U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, gave opening remarks this morning at a SASC nomination hearing.

Nominees included General Tod D. Wolters, as Commander of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe; and General Stephen J. Townsend as Commander of U.S. Africa Command.

As prepared for delivery:

Good morning. The Committee meets today to consider the nominations of:

General Tod D. Wolters, to be Commander of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe;

General Stephen J. Townsend to be Commander of U.S. Africa Command.

Thank you to our witnesses and their families for their many years of dedicated service to the nation.

General Wolters, if confirmed, we will be counting on you to push EUCOM and NATO to adjust to the reality of strategic competition with Russia.

Vladimir Putin will do whatever he can to undermine and divide the West. That includes everything from military force to cyber-attacks to election meddling. We need a new and stronger deterrent that recognizes this range of challenges.

We have made a lot of progress in strengthening deterrence against Russia, including through the European Deterrence Initiative. But as General Scaparrotti testified before this committee last month, we’ve still got a lot of work to do in improving our posture and capabilities in Europe.

We’ll also be counting on your leadership in NATO, which remains critical for America’s national security 70 years after its creation. America’s commitment to Article 5 is ironclad. Now we need our allies to honor their pledge to reach two percent and invest that money in the capabilities and readiness needed to fight and win. I am glad we have seen progress on this front.

General Townsend, if confirmed, you will confront an increasingly complex set of challenges across Africa, from the continuing threat posed by terrorist groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda to great power competition with China and Russia. 

While the challenges in Africa are on the rise, AFRICOM continues to suffer from resource shortfalls. I look to you to explain how these shortfalls increase risk and will impact your ability to execute the National Defense Strategy as well as describe your plan to deal with resourcing challenges.

Thank you again to our nominees for their willingness to continue serving this great nation.