Contact: Josh Holly; 202.226.3988
Forbes Statement for Joint Hearing on Army and Marine Corps Reset Requirements
Washington D.C. – Three House Armed Services subcommittees held a joint hearing earlier today to examine the costs and requirements associated with resetting and recapitalizing Army and Marine Corps equipment. U.S. Congressman J. Randy Forbes (R-VA), the Ranking Member for the Readiness Subcommittee, released the following prepared remarks for the hearing:
“Thank you Mr. Chairman. I’ll keep my remarks brief as I’m sure our colleagues from the Seapower and Air/Land subcommittees will also have some remarks. I would like to welcome General Chiarelli and General Amos back to the committee. Gentlemen, thank you for being here today and thank you very much for all you do for this nation.
“This committee has been actively engaged in the issues that impact the readiness of our forces in light of the on-going combat operations. The Army and Marine Corps Reset programs are a critical part of that. Although the 2010 Overseas Contingency Operations budget request included $13 billion for Army and Marine Corps reset efforts, it is very clear that the request was at best, a guess. Despite the agreed to framework for withdrawal in Iraq, there is much that is not known and many critical decisions have yet to be made. And, we must not forget that the framework for withdrawal is contingent on conditions on the ground and the capability and capacity of the Iraqi Security Forces.
“This is an important hearing and I really appreciate the Chairman asking General Chiarelli and General Amos to join us today, because I think they can help us better understand the dynamics of the situation we face. As General Chiarelli notes in his written testimony, ‘reset costs for future years will depend on several factors, such as responsible drawdown requirements, the level of force commitment, the activity level of those forces and the amount of destroyed, damaged or worn equipment.’
“We face an enormous challenge as we work to rebuild, reset, modernize, transform and grow our armed forces while actively engaged in combat. The redeployment of forces from Iraq, and the increase in forces in Afghanistan greatly increase the complexity and the resourcing requirements for reset. I look forward to the discussion today and I hope it will provide us with a better understanding of the Army and Marine Corps efforts to reset the force in light of these challenges.”