustain that high level of readiness while continuing our 
most comprehensive transformation and modernization efforts in 
over 40 years. That is the only way we will maintain our 
overmatch against our near peer competitors and would be 
adversaries. This year, we are turning our multi domain 
operations concepts into real doctrine. We are not only 
developing but delivering on our six modernization priorities, 
including our 31 plus 4 signature systems.
    With new doctrine, organizations, and equipment, the Army 
is offering multiple options to combatant commanders and 
multiple dilemmas to competitors and adversaries. And we are 
doing so alongside our sister services and alongside our allies 
and partners. The U.S. Army never fights alone. We are the 
strongest land force in the world and a great source of that 
strength comes from our allies and partners. As a people based 
organization, we are uniquely qualified to foster these 
relationships.
    Thank you for your continued support to America's sons and 
daughters in uniform. I look forward to your questions.
    [The statement follows:]
            Prepared Statement of Hon. Christine E. Wormuth 
                    and General James P. McConville
                           evolved priorities
    America's Army remains prepared to compete globally and fight and 
win the Nation's wars as a member of the Joint Force. As demonstrated 
repeatedly over the past year, we also remain the Nation's principal 
response force to protect our country and communities in the face of 
unexpected crises. We thank Congress for the consistent, predictable, 
and sustained funding you have provided. This funding enabled us to 
deliver a ready Army that responded promptly and superbly to a dynamic 
and unpredictable security environment, like the COVID-19 pandemic, 
Middle East tensions, civil unrest, cyberattacks, and south-west border 
mission. Our priorities are well aligned with the Interim National 
Security Strategic Guidance: investing in people, sustaining readiness, 
divesting of legacy systems to reinvest in cutting edge technologies 
and capabilities, mitigating the impact of climate change, and 
strengthening our alliances and partnerships.
    Last October, the Army evolved its priorities to people, readiness, 
and modernization. This evolution reflects the achievements of a multi-
year effort to rebuild readiness and accelerate modernization. Six 
years ago, we recognized that readiness had declined precipitously 
after years of reduced funding, uncertain budgets, and deferred 
modernization. We also recognized the need for new concepts, 
capabilities, and posture to compete aggressively in the Indo-Pacific 
and Europe. With your support, we rebuilt tactical readiness in our 
units and built strategic readiness in our power projection 
infrastructure. We deliberately executed internal reforms over the last 
four years by realigning over $35 billion within the Army budget to 
self-fund modernization priorities in support of joint all-domain 
operations.
    Thanks to your continued support for Army modernization, we are 
successfully pivoting from the incremental improvements of the past to 
fulfilling the robust Army Modernization Strategy that Congress 
prescribed in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act. Because of 
this strategy, and new Congressional authorities to streamline the 
acquisitions process, we are already beginning to field new systems in 
long-range precision fires, air and missile defense, and soldier 
lethality, with more on the way in next generation combat vehicles, 
future vertical lift, and the Army network. With these modernization 
capabilities, we are able to deliver multi-domain concepts, 
capabilities, and formations that will give the Joint Force asymmetric, 
all-domain advantages against near-peer potential adversaries. Our 
gains are real, but fragile. With Congressional support, we established 
a deliberate achievable path to deliver a ready and modernized Army by 
2028 and a transformed multi-domain Army by 2035. However, sustaining 
today's readiness and modernizing for tomorrow's readiness is only 
possible through your timely, adequate, predictable, and sustained 
funding.
                         strategic environment
    A dynamic global security landscape continues to challenge our 
nation. These challenges include: (1) borderless threats, like COVID, 
cyber, violent extremism, and climate change; (2) the global siege on 
democracy to include an increasingly contested information environment; 
and (3) the changing distribution of global power that draws new lines 
and value propositions for many of our allies and partners. These 
challenges require an agile, ready, modern, and multi-domain Army that 
works alongside strong allies and partners. Strategic competitors and 
regional actors are testing American norms, institutions, and 
alliances. China, our pacing threat, increases its global 
assertiveness, while Russia increases its disruptive behavior. Threats 
from Iran, North Korea, and violent extremism and terrorism remain. 
While America's Army maintains a tenuous overmatch, it is fleeting. 
Future conflicts will manifest at longer range, across all domains, and 
at much greater speed, both physically and cognitively.
    Climate change is altering the Army's operational environment and 
adding new mission demands; mitigating these effects has been an 
ongoing priority for the Army for several years. Climate change impacts 
Army installations globally and opens the Arctic as a new geographic 
theater for competition. The Army must consider alternative energy 
sources, improved energy storage, fuel-efficient design, more robust 
power distribution, and new technologies, such as weather pattern and 
terrain stability modeling to better inform operations.
    The Army must also contend with threats from within. The harmful 
behaviors of sexual assault, sexual harassment, racism, and extremism 
hurt Soldiers and break trust with the American people. The Army is 
working diligently to solidify a culture of cohesion and intervention 
to protect our Soldiers, not only from the deliberate fratricide of 
these behaviors, but from the invisible danger of mental and behavioral 
health issues, and other stressors that can increase the risk of 
suicide.
                              people first
    Listening to Soldiers led to our very deliberate decision to re-
align our priorities. The Army's number one priority is now people. Our 
people are our Soldiers from the Active, Guard, and Reserve components, 
Army families, Army civilians, and retiree and veteran Soldiers for 
Life. At every echelon, the Army must promote and build cohesive teams 
(1) that are highly trained, disciplined, and fit, (2) that are ready 
to fight and win, and (3) in which each person is treated with dignity 
and respect. Cohesive teams are the foundation of all our people 
initiatives and how the Army can best sustain readiness and transform 
for the future. Three critical enablers from the 2019 Army People 
Strategy continue to set conditions for putting people first: Army 
Culture, Quality of Life initiatives, and a 21st Century Talent 
Management System.
Army Culture
    Last December, the Army stood up the People First Task Force to 
address and implement the 70 Fort Hood Independent Review Committee 
recommendations, with the understanding that the issues identified are 
not unique to a single installation. Army leaders are stewards of a 
special bond of trust and confidence with the American people. We held 
accountable those leaders deemed to have broken that trust. We have 
fundamentally transformed our command selection process in order to 
improve the way we choose future leaders to assume positions with the 
most influence over Soldiers. We are piloting independent climate 
assessment teams of subject matter experts to identify unit climate 
trends early and respond before systemic problems emerge. We are 
listening to our people to learn and lead better. We conducted 96 
listening sessions across 14 locations in addition to a special 
``Solarium'' conference that asked junior- and mid-career leaders to 
develop solutions. The Army is now working to change policies and 
aspects of Army culture that impede prevention and response to harmful 
behaviors. The first policy change introduced ``absent--unknown'', an 
additional duty status code which affords missing Soldiers oversight 
not present in ``Absent Without Leave (AWOL).''
    ``This is My Squad'' is the foundational principle for Army 
culture. This initiative, led by the Sergeant Major of the Army, 
promotes cohesion by encouraging Soldiers to better know those around 
them, develop greater compassion, and intervene early to protect 
others. Implementation actions include increased non-commissioned 
officer professional military education, redistribution of experienced 
leaders, and better reception processes for integrating new Soldiers at 
each installation and unit.
    Project Inclusion is a holistic effort to improve diversity, 
equity, and inclusion across the force. As of March of this year, the 
Army had conducted 83 Project Inclusion listening sessions with over 
4,700 attendees. Separately, the Army reviewed its policy on official 
photos and removed official photos from all promotion boards. The Army 
later redacted race, ethnicity, and gender data from Soldier Record 
Briefs in accordance with the Secretary of Defense's direction. The 
Army is building relationships with influencers in diverse cities and 
communities to better acquire, develop, employ, and retain the best 
talent across the entire nation.
Quality of Life (QoL) Initiatives
    Putting people first also means creating a duty and installation 
environment that allows Soldiers to thrive. The Army continues to 
prioritize the QoL focus areas identified in 2019. The COVID era only 
reinforced how essential each of those initiatives is to the well-being 
and readiness of our Soldiers and their families.
    Housing and Barracks. We continue executing the Army Housing 
Campaign Plan to shape policies, procedures, and processes at every 
echelon. The Army implemented 14 of the 18 tenets of the Tenant Bill of 
Rights in its Residential Communities Initiatives (RCI) projects. We 
expect the remaining four (common tenant lease, 7-year maintenance 
history, dispute resolution and rent segregation) to be available at 
the majority of installations with privatized housing by June 1, 2021. 
We implemented mechanisms that hold privatized companies accountable to 
residents for proper maintenance and customer service, hired additional 
personnel to provide quality assurance oversight, and implemented 100 
percent change of occupancy inspections and quality assurance checks. 
To address environmental hazards (mold and lead), we developed 
educational materials, a response registry, and policies for 
habitability and displaced residents. Through the RCI, we are 
committing over $1.8 billion and reinvesting another $1 billion to 
improve residential housing. Additionally, the Army is projected to 
invest over $10 billion in the next 10 years, in both Restoration & 
Modernization and Military Construction funds, which will renovate or 
replace more than 1,200 barracks for all components and eliminate sub-
standard barracks.
    Healthcare. Army Medicine is partnering with the Defense Health 
Agency to deliver the best care for our beneficiaries across our 
installations. We are focusing on readiness as the Military Health 
System reforms. We will emphasize operationally oriented training, 
modernized capabilities, and innovative operational concepts. We are 
grateful to Congress for increases in Health Professional Officer 
special pay caps. This necessary investment ensures Army Medicine can 
recruit and retain the best quality healthcare professionals for the 
sustainability of the force.
    Childcare. Childcare professionals serve on the front line of the 
Army's response to the COVID-19 pandemic as they allow mission 
essential personnel to maintain Army readiness. The Army has a multi-
pronged strategy to maintain, and in some cases, increase access to 
care. With continued Congressional support, we plan to build 21 
additional Child Development Centers by FY30, adding approximately 
4,000 spaces.
    We appreciate Congressional support for the three centers funded in 
FY21, two in Hawaii and one in Alaska. We continue to invest in these 
professionals, adjusting compensation to recruit and retain quality 
staff. We are incentivizing the family child care program, like a 
$1,000 bonus for new providers and for families that stay in the 
program after a move. We implemented revised DoD priorities for 
childcare to grant more access to military families. Finally, we 
continue to invest in fee assistance to buy down the cost of off-post 
care when on-post care is unavailable.
    Spouse Employment. With the support of Congress, the Army continues 
to make improvements in spouse employment. The Army reimburses up to 
$1,000 for professional licensing and certification in a new state, 
with Army Emergency Relief offering an additional $2,500. We thank 
Congress for its efforts to bolster the support of individual states in 
granting reciprocity. We streamlined the Home-Based Business 
application and approval system, improved policies for military spouse 
hiring preference, strengthened the Employment Readiness Program, and 
made the transfer of non-appropriated fund employees between 
installations easier. We continue to work with the Office of the 
Secretary of Defense (OSD) to promote workforce development 
scholarships, improve state license reciprocity and professional 
license compacts, and reduce overseas employment barriers.
    Permanent Change of Station (PCS) Moves. Soldiers are now receiving 
PCS orders an average of 120 days before their report date, an 
improvement of 30 to 90 days. Families can now claim 100 percent of 
their costs for reimbursement when conducting a personally procured 
move. Our development and launch of the ``Army PCS Move'' app and 
automation of several business processes, including the Smart Voucher 
program, are helping families research, book movers, track progress, 
and file claims, expediting reimbursement. Though COVID-19 heavily 
impacted last summer's peak PCS season, we still executed over 70,000 
moves with a 95 percent satisfaction rate.
21st Century Talent Management System
    The Army continues to refine and implement its 21st Century Talent 
Management System in order to effectively acquire, develop, employ, and 
retain talent. We are maximizing the potential of each Soldier. We are 
evolving our marketing and recruiting with initiatives like Army Hiring 
Days and the ``What's Your Warrior?'' campaign to bring in the best 
talent from across the country, including cities and communities with 
populations who may be unfamiliar with the opportunities military 
service affords. This year the Army launched cutting-edge digital 
talent initiatives. Our Army Artificial Intelligence Center partners 
with Carnegie Mellon University to grow data engineers and data 
technicians, while our Software Factory leverages the extraordinary 
existing talent in our Army to grow coders to solve Army problems.
    At the heart of the Army's 21st Century Talent Management System 
are new approaches, systems, and processes that leverage deep data 
about unit needs and Soldier knowledge, skills, behaviors, and 
preferences. The Integrated Personnel and Pay System--Army (IPPS-A) is 
on track to go live across all three components by the end of this 
calendar year. Release 2 is complete, having brought IPPS-A to the Army 
National Guard across 54 states and territories. Release 3, currently 
in testing, will integrate the active and reserve forces and complete 
the Army's transition to a single system across all components capable 
of identifying needed talent and managing Soldier careers from 
accession to transition.
    Talent management starts with having the right Army leaders at the 
battalion and brigade-level. These are the Army's most consequential 
leadership positions in terms of affecting retention and attrition. In 
the biggest change to the Army's command selection process in fifty 
years, the Army now uses a Commander Assessment Program to select 
future battalion and brigade commanders, as well as command sergeants 
major. This intensive five-day program evaluates individuals for their 
temperament, cognitive fitness, physical health, and leadership skills. 
We are also expanding to build a system to assess and select our Army 
Acquisition Corps civilians at the same echelons. We are putting the 
right people in the right place at the right time to remain ready 
today.
Ready Today
    The Army stands ready today to compete globally and fight and win 
the Nation's wars in support of the Joint Force. This is only because 
we recognized six years ago that readiness had declined precipitously 
after three years of reduced funding and uncertain budgets. Since then, 
and funding from Congress, we rebuilt tactical readiness and built 
strategic readiness. However, readiness is fragile. We require 
continued support to maintain it, in order to reliably meet the needs 
of combatant commands without overstressing our people.
    People are the Army's most important weapon system. The Army 
represents 25 percent of the Defense budget, 35 percent of the active 
force, and 45 percent of the active and reserve forces, but meets over 
half of global demands. Today, the Total Army supports the Joint Force 
by supplying Soldiers to combatant commanders in more than 140 
countries. Over 69,000 Soldiers are in the Indo-Pacific, including over 
25,000 forward deployed on the Korean peninsula. Over 30,000 Soldiers 
are in Europe supporting NATO and the European Deterrence Initiative, 
including the forward command post of our newly reactivated V Corps. We 
remain dedicated to our counterterrorism and train, advise, assist 
missions, providing over 21,000 Soldiers in support of the U.S. Central 
Command theater. In our Nation's Capital this year, over 26,000 
National Guard Soldiers mobilized from 28 states to assist with medical 
evacuation, communications, security, logistics and safety support. 
Last year, we executed 64 brigade-equivalent deployments and moved 45 
thousand pieces of equipment through 55 ports of embarkation/
debarkation in support of worldwide missions.
    This past year highlighted the need for the Army to defend the 
Nation at home as well as abroad. In response, the Army continually 
demonstrated its capability and capacity to provide timely and 
effective support in crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic expanded the Army's 
existing mission set as DoD's leader in protecting the warfighter from 
biological threats and investigating infectious diseases that threaten 
public health. Since last March, Army scientists, medical 
professionals, engineers, and logisticians from all components have 
deployed nationwide to aid COVID prevention and response efforts. For 
its vaccine development and distribution initiative, America turned to 
an Army logistician to lead operations. Our National Guard and Reserve 
units across America supported both neighbor and nation in an 
unprecedented level of mobilization, not only for COVID support, but in 
response to civil unrest, hurricanes, and wildfires, all while 
continuing to train for wartime missions.
