The Insider

By Gabe Starosta
April 6, 2011 at 9:59 PM

Members of the Senate Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee were given a classified briefing about the Air Force's next-generation bomber this afternoon, directly following an open session in which the committee discussed nuclear deterrence and complying with the follow-on Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia.

Sen. Ben Nelsen (D-NE), the subcommittee chairman, announced at the beginning of the hearing that the open session would adjourn at 3:30 p.m. -- after one hour of discussion -- to meet behind closed doors with Lt. Gen. Mark Shackelford, the Air Force's military deputy for acquisition. The topic of the closed session concerned the service's newest acquisition project, the development of a nuclear-capable, optionally manned, penetrating bomber. The service expects to procure between 80 and 100 of the aircraft, and the bomber will be fielded in the mid-2020s, service officials announced last month.

Nelsen and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), the subcommittee's ranking member, were the only senators present at the open hearing.

By John Liang
April 6, 2011 at 4:35 PM

The Senate Armed Services emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee today announced it plans to hold a hearing on April 12 on the Pentagon's "plans and programs relating to counterterrorism, counternarcotics, and building partnership capacity."

Witnesses will include Garry Reid, deputy assistant secretary of defense for special operations and combating terrorism; James Schear, deputy assistant secretary of defense for partnership strategy and stability operations; and William Wechsler, deputy assistant secretary of defense for counternarcotics and global threats.

Inside the Pentagon reported in January that the Navy was planning to draw upon the thinking and actions of the other military services and the U.S. military's most elite forces to design a new way forward for countering irregular threats through a new initiative. Specifically:

Rear Adm. Sinclair Harris, the director of the Navy's irregular warfare office, recently established a "community of interest" that will counsel the service on tackling irregular warfare challenges and developing related Navy capabilities.

The community will focus not only on how the Navy fights the threats, but also on how it organizes and trains for the mission -- and what is needed in terms of weapons and gear, leadership, personnel and facilities, according to the five-page charter that Harris signed Dec. 22, 2010.

The aim of the initiative is to ensure the Navy gleans and capitalizes on the best ideas for countering irregular challenges -- not just from within the service, but also from the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, the Office of the Secretary of Defense and elsewhere in the military, Harris told Inside the Pentagon this week in a brief interview at the Surface Navy Association's annual conference in Arlington, VA.

"As budgets get tight, the military is going to have to pay for things that operate across the full range of military operations, and not just things for major combat," Harris said. The Navy must abolish the myth that a dollar spent for irregular warfare is a dollar unavailable for major combat operations, Harris said, stressing the two areas overlap. Another myth, he said, is that there is a "huge bill to pay" for irregular warfare. Building partnership capacity, for example, is relatively affordable, he noted.

Harris said initiatives aimed at addressing irregular warfare gaps will likely be funded in the department's fiscal year 2012 budget request, which is due to be unveiled next month. "We can't afford specialized things, so we're looking for things that go across a range of military operations," he added. The Littoral Combat Ship program, for instance, "will have a big part to play in confronting irregular challenges," Harris noted.

The charter describes the challenge facing the new community of interest: "Balancing efforts to enhance the Navy's proficiency at [confronting irregular challenges] with ongoing, competing requirements will demand continued leadership and require active engagement with organizations internally and externally to the U.S. Navy."

By John Liang
April 5, 2011 at 10:29 PM

Following a House hearing last week on the Obama administration's fiscal year 2012 missile defense budget request, House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee Chairman Michael Turner (R-OH) this morning mapped out the next steps for not just the missile defense investment plan, but also the FY-12 defense authorization bill as a whole.

Turner told attendees of a missile defense event on Capitol Hill that his subcommittee would mark up its portion of the FY-12 bill during the week of May 2. The full committee plans to debate the entire bill the following week, and then bring it to the House floor at the end of May, he added.

