Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing

INTRODUCTION

Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the committee, I am honored to join you today. This is my first appearance before you as the Commander of United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), and I appreciate the opportunity to testify about the importance of strategic deterrence in the 21st century and on how USSTRATCOM is responding to today's complex global security environment. Following my confirmation late last year, I reviewed USSTRATCOM's missions, priorities, and capabilities. I found an organization executing a diverse set of global responsibilities that directly contribute to national security, and I am pleased to report that today USSTRATCOM remains capable and ready to meet our assigned missions. We are blessed to have a talented, dedicated, and professional cadre of military and civilian men and women to address the significant national security challenges facing our nation. I thank Congress and this committee for your support and I look forward to working alongside you throughout my tour of duty.

USSTRATCOM carries responsibility for nine mission areas as assigned by the Unified Command Plan (UCP). These mission areas are critical to national security and strategic stability. The more significant challenge to sustaining excellence in these mission areas for the foreseeable future remains how we balance national priorities and fiscal realities given the outlook for future Department of Defense (DOD) budgets under current law spending constraints. This requires that we take a strategic approach to understanding and prioritizing near term and future threats in a systematic manner that ultimately involves balancing risks. My USSTRATCOM team and I are fully engaged in this work helping to not only execute missions and conduct detailed planning, but providing insight to inform our national decision making process regarding these critical strategic national security issues. Even in the current fiscal environment, and given the complex strategic security environment, we must ensure the necessary strategic capabilities are adequately resourced.

GLOBAL SECURITY ENVIRONMENT

The current security environment is more complex, dynamic and uncertain than at any time in recent history. Advances of significant nation state and non-state military capabilities continue across all air, sea, land, and space domains--as well as in cyberspace. This trend has the potential to adversely impact strategic stability. Nation states such as Russia and China are investing in long-term and wide-ranging military modernization programs to include extensive modernization of their strategic capabilities. Nuclear weapons ambitions and the proliferation of weapon and nuclear technologies continues, increasing risk that countries will resort to nuclear coercion in regional crises or nuclear use in future conflicts. A number of actors are improving their existing Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) capabilities while others are pursuing new capabilities along with the technologies to deliver deadly agents against targets of their choice. These include nations as well as non-state Violent Extremist Organizations (VEOs).

While we have increased our own cyber capabilities, the worldwide cyber threat is growing in scale and sophistication, with an increasing number of state and non-state actors targeting U.S. networks on a daily basis. Due to cyberspace's relatively low cost of entry, cyber threats range from state-sponsored offensive military operations and espionage activities, to VEOs intent on disrupting our way of life, to cyber criminals and recreational hackers seeking financial gain and notoriety. Additionally, the U.S. supply chain and critical infrastructure remains vulnerable to cyber attack, and even as we detect and defeat attacks, attribution remains a significant challenge.

Developed nations rely heavily on space systems to enable a wide range of services which provide vital national, military, civil, scientific and economic benefits. The space domain is becoming ever more congested, contested and competitive but the number of space-faring nations continues to grow. The U.S. still retains a strategic advantage in space as other nations are investing significant resources--including developing counterspace capabilities--to counter that advantage. These threats will continue to grow over the next decade.

Finally, uncertainty continues to manifest in a number of other ways such as terrorist threats, social unrest and turmoil, and regional competition for scarce resources and economic opportunities.

PRINCIPLES OF OUR DETERRENT

In the broadest sense, USSTRATCOM's mission is to deter and detect strategic attacks against the U.S. and our allies, and to defeat those attacks if deterrence fails. Strategic attacks are those which have decisive negative outcomes--and they are not all nuclear in nature. They may impact many people or systems, affect large physical areas, act across great distances, persist over long periods of time, disrupt economic and social systems, or change the status quo in a fundamental way. While nuclear attack will always remain unique in its potential for devastation, today's strategic attacks can occur through a variety of mechanisms across multiple domains and are defined by the magnitude of their effect versus a specific weapon or means of delivery. As a nation, we must continue our efforts toward deterring both nuclear and non-nuclear strategic threats to global security.

