'If They Can See You, They Can Kill You': Mike Rounds Asks Pentagon Noms About Evolving Battlefield

6 months ago

During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last month, Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) spoke about changes on the battlefield due to the proliferation of drones and loitering munitions.

Transcript

00:00Senator Rounds. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First, to both of you and to your families,

00:05thank you all for your service to our country. You both come as very qualified individuals to

00:13the new jobs in which you will step into very shortly. I want to take a little bit of time

00:20and talk about what I think is one of the most important aspects of this new position that each

00:26of you will be in very shortly. And that is the difference between when we ask someone who

00:34doesn't wear the uniform of the United States of America but rather a suit and tie, and when they

00:41come before this committee. Some from outside of government who will give us their opinion about

00:46issues and policies and positions. But then we have the individuals who come from an administration,

00:53and I've been here ten years now and I've seen four different administrations in which

00:57individuals come and they give us their opinion on what happens or a position with regard to policy.

01:05We take their statements with a grain of salt, recognizing that they represent an administration's

01:12point of view. But when we come to you as members of the armed services from the different branches

01:20and we ask for your professional military opinion. It is perhaps one of the most important things that

01:29you can do to provide us directly and without color the black and white of exactly what you think.

01:39Because that's what we rely on in terms of truth. And I want to go into this a little bit because

01:47just as an example most recently a number of us have asked specific questions with regard to

01:52the spectrum and about the importance of the spectrum and managing it on behalf of the defense

01:58of our country by the Department of Defense. And on over 28 different occasions we have asked

02:03specifically members of the United States Armed Services who were wearing the uniform their professional

02:10military opinion. And in some cases I suspect that their honest and straightforward answers have

02:17probably gotten them into a little bit of hot water with individuals who simply wear a suit and tie

02:21in an administration. But nonetheless they have adhered to the principle that they're required to give

02:27us a straightforward answer. It is the most important thing that you can do in coming before this

02:34committee. I lay that out for you because this is what makes the difference between a young man's

02:42ability to defend himself on the battlefield. And I'm going to start, you know, General Grinkowich,

02:50you've served and you've flown a fourth generation aircraft. You've flown a fifth generation aircraft.

02:58Things are going to change very rapidly on the battlefield for young men and women. Today on the

03:02battlefield would you say that if the enemy can see you, a young man or a woman regardless of whether

03:08he's in a tank or whether he's in an aircraft or in a command center, if they can see you they can kill

03:14you. Is that a fair statement? Senator, I think it is in most cases. There are a few times when they can

03:22see us and try to take a swipe at us and we have ways to evade or defeat that. But it is the transparency

03:28on the modern battlefield is apparent, I think, based on what we've seen both in Brad's current

03:34AOR as the deputy commander and in the Russia-Ukraine fight. Thank you. And Admiral Cooper,

03:40same question to you. If they can see you, can they kill you or at least they're going to do their

03:45best to try and kill you? Senator, absolutely. Retaining our advantage, whether that's a stealth

03:51advantage or advantage of maneuver or our overmatch, which we have at times in the spectrum,

03:57is critical. I'd also add with respect to the spectrum, I spent my entire adult life at sea

04:02on guided missile destroyers and guided missile cruisers. They are national assets. They would be

04:09rendered highly ineffective without the type of spectrum management that you've been advocating for.

04:14Thank you. And this is the reason why I think it is absolutely critical. And there's going to be

04:19lots of questions up here about munitions and everything else. But if I could simply, once

04:24again, strongly recommend that when the question from any member of this committee, Republican or

04:29Democrat, is given to you, and they ask for your professional military opinion, it's because we're

04:34trying to find out exactly what's going on. And even if it's uncomfortable, this is where the rubber

04:42really meets the road. It is when you provide that information to us, we make better decisions.

04:47And that's, I think, what this place is all about, is the oversight does not work if we can't count on

04:55you for that straightforward, hard-hitting response to our questions. With that, I yield back. Thank

05:02you, Mr. Chairman.

05:03Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

'If They Can See You, They Can Kill You': Mike Rounds Asks Pentagon Noms About Evolving Battlefield

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended