00:00Could you shed any light on why the Secretary of the Navy was relieved and what that timeline
00:04should replace? One of the reasons why we struggle with even, I think, about the basing decisions and
00:10again, naval aviation, and that's I wish we would talk more about. Ultimately, it was time for a new
00:15leadership and a new direction as far as running fast toward those objectives, and so we made a
00:20change. Any timeline to replace or have a new Secretary of the Navy? Well, right now we have
00:24an acting in Hongkau, who did a fantastic job as the number two, and he'll be acting for now, and
00:31I would imagine we'll know in due time. Just, again, representing a big Navy district and
00:36having just a concern for the Navy, could you shed any light on why the Secretary of the Navy was
00:43relieved and what that timeline to replace him looks like for permanent leadership? I think that's
00:49one of the reasons why we struggle with even, I think, about the basing decisions and, again,
00:55naval aviation, and that's I wish we would talk more about just the contributions of our aviators,
01:00but could you shed any light on that issue? Well, as the President stated, we thank the previous
01:05Secretary for his service. I appreciate a lot of the initiatives that he undertook. Ultimately,
01:10it was time for a new leadership and a new direction as far as running fast toward those objectives,
01:15and so we made a change. We think it's hard to, personnel is policy, and the sooner you identify,
01:21especially, we've talked about general officers, you know, as you're evaluating whether they're
01:25running with the mission they've been given, you've got to make a change if they're not. The
01:30same with civilians, and in this case, we made that change. And any timeline to replace or have a new
01:35Secretary of the Navy? Well, right now we have an acting in Hongkau, who did a fantastic job as the
01:41number two, and he'll be acting for now, and I would imagine we'll know in due time. And I,
01:46of course, keeping tabs on the Air Force, you know, $5 billion for their F-47 program, so we love
01:52aircraft carriers, we love that mobile air superiority piece. What are your plans for the
01:56future of naval aviation? I kick and scream every day of the week here in this committee about the F
02:00-35s
02:01and getting them at our East Coast Master Jet Base. I know that F-AXX is our next generation strike
02:05fighter, but just would love to hear your plans and timelines for the future of naval aviation.
02:09Well, I appreciate your comments, and then I would defer to the Chairman, too, on it,
02:13on the remaining utility of the F-18s, which are still flying critical missions right now off our
02:21carriers and do a fantastic job. Thirty-plus years old, but yes. Yes, correct, which is why the issue
02:27of the F-AXX is important. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. It's a matter
02:31of tradeoffs in
02:32industry and design and capabilities, ensuring we're not slowing other things down at the behest of
02:37others. So, I think in August, the August time frame is, I'm sure you're familiar with that.
02:42Yes, that's correct. It's what we're looking at. It's a critical capability that we need to fund for
02:45the future of naval aviation. I would defer if anything you want to add. Sure, I think you covered it.
02:50The, you know, we don't need a access basing and overflight off of a CSG and a CVN, and so
02:57it gives the
02:58secretary and the president a lot of options. So, and I just want to echo the thanks for the joint
03:05force on behalf of the joint force for all three CSGs that are out there getting after it right now.
03:11I share your husband's jealousy, but just want the force to know how much we appreciate,
03:18I mean, especially the Ford.
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