Although the likelihood of major conflict with other nuclear powers is remote today, the existential threat posed by a nuclear attack requires the U.S. to maintain a credible and capable deterrent force. While total deterrence against any particular adversary is never guaranteed, I am confident in our ability to deter nuclear attack. Arms control treaties have and continue to reduce the likelihood of nuclear conflict with Russia, but the possibility of regional nuclear conflict strains U.S. alliances and global security commitments.

USSTRATCOM is taking appropriate steps to mitigate these strategic risks by actively executing a tailored deterrence and assurance campaign plan against specific strategic threats on a daily basis and by updating contingency plans that account for deterrence failure. Our campaign and contingency plans employ the breadth of USSTRATCOM capabilities in concert with other U.S. capabilities and the regional combatant commands.

Increased interdependence between organizations (to include other combatant commands, the interagency, and allies and partners) and across domains will be a hallmark of future military operations. Our military forces must exercise the ability to operate in degraded environments, and future conflicts are not likely to be limited to a single domain or by geographic boundaries. Our planning leverages robust integration with other combatant commands and applies the breadth of USSTRATCOM capabilities to pursue national objectives. Combatant commands, the whole of the U.S. government, and allies and partners will need to train, exercise and operate together using all the instruments of national power. This will require increased linkages and synergies at all levels to bring the appropriate integrated capabilities to bear through synchronized planning, simultaneous execution of plans, and coherent strategic communications. The Combatant Command Exercise and Engagement Fund supports USSTRATCOM's needs by addressing our joint training requirements and is integral to improving joint context and enabling capabilities that enrich our training environment. Adequate funding is essential to maintaining USTRATCOM's ability to train, exercise and operate together.

USSTRATCOM MISSION & PRIORITIES

USSTRATCOM provides an array of global strategic capabilities to the Joint Force through its nine UCP assigned missions: Strategic Deterrence; Space Operations; Cyberspace Operations; Joint Electronic Warfare; Global Strike; Missile Defense; Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance; Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction; and Analysis and Targeting. These diverse missions are strategic in nature, global in scope, and intertwined with capabilities of the Joint Force, the interagency and the whole of government.

While executing our UCP missions, USSTRATCOM efforts are guided by my five overarching priorities. My number one priority is to provide a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent force as directed by the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR). It is my responsibility to ensure our nuclear deterrent force remains viable and credible now and as long as nuclear weapons exist.

Second, we will partner with other combatant commands to win today. Future conflicts are not likely to be limited by conventional constraints characteristic of 20th century warfare or by geographic boundaries; thus our planning leverages robust integration with other combatant commands and applies the breadth of USSTRATCOM capabilities to synchronize efforts in pursuit of national objectives. Toward this end, we are shifting from geography-based to adversary-based thinking and are reevaluating our planning assumptions to more accurately reflect the threats, our goals, partner capacity, and both adversary and ally military capabilities.

Third, we must continue to address challenges in space. The National Security Space Strategy identifies space as contested, congested and competitive. The space domain, along with cyberspace, is simultaneously more critical to all U.S. operations yet more vulnerable than ever to hostile actions. Today, the U.S. continues to hold an advantage in space. We must maintain that advantage as we move deeper into the 21st century and other nations continue to invest heavily in offensive, defensive, and commercial space capabilities. Key to these efforts will be securing assured access to space and developing a robust situational awareness of the space environment across the dimensions of time, space, and spectrum.

Fourth, we must continue to build cyberspace capability and capacity. Cyberspace operations extensively support all of my other mission areas and there are significant negative impacts if that support becomes uncertain. Along with the need to protect U.S. critical infrastructure and intellectual property, information assurance is a critical facet of national power that underpins our ability to identify national security risks and to hold those threats in check. This means we must simultaneously strengthen our internal information security safeguards and protect against a maturing set of external cyber threats.