    In 2020, the Army demonstrated strategic readiness through its 
series of DEFENDER exercises, despite the constraints of a pandemic 
environment. Strategic readiness involves installation capabilities to 
mobilize, train, and deploy formations and then sustain them from the 
homeland. DEFENDER-Pacific 2020 witnessed the deployment of combat 
credible forces across the breadth of the Indo-Pacific theater from 
Guam and Palau to the Aleutian Island chain and mainland Alaska. Under 
the command and control of U.S. Army Pacific, combined joint forces 
executed strategic readiness operations that included cargo delivery, 
forcible entry operations, rapid infiltration of High Mobility 
Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), operational maneuver of Army 
watercraft, and fighter combat patrols. DEFENDER-Europe 2021 is 
currently underway with over 30,000 multinational forces from 27 
nations conducting nearly simultaneous operations across 30 training 
areas. This year's exercise will incorporate Security Force Assistance 
Brigades, the Army's new V Corps, and U.S. Air Force and Navy assets. 
DEFENDER-Europe 21 is led by the Army's newly consolidated U.S. Army 
Europe and Africa Command.
    The foundation of Army readiness is our people. The Army is moving 
to a foundational readiness model that prioritizes the training of 
individuals and small units at the company level and below. The best 
combat units in the world ensure their individuals and small units are 
masters of their craft. To foster individual readiness, the Army is 
also investing in holistic health and fitness. We continue to study the 
impact of the Army Combat Fitness Test in accordance with Congressional 
guidance in order to better connect individual fitness with combat 
readiness. A solid foundation of readiness enables unit agility and 
provides the greatest return on an investment of limited time and 
resources. We will continue to use the combat training centers to bring 
these highly trained, disciplined, and fit teams together for large-
scale collective training that validates the combat effectiveness of 
our battalions and brigades.
    The Army must balance the continuous demand for current readiness 
from combatant command requirements with the imperative to secure 
future readiness, all without overly stressing our people or our 
equipment. To this end, the Army developed, tested, and rehearsed a new 
unit lifecycle model that will go into effect October 2021: the 
Regionally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model (ReARMM). ReARMM 
will harmonize historically conflicting Army priorities. It will take 
care of people by reducing operational tempo and maximizing 
predictability and stability to commanders, Soldiers, and families. 
ReARMM will sustain readiness by carving out dedicated windows for 
building readiness at echelon while aligning units with primary regions 
and functions.
    Regional alignment provides units deep wells of knowledge on the 
terrain, culture, and people where their units are most likely to 
operate. Joint force commanders also gain by leveraging habitual, 
trusted relationships between Army formations and Allies and partners. 
Finally, ReARMM will facilitate modernization by giving units dedicated 
windows to integrate new equipment, reorganize formations, and train on 
new doctrine. Adopting this model transitions the Army from small, 
incremental, evolutionary modernization of platforms to large-step 
modernization of our formations.
Army Modernization--Transforming for Tomorrow
    The Army faces an inflection point that requires innovation, 
creativity, and entrepreneurship in the application of combat power. 
The battlefield is increasingly faster, more lethal, and more 
distributed. Overmatch will belong to the side that can make better 
decisions faster. To meet emerging challenges, the Army is transforming 
to provide the Joint Force with the speed, range, and convergence of 
cutting edge technologies that will generate the decision dominance and 
overmatch required to win the next fight. We are leading the way in 
developing and fielding advanced technology in support of the Joint 
Force.
    The Army's materiel modernization transformation--what we fight 
with--is based on the six modernization priorities announced in 2018: 
Long Range Precision Fires, Next Generation Combat Vehicle, Future 
Vertical Lift, the Army Network, Air and Missile Defense, and Soldier 
Lethality. The Army's conceptual transformation--how we fight--begins 
with our Multi-Domain Operations concept, which we are currently 
turning into doctrine. The Army is using Project Convergence, our 
campaign of learning and annual capstone event, to shape future 
concepts and capabilities. By 2035, the Army will realize its vision of 
a multi-domain force.
    The Army is committed to seeing our signature materiel 
modernization efforts through to completion. Many are coming on line 
according to, or ahead of, our accelerated development schedule and 
being delivered to our Soldiers. Through continuous reform efforts, we 
have been able to redirect scarce resources to these key modernization 
efforts; however, we could not achieve this without Congressional 
support and authorities. Army Futures Command is providing 
unprecedented unity of effort across the modernization enterprise, 
having changed our business model and culture through public-private 
partnerships and a focus on Soldier-centered design. This allows us to 
gain immediate operator feedback, accelerating the development process 
and ensuring new systems are effective in operational environments. 
These reforms, combined with early experimentation through Project 
Convergence, are paying significant dividends. Judicious use of Middle 
Tier Acquisition and Other Transaction Authorities enable progress from 
characteristics to fielded capabilities in as short as three years, 
versus the five to seven years it took just to prescribe requirements 
in the past.
Long Range Precision Fires
    Long range precision fires provide the capability to penetrate 
Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) environments, suppress air defenses and 
strike maritime targets at range from land, and establish our own A2/AD 
capability to open windows of opportunity for the Joint Force to 
exploit. In 2019, OSD directed the Army to develop a ground based long-
range hypersonic weapon. In FY23, the Army will field the first Long 
Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) firing battery. The Army is also 
developing a ground-launched, Mid-Range Capability that will complement 
the LRHW and the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) capabilities. The PrSM 
is on schedule to conduct its maximum range test in 3QFY21 and deliver 
30 missiles in FY23. It will provide greater range, lethality, and 
survivability at a lower cost per shot than ATACMS. The Extended Range 
Cannon Artillery remains on schedule for delivery in FY23. It will 
establish overmatch against peer adversaries in the close and deep 
operational maneuver areas with an extended range out to 70km.
Next Generation Combat Vehicle
    Next generation combat vehicles will increase the firepower, speed, 
and survivability of land forces, allowing them to maneuver into 
positions of advantage in the future operational environment. After 
rebaselining the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) program last 
year, the Army issued the final request for proposal for the concept 
design phase on December 18, 2020. OMFV is an example of how our new 
acquisitions process enabled the Army to learn early and recover before 
programs become too big to fail. The Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) 
effort envisions an unmanned platform that provides decisive mobility, 
lethality, survivability, and increased situational awareness to 
formations. RCV will undergo increasingly rigorous experiments and 
capability demonstrations with a decision to procure by FY24. The 
Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) is an adaptable and more 
survivable multi-variant vehicle that replaces the 1960s era M113 
Family of Vehicles. Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) is an armored 
combat vehicle that will provide, large caliber, long-range direct 
fires in support of Infantry Brigade Combat Teams. The first unit 
equipped with MPF will be in FY25.
Future Vertical Lift
    Future Vertical Lift platforms and technologies increase the 
maneuverability, range, endurance, lethality, and survivability of Army 
aircraft, providing joint commanders with increased operational reach 
and effectiveness against near-peer competitors. Our new acquisitions 
process has put the onus on industry to innovate and invest early, 
allowing the Army to ``fly before we buy.'' The Future Armed 
Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) closes the gap left by retirement of the 
Vietnam-era Kiowa. Two prototypes will fly in FY23 followed by a year-
long flight demonstration. The Future Long Range Assault Aircraft 
(FLRAA) will replace the UH60 Blackhawk with increased speed, range, 
payload, and endurance. We expect initial FLRAA prototypes in FY25. 
Future vertical lift will leverage advances in Unmanned Aircraft System 
(UAS) technology to develop Air Launched Effects (ALE) with a wide 
array of payloads and extended communication mesh networks with a 
fielding plan in FY24.
Army Network
    The Army network modernization underpins Project Convergence as the 
Army's contribution to Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control. 
It provides necessary information technology (IT) infrastructure to 
link the right sensors to the right shooters through the appropriate 
command and control node. In FY21, we will field more than 150 units 
with new technologies while simultaneously developing the next 
capability set of equipment. The Army is also modernizing current 
Global Position System (GPS) receivers to meet current and emerging 
threats by providing the Joint Force with advanced assured precision, 
navigation and timing (APNT) systems. Included are modernized receivers 
that meet congressional mandates to transition to M-code GPS and 
integrate alternative APNT technologies for our ground combat 
platforms, dismounted Soldiers, precision weapons and munitions, and 
aviation systems. We are fielding the first generation mounted APNT 
systems to our forward deployed formations with a second generation 
ready not later than FY23. Additionally, the Army continues to invest 
in space-based technologies that close operational gaps in deep sensing 
and targeting activities. We are coordinating with partners in the 
Intelligence Community and private industry to enhance Army access to 
Low Earth Orbit (LEO) space-based sensing and link with national-level 
capabilities to provide tactical-level sensor to shooter capability to 
combat formations.
Air and Missile Defense
    Air and missile defense capabilities defend the Joint Force, 
allies, and partners against manned and unmanned air and missile 
threats. The Army's integrated air and missile defense capabilities 
will protect joint forces from adversary aircraft, missiles, and drones 
to protect the force and enable operations. This includes both theater 
systems and tactical/short-range air defense like the Maneuver-Short 
Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) which defeats aerial threats to the 
maneuver force with a mix of kinetic capabilities. The Rapid 
Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) is developing a 
Directed Energy (DE) M-SHORAD variant that utilizes a 50kW class laser. 
We will field four DE prototypes for experimentation and further 
development. Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC) will defend 
fixed and semi-fixed assets primarily against cruise missiles and 
Unmanned Aircraft Systems as well as fixed and rotary wing aircraft. 
Based on the authorization in the 2021 NDAA, the Army is currently 
preparing two Iron Dome batteries for operational deployment at the end 
of FY22. This spring the Army will conduct a shoot-off to inform our 
decision on the enduring IFPC solution. RCCTO is also working on two 
IFPC variants, a High Energy Laser (HEL) and a High-Powered Microwave 
(HPM). The IFPC-HEL uses a 300kW-class HEL to defeat Rocket, Artillery, 
and Mortar (RAM) threats and is on track for demonstration. The IFPC-
High-Powered Microwave is being developed with the Air Force to produce 
the Tactical High Power Microwave Operational Responder (THOR) in FY21 
with a prototype expected in FY24. The Integrated Air and Missile 
Defense Battle Command System (IBCS) initial operational capability is 
3QFY22 with fielding. IBCS is a revolutionary command-and- control 
system that streamlines sensor to shooter linkages for air and missile 
defense engagements--and once fielded with enable optimized employment 
of the Patriot force. This enhanced tracking system delivers an 
unambiguous view of the operating environment, allowing commanders and 
air defenders to make critical decisions within seconds. The Lower-Tier 
Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) will deliver the next 
generation sensor that leverages the capabilities of the Patriot 
Missile Segment Enhanced (MSE) interceptor and is fully integrated into 
IBCS.
Soldier Lethality
    Soldier Lethality improvements to weapons, sensors, body armor, and 
training will deliver decision dominance and overmatch at the level 
where it matters most-, allowing individual Soldiers to quickly 
understand and react to emerging situations. With ReARMM, we are 
incorporating Guard and Reserve units into the fielding schedule much 
earlier and more broadly than in past modernization efforts. The Army 
seeks continued Congressional support for the rapid prototyping, 
development, and procurement of the Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) 
Rifle and Automatic Rifle, Enhanced Night Vision Goggles (ENVG), 
Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS)--Heads-Up Display (HUD) 
3.0, and the Synthetic Training Environment (STE). By 1QFY22, we'll 
equip the first unit with IVAS. In 4QFY22, we will equip the first unit 
with the Next Gen Squad Weapon Rifle and Automatic Rifle, as well as 
General Purpose Ammo. STE efforts that complement IVAS include the 
Squad Immersive Virtual Trainer (as part of IVAS) and the STE 
Information System that includes: One World Terrain, Training 
Simulation Software, and Training Management Tools.
    In addition to our six priorities, the Army understands the need 
for considerable investment in long-term research to deliver science 
and technology solutions. The Army is aligning its laboratories towards 
modernization and partnering with over 250 research institutions. The 
Army's priority research areas are: disruptive energetics, Radio 
Frequency (RF) electronic materials, quantum research, hypersonic 
flight, artificial intelligence, autonomy, synthetic biology, material 
by design, and advanced manufacturing.
    The Army is also investing in deep sensing and analysis to provide 
intelligence support to long range precision fires and commanders' 
situational awareness during Joint All-Domain Operations. We will 
continue to drive intelligence modernization by acquiring capabilities 
and capacities across the Space, Aerial, Terrestrial, and Foundation 
Layers nested with and in support of the Army's six modernization 
priorities. We will continue to leverage the Intelligence Community 
(IC), other Services', and commercial partner enterprise-level 
Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance collection programs to 
provide timely, accurate, and relevant intelligence to support Army 
targeting efforts and enhance commanders' decision making.
    The Army is not just modernizing concepts and materiel. We require 
continued budget support to modernize infrastructure and execute 
workload in our Organic Industrial Base (OIB) of depots, arsenals, and 
ammunition plants, along with our power projection and Mobilization 
Force Generation Installations to better project power from and into 
contested environments. We must be able to address the risk of new and 
emerging cyber, information, and physical threats that can thwart our 
ability to project power by disrupting installation operational 
capabilities and the supply chains supporting our forces, whether from 
malign actors or nature. Our installations must be resilient to 
disruption and modernized in support of the modernized Army force. The 
Army is investing significant time and resources to mitigate the 
effects of climate change on our installations. We are establishing 
energy and water resilience, efficiency, and affordability across our 
installation enterprise. In the past five years, energy programs, 
partnerships and initiatives recognized a cost avoidance or savings of 
more than 14 percent, every installation has added a full-time energy 
manager position, and 16 of 26 Army OIB depots, arsenals and ammunition 
plants have transitioned from fossil fuels to clean energy 
alternatives. We are also partnering with private industry to implement 
energy and utility savings contracts that maximize the latest 
technology to drive efficiency and reduced costs, with 99 agreements 
currently in execution.
    The Army is also not modernizing in a vacuum, but in partnership 
with our sister Services. We have completed two Army-Air Force 
Warfighter Talks and one Army-Air Force-Navy joint session to ensure 
the Army's Project Convergence initiatives remains synchronized with 
the Air Force's Advanced Battle Management System and the Navy's 
Project Overmatch to meet the unique needs of each Service. As we work 
to stand-up a Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF) in Europe later this year, 
our Indo-Pacific aligned MDTF continues to synchronize effects with the 
Joint Force during multiple exercises. The MDTF's All-Domain Operations 
Center enables Joint training, to include hosting Carrier Strike Group-
3 for the Navy's Fleet Synthetic Training--Joint exercise and 
connecting to the Navy's Continuous Training Environment network. 
During INDOPACOM's Pacific Fury 21, the MDTF validated its ability to 
virtually synchronize long range fires and effects with the Joint 
Force. The MDTF will participate in USINDOPACOM's upcoming Northern 
Edge and Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) Simulation 
Experiment (SIMEX) in May before rotating into the Indo-Pacific later 
this summer to participate in joint exercises with PACAF, PACFLT, and 
MARFORPAC.
