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House Armed Services Committee
Subcommittee Chairman Ortiz' opening statement--March 13, 2007

"I thank our distinguished panel of witnesses for appearing before the subcommittee today. We honor and appreciate the sacrifices made by our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines who serve throughout the world in support of our nation and in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

"Today the Readiness Subcommittee will consider the readiness posture of our Armed Forces and whether the Fiscal Year 2008 budget request is adequate to meet readiness needs. After 5 ½ years of sustained operations in two theaters of war, I am gravely concerned about the declining readiness condition of the Services in terms of personnel, equipment and training.

"This growing readiness problem is most evident in the ground forces of the Army and Marine Corps, but we also see it in the air assets of the Air Force and Navy. The Congress has provided significant funding beyond what has been requested by the Department of Defense to try to mitigate the decline. But the high tempo of operations and the constraints of the defense industrial base are making it difficult for the services to turn the decline around.

"By far, the Army has been the service most affected by the Global War on Terrorism and the war in Iraq. The Army's planned commitment of 21 of its 42 Brigade Combat Teams to combat operations is stressing both Soldiers and equipment and reducing the readiness posture of units not deployed to combat.

To meet wartime needs, the Army has pooled equipment from across the force to equip Soldiers deploying into harm's way. This practice, as General Cody notes in his written testimony, increases risk for the next-to-deploy units and limits the Army's ability to respond to emerging strategic threats.

"I have seen the classified Army readiness reports, and based on those reports I believe that we as a nation are at risk of mission failure should our Army be called to deploy to an emerging threat.

Because of time and equipment constraints, commanders are being forced to seek efficiencies in completing required pre-deployment training.

"Rotations at the National Training Center for the last two Brigade Combat Teams headed to Iraq were eliminated, with the units conducting home-station training in Washington and Georgia instead of in the desert at Fort Irwin, California.

"The Marine Corps, like the Army, has seen significant ground combat since 2001. This is reflected in lower readiness rates for non-deployed units. The problems in the Marine Corps are not as severe as in the Army, but they are affecting training and the overall readiness posture of the service.

"The Navy's FY08 budget supports 45 underway, or "steaming" days per quarter for deployed forces but reduces steaming days for non-deployed forces from 24 in FY07 to 22 in FY08. We will be interested in hearing how confident the Navy is that an increased reliance upon the use of simulation exercises and improvements in training methods can ensure the readiness of the Navy's non-deployed forces. Likewise, we will want to hear how much non-deployed aircrew readiness the Navy has sacrificed to fund an average T-2.5 aircrew readiness level, as supported in the FY08 budget request.

"The Air Force is flying over 200 sorties per day in the Central Command theaters of operations and has more than 350 aircraft committed to supporting combat operations. This commitment has resulted in high utilization rates on aging Air Force assets. This increased use on a smaller, older fleet has resulted in readiness rates that are 17 percent below unit operational readiness rates prior to 9-11 and below last year's all-time low levels.

"I have noted in General Cody's written testimony his comment that addressing readiness will require a 'national commitment to sustained predictable resourcing.' I agree with this comment but would go on to say we need a national commitment to our military and to providing for our national defense.

"Our armed forces have done what has been asked of them over the last 5 ½ years and it has taken a heavy toll. Readiness has fallen and now the American people must look toward the future and work to restore our military so that are Armed Forces are ready when we need them.

"Gentlemen, I look forward to hearing your testimony."