Finally, geopolitical and fiscal realities demand that we prepare for uncertainty. We need the right information in the right hands at the right time to make correct assessments and decisions. We are critically dependent on the Intelligence Community's (IC) foundational, data-based intelligence on adversary underground facilities, physical vulnerabilities, command and control, military force analysis, defense resources and infrastructure, and WMD facilities. We also rely on the IC's in-depth analysis of adversary national defense strategy doctrine and military leadership. Decision-making will also require predictive analysis to prioritize our activities along with flexible, agile, adaptable thinking and systems. Since predictive analysis of the future will never be error free, we must maintain adequate readiness to address uncertainty. We must align our posture to the threat while acknowledging that the threat itself will continue to evolve. Uncertainty also requires us to conduct a penetrating analysis of our capabilities and resources to clearly identify where we are taking risk and where we cannot accept further risk.

MISSION AREA CAPABILITIES & REQUIREMENTS

Prioritizing resources to meet our goals requires a thoughtful assessment of national priorities in the context of fiscal realities. Today's budget environment remains a concern as we look to sustain and modernize our military forces. We appreciate the passage of the two-year Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 and the 2014 omnibus appropriations, as they reduce near-term budget uncertainty.

Although these recent actions provide us with some relief, the sequestration-level reductions in FY 2013 have impacted our readiness and have the potential to impact our capabilities in the future. While our Service components realigned limited resources toward strategic missions to preserve our strategic deterrence capabilities in the short term, those same organizations took on significant additional risk in our ability to address long term requirements. Many procurement and research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E) investment accounts have experienced delays and we anticipate future programmatic challenges as a result. At this point it is also difficult to fully discern the impact of sequestration in FY 2013 on our people, but the combined effects of a hiring freeze, furlough, and other force reduction measures continue to stress the human element of USSTRATCOM's capabilities.

Nuclear Deterrent Forces

America's nuclear deterrent force provides enduring value to the nation. It has been a constant thread in the geopolitical fabric of an uncertain world, providing a moderating influence on generations of world leaders. Today, our strategic nuclear capabilities--a synthesis of dedicated sensors, assured command and control, the triad of delivery systems, nuclear weapons and their associated infrastructure, and trained ready people--remain foundational to our national security apparatus. As stated in the 2010 NPR, "as long as nuclear weapons exist, the United States will maintain a safe, secure, and effective nuclear arsenal, both to deter potential adversaries and to assure U.S. allies and other security partners that they can count on America's security commitments." We are working across the Department to implement the President's new guidance for aligning U.S. policies to the 21st century security environment. This includes revising Office of the Secretary of Defense and Joint Staff guidance as well as updating our own plans.

Although our nuclear arsenal is smaller than it has been since the late 1950s, today's nuclear weapon systems remain capable and will serve the U.S. well into their fourth decade. In recent years the percentage of spending on nuclear forces has gradually declined to only 2.5% of total DOD spending in 2013--a figure near historic lows.

Today's nuclear forces remain safe, secure and effective despite operating well beyond their original life expectancies. The nation faces a substantive, multi-decade recapitalization challenge, and we must continue investing resources toward that effort. Our planned investments are significant, but are commensurate with the magnitude of the national resource that is our strategic deterrent. If we do not commit to these investments, we risk degrading the deterrent and stabilizing effect of a strong and capable nuclear force. I fully support planned and future sensor improvements, upgrades for nuclear command, control and communications (NC3) capabilities, strategic delivery system recapitalization efforts, weapon life extension programs, stockpile surveillance activities, and nuclear complex infrastructure modernization. Together these efforts provide the necessary investments to ensure our triad of nuclear forces remains viable and credible.

Sensors. Our Integrated Tactical Warning and Attack Assessment (ITW/AA) network of sensors and processing facilities provides critical early warning and allows us to select the most suitable course of action in rapidly developing situations. While the Defense Support Program (DSP) is approaching the end of its life, the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) program is on track to provide continued on-orbit capability. The survivable and endurable segments of these systems, along with Early Warning Radars, are being recapitalized and are vital to maintaining a credible deterrent. I fully support continued investment in this critical area.