Strengthening Alliances and Partnerships
    America does not fight alone. Alliances and partnerships are among 
the greatest sources of our military strength. This global landpower 
network is DoD's foundation for competition, creating inroads and 
maneuver space for Joint and whole-of-government strategic engagement. 
As a people organization, the Army is uniquely qualified to maintain 
and expand this vital network, especially given that partner militaries 
and their senior leaders are predominately land force-centric. Our 
roadmap for building and strengthening relationships spans a range of 
activities that include military and key leader engagements, education 
and training programs such as the Department of State's International 
Military Education and Training (IMET) and International Professional 
Military Education (IPME), security assistance through Title 22 Foreign 
Military Sales, and advise and assist capabilities. Boots on the ground 
deter would-be adversaries, and small, scalable engagements with our 
Allies and partners open doors to the access and presence we need to 
compete effectively. The Army's new Security Force Assistance Brigades 
(SFAB) demonstrate our commitment to alliances and partnerships and our 
capability to compete.
    Last year we completed the activation of all six SFABs, five in the 
Regular Army and one in the Army National Guard. Since then, 5th SFAB 
has already completed missions with multiple partners across the Indo-
Pacific theater, including elements of the Thai, Indonesian, and Indian 
armies. Later this year, many of those partners will join their 
American counterparts in combined exercises at the National Training 
Center. Engagements such as these are vital, not only for 
interoperability, but in recognition that Cold War-era exclusive 
allegiance to a single great power no longer exists. Many if not all of 
our allies and partners maintain concurrent relationships with both the 
United States and our competitors and potential adversaries. We cannot 
take for granted these relationships and the vital access and presence 
they provide us.
                                closing
    The men and women of the United States Army are the greatest 
Soldiers in the world. The Army is cultivating cohesive teams, 
maximizing talent, sustaining tactical and strategic readiness, 
progressing through our greatest transformation in over 40 years, and 
strengthening our alliances and partnerships. We are leading the way in 
developing and fielding high technology for the Joint Force. We are 
opening operational and strategic doors in the Indo-Pacific and Europe. 
We are succeeding through calibrating our force posture around the 
globe to assure our partners and deter would-be adversaries. And we 
need your continued support. With timely, adequate, predictable, and 
sustained funding, we will remain ready to fight and win our Nation's 
wars--now and into the future.

    Senator Tester. Thank you, General. Appreciate the comments 
of you and the Secretary. First off, I want to thank the Army, 
especially the soldiers of the National Guard, for their 
efforts in supporting the capital security mission over the 
last several months. While there has been discussion on a much 
needed supplemental appropriations bill to cover these costs, I 
am getting nervous about what will happen if those funds are 
not approved and approved soon.
    So, Secretary Wormuth, can you give us some insight on how 
much the Army is insured across its components from that 
mission? What sort of tradeoffs you are going to have to make 
as you push funds around to cover those costs in the short 
term?
    Secretary Wormuth. Yes, Chairman Tester. Right now, the 
resources basically to pay for the support that the National 
Guard has provided to the Capitol, and I want to take a minute 
also to just recognize their enormous contribution, is about 
$450 million. So that is the bill associated with the support 
that they provided in this execution year.
    If we are not able to cover that, right now the Army Guard 
is basically in a situation where they are concerned about 
their ability to pay for training for the rest of this year. So 
without that, those resources, the Guard, for example, and you 
know, and this is in States all around the country, will find 
themselves with training issues that are going to affect, you 
know, both their aviation readiness, for example, their ability 
to have readiness with their ground vehicles, they are going to 
have, you know, again, many of the training exercises that they 
have put off because of everything else they have been doing in 
support of COVID, in support of the Southwest border, in 
support of being here in the capital.
    All of that regularly scheduled training has been postponed 
and now is at risk of not being able to be funded. And so it is 
definitely a concern and something that will impact our Guard 
all around the Nation.
    Senator Tester. So has training been postponed already?
    Secretary Wormuth. Senator, no. My sense of the situation 
is at this point, they have been--they are in a position where 
they don't want to with--spend funds for the remainder of the 
year because then they will be basically at a point of being in 
violation of the Anti-deficiency Act. So it is really looking 
at the summer months, July, August, September.
    Senator Tester. That is when it will kick in?
    Secretary Wormuth. Yes.
    Senator Tester. That is good to know. General McConville, 
one proposal that is being floated openly is the idea of a 
standing military quick reaction force for capital security. 
How do you feel about this mission, and do you think it is 
appropriate for the Army?
    General McConville. Well, my best military advice, Senator, 
is law enforcement should be conducted by law enforcement 
agencies and the military should be the last resort when it 
comes to law enforcement.
    Senator Tester. I appreciate your direct answer to that. 
Thank you very, very much. Shifting to the Pacific, where we 
are driving a lot of modernization priorities to fight China. 
The Army's going to need helicopters with increased range and 
speed and missiles, very long ranges. This year's budget 
request includes an increase in investments in the Army's 
modernization priorities from $9.5 billion to $11.3 billion. 
General McConville, can you give a quick overview of your 
increased investments in fiscal year 2022 and how they support 
the shift to the Pacific?
    General McConville. Yes, Senator. We have about $1.9 
billion focused on the Pacific. That does not include the pay 
for the 69,000 soldiers that operate the Pacific. The key to 
what we are providing the combatant commanders out there is we 
provide the new organization Security Force Assistance 
Brigades, which allows them to work closely with our allies and 
partners in the region and build up their capacity. We are 
developing a multi-domain task force that provides really two 
capabilities, long range precision effects, which is very, very 
important in the competition, because they can do intelligence, 
they can do information operations, they can do cyber 
electronic warfare, and space operations.
    They also have the capability which we are developing, it 
is long range precision fires, which helps with deterrence 
because it gives us the ability to potentially penetrate any 
type of anti-access area denial capability that is set up by 
potential competitors in the region. We are also doing multiple 
exercises, so we have a chance to work with our allies and 
partners, and we are present throughout the region, which is 
very, very important to reassuring our fellow land components 
that will be there when they need us.
    Senator Tester. Thank you, General. Senator Shelby.
    Senator Shelby. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Army's fiscal 
year 2022 budget request for research and development continues 
to focus on six modernization priorities, yet the 2022 budget 
proposal for research and development funding is $1.3 billion 
less than last year. Madam Secretary, now that you have taken 
the helm and begun to review these modernization efforts, are 
you considering any changes to the focus areas or the approach 
that the Army has taken to its modernization priorities?
    Secretary Wormuth. Vice Chairman, Generally, I am very 
comfortable with the modernization priorities that the Army has 
at this time. And as General McConville was just speaking to, I 
think the kinds of capabilities we are looking at in terms of 
long range precision fires, future vertical lift, you know, 
next generation vehicles, and air and missile defenses also are 
all very appropriate to the kinds of near peer challenges that 
we are facing. So broadly speaking, I am comfortable with where 
we are heading.
    I think, you know, we are going to have to continue 
carefully balancing between our modernization emphasis while 
also maintaining our readiness and taking care of our people. 
But I think we are going in the right direction on 
modernization, sir.
    Senator Shelby. Would you deem research and development a 
very high priority, period?
    Secretary Wormuth. Yes, it is very important that we 
continue to emphasize development.
    Senator Shelby. For tomorrow's weapons----
    Secretary Wormuth. Yes, exactly. And we have got about 74 
percent of our R&D account focused on our 31 plus 4 priorities 
for modernization.
    Senator Shelby. General McConville, could you provide a 
General overview, knowing we are not in closed session, on the 
progress of the Army's six modernization priorities and outline 
what risk that the Army is accepting by reducing its research 
and development funding as it pursues those priorities? It is a 
dangerous road, you know.
    General McConville. Yes. Well, as the Secretary said, we 
have done some tremendous work, we call it night court, to take 
a look at our modernization priorities and make sure that we 
align the resources with them and the research development. So 
we have moved a tremendous amount of money, about 74 percent of 
our research and development funds focused on those 
modernization priorities. They are moving along very, very 
well. As you know, Senator, hypersonics is moving extremely 
quickly. We expect our first battery and in 2023, our mid-range 
capabilities, moving along very capability, we expect to be 
able to send ships in 2023.
    Our present strike missile capabilities is moving along 
very capable. We expect to have the first battery around 2023. 
Our next generation combat vehicle is moving out. That is going 
to come in about 2028. And future vertical lift, we have two 
different aircraft that we are developing, both are flying 
models right now. Again, this is exceptionally fast, delivering 
that to the troops. We want to fly before we buy and that is 
coming in around 2028. We are making great strides in air and 
missile defense so we can counter unmanned aerial systems. We 
are making great strides in convergence with our network and 
bringing together our sensors and shooters, so we have the 
overmatch we need.
    And finally, for our soldiers, we are getting them the 
lethality they need through an integrated visual augmentation 
system, a new carbine that can be much more lethal on the 
battlefield, and a new squad automatic weapon system. So we are 
very, very pleased with the progress that we are making on the 
six modernization priorities and really very pleased the way we 
are working with industry in a different way.
    Senator Shelby. Sir, the Army's Rapid Capabilities and 
Critical Technologies Office is leading the development of the 
long range hypersonic weapons. This program is scheduled to 
conduct several test events in 2022. What do you expect to 
learn, that you talk about in this session today, to the test 
of the schedule next year, and how will this data from test 
events lead to decisions for the program? And how is 
development going on the thermal protection system, which I 
think is very important there?
    General McConville. Well, Senator, as you know, we had a 
very successful test last year. We are getting ready to do 
another test over the upcoming months. That test is, again, is 
going to confirm a lot of the systems. It is going to make sure 
that the range--that, you know, we are going to get a much 
better idea of what type of range the system can work. We know 
the precision is there. So what we are going to take away from 
the testing is more assurity when it comes to what is the 
range, you know, the max range, the system, what is the 
precision of the system, and so far, we are very pleased with 
the progress.
    Senator Shelby. General, how is the development going on in 
the sensor integration display for the heads up display 
component of the system?
    General McConville. Well, the heads up display for--I want 
to make sure----
    Senator Shelby. The integrated visual augmentation--
    General McConville. Well the integrated visual augmentation 
system is transformational. It is coming along very, very well. 
It is probably one of the most transformational systems that we 
have in that we are able to fuse night vision capability with 
an infrared capability. But more importantly, it provides 
situational awareness to our soldiers that we have never had 
before. And the future will be that soldiers will be able to 
fight with this system, they will be able to rehearse with this 
system. They will actually be able to train with this system in 
virtual reality.
    Senator Shelby. Madam Secretary, quickly, in the area of 
production, some of us are concerned that some of the proposed 
delays in building things with our industrial base, you know, 
this could be a problem. What is the Army doing to ensure that 
the industrial base will remain viable for these programs if 
you slow-walk some of them?
    Secretary Wormuth. Well, Senator, very quickly, I would say 
I think the primary thing we are doing is having Army Materiel 
Command undertake a 15 year plan to essentially try to align 
our future requirements and make sure that our organic 
industrial base and the commercial industrial base can meet 
those needs over time. That is the primary----
    Senator Shelby. Keeping that industrial base together is 
very critical, is it not?
    Secretary Wormuth. Absolutely. We have to be able to have 
that industrial base to make all of the new next generation 
systems that the Chief was mentioning. And as you know, 
ensuring, frankly, the cybersecurity of our suppliers and our 
industrial base is also a key issue that we have to get after.
    Senator Shelby. Part of it. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. 
Chairman.
    Senator Tester. Thank you, Senator Shelby. Senator Leahy.
    Senator Leahy. Thank you very much. And thank you for 
having the hearing. And thank you both for appearing. General 
McConville, You may find it unusual that in an Appropriations 
committee meeting there may be questions that sounds parochial, 
but I think this has a broader meaning. The Vermont National 
Guard's Mt. Calvary Battalion opened every position to women, 
it can recruit women directly to any position. I believe it is 
the first Army National Guard Cavalry Unit at that level in the 
Nation do so.
    I visited Bravo Troop from that battalion. They were here 
at the U.S. Capitol following the January 6th insurrection. And 
now they are deployed overseas. It is a remarkable feat I 
think. Anyway, I am very impressed by it. The challenging 
nature reminds me why many of us supported the removal of 
barriers to women serving as well as all sorts of soldiers of 
different walks of life. I have always felt the Army is 
strongest when it finds the best soldier for the job, not the 
soldier who meets certain preconceived notions.
    So how does the Department's budget request support the 
recruitment and retention of soldiers from diverse backgrounds 
to a unit like Vermont's Mt. Calvary?
    General McConville. Yes, sir, I think the point is well 
taken. You know, we are in a competition--in fact, we are in a 
war for talent in the United States. We want the best and 
brightest to come into the military. We want the military to 
represent the diversity of the Nation. And we are doing that by 
having the right leadership with the right background. So if 
you want to take a look and see who is commanding, recruiting 
command is a person of diversity so people can look up to see 
people like them.
    Our recruiters come with diversity so someone can talk to 
them if they want to be in the infantry, if they want to be in 
the armor. And from where we sit is we want everyone to have an 
opportunity, and we are appealing to them, and we are giving 
opportunities at every level so people can look up and see 
people who look like them. And that is how we keep the 
diversity in the Army.
    Senator Leahy. I appreciate that. I look at a place like 
New England where it is getting harder and harder to recruit. I 
would urge you to empower local recruiters and Adjutants 
General as much as you can. Madam Secretary, the U.S. military 
has long been at the forefront of energy revolutions. We all 
know making energy cheaper and less supply line intensive makes 
a military force more capable.
    The President has been investing in clean energy and energy 
efficient technology a priority for every part of the U.S. 
Government. This Committee has even supported research with the 
Army Corps on energy efficiency technology over the years 
because it would free up money for other things. How does your 
request support development of clean energy and energy 
efficient technology?
    Secretary Wormuth. Thank you, Senator. Within our budget, 
we are trying to do a few different things to try to help us 
advance clean energy, and particularly in terms of our vehicle 
fleets. You know, we are exploring where we can look at hybrid 
vehicles potentially, how we can increase electrification in 
our vehicle fleet. We are looking at trying to use battery 
powered where we can. So there are a variety of efforts that we 
are trying to look at across all of our different types of 
vehicles to work with clean energy.
    We are also, you know, again, looking at other ways that 
our installations can be more energy efficient. We are doing 
quite a bit to look at where we can use solar power, for 
example, or wind power at our installations. I was just at Fort 
Hood and saw the solar panel fields there, for example. So we 
have a number of different places where we are trying to 
advance and go more towards clean energy.
    Senator Leahy. And the solar panel field, you wouldn't have 
seen a few years ago?
    Secretary Wormuth. That is probably true. I actually grew 
up in Texas and I don't recall seeing solar panels there.
    Senator Leahy. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I have a question 
which I will submit for the record for the General. It is 
about--it is a little bit involved on construction issues, but 
I really do want an answer. And I know you will supply one.
    General McConville. Yes, Senator, I sure will.
    Senator Leahy. Thank you.
    Senator Tester. Thank you, Senator Leahy. Senator Moran.
    Senator Moran. Chairman, thank you. Madam Secretary, 
General McConville, welcome. Congratulations on your new 
position as Secretary, and for your long distinguished service, 
General McConville. I am going to visit Germany and Poland in 
the near future, and I will see transnational training 
exercises focused on Russian deterrence. We face lots of 
challenges around the globe. Our focus is sometimes shifted by 
necessity and by changing circumstances. What should be my take 
away? What do you hope I see and come back confirmed of the 
importance of what we are doing?