By John Liang
April 5, 2011 at 6:00 PM

While the Missile Defense Agency's fiscal year 2012 budget request "may look pretty good," even with a $200 million increase over the FY-11 requested level, don't be fooled, House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee Chairman Michael Turner (R-OH) warned attendees of a missile defense event on Capitol Hill this morning:

I ask you to look at the outyear funding profile. It is $2.4 billion less than the same outyear projection from a year ago. . . . MDA attributes this to efficiencies, but one has to seriously question the assumptions MDA is making to get these efficiencies. For example, MDA is planning to consolidate and reduce testing, implement multiyear procurement strategies, which require universal approval, revise program cost estimates, reduce engineering services, reduce intelligence support, and cut contractors. Any cuts affecting mission that are masked as efficiency will hit serious resistance in Congress.

By Titus Ledbetter III
April 5, 2011 at 5:14 PM

With three days to go before an ever more likely government shutdown, the Pentagon has yet to issue official guidance to service leaders to determine which functions would continue to be funded while the rest of the federal government goes dark.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters this afternoon that guidance is still being formulated and will be issued shortly.

“The clock is ticking,” Morrell said. “Obviously we hope to do it sooner than later so that these components can have the time to figure out” what qualifies as essential services for national security.

Marcus Weisgerber of Defense News reported in early March that draft guidance had been issued in anticipation of a potential March 4 shutdown.

Asked why the guidance had not been issued on the eve of a shutdown, Morrell said, “We're not quite on the eve of it, and these are determinations that aren't necessarily durable.”

Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said today that all of the services are examining which of their activities would continue under a shutdown and how to deal with their civilian and contracted work forces, but no decisions have been made yet.

Planning will include discussions on which military personnel are exempt and non-exempt from the government shutdown, Donley said. Officials will also try to figure out how they would implement an approach once it has been developed. Donley said that he did not want to talk about the specifics of the planning options.

The comptroller for U.S. Fleet Forces Command wrote on USFF head Adm. John Harvey's blog that military personnel and exempt civilians will not get paid over a government shutdown unless Congress specifically passes a law authorizing such pay. Sailors will also have to put in overtime to cover for civilians sent home under a shutdown, Capt. Patrick Ward wrote.

“With history as the yardstick, there has never been an occasion that Congress has not authorized back pay for all government employees affected by the shutdown, including those who did not render services during the shutdown,” Ward added. “Although not a guarantee, my professional opinion is that Congress will pass legislation authorizing payment for all military and exempt civilian personnel who will continue working during the shutdown. Whether they will continue historical practices and do the same for non-exempt personnel who are furloughed could be a separate matter.”

President Obama told reporters this afternoon that he would not support another continuing resolution to keep the budget at fiscal year 2010 levels unless lawmakers can reach an agreement on an official FY-11 budget first.

“I can't have [agencies] making decisions based on two-weeks-at-a-time budgets,” he said. “We are now at the point where there's no excuse to extend this further.”

By John Liang
April 5, 2011 at 3:55 PM

Even though unmanned systems have their limitations when it comes to using them as platforms for infrared sensors in a missile defense mission, the former head of the Missile Defense Agency said this morning that they could still be useful.

"You cannot get enough sensors," retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Trey Obering said at a missile defense briefing on Capitol Hill that was sponsored by the Marshall Institute and Aerospace Industries Association. "You just can't. Being able to provide birth-to-death tracking is really critically important for missile defense."

Additionally, unmanned systems "won't be a stopgap measure," the former MDA director said. "They won't be persistent, they're not going to be flying 24 hours a day, seven days a week . . . but in heightened tensions, that kind of thing, having additional sensors, especially -- and again a lot of this happened after I left the agency, but apparently they've had pretty good development in terms of ranges of the infrared sensor capabilities on the [RQ-1] Predator; being able to provide that initial information in the sensor I think is very important."

That said, Obering does not "believe you're going to be able to use those [UAV-borne sensors] for discrimination. I don't see that occurring. But certainly I think that it could be a valuable asset to be able to handle larger raid sizes of missiles, that type of thing, in a more robust system."

