'I Was Relieved Of My Command For Publishing A Book': Trump Nominee Gives Frank Answer To Blumenthal

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At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) questioned Matthew L. Lohmeier, a former Lt. Col. in the Space Force and author of "Irresistible Revolution: Marxism's Goal of Conquest & the Unmaking of the American Military," about his qualifications and why he left the service during the confirmation process for him to be to be Under Secretary of Air Force.

Transcript

00:00Senator Sutherland. Senator Blumenthal. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Lohmeyer,

00:07the role of Undersecretary of the Air Force is not a platform for ideology or

00:17grievance. It's a demanding leadership position that's responsible for overseeing a budget,

00:23personnel, institutional integrity. It requires a strategic vision and really importantly managerial

00:33experience. That is to say hands-on experience managing a major organization. I'm at a loss to

00:47see what in your background qualifies you to lead or actually run the Air Force when you've never

00:59led an organization that approaches this one at anything like the scale and scope of what

01:06you would be expected to do if you're confirmed.

01:10Senator, thanks for the opportunity to address that. As I mentioned in my opening statement,

01:19I've spent time in both the Air Force and the Space Force. I was trusted to be an aircraft commander

01:26on the $50 million F-15C air-to-air superiority fighter and then later was placed in command

01:31of our $18 billion space-based architecture a decade ago. In fact, that was my first foray

01:38into working with program managers, acquisition experts, budget...

01:40What is the largest number of people under your direct responsibility that you...

01:47Senator, at the time that I finished my career, I was a squadron commander and we had just over

01:53100 people in our unit.

01:55A hundred?

01:56That's right.

01:58And how many will you be responsible for if you're confirmed?

02:01The Department of the Air Force is approximately 700,000 active duty guard and reserve and civilian

02:08personnel.

02:09So, a hundred versus 700,000. How long were you in charge of that squadron?

02:14I was a squadron commander for one year, Senator.

02:17One year? Is that the standard length of time?

02:21It is not.

02:22Why was it shorter?

02:25Senator, it was cut short when I was relieved of my command for publishing a book that's been

02:31mentioned in this hearing that was advocating for a return to an apolitical military workplace

02:36instead of dividing troops along political ideological lines.

02:40So, this is very strikingly reminiscent of what we've heard before in these confirmation hearings,

02:48seemingly for the Secretary of Defense, who also, in effect, was relieved of his responsibility

02:59when he was running a veterans organization and, in effect, ran it into the ground, which should

03:08have been a warning for all of us, as it was for me and others on the committee, about lack

03:16of managerial experience being potentially a really grave pitfall.

03:21And I'm very fearful that we're going to see the same in others in the Department of Defense.

03:31There's no room for managerial misguidance or mistakes.

03:41Again, let me ask you, what, in your experience, qualifies you for this job?

03:46I agree with you and share your concern.

03:48We have no room at this critical time with the threats that we face for our service secretaries

03:55and our undersecretaries to mismanage, to break the law, to not take the priorities of

04:02an administration seriously.

04:05And, in fact, we need real leaders in place to make hard decisions about budgets and acquisition

04:10processes, major defense programs.

04:12We need them to make hard decisions about the nuclear modernization efforts that we have

04:17underway.

04:18And if confirmed, I'll take that very seriously.

04:20I'm a fast learner and I'll surround myself with experts, including Dr. Mink, if he's confirmed,

04:24to try and solve those problems for the Department of Defense.

04:26Would you use signal?

04:29I do use signal, Senator.

04:30Senator, to talk to others in the Department of Defense or the National Security Establishment

04:39about the plans for pilots in the Air Force to do military missions?

04:48Senator, one of the things I've become quite good at over my 15-and-a-half-year career in

04:53the Air Force and Space Force is understanding very well that there are sensitive and classified

04:57materials that should only be discussed in appropriate platforms, and we have appropriate

05:02platforms and media for those communications.

05:05So the answer is no?

05:06Signal is an unclassified messaging app, just like other apps, although it's end-to-end encrypted.

05:11And so, if confirmed, that's something you need to take very seriously in those roles.

05:15Yes, Senator?

05:16Is your answer no?

05:18My answer is that I will use...

05:20Would not use signal?

05:21I will abide by the law, and I will make sure that any sensitive or classified communications

05:26are accomplished on the appropriate mediums.

05:28But this is a yes or no answer.

05:31You would not use signal, I assume, from your answer.

05:34Yes or no?

05:35I will use signal for private discussions that are unclassified with friends or colleagues,

05:40as I always have.

05:41So you would not use it to discuss missions that pilots in the Air Force...

05:46You're going to be undersecretary of the Air Force if you're confirmed.

05:50Easy commitment, Senator.

05:51Would be flying in hostile territory, such as those pilots were, when the Secretary of

05:57Defense used signal on two occasions to communicate about those highly sensitive, confidential,

06:04potentially dangerous missions, putting pilots at risk.

06:07You wouldn't do it, correct?

06:08Senator, you have my commitment.

06:10I will not use signal to discuss those things.

06:13Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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