    Secretary Wormuth. I want to make sure my mic is on. Well, 
Senator, I think what I would hope that you would see is, is a 
couple of things. First of all, I hope you will see the close 
partnerships we have with our land forces in Europe. And 
obviously, you know, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) 
is our center of gravity there. You know, our enhanced forward 
battalions with NATO are very important. And from an Army 
perspective, I hope you will see the value added that the 
forward element of the 5th Corps that we have now put in 
Poland, what that is doing to again bring our partners together 
and present a strong deterrent to the Russians. That is what I 
would ask that you look. Chief may have additional----
    General McConville. I agree with the Secretary. I hope you 
see peace through strength, and that strength comes from a 
strong military, a strong Army, and strong allies and partners. 
And I was just over there last week. We hosted a conference for 
European armies, had 32 Chiefs of Staffs from all the countries 
coming together. They want American leadership. They want to be 
good allies and partners with us. They want to have a strong 
friendship.
    And I think the way we deter others who wish us harm is by 
having all that come together. And in the training is 
important. Just like any professional team, you have got to 
train, you have got to rehearse, you have got to prepare, and 
that is where that strength comes from.
    Senator Moran. Thank you both. General McConville, given 
the rapid modernization of Russia and China's armed forces, I 
have some concern that the Army's budget dropped significantly 
below what is necessary to modernize a full brigade of Abrams 
tanks each year. If Congress provides additional funding for 
Abrams production, can you assure us that you will keep the 
Abrams production, at least at the level of one brigade a year?
    General McConville. What I can assure, Senator, is on my 
unfunded requirement list. And if we do receive additional 
money, we will prioritize that and go after those unfunded 
requirements.
    Senator Moran. What is our capabilities of ascertaining or 
making certain that the active and guard units that are 
scheduled to upgrade those tanks receive them on time?
    General McConville. Well, that is why we want--you know, 
that is why it is part of my unfunded requirement is to make 
sure--you know, we have had to make some tough decisions in the 
Army based on priorities. And we are--when I look at the Abrams 
tank that is not legacy to me. I see that as an enduring 
requirement. We also have modernization requirements which are 
the six modernization priorities. But the Abrams tank is going 
to be here for a while. And we have incrementally improved it 
and we need it for the future. But we also need to modernize 
the Army. And we are going to have to make the, you know, tough 
decisions based on the resources we get. And we will do that on 
the priorities.
    Senator Moran. Secretary, digital design and engineering 
has become an important resource for weapon system development 
and sustainment. It has already proven its ability to increase 
sustainment efforts on legacy platforms and I think we will 
play a major role in the design of future defense programs. Can 
you discuss the importance of making these digital designs more 
accessible to service members to give them the tools to 
increase readiness on legacy combat vehicles? And how does the 
Department plan to invest in this new technology as we develop 
this next generation of warfighting platforms?
    Secretary Wormuth. Senator, what I would say is certainly 
incorporating digital designs into our prototyping and 
modernization process is very, very important. And frankly, we 
are trying to bring in as many different types of new 
techniques to help us be more innovative as possible. So, for 
example, I think that we are using digital design as we look at 
the new optionally manned fighting vehicle, for example. And 
there are undoubtedly other programs within our 31 plus 4 where 
we are making use of that. I have not been able to dive in-
depth into how we are using digital design, but again, I know 
we are trying to be much more innovative.
    We are collaborating with various universities, for 
example, with companies, you know, smaller startup companies in 
Austin, for example, where we have Austin--or where we have 
Futures Command. So we are very much trying to bring things 
like digital design into our process.
    Senator Moran. I hope to have you as a guest in Kansas 
where we can demonstrate that technology.
    Secretary Wormuth. I would welcome that.
    Senator Moran. Thank you, ma'am.
    Senator Tester. Thank you, Senator Moran. I will get you as 
you entered the room, Senator Shaheen.
    Secretary Shaheen. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank 
you, Secretary Wormuth and General McConville, for your 
service. One of the new potential areas of conflict, and 
certainly of a lot of other activities, is the Arctic. And so 
it is very important that we know as much as possible and have 
as much research as possible about the Arctic. One of the labs 
in this country that does that research is in Hanover, New 
Hampshire. It is the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab. 
So can you just speak to whether, I guess this is for you, 
Secretary Wormuth, whether you think the Army Corps of 
Engineers labs are uniquely situated to confront the challenges 
that the Army and the joint force are going to be facing in the 
Arctic?
    Secretary Wormuth. Senator, I think, yes, the Corps of 
Engineer labs are very helpful to us as we explore these new 
environments and what kind of requirements they are going to 
present to us. The Arctic is absolutely becoming an arena of 
competition between the Russians and the Chinese, for example. 
You know, Russia in particular has been enhancing its military 
posture in the region. China is definitely engaging in 
exploration more oriented towards natural resources.
    And as we think--as you know, the Army has put forward an 
Arctic strategy. And as we think about building that out and 
what kind of formations and gear that we are going to need, I 
think we will want to leverage the Corps of Engineer labs, and 
again, other, you know, partnerships with universities to help 
us think that through.
    Secretary Shaheen. But yet the budget request cuts the 
Army's research and development. So can you speak to how we are 
going to continue the research that we need to do if we are 
making those cuts?
    Secretary Wormuth. Senator, I think, you know, again, I 
would want to look carefully at what exactly the labs have to 
offer, and the resources associated with that. I was not yet in 
the Secretary position, as you know, when our budget was made. 
But we have had to make very difficult choices. Again, as we 
balance readiness, people, and modernization, we have had to 
make some difficult choices. But I would certainly look into 
that and be happy to talk with you.
    Secretary Shaheen. Thank you. General McConville, do you 
have anything to add to that?
    General McConville. Well, I do have is, as the Secretary 
said, you know, we have put a new strategy for regaining 
dominance in the Arctic. It is a place that we really haven't 
taken a hard look at. You know, we have got a great State of 
Alaska. We have troops up there. But we see us operating more 
in the Arctic than we have in the past. So we are going to have 
to have that capability.
    We are developing equipment, we are developing 
organizations that can do that. We are going to recruit the 
right people that can operate in that environment, make sure 
they have the right clothing, and the right capabilities. But 
we see that as a place in the future that we need to be. And as 
I said, I have met with our European allies and the Arctic 
States are very interested in working with us on those 
capabilities.
    Secretary Shaheen. Thank you. The enhanced night vision 
goggles, the vernacular ENVG, is currently being fielded and it 
has received really positive reviews. I know about this because 
we make it in New Hampshire, but I understand the fiscal year 
2022 request is approximately $218 million, which is less than 
what we had been projecting. So can you tell me, does the Army 
still plan to make those investments for the ENVG in 2023?
    General McConville. Well, Senator, as you know, those--the 
troops really like those goggles. They are extremely good. And, 
you know, we are developing two systems, the enhanced night 
vision goggles, Bravo, which that is called, which our troops--
it is great investments. We are also developing the IVAS 
system, which is a more sophisticated system. But that enhanced 
night vision goggles process is still going to be around. It is 
very, very good. It fuses both night vision and flare 
capabilities. Some incredible videos out there of the troops 
talking about it. So we are committed to moving forward there. 
Again, there are tough decisions being made on the budget and 
they are reflected in our budget.
    Secretary Shaheen. I have a question which I will submit 
for the record on IVAS (Integrated Visual Augmented System), 
but on Afghanistan just briefly because I have only a little 
bit of time left, will there be a change in our budget 
requirements for Afghanistan because we are going to be leaving 
earlier than anticipated? I understand we expect all troops to 
be out by the end of July.
    Secretary Wormuth. Senator, our budget reflects, you know, 
the expected savings from the retrograde out of Afghanistan. I 
think as the Department determines exactly what the posture is 
going to look at in support of the over the horizon 
requirements, you know, we may have to look at what the 
resources are going to be attached to that.
    Secretary Shaheen. And can you tell me what the savings 
are?
    Secretary Wormuth. I don't have that----
    Secretary Shaheen [continuing]. don't immediately put those 
dollars into the over the horizon.
    Secretary Wormuth. I don't have that number off the top of 
my head, Senator, but I am happy to take the question for the 
record and get back to you.
    Secretary Shaheen. Okay, thank you. Thank you, Mr. 
Chairman.
    Senator Tester. Thanks, Senator Shaheen. Senator Blunt.
    Senator Blunt. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman. Secretary 
Wormuth, congratulations on your nomination and confirmation as 
Secretary. Look forward to the work you will be doing there. 
Our biggest base in Missouri is Fort Leonard Wood. It is in 
many ways the schoolhouse for a lot of the military right now, 
principally Army still, but I think on any given day, there are 
probably more people from different services there than any 
base in the country. I hope you can get that on your list to 
visit and you will find the community incredibly supportive of 
the fort and what happens there. And General McConville, thank 
you again for your service and for being here today. With the 
future budget necessities, I don't think that includes, is 
likely to include a basic combat training reduction or not. I 
would like both of your thoughts on that.
    And if there is a basic combat reduction there, we are 
talking about Fort Leonard, where the original goal at Fort 
Leonard Wood was basic training. We have gone way beyond that, 
but still an important part of what happens there. There are 
three other basic training facilities. If there is a reduction, 
I think people representing those four facilities, certainly 
me, would advocate that that reduction be proportional rather 
than eliminating training in one base.
    So one, do you think there will be a reduction? And two, do 
you have thoughts on what would happen in those four bases in 
training if there is a reduction? General.
    Secretary Wormuth. Senator, to my knowledge at this time, 
we are not contemplating a reduction in basic training at this 
time, but I think, you know, certainly if we had to do that, it 
would be concerning. But I think we would want to look at what 
makes most sense in terms of efficiency and effectiveness in 
terms of managing our resources.
    So I would want to look at the four places where we do 
basic training and basically run the numbers to see where, if 
we had to reduce basic training, how we could do that most 
efficiently. It might be that doing that proportionately would 
be most efficient, but it might be that it made more sense to 
perhaps consolidate our training in, you know, some less than 
all four locations. So I think I would want to look at that.
    Senator Blunt. General, do you have a view of that?
    General McConville. Yes, Senator. My view is, as I 
discussed, you know, we have got an active strength of 485,000, 
a little over 1 million. We think that is required. We think 
the training to support that is required. And so we do not 
anticipate, unless we have some type of resource reduction, to 
cut basic training. I think we need the Army we have given the 
situation that we see around the world.
    Senator Blunt. Well, if you do cut a location, we could 
discuss at that time. But clearly, if you get into an up tempo, 
again, having to start another location from what would have 
become a dramatic reduction would make a difference. And while 
we are on Fort Leonard Wood, we have made substantial 
commitments there in the last four budgets toward the Fort 
Leonard Wood Community Army Hospital. It was the number--it was 
number one on the Surgeon General--on the Army Surgeon 
General's list and the overall Force Surgeon General's list for 
a long time. And we are well into that process.
    I think the monies being requested for fiscal year 2022 to 
finish that hospital really matters to the base and really 
matters to the community. On the--General, as we withdraw from 
Afghanistan, what impact is that going to have on our rotation 
of forces which have been Afghanistan, Korea, Europe and 
elsewhere? Still thinking rotating--is the best way to handle 
that?
    General McConville. I think, Senator, you know, what is 
being done is really a global posture review. We will take a 
look at what type of forces we need. There is some value in 
having rotational forces. There is value in having permanent 
forces. There is value in having what we call prepositioned 
stocks, so the troops rotate in and fall on those equipment. 
And we are in the process of--the Administration is having that 
discussion. And what we will do is lay out those options based 
on what it looks like. And so when you look at Afghanistan, 
there is discussions of what is over the horizon, you know, 
what does the future look like in the Middle East.
    So that has to be looked at. The Administration is taking a 
look at what does the Indo-Pacific look like and then certainly 
what Europe looks like. All those will come into discussion, 
and we will provide the appropriate best military advice on how 
to accomplish that mission. But I do see some rotational 
forces. I don't see all rotational forces.
    Senator Blunt. Alright. At least one of the questions I 
will ask for the record would be as we pull the contingency 
overseas account into the regular budget, what impact that has 
on our flexibility when we have something we don't anticipate? 
And I am out of time, so I will ask that for the record and 
look forward to your response on that. Thank you, Chairman.
    Senator Tester. Thank you, Senator Blunt. Senator Baldwin.
    Secretary Baldwin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The upcoming 
JLTV (Joint Light Tactical Vehicle) recompete provides an 
opportunity to seek upgrades and to improve the vehicle's 
capabilities. I am particularly interested in efforts to 
transition the JLTV to electric power trains, considering the 
advantages it would provide in future environments and because 
it would support the President's interests in promoting green 
energy. I know you just had a little discussion about 
electrification within the Army. Why is that JLTV program not 
pursuing a more aggressive transition to electrification? And 
is this something that you are considering for the recompete?
    Secretary Wormuth. Senator Baldwin, again, I have not had 
the opportunity to dive deeply into some of these programs. I 
know that the follow on production for the JLTV is on track and 
we are looking at, you know, how to move forward with that 
particular contract. I would ask General McConville to try to 
speak to your question of how the Army has been thinking about 
it in terms of electrification efforts.
    Secretary Baldwin. Please.
    General McConville. I think the Senators, what we are 
seeing--you know, we have efforts going for electrification. We 
have got a reconnaissance vehicle that we are actually trying 
to make fully electric. These tend to be smaller vehicles 
rather than larger vehicles. So, you know, and there is value 
in that. And first of all, reduces our ability to divide fuel, 
which we like to do. That keeps, you know, trucks off the road 
in those type things. But they are also very, very quiet, which 
is helpful when you are maneuvering on the battlefield.
    Some of the bigger vehicles in the joint light tactical 
vehicle--first of all, that is a great vehicle. It is very good 
for the troops. Is we are looking at probably a hybrid, you 
know, how do you reduce fuel in a hybrid? You know, and we are 
looking at bigger vehicles too. You go to hybrid first. We are 
concerned and we have people looking at electrification, but on 
the larger combat vehicles, what can you do in the near term? 
What can you do in the long term?
    And in some cases, we are not sure we can get to fully 
electrification, but can we get to a hybrid that cuts fuel by 
25 percent? Can we reduce how they operate at idle, which, you 
know, saves fuel? And so we have folks taking a look at that. 
But as far as going to a full electrification of that vehicle, 
I don't think we are there yet.
    Secretary Baldwin. Okay. On modernization, I know the Army 
is divesting from legacy programs to fund other priorities, but 
the JLTV certainly is not a legacy program or platform. Yet 
over the last 4 years, the Army has often characterized the 
platform as a smaller MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) or 
designed for the last war. The requirements that drove the 
creation of the JLTV do not support this claim, and the program 
was never designed to be the next MRAP for Iraq and 
Afghanistan. To their credit, the Marines have looked to the 
JLTV in their shift to supporting the Navy against peer 
adversaries, using the JLTV as the platform to support new 
shore to ship and long range fire capabilities. Are you 
familiar with these Marine Corps initiatives, and are you 
exploring any similar efforts at this point in time?