Inside Missile Defense reported in January that MDA was looking for new ideas on how to use unmanned systems to detect ballistic missile launches. Specifically:

According to a Dec. 23 Federal Business Opportunities notice, MDA is "interested in obtaining information on new concepts to support the potential development of an airborne advanced sensor to improve acquisition, tracking, and discrimination in large raid scenarios.

"This concept notionally consists of a pod configuration that is mountable on multiple unmanned airborne platforms," the notice continues. The agency "is interested in obtaining information on concepts, subsystems, and components that might comprise an advanced sensor to support a potential 2-3 year development program that culminates in a rigorous test campaign to support a production decision in late [fiscal year 2016]." MDA wants responses by Feb. 10.

In its fiscal year 2011 budget request, MDA proposed the creation of a program that would build a new infrared sensor to be carried by unmanned aircraft to help detect missile launches aimed at European allies.

According to MDA's FY-11 budget overview submitted in February, the agency asked Congress for $112 million for FY-11 and $501 million over the next five years for the new "Airborne Infrared" (ABIR) program element. This effort would fund "the development, testing and fielding of ABIR sensor platforms to support tracking large ballistic missile raid sizes for Phase 2 of the Phased Adaptive Approach," the document states.

MDA Director Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly said in October that the sensors that may be carried aboard unmanned aerial vehicles for BMD missions might not necessarily be infrared.

However, "we may not go with infrared even though that's in its title . . . because we're looking at advanced sensors and [how] they can help us do discrimination and handle, again, very large raid sizes on unattended air vehicles or remotely piloted vehicles," O'Reilly said at an Oct. 12 Atlantic Council-sponsored conference.

By Dan Dupont
April 5, 2011 at 3:29 PM

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and 11 colleagues have sent a letter to Senate leaders demanding "that adequate full-year funding for the Department of Defense be included in any legislative measure that would continue to fund the federal government beyond the expiration of the current Continuing Resolution (CR)."

From her statement today:

The current Continuing Resolution (CR) that is funding the government expires on Friday, April 8, and Senator Collins agrees with top Pentagon officials who have repeatedly testified before Congress that continuing to operate the Defense Department under a CR, or at significantly reduced spending, could severely impact military operations and readiness, service members and their families, and could threaten jobs in defense-related industries.

"I have received testimony from every senior leader of our military services in the past month -- and they all have the same message: our military faces a crisis if the Department has to continue to operate under a CR," Senator Collins said.

In a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Libya last week, Secretary Gates reiterated his concern regarding the continuing CR and our military commitments in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Japan: "We are in serious budget trouble. The ongoing CR and significant budget cuts at a time when we are asked to do so much, I think, brings this issue home. And, frankly, I need help from the Congress. The Department of Defense needs help from the Congress. If we're going to do all these things, we need the resources to do them. And under this continuing resolution, we're canceling ship deployments because we don't have the money to pay for 'em."

Today's letter is also signed by Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), John Barrasso (R-WY), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Dan Coats (R-IN), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Jonny Isakson (R-GA), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Richard Lugar (R-IN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME).

And from the letter:

Operating under a CR not only hurts readiness, it is inefficient and expensive. For example, the Navy will not be able to take advantage of cost savings in the Virginia Class Submarine program or the efficiencies gained by procuring two DDG-51s in one year, and the Army and the Air Force will have to pay the costs associated with restarting programs they have stopped work on because the CR has frozen funding levels. . . .

Secretary of the Navy Raymond Mabus has stated that a CR will weaken the industrial base and jeopardize more than 10,000 private sector jobs at shipyards, factories, and Navy and Marine Corps facilities across the country.

In no time in recent memory has Congress failed to pass a defense appropriations bill. Even when a year-long CR funded the government during fiscal year 2007, Congress passed a separate bill providing for the Department of Defense. With troops in harm's way, now is not the time to break with that precedent.

By John Liang
April 4, 2011 at 8:34 PM

The Pentagon's chief tester told Congress last week that his assessment of the various capabilities of the Ballistic Missile Defense System remained unchanged.

"Although we've gotten additional very useful information, in my annual report I have not changed my assessment this year or the last year in terms of demonstrating capability of the Ballistic Missile Defense System," Michael Gilmore testified at a March 31 House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee hearing.