Nuclear Command, Control and Communications. Assured and reliable NC3 is critical to the credibility of our nuclear deterrent. The aging NC3 system continues to meet its intended purpose, but risk to mission success is increasing. Our challenges include operating aging legacy systems and addressing risks associated with today's digital security environment. Many NC3 systems require modernization, but it is not enough to simply build a new version of the old system--rather; we must optimize the current architecture while leveraging new technologies so that our NC3 systems interoperate as the core of a broader, national command and control system. We are working to shift from point-to-point hardwired systems to a networked IP-based national C3 architecture that will balance survivability and endurability against a diverse range of threats, deliver relevant capabilities across the range of interdependent national missions, and ultimately enhance Presidential decision time and space. Specific programs now in work include the Family of Beyond-line-of-sight Terminals (FAB-T), Presidential National Voice Conferencing (PNVC), the Multi-Role Tactical Common Data Link (MR-TCDL), Phoenix Air-to-Ground Communications Network (PAGCN), the E-4B Low Frequency communications upgrade, the B-2 Common Very Low Frequency Receiver communications upgrade, and the E-6B service life extension program.

Nuclear Triad. Per the 2010 NPR, "retaining all three Triad legs will best maintain strategic stability at reasonable cost, while hedging against potential technical problems or vulnerabilities." The commitment to the triad was reinforced in the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Employment Planning guidance the President issued in June 2013. USSTRATCOM executes strategic deterrence and assurance operations with Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, Ballistic Missile Submarines, and nuclear capable heavy bombers. Each element of the nuclear triad provides unique and complimentary attributes of strategic deterrence, and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). Our ICBM force promotes deterrence and stability by fielding a responsive and resilient capability that imposes costs and denies benefits to those who would threaten our security. Though fielded in 1970, the Minuteman III ICBM is sustainable through 2030 with smart modernization and recapitalization investments. USSTRATCOM continues to work with the Air Force on initiatives to modernize safety and security capabilities and to address age-related ground support system concerns such as Transporter-Erector vehicles and re-entry system test equipment. The Ground Based Strategic Deterrent Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) is studying a full range of ICBM concepts which will shape our land-based deterrent force well beyond 2030.

Ballistic Missile Submarines (SSBNs). Recapitalizing our sea-based strategic deterrent force is my top modernization priority and I am committed to working closely with the Navy on this program. The Navy's SSBNs and Trident II D5 ballistic missiles constitute the Triad's most survivable leg and the assured response they provide underpins our nuclear deterrent. This stealthy and highly capable force is composed of two major elements, the missile and the delivery system. Both are undergoing needed modernization. With respect to the missile, we are extending the life of the D5 missile to be capable until after 2040. With respect to the submarine that delivers these missiles, the OHIO class submarine has already been extended from 30 to 42 years of service--no further extension is possible and these submarines will start leaving service in 2027. As such, the Ohio Replacement Program (ORP) must stay on schedule. No further delay is possible. Continued and stable funding for the Ohio Replacement SSBN also supports our commitment to the United Kingdom to provide a Common Missile Compartment design and will ensure both their and our new SSBNs achieve operational capability on schedule.

Heavy Bombers. While the nation relies on the long-range conventional strike capability of our heavy bombers, the nuclear capability of B-52 and B-2 bombers continues to provide us with flexibility, visibility and a rapid hedge against technical challenges in other legs of the Triad. Last March, for example, the U.S. carried out training flights of B-52 and B-2 bombers over the Korean Peninsula to assure partners and allies and underscore our security commitment to extended deterrence in the Asia-Pacific region. Maintaining an effective air-delivered standoff capability is vital to meet our strategic and extended deterrence commitments and to effectively conduct global strike operations in anti-access and area-denial (A2AD) environments. Planned sustainment and modernization activities, to include associated NC3, will ensure a credible nuclear bomber capability through 2040.