    General McConville. Yes, I am aware what the Marine Corps 
is doing. They have got some innovative ideas with the joint 
light tactical vehicle. What we are looking at is how we bring 
it into the force. And our numbers are significantly larger 
than what the Marine Corps is doing with the joint light 
tactical vehicle. That we have goals set up there. And really 
what happens, that is an enduring vehicle. That is not a legacy 
vehicle.
    I just want to make sure people--because we have kind of 
had it characterized there is legacy, there is enduring, and 
there is the modernization efforts we have. So I see you really 
three categories as we discussed. The joint light tactical 
vehicle is an enduring vehicle. It is something that we need in 
the future. But it all comes down to, we are trying to give you 
all the best Army we can give you with the resources we have.
    Secretary Baldwin. Okay, I just would point out that JLTV 
continues to sort of act as a bill payer for other programs in 
the PB (President's Budget) 2022, resulting in about $120 
million unfunded requirement for the Army. So that is of 
concern. Let me just add, I think I have limited time left, 
that Senator Shelby asked earlier about the industrial base. 
And I believe, Secretary, you said that there was a report in 
the works from Materiel Command. I would like to get briefed on 
that report when it is available. And so I look forward to 
receiving that.
    Secretary Wormuth. Yes, Senator, it is in development now 
and we would be happy to discuss it when it is complete.
    Secretary Baldwin. Alright, thanks.
    Senator Tester. Thank you, Senator Baldwin. Senator 
Boozman.
    Senator Boozman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you all 
for being here, and we really do appreciate your service to our 
country in so many different ways. As ranking on MILCON 
(Military Construction) of the Appropriations subcommittee, I 
know the importance of investing in quality of life projects 
such as barracks and family housing, as well as the impact of 
increased morale among the soldiers and their families, that 
that generates.
    The strength of the Army is people, and certainly I know 
that you all agree that that should be right at the top of the 
list regarding priorities. Madam Secretary, given a tough 
budget cycle this year, how do we adequately address the 
funding for America's family housing and other quality of life 
issues that are so important?
    Secretary Wormuth. Senator Boozman, you are absolutely 
right that housing for our soldiers and our families is very, 
very important. And the Army has undertaken a number of 
initiatives in the last few years to try to make sure that we 
are providing the kinds of housing for our families and 
soldiers that they need. You know, we have consolidated, for 
example, oversight of our privatized housing with Army Materiel 
Command and Installations Command. In terms of barracks in 
particular, we have a plan to invest about $11.5 billion over 
10 years to refurbish those barracks that are not as in good 
condition as some of the others.
    And for example, I was just at Fort Hood a week or two ago 
and I saw some of our newer barracks, which I thought were 
quite satisfactory. But some of the barracks, frankly, that 
need to be modernized. And we are trying to do that as quickly 
as we can in the context of a flattening budget.
    So there have been some difficult choices. I think there 
are some barracks facilities, for example, on General 
McConville's unfunded requirements list. But we do have a plan 
to try to move forward as quickly as possible to make sure that 
our soldiers have the housing they deserve.
    Senator Boozman. Very good. And we appreciate the list, 
General. You all are not bashful at all, and hopefully we can 
be of help in securing some additional funds along those lines. 
General, over the past 4 years, the Army has worked tirelessly 
to restore its readiness levels, which again is so important. 
It is fragile, if not adequately sustained. It can decline very 
quickly, as we have seen at different times in the past.
    You mentioned the Army is implementing a foundation 
readiness model that will prioritize training at the company 
level. I guess the question is, do we have enough training 
capacity and resources on the active duty installations, or do 
we need to perhaps augment those installations with regional 
maneuver training centers to meet the intent of your 
foundational readiness model?
    General McConville. Well, Senator, I think we have the 
appropriate amount of training areas available. You know, what 
we are finding is this is a time for soldiers to train. And 
what we are trying to do is we are trying to focus--you know, 
if you only have so much time and so much resources, where do 
you spend those resources? I argue that you do that when you 
have new troops. You have new troops coming in units.
    We bring in about 125,000 soldiers every single year. They 
have to get the basics. They have to get the training. They 
live in our organizations we call squads. And so you get the 
squad straight, you get the platoon straight, you get the 
company straight, and then we can take our battalions and 
brigades to our national training centers and our combat 
training centers and making sure they get the higher level type 
training. But if you don't get the foundation right, it is like 
building a house on a poor foundation.
    It may look good in the top, but it is not good in the 
bottom. So that is the shift we are doing right now with the 
time and resources we have available.
    Senator Boozman. So with Afghanistan coming down, will the 
up tempo decrease or will it be maintained or----
    General McConville. Well, the amount of troops we have in 
Afghanistan is pretty small. I mean, we are talking, you know, 
2,500 troops at the time. That is not a tremendous amount of 
troops when you take a look at where we were at. So a lot of 
people say, hey, is that going to change a whole lot of things? 
Not too much for the Army. The 2,500, you know, brigade plus, 
you know, brigade minus is not a huge amount of troops.
    Senator Boozman. Very good. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Tester. Thank you, Senator Boozman. Senator Hoeven.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. General, the Army 
National Guard is expected to deploy and fight alongside the 
active duty counterparts. Army currently trains on the MQ-1C 
Gray Eagle out of Fort Huachuca in Arizona. And I understand 
there you are having trouble getting enough training for the 
active duty members, just the volume. And so my understanding 
is, it is also difficult to get Guardsmen through that 
training. So are we training enough soldiers to operate the 
Gray Eagle in a timely fashion? My first question.
    General McConville. I think so, Senator. I am sure we could 
train more, but at least the amount of aircraft we have, which 
is the trade off, is that those are going to use them--you 
know, the other thing with the Gray Eagle as we look to the 
future is that, and we see it contested air defense 
environment, we are going to have to take a look at what the 
utilization of that aircraft is.
    As we take a look at our intelligence, surveillance, and 
reconnaissance aircraft that we have in the Force, many were 
designed for what we call irregular warfare, counterterrorism, 
counterinsurgency, where there is not a big air defense 
capability. So as we look in the future, we are going to take a 
hard look at what type of aircraft we have doing that mission.
    Senator Hoeven. Right. But the Army National Guard doesn't 
have its own MQ-1C aircraft or great--what are they called, 
Gray Eagle, excuse me, aircraft. They don't have it.
    General McConville. That is right.
    Senator Hoeven. So it seems to me you have got bit of a 
bottleneck in terms of just getting your active duty forces 
through level and training guard. Then the Guards are supposed 
to support that mission, which they do tremendously well, and 
many others, but they don't have the Gray Eagle. So both in 
terms of training and then actually having units that have the 
Gray Eagle, how do we address that? Because you get both the 
training issue, but you also have an equipment issue when you 
want the Guard supporting your active duty forces and you have 
to have that equipment to train on.
    General McConville. Well, that is what we are taking a look 
at, Senator, and we can take that for the record and come back 
to you, because I think--I saw, you know, as I look at where we 
are going in the future, we have got to come up with a--as the 
strategy has changed, we need to come up with the way we are 
going to do that.
    Senator Hoeven. Right. But you got that equipment across 
all your battle groups, active duty, but nothing in the Guard 
have you got training. So it is something we do need to help 
you address.
    General McConville. Yes, we will take a look at it.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you, General. Appreciate that. Madam 
Secretary, so obviously unmanned is a big issue, and then also 
countering unmanned aircraft, and then various forces deal with 
it, you know, in different ways. Obviously in the Army sphere, 
you have got the small, unmanned aircraft that you have to deal 
with for your troops. You operate the Joint Counter Small 
Unmanned Aircraft System Office, which works with DOD 
(Department of Defense) to counter small unmanned UAS--we have 
one of the UAS sites--as a matter of fact, the first one 
established in North Dakota, the upper plains, the test site, 
or Great Plains test site I should say.
    We work a lot with Customs and Border Protection, too, 
because we have got 900 miles of border responsibility on 
counter UAS. So how are you working that issue? And how can we 
be helpful to and continue to develop this counter small UAS 
arms issue?
    Secretary Wormuth. Thank you, Senator. Certainly we are, 
you know, the entire Department of Defense is concerned about 
the UAS problem. All you have to do is look at and see how 
drones were used in Nagorno Karabakh, for example, to see the 
potential threat that they pose both, to our forces overseas, 
but potentially here at home. We are the executive agent for 
the joint program office that is responsible for looking at 
counter small UAS capabilities, and the Office of the Secretary 
of Defense, which we work with closely, is actually responsible 
for liaising, if you will, with the interagency, for example, 
with Department of Homeland Security and the Customs and Border 
Patrol.
    But we are working very closely with them, as well as with 
the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) to look at how best 
to counter those kinds of threats. And I think the Center of 
Excellence can be very helpful to us as we continue to work 
that hard problem.
    Senator Hoeven. So who would we link in with at your office 
or Army, who would be the right person for us to connect with 
to really talk about how we can do some partnering or provide 
some assistance in this effort?
    Secretary Wormuth. Well, you could certainly talk to us in 
our joint program office. And I think in terms of looking 
towards other partners in the Federal family, you would 
probably want to talk to the OSD (Office of the Secretary of 
Defense) Homeland Defense Office.
    Senator Hoeven. I mean, we have a ton of partners. I mean, 
Guard, active duty, military forces, Customs and Border 
Protection, the State--I mean, we have got a ton, NASA 
(National Aeronautics and Space Administration). So I am just 
trying to understand the best point person to make sure we have 
clicked in with you in terms of what Army's needs are.
    Secretary Wormuth. Yes, I think our joint program office is 
the best belly button.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you, Secretary. Thank you, Mr. 
Chairman.
    Senator Tester. Thank you, Senator Hoeven. Senator 
Murkowski.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Madam 
Secretary, General, welcome. Thank you, Madam Secretary. I 
haven't had an opportunity to personally congratulate you so we 
did it over the phone. But nice to have you here. I appreciated 
the conversation that we had last week regarding the Arctic. 
And as Chairman, I feel like I have arrived when the Senator 
from New Hampshire asks the first Arctic question for the 
hearing. It is like, hallelujah, we are here. We have been here 
for a long while. And the military has recognized that, 
certainly the Army has recognized that. We have had an 
opportunity to talk about the Arctic strategy document that has 
been released. This is probably for both of you with regards to 
where--in the strategy, we note that the current unit 
distribution and alignment for Arctic operations may require 
configuration.
    The Army will evaluate and adjust its necessary tactical 
and operational headquarters and unit relationships to best 
support. So where are we in this? What specifically and when 
specifically can we see this evaluation moving forward, where 
in the organization is this review being considered, and let me 
know where we are with this alignment for Arctic operations?
    Secretary Wormuth. Senator Murkowski, it is nice to see you 
as well, and thank you for those congratulations. We are having 
now issued the Army Arctic strategy. We are really in the 
process of looking at exactly its implications in terms of what 
kind of units we might want to see in the Arctic, exactly what 
kinds of equipment they would need to carry out those roles. 
And I have to be briefed, frankly, in more detail myself in 
terms of where we are precisely in our thinking. So why don't I 
ask if General McConville can speak in a little bit more detail 
to your timelines.
    General McConville. Senator, as we lay out in the strategy, 
we have an administrative headquarters right now in Alaska. We 
see that becoming an operational headquarters. How that 
actually kind of works out, we have got other operational 
headquarters similar to maybe what is in Italy right now. It is 
not a division, but it is an operational headquarters, has the 
ability to respond and command and control troops. That is what 
General Eifler will set up and that is in the process of being 
done.
    We are taking a look at how we equip really the Striker 
Brigade with the appropriate equipment, because the strikers 
are a great capability, but it is not really designed to 
operate 12 months a year up in Alaska. So we are taking a look 
at what that looks like and how we put that capability. We are 
also taking a look at--I was up in Natick, which is developing 
some really high speed cold weather gear. And that is the type 
of, gear we would like to get to that brigade so they can truly 
operate. They do a lot of great work up there, but how do we do 
that?
    And then even looking at what type of people do we recruit 
for that brigade? You know, people that live there. You know 
that we can reach out to people that would be very--we really 
want to go and work in that environment. So the States and 
certainly Alaska, where we can write contracts. If you want--we 
will guarantee you are going to serve in this area. You can do 
those type things.
    We are taking a look at a, potentially a multi-main task 
force. What that looks like, you know, is we have the 
capability for anti-access area denial capability, working that 
with NORTHCOM. So all these things are kind of coming together. 
And as we do the posture review, as we look at the resources 
available, that will all drive this as we move out over the 
next couple of years.
    Senator Murkowski. Well, it is really encouraging to hear 
you say this, because it is really all encompassing. It is 
looking at the assets, the equipment that we need to have. And 
I want a little bit of an update on where we are with this 
bridging the gap between the SUSV (Small Unit Support Vehicle) 
and the CATV (Cold-weather All-Terrain Vehicle). We recognize 
that you have got to have the equipment, but if you don't have 
the gloves and the gear and everything that you need in an 
Arctic environment, it is pretty tough even to operate the 
equipment that we are talking about. So things like clothing 
are actually pretty important.
    So, again, it was good to hear Senator Shaheen even 
acknowledge that. But I am really intrigued about the focus on 
what you are calling focused recruiting, looking at men and 
women who perhaps come from a part of the country where it is 
mountainous, it is cold. You have got, perhaps not Arctic 
conditions, but you are used to the cold.
    I think we recognize that part of the quality of life 
initiatives that we deal with in a place like Alaska, it is 
really hard with certain individuals and their families when 
you have never, ever, ever had an exposure to the cold, to the 
dark, to snow, and then we plant you there and say, go off and 
do your job. And it is challenging. And I think we see this in 
some of the issues that we have been facing. We have had an 
opportunity to talk about this spike in soldier suicide.
    That is something that we have got to get our arms around. 
But I really appreciate that from a strategy perspective, it 
really is a much more broad and encompassing. I have kind of 
dangled the question about the SUSV and the CATV. I am over 
time. But if you have a quick update on that?
    General McConville. I know right now we are in the process 
of--and I have got be careful--we will come back with an answer 
on that. I know we are going through the process right now, and 
I am kind of concerned if I talk about the process I might not 
be doing what I should be doing. We will come back with an 
answer. And I know we are working on that right now.
    Senator Murkowski. I appreciate that, General. Thank you, 
Mr. Chairman.
    Senator Tester. Thank you, Senator Murkowski. As the Arctic 
becomes more and more real, which is real right now, the points 
you bring up are certainly valid and sign me up. That is all I 
got to say. I don't think I would meet the qualifications you 
need in the Army right now, but what the hell.

                     ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS

    We are going to close this out right now, and I really 
appreciate your testimony here today. Senators may submit 
additional written questions. And of course, we would ask you 
to answer those in a reasonable period of time.
    [The following questions were not asked at the hearing, but 
were submitted to the Department for response subsequent to the 
hearing:]
            Questions Submitted to Hon. Christine E. Wormuth
              Questions Submitted by Senator Richard Leahy
    Question. Given the administration's priority of taking care of our 
people, and the important role that unit cohesion plays in improving 
readiness, it is crucial that the Army take a fresh look at policies 
and practices that may not support all servicemembers. To that end, 
please outline what changes, if any, the Army has made, is making, 
plans to make, or is considering in order to:
    Improve diversity in leadership positions;
    Answer. In 2020, the Secretary of the Army (SA) and the Chief of 
Staff of the Army (CSA) announced an effort entitled ``Project 
Inclusion.'' Project Inclusion operationalizes the Army People 
Strategy: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion by organizing and leveraging 
resources across the Army to rapidly advance Assistant Secretary of the 
Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs ASA(M&RA) prioritized efforts. 