In his testimony, Gilmore gave Congress his grades -- via a six-point scale -- on the elements of the BMDS. Level 1 is "where capabilities are estimated using engineering analysis and laboratory testing," and Level 6 is "where capabilities are verified across the full range of scenarios and conditions possible in real world operations using a combination of rigorous flight testing and rigorously accredited ground testing models and simulations," he said.

On that scale, the Patriot missile system "has demonstrated Level 6 against short-range ballistic missiles. That is not to say that Patriot meets all of its requirements, but it has been rigorously tested across a broad range of conditions and scenarios," according to Gilmore.

The 3.6.1 version of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system is at Level 5 "against short-range ballistic missiles and the lower end of the range capable of medium-range ballistic missiles," Gilmore said, although against the "upper end of the range possible for medium-range ballistic missiles and the lower end of intermediate-range ballistic missiles" the system got a Level 4 rating. This was mainly due to its not having been tested yet against such threats, although he said that next month the Pentagon "will conduct a test against an IRBM at 3,700 kilometers range."

That intercept test "will incorporate a cue from a forward-based AN/TPY-2 radar and possibly launch on remote of the Aegis interceptor. And those are all important capabilities that demonstrate the support and implementation of the phased adaptive approach phase I to the defense of Europe," Gilmore said, adding that he assessed the European PAA to be at Level 4 against short-range ballistic missiles. "That's because it's been tested only against simple short-range ballistic missiles and the limitations on testing in [the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system] up to this point are in part due to the target failures that occurred last year."

Had the THAAD target not failed to ignite upon launch from a C-17 cargo aircraft, Defense Department testers would have been able to do a test against a more complex SRBM, according to Gilmore. "But so far we've only tested against simply short-range ballistic missiles and have not tested against other advanced capabilities of THAAD." Additionally, THAAD is at Level 3 against medium-range ballistic missiles "because it hasn't yet been tested against those," he continued.

As for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, Gilmore graded it at Level 3 "because it's been tested only against IRBMs. The first ICBM test is now schedule for the fourth quarter of Fiscal '17 in simple threat presentations with no silos, no simultaneous engagements and many of the models are not accredited," he added.

By John Liang
April 4, 2011 at 7:45 PM

David Ahern, the head of portfolio systems procurement in the Pentagon's acquisition shop, recently gave lawmakers an update on the Missile Defense Executive Board's activities over the past two years.

Since 2009, the MDEB has conducted 12 meetings and the Pentagon acquisition chief's office "has issued 12 Acquisition Decision Memorandums," according to Ahern's March 31 prepared remarks to the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee. "Thus, it continues to meet more frequently than a Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) would meet for a typical program. Through the MDEB, the department maintains early and continued visibility into MDA programs and is able to provide the necessary guidance to achieve missile defense priorities within cost and schedule constraints," he adds.

And:

The Department's current criteria for missile defense element production decisions includes: an assessment of the depth and breadth of preparation including element progress; performance validated by testing results; reports by the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation; funding to support program plans; and an executable plan for operation and support. MDA, in conjunction with the designated Lead Military Department makes the recommendation for a production decision. The USD(AT&L) is responsible for the production review and decision. In the past year, the MDEB reviewed development progress on the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System, and endorsed the acquisition of THAAD Batteries 3, 4 and 5 and associated equipment. A similar review of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense element is also planned.

Recent MDEB activities have also included reviews of the Fiscal Year 2012 Missile Defense Agency budget request, clarification of Operation and Support (O&S) funding responsibilities, and force structure recommendations such as the addition of an AN/TPY-2 radar to BMDS acquisition planning. The MDEB also established a Defense Science and Technology Advisory Group which reviews and assesses critical technologies that support missile defense missions and their maturity levels.

In February, Inside the Pentagon had more detail about the MDEB meeting on the radar addition:

Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter has endorsed buying an additional AN/TPY-2 radar in fiscal year 2012 for the Ballistic Missile Defense System, according to internal documents.