Looking forward, a new highly survivable penetrating bomber is required to credibly sustain our broad range of deterrence and strike options beyond the lifespan of today's platforms. The Long Range Standoff AoA was completed in 2012 and concluded that a follow-on nuclear cruise missile was necessary to replace the aging Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM).

Weapons and Infrastructure. Nuclear weapons and their supporting infrastructure underpin our nuclear triad. All warheads today are on average nearly 30 years old. Surveillance activities are essential to monitoring the health of our nuclear warheads. Life Extension Programs (LEPs) are key to sustaining our nuclear arsenal into the future, mitigating age-related effects and incorporating improved safety and security features. Our robust science-based Stockpile Stewardship provides us confidence in sustaining our nuclear forces without a return to nuclear testing, which the United States halted in 1992.

The DOD and the Department of Energy (DOE) have worked together to develop a synchronized, multi-decade plan for a modern, safe, secure and effective nuclear stockpile. The Nuclear Weapons Council (NWC) approved what has been referred to as the "3+2" plan--so named because the long term result is three ballistic missile and two air-delivered warheads. This framework sustains a nuclear force that addresses both near term technical needs and future triad capability requirements. The W76-1 LEP is in progress to support the submarine leg of the triad. This is particularly important as the W76-1 represents the majority of our survivable deterrent force. The Air Force and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) continue to make progress on a full life extension for the B61 gravity bomb that includes both nuclear and non-nuclear components, critical to our strategic capabilities and extended deterrent commitments. Both LEPs are necessary to maintain confidence in the reliability, safety and intrinsic security of our nuclear weapons. Looking to the future, we continue to work with NNSA on the feasibility of an interoperable nuclear package for our ballistic missile warheads and options for sustaining our air-delivered standoff capabilities.

Sustaining and modernizing the nuclear enterprise's infrastructure is crucial to our long term strategy. A new uranium facility at Y-12 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee will address deteriorating conditions in our Manhattan Project era facilities, while our interim plutonium strategy will meet stockpile requirements over the next decade as we explore long term production alternatives. Continued investment in the nuclear enterprise infrastructure is needed to provide critical capabilities that meet our stockpile requirements.

In the wake of recent unfortunate personnel incidents within the ICBM force involving integrity issues, I fully support the Secretary's initiative to assemble key stakeholders within the DOD to fully digest the implications and to seek long-term systemic solutions that will maintain trust and confidence in the nuclear enterprise. This has my utmost attention.

New START Implementation. USSTRATCOM continues to work with the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the Services to effectively and efficiently implement the reductions called for in New START. Now more than three years old, New START has continued to contribute to the U.S.' insight into Russia's nuclear forces and has contributed to increased transparency and predictability between our two nations. Since the treaty's entry into force in 2011, the U.S. and Russia have each conducted over 54 inspections and have exchanged over 5,500 New START message notifications. To date, the U.S. has eliminated 39 B-52Gs and 50 Peacekeeper ICBM silos, thus removing them from accountability under New START. The U.S. also made substantial progress toward de-MIRVing MM III ICBMs on alert, thereby reducing the number of warheads in a deployed status. This year, we will finalize our preferred New START force structure and we are on track to achieve New START's limits of 1,550 deployed warheads, 700 deployed delivery systems, and 800 deployed and non-deployed delivery systems by February 2018.

Space Operations

Our national space capabilities provide us with the ability to globally navigate, communicate and observe natural and man-made events in areas where non-space sensors are either not available or not feasible. Space capabilities are also a key component of strategic deterrence. Our space sensors, command and control systems, and space situational awareness capabilities are critical in supporting both our deployed nuclear forces and our national decision making processes.