The ASA(M&RA) signed the Army People Strategy: Diversity, Equity and 
Inclusion on September 1, 2020. The Army People Strategy fulfills the 
fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, Section 529 
mandate for the military services to develop a diversity and inclusion 
strategic plan by December 20, 2020. The five main goals of the plan 
include Leader Commitment, Talent Management, Organizational Structure, 
Training and Education, and Equitable and Inclusive Environment.
    As this year continues, within the talent management initiates, the 
Army Talent Management Task Force (TMTF) has established programs 
seeking to address diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Programs 
like the Command Assessment Program (CAP) provide the Army ways to 
improve opportunities for under-represented populations. The CAP 
incorporates active measures to reduce opportunities for bias by 
conducting double-blind interviews, conducting anti-bias training with 
voting panels, and anonymizing files presented to voting panels.
    In addition, the Career Mapping and Succession Planning tool is 
currently under design. This tool will interface with the Army Talent 
Alignment Process (marketplace) and Soldier Talent Profile to recommend 
future assignments using individual knowledge, skills, and behaviors to 
indicate where individuals should take military and professional 
courses, seek training, pursue a new assignment, or take other career 
actions in order to advise individuals on achieving their career goals. 
When reversed, the Career Mapping algorithm is used for Succession 
Planning, to look at the population identified as best fit for these 
positions. The identification of these talent pools early on can be 
used to adjust policies and remove obstacles to a talented and diverse 
population being considered for key leadership positions at all levels.
    Question. Improve diversity retention at all levels;
    Answer. In response to the 21 May 2020 SA/CSA Dual Signed memo 
addressing diversity in the Army, the ASA(M&RA) directed an Operational 
Planning Team (OPT) to develop an Implementation Plan to Expand Diverse 
Talent in the Army Officer Corps which will guide the Army to new 
accomplishments which strengthen diversity and inclusion in the force. 
The operational planning team developed 20 initiatives to meet four 
objectives addressing how the Army will acquire, develop, employ, and 
retain diversity. It marks an acceleration of new people plans, 
programs, and policies aimed at expanding diversity and inclusion in 
the Officer Corps, the Warrant Officer Corps, and the Enlisted Corps. 
The Implementation Plan to Expand Diverse Talent in the Army Officer 
Corps was published on January 7, 2021. ASA(M&RA) has also developed 
OPTs to develop plans for our Enlisted, Warrant, and Civilian cohorts, 
and the Civilian Implementation Plan was published in January. The 
Implementation Plans for Warrant Officers and Enlisted Soldiers are in 
development.
    As a part of the Implementation Plan for the Officer Corps, the 
Army has implemented several initiatives as a part of its efforts to 
increase diversity across the ranks. Initiatives include the Urban 
Access Program (Aug 2020); a Combat Arms Outreach Pilot Program (Mar 
2021); Talent Based Branching at USMA and USACC (2019 & 2020); 
Incorporated Diversity and Inclusion education and training into PME 
(Apr 2021); started conducting the Department of the Army Career 
Engagement Survey (May 2020); Army ROTC Senior Officer Mentor Program 
(June 2021); Incentivize Select Sources of Commission Positions (June 
2021); and Incorporating Mentorship into the Army PME System (fiscal 
year 2021). Some of these initiatives will also positively impact the 
recruitment and retention of Army Civilians, Warrant Officers, and 
Enlisted Soldiers.
    Strengthening Cadet mentoring programs is also an Army focus within 
recruiting and retention. The goal of the cadet mentorship programs is 
to increase officer accessions and to help cadets make informed 
decisions about their future Army careers. Staffing a diverse mix of 
Army Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers to serve as faculty and 
mentors at United States Military Academy (USMA) and Reserve Officer 
Training Corps (ROTC) locations not only increases the visibility of 
Army professionals at our sources of commission, but can influence and 
enhance the cadets' understanding of various branches. Going forward, 
the Army Human Resource Command (HRC) continues to work with ASA(M&RA), 
DCS G-1, and the sources of commissions to assign best fit officers to 
positively support the strategic outcomes of the Army People Strategy.
    Question. Improve trainings, including sexual assault prevention, 
with input from women, LGBTQ servicemembers, BIPOC servicemembers, and 
sexual assault survivors.
    Answer. The Army SHARP Academy, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, the 
proponent for SHARP training across the Army, is aware of DoD's 
research efforts to identify evidence-based practices to address the 
need for culturally-competent care for men, women, LGBTQ service 
members, BIPOC service members, and sexual assault survivors. Once 
those best practices have been identified/codified, the SHARP Academy 
will develop curricula needed to enhance training for the Army's Sexual 
Assault Response Coordinators (SARC), Victim Advocates (VA), and the 
total force. Currently, the SHARP Academy develops curricula with input 
from women and BIPOC service members. The curricula instruct Army 
advocates on how to care for sexual assault victims and sexual 
harassment complainants with dignity, respect and compassion regardless 
of their race, gender, orientation, religion or any other identifying 
characteristics. The SHARP Academy continues to train SHARP 
professionals to respond to all victims and complainants without 
judgment or segregated advocacy actions. As DoD releases future 
guidance and information pertaining to culturally-competent care, the 
Army will rapidly assimilate the information into SARC/VA training 
courses and will add additional content to the Army-wide training 
support package and SHARP Annual Refresher Training.
    Question. Increase availability and accessibility of mental health 
support services for servicemembers and their families, including 
services tailored specifically toward minority servicemembers.
    Answer. The U.S. Army supports the Defense Health Agency's 
Behavioral Health Diversity Working Group, which was recently chartered 
to support advancements in mental health services for women, LGBTQ, and 
ethnic minorities. The working group will offer clinical guidance to 
enhance the care provided for minorities. Additionally, since the onset 
of the COVID epidemic, virtual mental health has expanded to provide 
services within the comfort of patients' homes.
    This is particularly important for low-income families, many of 
whom are minorities. By eliminating the need to travel to an in-person 
appointment, beneficiaries have fewer barriers to seeking care.
    Question. Improve outreach to and support for minority 
servicemembers facing discrimination from within their units;
    Answer. Education, awareness, and bystander intervention are at the 
heart of the Army's efforts to combat racism. The Army is working to 
improve outreach and support to minority servicemembers facing 
discrimination. The Army has developed a ``Your Voice Matters'' 
campaign, which is a listening session concept designed to develop 
atmospherics and determine any local and/or Army-wide diversity and 
inclusion policy requirements; demonstrate care and commitment to the 
well-being of our military and civilian personnel; and provide an 
opportunity for personnel to engage with concerns or questions about 
issues that impact their personal and professional lives. It has also 
assisted local command teams and the Army Headquarters to better 
understand diversity, equity, and inclusion issues currently affecting 
the Army and society writ large. As of July 13 2021, the Army has 
conducted 134 sessions with multiple servicemembers at 19 different 
locations. Further, the Army is updating Army Regulation (AR) 600-20, 
``Army Command Policy,'' to improve the identification and resolution 
of discrimination issues through education, awareness, and bystander 
intervention efforts. The Army has also updated Equal Opportunity 
training to address racial issues and other related issues at all 
Professional Military Education (PME) levels, from junior Soldiers to 
General Officers.
    Question. Improve medical care for transgender servicemembers, 
women, and Black parents, particularly for transition care, pregnancy, 
and post-partum care.
    Answer. Army Medicine proudly serves all servicemembers and their 
beneficiaries, regardless of sexual orientation, race, or ethnicity. 
Since Executive Order 14004 (``Enabling All Qualified Americans to 
Serve Their Country in Uniform'') was signed in January 2021, the 
Army's Office of The Surgeon General (OTSG) has been coordinating with 
the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Defense Health Agency to 
improve care for our transgender Soldiers and our Soldiers with gender 
dysphoria, including modifying those policies that have a negative 
impact on these Soldiers. DoD recently updated two DoD policies to 
ensure that all Soldiers and applicants can serve freely in their self-
identified gender.
    Further, as safety is a priority when caring for all Soldiers 
through pregnancy and post-partum care, per established clinical 
practice guidelines, ensuring specialty referral needs are met is a 
part of prenatal and post-partum care. The standard of care is applied 
to every servicemember and is tailored to the individual based on risk 
factors, including ethnicity.
                                 ______
                                 
             Questions Submitted by Senator Lisa Murkowski
                           future of weapons
    Question. Secretary Wormuth, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs 
testified to our House counterparts in response to a specific question 
regarding maintaining a technological advantage that we are facing a 
rapid developmental convergence of an assortment of technologies 
including hypersonic weapons. He also said that ``if we do not put a 
lot of money towards developing [hypersonic weapons] to a level of 
capability to deploy the joint force, we will be at a significant 
disadvantage to those countries that do develop them.''
    Where does the Army see the biggest infrastructure or support 
challenges in developing our race to develop these weapons?
    Answer. The biggest infrastructure or support challenges for 
hypersonic weapon development fall into two general categories: (1) the 
immature commercial industrial base; and (2) the Department of Defense 
(DoD) test infrastructure.
    First, as part of the joint Army/Navy program, one of the Army's 
assigned missions is to transition the Common Hypersonic Glide Body 
(CHGB) technology from Sandia National Labs (SNL) to commercial 
industry. The Army is executing this responsibility through a 
competitive industrial base selection using a ``leader-follower'' 
method with industry embedded with the government team at SNL. The 
industry team (the ``follower'') is learning to build the CHGBs from 
the scientists at SNL (the ``leader''). In parallel to the ongoing 
knowledge transfer activities, industry is building the necessary 
commercial production capability to support the CHGB demand signal. 
Upon completion of the commercial production facility, SNL will become 
the ``follower'' at the commercial facility with the commercial partner 
taking the role of the ``leader.'' The first CHGB produced wholly by 
industry will be delivered in fiscal year 2022.
    Second, the current test infrastructure for hypersonics is 
challenged by the limited number of locations and each location's 
available capacity. The hypersonic test need is a sub-set of the DoD 
test infrastructure, where all Services, as well as allied and partner 
nations, use the same assets across numerous programs, both hypersonic 
and conventional in nature. As the pace of hypersonic and long range 
missile testing accelerates, the test infrastructure must be expanded 
to meet projected demands.
    Question. What is the Army's current capacity to test hypersonic 
weapons and where are we doing so?
    Answer. The current capacity for testing hypersonic weapons is 
challenged by the combination of multiple DoD programs, both hypersonic 
and conventional, that are concurrently in test phases, as well as 
supporting allied and partner nations testing. The Army uses high 
demand/low quantity testing assets for hypersonic weapons, such as arc 
jet heaters, wind tunnels, static ground testing facilities, and 
dynamic ground test infrastructure. The facilities, which are limited 
in availability by location and capacity, are required to validate 
designs, complete component testing, and conduct end-to-end weapon 
system testing. These limitations create a challenge of balancing the 
demands of not only the Army's hypersonic needs, but also those of 
multiple Services. As the Army fields additional batteries, and new 
hypersonic technologies are developed across the Services, the 
facilities will continue to have issues with meeting the increased 
demand.
    Due to the long corridors required for flight tests, the Army and 
Navy use locations such as the Reagan Test Site-Kwajalein, Pacific 
Missile Range Facility, Hawaii, Pacific Spaceport Complex, Alaska, and 
the Cape Canaveral Spaceport Complex, Florida.
    Question. How does this budget request support the Army's ability 
to develop and test hypersonic weapons?
    Answer. The Army's fiscal year 2022 budget request for the Army's 
Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) supports fabrication and assembly 
of major components of the system, including the missile stack, missile 
booster, and Common Hypersonic Glide Body (CHGB). The fiscal year 2022 
request also supports industrial base activities for the commercial 
production line building the CHGB and completion of the first 
commercially produced CHGBs. The fiscal year 2022 funds support 
continued software and hardware testing and systems integration 
activities for the Transporter Erector Launchers (TEL) and Battery 
Operations Center (BOC). The TELs and BOC will be fielded to the unit 
of action in the first quarter of fiscal year 2022 to begin Soldier 
training with the equipment.
    Following the fielding, software development and hardware testing 
will continue to support upcoming flight tests and validate the mission 
planning concepts of operation.
    The Army's fiscal year 2022 hypersonics budget request supports two 
major tests that will validate the configuration of the LRHW system. 
The Army will field the LRHW in fiscal year 2023, and Soldiers from the 
fielding unit will be deployed to support both of these tests. The Army 
will conduct these tests in conjunction with the Navy.
    The Navy's hypersonic budget also supports the Army's LRHW effort, 
as the Army leverages the Navy's development efforts in their 
Conventional Prompt Strike Program. The Army and Navy are partnered to 
execute hypersonics through use of a CHGB, common missile design, 
common mission planning system, and joint test opportunities.
                                 ______
                                 
             Questions Submitted by Senator Lindsey Graham
                  paladin integrated management (pim)
    Question. Secretary Wormuth, The Army identified an Unfunded 
Requirement of $149.5 million for the Paladin Integrated Management 
(PIM) program that when coupled with the fiscal year 2022 President's 
Budget Request, would procure up to 36 sets of equipment. However, this 
is still only a little more than half of the full rate production 
volume specified in the DoD approved acquisition program baseline of 60 
sets per year. This lower volume will likely cause significant unit 
cost growth and workforce downsizing. Given this, can you tell me what 
the impact will be on fielding PIM to soldiers and on the industrial 
base by moving away from the current volumes of 44 to 48 PIM sets per 
year? Additionally, what analysis did the Army use to determine the 
Unfunded Requirement funding amount for this program?
    Answer. The impact of reducing to 25 PIM sets per year is that the 
Army will procure one less Brigade Combat Team (BCT) set of PIM in 
fiscal year 2022, delaying the fielding of PIM to one BCT when the 
fiscal year 2022 procurements are delivered in fiscal year 2025. There 
are no anticipated impacts to the industrial base given that 25 sets is 
above the Minimum Sustainment Rate for production.
    As for the Army's Unfunded PIM Requirement analysis, the Army 
forecasted in its fiscal year 2021 budget request the procurement of 43 
sets in fiscal year 2022. However, based on the reduced Army topline 
and competing Army modernization priorities, the Army reallocated PIM 
funding to higher priority modernization efforts. The Army's Unfunded 
Requirement amount of $149.5 million would restore the funding to its 
original fiscal year 2022 funding position and procure 43 sets.
                                 ______
                                 
           Questions Submitted to General James C. McConville
              Questions Submitted by Senator Richard Leahy
    Question. Over the last year the Army National Guard has 
demonstrated quite visibly that they have a connection with nearly 
every community in America. They are friends and neighbors who deliver 
food during the pandemic, or guarantee the right to safe and peaceful 
protest, or are there with drinkable water when the flood waters wipe 
out every other road to a town. The key organizing point they use for 
all these missions and more are Readiness Centers, which serve as the 
physical center point--the infrastructure, if you will--for everything 
they do for their communities.
    After two decades of war, the list of Army construction and 
facility needs is extremely long, and there was a hearing last week to 
talk extensively about MilCon needs. But I wanted to hear from you, 
General, about what that construction means operationally.
    What is the significance to a Guard unit of an up-to-standards 
Readiness Center--meaning everything from meeting safety regulations to 
having bathrooms for women, which too many of our readiness centers do 
not--for performing its various missions?