A Jan. 31 acquisition decision memorandum signed by Carter and reviewed by Inside the Pentagon says the department will add one AN/TPY-2 radar in FY-12 to the Missile Defense Agency's Ballistic Missile Defense System program acquisition plan "pending availability of additional funding."

The "for official use only" memo -- addressed to the Pentagon's policy shop, the armed services and the Missile Defense Agency -- lays out decisions stemming from a Nov. 1, 2010, Missile Defense Executive Board (MDEB) meeting chaired by Carter.

Raytheon has built seven AN/TPY-2 radars. Late last year, the agency awarded Raytheon a $190 million contract to build an eighth radar. The program of record calls for building a total of 14 radars by 2015.

An industry source said nothing has been announced yet, but the department has been discussing the possibility of boosting the planned quantity to 15 radars based on the needs of combatant commanders.

By Christopher J. Castelli
April 1, 2011 at 6:36 PM

NATO today issued an update on its military intervention in Libya. On March 27, the alliance opted to take control of all military operations against the Libyan government under United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973. NATO's Operation Unified Protector aims to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas under attack or threat of attack, a mission that includes an arms embargo, a no-fly-zone and "actions to protect civilians from attack or the threat of attack," according to the update.

Since the beginning of the NATO operation (31 March 2011, 08.00 GMT), a total of 178 sorties have been conducted, including 74 strike sorties, NATO says. In terms of arms embargo activities, a total of 17 ships under NATO command are actively patrolling the Central Mediterranean, NATO says, noting two vessels have been hailed to determine destination and cargo but no boardings were required.

NATO’s operational commander for Operation Unified Protector is Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard of the Canadian air force at the Joint Force Command in Naples, Italy.

By Christopher J. Castelli
March 31, 2011 at 10:32 PM

U.S. Joint Forces Command chief Gen. Raymond Odierno today defended plans to disestablish JFCOM, noting key functions would move to the Joint Staff's J-7, J-3 and J-8 directorates. Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA), the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee chairman, criticized the planned changes at a hearing on the subject, but Odierno argued strides in jointness over the years show JFCOM is no longer needed.

"We're much better at [jointness] today than we were ten or 15 years ago," Odierno said, adding that Defense Secretary Robert Gates "believes, and I believe, it is no longer necessary to have a four-star command to oversee the process of jointness."

Under the new construct, "key functions and missions will now be linked together in a more efficient and effective manner under the Deputy Director Joint Staff J-7 for Joint and Coalition Warfare -- an organization that provides a one-stop-shop for preserving jointness and developing the joint force." according to Odierno's prepared testimony.

JFCOM's joint force provider role will go to the Joint Staff's J-3 directorate. JFCOM's Joint Capability Development and Integration (J-8) shop will "merge essential elements of the Joint Systems Integration Center and Joint Fires Integration and Interoperability Team into the organization to provide a comprehensive systems requirements identification and assessment capability," and will be reassigned to the Joint Staff's Force Structure, Resources, and Assessment (J-8) directorate, the testimony states.

By Jordana Mishory
March 31, 2011 at 9:27 PM

Russia and the United States are “moving forward” in their cooperation on missile defense despite sharing similar concerns, a senior Pentagon official told a House panel today.

“We see strong Russian leadership interest in moving forward with missile defense cooperation with the United States and NATO as reflected in presidential and prime ministerial statements,” said Bradley Roberts, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear and missile defense policy. He noted that there is also “supporting activities in the various ministries” that coincides with this senior-level commitment.

Roberts stated that both sides are concerned about sharing classified information with one another, and that Russia is also concerned about some of its technology. He did not elaborate.

Roberts’ comment came during a House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee hearing on the missile defense budget request. The subcommittee’s ranking member, Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), asked Roberts how things were progressing with America's former Cold War adversary.

“The short answer would be that we perceive that they are approaching this cooperative effort in a constructive, pragmatic way and with some realistic expectations about what we might be able to accomplish,” Roberts said, noting, however, that most of the details should be provided in a different venue because the "state of discussions is sensitive."

