U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, gave opening remarks this morning at a SASC hearing to receive testimony on the posture of the Department of the Air Force.

Witnesses included Dr. Heather Wilson, Secretary of the Air Force, and General David Goldfein, Chief of Staff of the Air Force. 

As prepared for delivery: 

The Committee meets today to receive testimony on the posture of the U.S. Air Force and its fiscal year 2020 budget request.

We welcome Dr. Heather Wilson, Secretary of the Air Force, and General David Goldfein, Chief of Staff of the Air Force.  Thank you both for your distinguished service, and a special thank you and best wishes to Secretary Wilson, as you transition to be President of the University of Texas El Paso.

The National Defense Strategy directs our nation’s military to prepare for the return of great power competition. This means we must be prepared to deter and, if necessary, defeat potential near-peer adversaries like China and Russia. 

In order for the Air Force to achieve that goal, it must be properly manned, trained, and equipped. Unfortunately, as pointed out by the National Defense Strategy Commission, we are still in a readiness and modernization crisis. 

At the end of the Obama administration, the Air Force was at a historic low in readiness, less than 10 percent of combat squadrons were ready to deploy and even less were prepared for a peer fight.  You have made progress in rebuilding readiness, but more needs to be done.  A high state of readiness is crucial for our nation to demonstrate peace through strength. 

While our forces suffered being ill prepared, our adversaries moved out and recapitalized both their conventional and nuclear forces with alarming speed.  China and Russia now present a credible threat to America and our allies in their regions and an increasing threat around the world.  In fact, in some areas they have surpassed us.

In spite of the neglect of our military by the prior administration our men and women have done outstanding work for our nation, but it’s past time for action. You have testified that “Our Air Force is too small and too old to do what the nation asks” and that the Air Force needs to grow to 386 squadrons; I agree you need to grow and modernize.   The future of our Air Force’s readiness and relevance requires both growth and modernization now.

Any successful modernization strategy must focus on results and meeting the needs of tomorrow’s fight.  Fielding relevant technology fast requires discipline in acquisition strategies.  It also requires rapid prototyping and experimentation in order to get modern, reliable, and lethal systems into the hands of our warfighters—and doing so on time and within allotted budgets. 

Executing this Strategy will require an open and transparent dialogue with Congress along the way. We look forward to working with you to make our shared modernization vision a reality to ensure the Air Force is a fighting force prepared for the more lethal and dynamic battlefields of the future.