    Answer. An ``up to standards'' Readiness Center is the result of an 
approved project that has been completed according to approved plans, 
specifications, criteria, and standards. These Readiness Centers allow 
Army National Guard units to store all equipment and materiel in one 
location for timely issuance to Soldiers and expedient mission 
readiness. This prevents the loss of valuable time spent retrieving 
units' equipment from geographically dispersed sites and facilities. 
``Up to standards'' Readiness Centers are also designed to include 
facilities, such as locker rooms and restrooms, for all Soldiers. The 
Army fully acknowledges that substandard facilities negatively affect 
Soldier quality of life and thus, recruiting and retention. The Army is 
aiming for Readiness Centers that ensure all Soldiers are provided the 
space to accomplish all mission functions for a timely and efficient 
Army response. This includes infrastructure that supports all 
communication and data systems for training, readiness, and response 
needs. In summary, Readiness Centers that are ``up to standard'' 
significantly increase the readiness of the National Guard.
    Question. Given the administration's priority of taking care of our 
people, and the important role that unit cohesion plays in improving 
readiness, it's crucial that the Army take a fresh look at policies and 
practices that may not support all servicemembers. To that end, please 
outline what changes, if any, the Army has made, is making, plans to 
make, or is considering in order to:
    Improve diversity in leadership positions;
    Answer. In 2020, the Secretary of the Army (SA) and the Chief of 
Staff of the Army (CSA) announced an effort entitled ``Project 
Inclusion.'' Project Inclusion operationalizes the Army People 
Strategy: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion by organizing and leveraging 
resources across the Army to rapidly advance Assistant Secretary of the 
Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs ASA(M&RA) prioritized efforts. 
The ASA(M&RA) signed the Army People Strategy: Diversity, Equity and 
Inclusion on September 1, 2020. The Army People Strategy fulfills the 
fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, Section 529 
mandate for the military services to develop a diversity and inclusion 
strategic plan by December 20, 2020. The five main goals of the plan 
include Leader Commitment, Talent Management, Organizational Structure, 
Training and Education, and Equitable and Inclusive Environment.
    As this year continues, within the talent management initiates, the 
Army Talent Management Task Force (TMTF) has established programs 
seeking to address diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Programs 
like the Command Assessment Program (CAP) provide the Army ways to 
improve opportunities for under-represented populations. The CAP 
incorporates active measures to reduce opportunities for bias by 
conducting double-blind interviews, conducting anti-bias training with 
voting panels, and anonymizing files presented to voting panels.
    In addition, the Career Mapping and Succession Planning tool is 
currently under design. This tool will interface with the Army Talent 
Alignment Process (marketplace) and Soldier Talent Profile to recommend 
future assignments using individual knowledge, skills, and behaviors to 
indicate where individuals should take military and professional 
courses, seek training, pursue a new assignment, or take other career 
actions in order to advise individuals on achieving their career goals. 
When reversed, the Career Mapping algorithm is used for Succession 
Planning, to look at the population identified as best fit for these 
positions. The identification of these talent pools early on can be 
used to adjust policies and remove obstacles to a talented and diverse 
population being considered for key leadership positions at all levels.
    Question. Improve diversity retention at all levels;
    Answer. In response to the 21 May 2020 SA/CSA Dual Signed memo 
addressing diversity in the Army, the ASA(M&RA) directed an Operational 
Planning Team (OPT) to develop an Implementation Plan to Expand Diverse 
Talent in the Army Officer Corps which will guide the Army to new 
accomplishments which strengthen diversity and inclusion in the force. 
The operational planning team developed 20 initiatives to meet four 
objectives addressing how the Army will acquire, develop, employ, and 
retain diversity. It marks an acceleration of new people plans, 
programs, and policies aimed at expanding diversity and inclusion in 
our Officer Corps, our Warrant Officer Corps, and our Enlisted Corps. 
The Implementation Plan to Expand Diverse Talent in the Army Officer 
Corps was published on January 7, 2021. ASA(M&RA) has also developed 
OPTs to develop plans for our Enlisted, Warrant, and Civilian cohorts, 
and the Civilian Implementation Plan was published in January. The 
Implementation Plans for Warrant Officers and Enlisted Soldiers are in 
development.
    As a part of the Implementation Plan for the Officer Corps, the 
Army has implemented several initiatives as a part of its efforts to 
increase diversity across the ranks. Initiatives include the Urban 
Access Program (Aug 2020); a Combat Arms Outreach Pilot Program (Mar 
2021); Talent Based Branching at USMA and USACC (2019 & 2020); 
Incorporated Diversity and Inclusion education and training into PME 
(Apr 2021); started conducting the Department of the Army Career 
Engagement Survey (May 2020); Army ROTC Senior Officer Mentor Program 
(June 2021); Incentivize Select Sources of Commission Positions (June 
2021); and Incorporating Mentorship into the Army PME System (fiscal 
year 2021). Some of these initiatives will also positively impact the 
recruitment and retention of Army Civilians, Warrant Officers, and 
Enlisted Soldiers.
    Strengthening Cadet mentoring programs is also an Army focus within 
recruiting and retention. The goal of the cadet mentorship programs is 
to increase officer accessions and to help cadets make informed 
decisions about their future Army careers. Staffing a diverse mix of 
Army Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers to serve as faculty and 
mentors at United States Military Academy (USMA) and Reserve Officer 
Training Corps (ROTC) locations not only increases the visibility of 
Army professionals at our sources of commission, but can influence and 
enhance the cadets' understanding of various branches. Going forward, 
the Army Human Resource Command (HRC) continues to work with ASA(M&RA), 
DCS G-1, and the sources of commissions to assign best fit officers to 
positively support the strategic outcomes of the Army People Strategy.
    Question. Improve trainings, including sexual assault prevention, 
with input from women, LGBTQ servicemembers, BIPOC servicemembers, and 
sexual assault survivors;
    Answer. The Army SHARP Academy, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, the 
proponent for SHARP training across the Army, is aware of DoD's 
research efforts to identify evidence-based practices to address the 
need for culturally-competent care for men, women, LGBTQ service 
members, BIPOC service members, and sexual assault survivors. Once 
those best practices have been identified/codified, the SHARP Academy 
will develop curricula needed to enhance training for the Army's Sexual 
Assault Response Coordinators (SARC), Victim Advocates (VA), and the 
total force. Currently, the SHARP Academy develops curricula with input 
from women and BIPOC service members. The curricula instruct Army 
advocates on how to care for sexual assault victims and sexual 
harassment complainants with dignity, respect and compassion regardless 
of their race, gender, orientation, religion or any other identifying 
characteristics. The SHARP Academy continues to train SHARP 
professionals to respond to all victims and complainants without 
judgment or segregated advocacy actions. As DoD releases future 
guidance and information pertaining to culturally-competent care, the 
Army will rapidly assimilate the information into SARC/VA training 
courses and will add additional content to the Army-wide training 
support package and SHARP Annual Refresher Training.
    Question. Increase availability and accessibility of mental health 
support services for servicemembers and their families, including 
services tailored specifically toward minority servicemembers.
    Answer. The U.S. Army supports the Defense Health Agency's 
Behavioral Health Diversity Working Group, which was recently chartered 
to support advancements in mental health services for women, LGBTQ, and 
ethnic minorities. The working group will offer clinical guidance to 
enhance the care provided for minorities. Additionally, since the onset 
of the COVID epidemic, virtual mental health has expanded to provide 
services within the comfort of patients' homes.
    This is particularly important for low-income families, many of 
whom are minorities. By eliminating the need to travel to an in-person 
appointment, beneficiaries have fewer barriers to seeking care.
    Question. Improve outreach to and support for minority 
servicemembers facing discrimination from within their units.
    Answer. Education, awareness, and bystander intervention are at the 
heart of the Army's efforts to combat racism. The Army is working to 
improve outreach and support to minority servicemembers facing 
discrimination. The Army has developed a ``Your Voice Matters'' 
campaign, which is a listening session concept designed to develop 
atmospherics and determine any local and/or Army-wide diversity and 
inclusion policy requirements; demonstrate care and commitment to the 
well-being of our military and civilian personnel; and provide an 
opportunity for personnel to engage with concerns or questions about 
issues that impact their personal and professional lives. It has also 
assisted local command teams and the Army Headquarters to better 
understand diversity, equity, and inclusion issues currently affecting 
the Army and society writ large. As of July 13, 2021, the Army has 
conducted 134 sessions with multiple servicemembers at 19 different 
locations. Further, the Army is updating Army Regulation (AR) 600-20, 
``Army Command Policy,'' to improve the identification and resolution 
of discrimination issues through education, awareness, and bystander 
intervention efforts. The Army has also updated Equal Opportunity 
training to address racial issues and other related issues at all 
Professional Military Education (PME) levels, from junior Soldiers to 
General Officers.
    Question. Improve medical care for transgender servicemembers, 
women, and Black parents, particularly for transition care, pregnancy, 
and post-partum care;
    Answer. Army Medicine proudly serves all servicemembers and their 
beneficiaries, regardless of sexual orientation, race, or ethnicity. 
Since Executive Order 14004 (``Enabling All Qualified Americans to 
Serve Their Country in Uniform'') was signed in January 2021, the 
Army's Office of The Surgeon General (OTSG) has been coordinating with 
the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Defense Health Agency to 
improve care for our transgender Soldiers and our Soldiers with gender 
dysphoria, including modifying those policies that have a negative 
impact on these Soldiers. DoD recently updated two DoD policies to 
ensure that all Soldiers and applicants can serve freely in their self-
identified gender.
    Further, as safety is a priority when caring for all Soldiers 
through pregnancy and post-partum care, per established clinical 
practice guidelines, ensuring specialty referral needs are met is a 
part of prenatal and post-partum care. The standard of care is applied 
to every servicemember and is tailored to the individual based on risk 
factors, including ethnicity.
                                 ______
                                 
              Questions Submitted by Senator Patty Murray
    Question. Joint Base Lewis McChord in my home state of Washington 
has received recent media attention highlighting the problem of food 
insecurity experienced by local military families. Research shows that 
as many as one in five military families in Washington state are 
experiencing food insecurity. And a recent Army study associates food 
insecurity with anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. How is the 
Army engaging on the issue of food insecurity and helping those Army 
families in need?
    Answer. The Army currently takes a multi-pronged approach to food 
insecurity among Soldiers and their Families. When the Army discovers 
that a Soldier or their immediate family is facing food insecurity, the 
Army initially connects the Soldier and family members to Army 
Emergency Relief and other community-based resources to address short-
term financial emergencies. Next, the Army looks to provide 
individualized services to improve the Soldiers and Family's long-term 
financial outlook. These services include Financial Readiness Program 
(FRP) counseling for Soldiers and Families, which helps families 
develop budgets, manage credit/debt, and identify how to best use their 
financial resources. The Army also provides education to all Soldiers 
through a standardized mandatory financial readiness curriculum that 
includes familiarity with assistance programs, such as the Supplemental 
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or the Family Subsistence 
Supplemental Allowance (FSSA). The Army also offers the Employment 
Readiness Program (ERP) to aid spouses in seeking employment to further 
improve the family's total financial outlook. From a forward-looking 
organizational perspective, the Army continues to work with DoD on the 
on-going broad-based study of food insecurity among members of the 
Armed Forces and their dependents. This study includes an assessment of 
the feasibility of a new basic needs allowance, an assessment of the 
barriers (if any) to qualification for or access to adequate food 
assistance programs of any type, and an assessment of the participation 
of servicemembers in the SNAP. This study will better inform the path 
forward for the Army on this important issue. Congress is required OSD 
to submit a report based on this study by March 31, 2022.
    Question. Another issue that demands Army attention is the lack of 
affordable housing at Yakima Training Center in central Washington. 
There is currently no military housing for families or unaccompanied 
personnel at Yakima, and off base, the vacancy rate for apartments and 
homes for sale is below 1 percent. The Army's 2020 Housing Market 
Analysis for Yakima also showed there's a housing shortfall. Assigned 
servicemembers at the Yakima Training Center clearly need more 
affordable housing. What is the Army doing to fix this?
    Answer. The Army is exploring several options to address the lack 
of affordable housing at/near Yakima Training Center. The Army hired a 
housing manager at this location to assist Servicemembers and their 
families with their housing needs. The new housing manager is working 
to establish a Rental Partnership Program (RPP) with local rental 
property companies to provide Servicemembers with improved access to 
affordable housing. Additionally, the Army--in collaboration with local 
and state leaders--continues to evaluate other housing solutions within 
the Yakima area.
                                 ______
                                 
             Questions Submitted by Senator Jeanne Shaheen
                       grenadier sighting system
    Question. The Grenadier Sighting System is a critical piece of 
technology that provides soldiers with invaluable day and night-time 
fighting capabilities for the M320 Grenade Launcher. I understand that 
the Army has procured 73,000 M320s, but the system remains without a 
nighttime fighting capability. Can you please provide the acquisition 
plan for the Army's procurement of the Grenadier Sighting System for 
Close Combat Forces and the rest of the Army?
    Answer. The current Army Acquisition Objective for the Grenadier 
Sighting System (GSS) is 73,024 systems. The GSS is currently planned 
to serve as a 1-to-1 component to the M320 Grenade Launcher. The Army 
has a Firm Fixed Price Contract with Wilcox Industries to procure the 
GSS, and 19,427 of GSS have been procured to date.
                                 ______
                                 
             Questions Submitted by Senator Mitch McConnell
                     european deterrence initiative
    Question. V Corps, including its rotational force in Poland, 
provides the United States and our allies with key capabilities to 
promote interoperability, counter malign influence, and deter 
aggression in Europe. Will proposed budget cuts to the European 
Deterrence Initiative diminish Army's capacity to maintain and 
strengthen these important capabilities?
    Answer. The Army will continue to maintain and strengthen its 
deterrence posture in Europe within current resourcing. V Corps serves 
as the higher headquarters command for assigned and rotational land 
forces in Europe. V Corps' activities are largely funded through the 
EDI. This includes exercises, a forward rotational presence, key 
infrastructure investments, and prepositioned equipment.
                       future vertical lift (fvl)
    Question. Does Army's budget request for fiscal year 2022 include 
the necessary resources to field FVL platforms by 2028?
    Answer. The current fielding plan for both the Future Attack 
Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) and the Future Long-Range Assault 
Aircraft (FLRAA) will enable the ``first units equipped'' in fiscal 
year 2030. The Army remains committed to long-term affordability of 
both FARA and FLRAA. This commitment includes goals and caps on Average 
Procurement Unit Cost (APUC) and Operations and Sustainment (O&S) 
costs, which serve as the long-term measures of affordability.
    At this time, the Army supports continued funding for FVL programs 
based on the transformational capability they will bring to the joint 
force in multiple theaters.
    Question. What role will the 101st Airborne Division and 160th 
Special Operations Aviation Regiment have in flying or testing new 
vertical lift platforms?
    Answer. Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division and the 160th 
Special Operations Aviation Regiment are, and will continue to be, part 
of Soldier-centered design efforts to fly and test new vertical lift 
platforms. The Army employs a Soldier-centered design in the following 
ways: (1) the identification and validation of operational gaps, (2) 
the development of requirements, (3) the development and testing of new 
operational concepts and doctrine, (4) the development, evaluation, and 
modification of prototypes, and (5) the operational test and evaluation 
of potential future capabilities. The Army incorporates Soldier 
feedback as well as lessons learned. Critical and continuous feedback 
from Soldiers--many with significant recent combat experience--plays a 
critical role in our efforts to ``drive and fly before we buy.''