By Christopher J. Castelli
March 31, 2011 at 1:51 PM

Pentagon spokesman Capt. Darryn James yesterday provided an update on the number of strikes and sorties in the U.S. and coalition military operations against Libya's government (as of 6:00 a.m. EST March 30).

He said that in the last 24 hours the U.S. military fired two Tomahawk missiles and coalition and U.S. forces conducted 188 sorties -- 102 of which were "strike" sorties (61 by coalition aircraft; 41 by U.S. aircraft). Also in the last 24 hours, NATO conducted 19 defensive counterair sorties, all in support of the no-fly zone (no U.S. flights are counted in NATO/Operation Unified Protector numbers), he said.

For the overall operation in Libya, coalition forces have conducted 784 stories (including 489 strikes) and U.S. forces have conducted 1,206 (including 463 strikes), he said, noting U.S. forces have launched a total of 216 Tomahawk missiles and coalition forces have launched seven. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen are testifying this morning before the House Armed Services Committee concerning the intervention in Libya. In his opening statement, Gates said the security and prosperity of the United States is linked to the security and prosperity of the broader Middle East.

“I believe it was in America’s national interests -- as part of a multilateral coalition with broad international support -- to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Eastern Libya that could have destabilized the entire region at a delicate time,” Gates said. “And, it continues to be in our national interest to prevent Qadhafi from visiting further depredations on his own people, destabilizing his neighbors, and setting back the progress the people of the Middle East have made in recent weeks.”

By Dan Dupont
March 30, 2011 at 5:39 PM

Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA), chairman of he House Armed Services readiness subcommittee, plans a "roundtable hearing" on "the future of jointness in the Armed Services and its critical relationship to the readiness posture of the nation’s armed forces," he said today.

It's clear from his statement that the hearing, slated for tomorrow (March 31), will have a lot to do with U.S. Joint Forces Command, the closure of which Forbes has staunchly opposed:

"As the United States prepares to shutter the nerve center of its joint military operations at Joint Forces Command (JFCOM), it is imperative that Congress work with the armed services to ensure that jointness is not only maintained, but more importantly, that jointness is improved upon and advanced. There is still much work to be done in developing jointness in areas like communication, weapon systems procurement, and logistics processes and information systems. This hearing will serve as a means by which we construct a legal and practical framework for continuing to enforce a joint structure within the armed services and enhancing joint capabilities in the future,” Forbes said.

The witnesses:

  • Gen. Raymond Odierno, commander of JFCOM
  • Vice Adm. William Gortney, director of the Joint Staff
  • Andrew Krepinevich, president of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments

The statement continues:

In a recent speech at the Air Force Academy, Secretary Gates said, "It's easier to be joint and talk joint when there's money to go around and a war to be won. It's much harder to do when tough choices have to be made within and between the military services - between what is ideal from a particular service perspective, and what will get the job done, taking into account broader priorities and considerations."

In light of Secretary Gates' comments, Congressman Forbes and members of the subcommittee will discuss those priorities and considerations to ensure that jointness is not forfeited due to budgetary concerns.

By John Liang
March 30, 2011 at 3:21 PM

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard McKeon (R-CA) today announced his panel would hold a hearing tomorrow on U.S. military operations in Libya.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen will testify Thursday at 9:00 a.m., according to a committee statement, which adds:

On Monday night, the President provided the nation an update on operations in Libya and announced that the military mission will be transferred from the United States to NATO this week.

Reacting to the President's address, McKeon raised several concerns, including the lack of "a clearly defined goal for how long military operations will last in Libya."

McKeon also noted the political reality that "utilizing U.S. warriors to protect civilians from a brutal dictator is a noble cause, but asking them to maintain a stalemate while we hold-out hope that [Moammar] Qaddafi will voluntarily leave his country raises serious questions about the duration of the mission."

At tomorrow’s hearing, members of the House Armed Services Committee will have an opportunity to hear directly from the Pentagon’s top civilian and military leaders on these concerns and have specific questions answered about the duration, cost and long-term objectives of the mission.