[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 101 (Thursday, July 28, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 28, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
      GENERAL WAX: ``I'D LIKE TO HAVE ABOUT 200 C-17S RIGHT NOW''

                                 ______


                           HON. STEPHEN HORN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 28, 1994

  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, several weeks ago, as the House prepared to 
debate on an amendment to restore the line for the C-17 military 
transport plane in the fiscal year 1995 defense authorization bill from 
four to six planes, I spoke on the House floor about the important 
capability that the C-17 will provide for our forces well into the next 
century.
  In my statement, I quoted virtually every senior civilian and 
military leader as they emphasized the need for the C-17, both to meet 
the requirements of our military personnel as they project force 
throughout the world and to fulfill critical humanitarian missions. A 
chart, which the Air Force had developed, starkly showed just how much 
more could be done with the C-17 than could be achieved by other 
alternatives. And senior military officers cited examples of the 
additional capability the C-17 could have provided in Somalia or 
Bosnia.
  The unique capabilities of the C-17 which make it so valuable, 
particularly in less developed parts of the world, include its ability 
to land on shorter, austere airfields and the ability to get the 
critical cargo off the plane and to those in need. And the C-17 does 
all of this far more quickly than do other transport aircraft.
  The tragic situation today in Rwanda provides another example of the 
difference the C-17 could make in an emergency. In the July 25, 1994, 
USA Today, Brig. Gen. Charles Wax, commander of the worldwide control 
center for U.S. transport and tanker planes, made it clear that he 
anxiously awaits the C-17 and the critical capability it provides.
  USA Today reporter Steve Komarow, in the article, ``U.S. Gears Up for 
Major Relief Effort,'' writes:

       Wax says Goma [Zaire] is an example of where the not-yet-
     ready C-17 transport would be useful. ``One C-17 would 
     represent about 3\1/2\ to 4 C-141 loads,'' he says. ``I'd 
     like to have about 200 of them right now.''

  The action by the House and Senate in approving the President's 
request for six C-17's in fiscal year 1995 is an important step toward 
providing the size C-17 fleet our military commanders say they need to 
meet their military and humanitarian missions. I hope that House and 
Senate conferees now working to resolve differences in the two versions 
of the defense bill will provide necessary funding and settlement 
language so that our troops in the field will have the airplane they 
say they need--the C-17--to meet their needs both now and well into the 
future.
  General Wax would like 200 C-17's, and he would like them as soon as 
possible. He is not alone. The C-17 is a top priority for the Air Force 
and the Department of Defense. As General Wax's statement about the 
Rwandan refugees so clearly reflects, it should be a top priority for 
all of us as we seek ways to assist those who would benefit from the 
capability it provides.

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