    Soldiers from across the force, both conventional and special 
operations, will continue to participate in Soldier touch points from 
the requirements definition phase to the fielding of new capabilities 
phase in order to ensure combat overmatch against our adversaries.
    Question. What military construction and other facility 
improvements are needed to accommodate FVL platforms at Fort Campbell? 
If further review is needed to determine these improvements, when do 
you expect to conclude those reviews?
    Answer. The Army is assessing 19 active and reserve component 
aviation installations that are under consideration for the stationing 
of Future Vertical Lift (FVL) aircraft, including Fort Campbell, 
Kentucky. This assessment includes evaluating all requirements 
necessary to train, maintain, and deploy these future aviation 
formations based on the projected FVL capabilities. Not only is the 
Army evaluating facility requirements, but the assessment team is also 
reviewing 17 major areas, including hangar, airfield, airspace, and 
training area capacity; live fire range capabilities; and support 
facilities. The facilities review alone includes more than 40 sub-areas 
to ensure that the existing facilities can support the maintenance and 
support requirements for the FVL aircraft. We expect to complete the 
compilation of the information by the end of fiscal year 2021 and the 
assessment will identify construction and other improvement 
requirements for not only Fort Campbell, but for all installations, in 
order to inform the fiscal year 24-28 Program Objective Memorandum 
(POM) cycle submission.
                      blue grass army depot (bgad)
    Question. Please provide an update on Army's review of potentially 
reusing certain equipment for BGAD's conventional operations that have 
supported its chemical weapon mission.
    Answer. The Army continues to review the potential for reusing 
certain equipment from the Blue Grass Army Depot's (BGAD) chemical 
weapon demilitarization operation for BGAD's conventional weapons 
operations. This review will continue until the chemical weapon 
operation is completed.
    Question. It is my understanding that some equipment currently 
supporting BGAD's chemical demilitarization operations may be 
environmentally advantageous for the installation's conventional 
mission. How will Army decide which equipment to transition from BGAD's 
chemical mission to its conventional operations?
    Answer. DoD and Army regulations, legal requirements, safety 
considerations, and historical practices will be used to evaluate the 
potential of equipment for reuse. The Assembled Chemical Weapons 
Alternatives (ACWA) Program can only transfer property that is ``safe 
to use'' for additional duties. There is an established process for 
property disposition. The type of property determines the process. For 
example, buildings and equipment where chemical munitions were present 
but where there was no contamination (e.g., container handling 
building) fall into the SOME REUSE category. Buildings and equipment 
not contaminated and without potential to be contaminated (e.g., 
maintenance building) fall into the MOST OFTEN REUSE category. As part 
of the Army's Organic Industrial Base modernization strategy, over the 
next 15 years, the Army will ensure Blue Grass Army Depot is capable of 
sustaining readiness, is capable of supporting modernization efforts, 
and is postured to meet future wartime requirements.
    Question. What measures is Army taking to offset potential negative 
economic impacts to the local community that may result from the 
conclusion of BGAD's chemical demilitarization mission?
    Answer. In order to assess the impact to the local community, the 
Economic Impact Working Group uses a collaborative and transparent 
effort among local governments, Kentucky's congressional delegation, 
chambers of commerce, industry, the Department of Defense (DoD), the 
Department of the Army, the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, 
the Bluegrass Area Development District, and the Bechtel Corporation 
(Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant's (BGCAPP) primary 
contractor). As mission completion approaches, the future economic 
impacts resulting from the conclusion of BGAD's chemical 
demilitarization mission are being closely scrutinized.
    To help protect the community against those impacts Army is 
proactively coordinating with DoD's Office of Local Defense Community 
Cooperation (OLDCC). The Blue Grass Area Development District requested 
planning assistance in December 2020 and the OLDCC is considering a 
broad economic adjustment planning effort to stabilize the local 
economy through the conclusion of BGAD's chemical demilitarization 
mission.
                             fort campbell
    Question. Fort Campbell currently has a significant deficit of 
tactical equipment maintenance facilities (motor pools), and 12 of the 
existing facilities were built during the Korean War. What is Army's 
plan to construct additional motor pools that are large enough and 
properly equipped to perform maintenance on modern vehicles at Fort 
Campbell?
    Answer. The current ten-year Army Facility Investment Plan (FIP), 
led by U.S. Army Materiel Command, includes building two tactical 
equipment maintenance facilities at Fort Campbell to address existing 
facility deficits. Additionally, two emerging tactical equipment 
maintenance requirements have also been identified and will compete for 
Military Construction funding between fiscal year 2023 and fiscal year 
2031.
    Question. What is Army's plan to renovate Fort Campbell's outdated 
1st BCT VOLAR barracks, which were built in the 1970s?
    Answer. The current ten-year Army Facility Investment Plan (FIP) 
includes Restoration and Modernization (R&M) projects to renovate all 
13 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT) Volunteer Army (VOLAR) barracks. There 
are four unaccompanied housing R&M projects programmed in fiscal year 
2021 and fiscal year 2022. The funding for the two fiscal year 2021 
projects was released on Feb. 4, 2021, and the two fiscal year 2022 
projects, based on our fiscal year 2022 budget request, are expected to 
be released and awarded no earlier than the second quarter of fiscal 
year 2022. The remaining nine 1st BCT VOLAR barracks are slated to be 
addressed between fiscal year 2023 and fiscal year 2031.
                           abilityone program
    Question. It was recently announced that Army plans to use 
intergovernmental support agreements (IGSAs) instead of the existing 
AbilityOne contracts for custodial services at Fort Campbell and Fort 
Knox. Does Army policy allow for the use of IGSAs instead of AbilityOne 
contracts where cost-savings can be achieved? What is Army's plan for 
future participation in the AbilityOne Program, which employs people 
who are blind or have significant disabilities to provide custodial, 
grounds keeping, food, and other services on Army installations?
    Answer. The Army has not made a decision to enter into an IGSAs for 
custodial services at either Fort Campbell or Fort Knox. The IGSA 
authority (10 U.S.C. 2679(a)(1)) allows the Department of Defense to 
enter into an IGSA with a state or local government that can deliver 
installation support services more efficiently and at a lower cost. 
Neither the law, nor Department of Defense or Army policy, prohibit the 
use of an IGSA in lieu of an AbilityOne contract when the Secretary 
determines that doing so is in the best interests of the Army by 
enhancing mission effectiveness or creating efficiencies or economies 
of scale, including by reducing costs. The U.S. Army Installation 
Management Command (IMCOM) continues to be one of the largest 
supporters of the AbilityOne Program in the United States Army and 
Department of Defense. IMCOM's contract portfolio contains 71 contracts 
set aside for AbilityOne with a total contract value of $1.7 billion. 
According to SourceAmerica data, these IMCOM contracts employ 2,318 
Disabled Full Time Equivalent employees. Each proposed IGSA receives a 
thorough review for cost savings and overall benefit to the government. 
For proposed IGSAs that would displace an incumbent AbilityOne 
contractor, IMCOM also reviews the IGSA proposals to determine if there 
is a firm commitment from the state or local government hire the 
incumbent Ability One contractor's workforce. When otherwise in the 
best interests of the Army, the Army will continue to use IGSAs to 
obtain installation support services if IMCOM obtains a firm commitment 
from the respective state or local government regarding their hiring 
plans for incumbent contractor employees, especially those who are 
disabled.
                                 ______
                                 
            Questions Submitted by Senator Susan M. Collins
                     robotic combat vehicle program
    Question. With regard to the Army's robotic combat vehicle plans, 
how often does Army Futures Command evaluate autonomous ground vehicle 
experimentation efforts?
    Answer. The Army's autonomous ground vehicle experimentation plan 
relies on tabletop exercises, virtual environments, and physical 
experimentation. Soldier feedback is critical to determining both 
future use cases and vehicle requirements. Major virtual experiments 
(where Soldiers control robotic combat vehicles in a simulation 
environment) occur approximately every 6 months, while physical 
experiments average once every three to 4 months. In addition to 
Soldier feedback, multiple technology assessments evaluate the software 
that enables the vehicles to operate autonomously. Further, independent 
evaluators determine if new software is adequately mature to integrate 
into a future Soldier operational experiment. If so, Soldiers then 
evaluate the new software in a relevant tactical environment and 
provide their comments to developers, who improve the existing software 
in accordance with the Soldier feedback and the performance data.
    Experiments that have occurred over the past 2 years include, the 
Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) Soldier Operational Manned-Unmanned 
Teaming Experiment that took place at Fort Carson, Colorado, from July-
August 2020. Additionally, RCV surrogates (``Project Origin'') 
supported Project Convergence at Yuma Proving Ground from September to 
October 2020. These same systems then went to Fort Benning, Georgia for 
a three-week Soldier experiment in November 2020. The same Soldiers who 
operated the Project Origin platforms at Fort Benning then supported a 
live fire at Camp Grayling, Michigan, in April 2021. The next Soldier 
operational experiment will occur in September 2021 at the Joint 
Readiness Training Center, located at Fort Polk, Louisiana.
    Question. How do these evaluations differ, if at all, from existing 
program evaluations and review processes resident within the Department 
of the Army's acquisition community?
    Answer. Robotic Combat Vehicle experimental evaluations follow the 
same processes uses in the Army's acquisition and test communities. The 
Army enterprise breaks down learning objectives to support data 
collection and analysis after each experiment. Results from each 
experiment then inform both learning objectives and development 
priorities for the next experiment, as well as program planning for 
future acquisition programs of record.
    Question. In the event separate but concurrent program and 
experimentation reviews come to different conclusions, what is the 
impact to resourcing decisions for the programs and experimentation 
efforts in question?
    Answer. Any potential impact to Army resourcing decisions because 
of different conclusions from concurrent program and experimentation 
reviews will depend on the conclusions themselves and their impact on 
cost, schedule, and performance. The RCV program strives to minimize 
concurrent platform prototype development until Soldiers evaluate the 
platforms and their capabilities in a relevant operating environment.
                                 ______
                                 
             Questions Submitted by Senator Lisa Murkowski
                             posture review
    Question. General McConville, during testimony you mentioned that 
the current Posture Review would have you looking at your resources 
available and drive your decisionmaking on re-aligning headquarters and 
forces in Alaska as you transition them from an administrative 
headquarters to an Arctic focused operational headquarters 1a. When is 
the current Posture Review expected to be completed, and where is the 
Review in the process now?
    Answer. The Global Posture Review (GPR) is an Office of the 
Secretary of Defense (OSD) process and it is in the final review stages 
of review prior to a decision by the Secretary of Defense.
    Question. Following the Posture Review, what will be the process 
for making these force realignment decisions, and when would we 
actually see results of these decisions take effect?
    Answer. Following the Posture Review, the Army will use the Total 
Army Analysis (TAA) process to inform realignment decisions. Those 
decisions are typically announced in the first quarter of the fiscal 
year.
                    arctic overland mobility vehicle
    Question. General McConville you also acknowledged during the 
hearing you would provide an update on the Cold Weather All-Terrain 
Vehicle (``the CAT-V'').
    Can you please provide me an update on the Phase II ``Production'' 
timeline and is there any indication that the fiscal year 2023 target 
of equipping units with the CAT-V has slipped?
    Answer. At this point, the Army has seen no indication of any 
slippage in the current schedule. A Production Award is scheduled for 
June 2022 with first production vehicle delivery in August 2023.
    Question. If it has slipped, has this been addressed in the fiscal 
year 22 budget?
    Answer. The Army has seen no indication of any slippage in the 
current schedule.
    Question. When will these new CAT-Vs be fielded? Will they go to 
Alaska-based troops?
    Answer. The CATV will begin fielding in fiscal year 2023, with the 
first unit equipped expected in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023. 
The CATV program is on schedule to conduct cold weather testing in 
fiscal year 2022 and begin production in fiscal year 2023. As this 
vehicle is crucial for the Arctic Soldier and their mission, Alaska-
based troops are expected to be part of the fielding plan.
  arctic organization clothing and individual equipment (ocie) for ft 
                   drum, ft carson, and alaska bases
    Question. Unique clothing and equipment for the Arctic (mittens, 
boots, sleep systems) to ensure soldier safety and readiness for units 
assigned to train and deploy to Arctic locations has been identified as 
an unfunded requirement in this budget. Congress not funding proper 
winter clothing for our Army has been an issue dating back to Valley 
Forge and Morristown, and I'd hope we'd have learned that lesson by 
this point. The cold weather sustainment items ensure safety and 
readiness for soldiers assigned to the Arctic, and as we pivot to 
conducting more training and operations in the region I would imagine 
they are crucial to our abilities to do so.
    General McConville, can you identify concisely the degradation to 
readiness if we are unable to outfit all our soldiers assigned to train 
and deploy in the arctic environments in this budget cycle?
    Answer. The Army equips and trains to fight under any environmental 
condition. Arctic conditions are challenging, but commanders are 
responsible for ensuring readiness for the conditions of the 
operational environment when deployed. This includes assessing the 
risks associated with an Arctic environment and taking actions to 
mitigate the risk of injuries or accidents due to cold weather while 
still accomplishing the assigned mission. These actions include 
training on how to use cold weather clothing and equipment properly, as 
well as preventing and treating cold weather injuries. The current Army 
procurement strategy is to equip select active duty and National Guard 
units that are specially trained to operate in Arctic environments, 
with improved cold weather equipment. Approximately 3 percent of our 
total Army (all components) is outfitted today to operate in Extreme 
Cold Weather (ECW) or Arctic regions of the world. The Army has issued 
guidance to improve upon the ability to operate in Arctic conditions, 
while assessing the risk across all other requirements within the 
equipping enterprise of the Army. I expect that this new guidance will 
be addressed in Program Objective Memorandum, fiscal year 2024-2028.
    Question. Is there legacy equipment that would or could be used, or 
is this a ``show stopper'' for various exercises and operations you 
have planned either internally or with partners and allies?
    Answer. Currently available clothing and equipment allows Soldiers 
to conduct all necessary exercises and operations. All Soldiers have 
components of the Extended Cold Weather Clothing System (ECWCS). This 
system allows Soldiers to use layers to provide adequate protection 
from temperate to arctic weather conditions. All Soldiers have elements 
of the ECWCS that allow them to operate from temperate to cold weather 
conditions.
    Additionally, 40,000 Soldiers have the components of the ECWCS 
that allow them to operate in extreme cold weather, including climate 
zones 6 (extreme cold weather) and 7 (Arctic weather). These ECWCS 
components comprising Layer 6 and Layer 7, include insulated gloves, 
trigger finger mittens, insulated mittens, cold weather boots, CW/ECW 
socks, boot gaiter, and a balaclava. Deliveries are expected that will 
outfit an additional 50,000 Soldiers for next winter.

                          SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS

    Senator Tester. The Defense subcommittee will reconvene on 
Thursday, June 24, at 10 a.m. to hear from the Navy and Marine 
Corps leadership on fiscal year 2022 Department of Navy budget 
request. With that, this subcommittee stands in recess. Thanks, 
guys.
    [Whereupon, at 11:09 a.m., Tuesday, June 22, the 
subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene at 10 a.m., Thursday, 
June 24.]