As highlighted in the President's 2010 National Space Policy, these capabilities "allow people and governments around the world to see with clarity, communicate with certainty, navigate with accuracy and operate with assurance." Determined adversaries who understand the military and economic advantages provided by space, along with an expanding debris population on orbit, increase the challenges of operating in this critical domain. Space continues to be increasingly congested, contested and competitive. The National Security Space Strategy offers a set of approaches to mitigating those characteristics: partnering with responsible nations, international organizations and commercial firms to promote responsible, peaceful and safe use of space; maximizing the advantages provided by improved space capabilities while reducing vulnerabilities; and preventing, deterring, defeating and operating through attacks on our space capabilities.

Key to all of these efforts is sufficient Space Situational Awareness (SSA)--the data that allows us to understand what is on orbit, where it is, and how it is being used. Our goal is to ensure space remains an open domain for all legitimate users. Sharing SSA information with other nations and commercial firms promotes safe and responsible space operations, reduces the potential for debris-making collisions, builds international confidence in U.S. space systems, fosters U.S. space leadership, and improves our own SSA through knowledge of other owner/operator satellite positional data.

For all its advantages, there is concern that SSA data sharing might aid potential adversaries, therefore we are taking positive steps to ensure that does not occur. In accordance with U.S. law, USSTRATCOM has negotiated SSA Sharing Agreements with 41 commercial entities and five nations (France, Italy, Japan, Australia, and Canada) and is in the process of negotiating agreements with five additional nations (Germany, Great Britain, Israel, South Korea, and Brazil). Through these sharing agreements, USSTRATCOM assists partners with activities such as launch support; maneuver planning; support for on-orbit anomaly resolution, electromagnetic interference reporting and investigation; support for launch anomalies and de-commissioning activities; and on-orbit conjunction assessments.

USSTRATCOM's Joint Functional Component Command for Space (JFCC-Space), located at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, leads the efforts to ensure continuous and integrated space operations and routinely track tens of thousands of space objects in orbit around the Earth. This includes over 1,100 active satellites owned and operated by approximately 74 nations and government consortia, plus hundreds of small commercial and academic satellites.

We must sustain judicious and stable investments to preserve the advantages we hold in this dynamic and increasingly complex environment while continuing to seek out innovative and cooperative solutions with allies and partners to ensure the products and services we derive from operating from space remain available, even when threatened by natural events or the actions of a determined adversary. These include both active and passive protection measures for individual systems and constellations and a critical examination of the architectural path we will follow to ensure resilience and affordability in space. We are exploring options such as disaggregation as a method to achieve affordable resilience but additional analysis is necessary in this area.

Cyberspace Operations

Today, we conduct our UCP assigned cyberspace missions through our assigned sub-unified command, US Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) located at Ft. Meade, Maryland. I have delegated the authority to USCYBERCOM to conduct the day-to-day business of directing DOD information network operations and defense, planning against cyber threats, coordinating with other combatant commands and appropriate U.S. government agencies, providing military representation for cyber matters, planning and executing operational preparation of the environment, and executing cyber operations as directed. USSTRATCOM retains authority for oversight of advocacy and theater security cooperation.

This alignment allows USSTRATCOM to manage the integration of all our capabilities to deter or defeat attacks in multiple scenarios while taking full account of the interdependencies and interactions among combatant commands and across the air, sea, land, and space domains, and in cyberspace--all tied together through the electromagnetic spectrum.

USSTRATCOM, through USCYBERCOM, is working with Joint Staff and the DOD Chief Information Officer (DOD CIO) to implement the Joint Information Environment framework (JIE). The JIE provides a foundational framework to enable improvements in our ability to see and defend the DoD Information Network. Furthermore, the JIE framework is intended to enable timely and secure information sharing in the joint environment, improving warfighters ability to access critical data and information for mission command. Alignment of the JIE with the equivalent IC information technology enterprise is a key component required to achieve this goal.

Our primary obstacles to cyberspace operations within DOD are issues of capacity and capability. None of these activities can occur without a right-sized and well-trained cadre of cyber professionals. The Cyber Mission Force (CMF) construct will address the significant challenges of recruiting, training, and retaining the people, facilities and equipment necessary to generate the human capital required for successful cyberspace operations. Our plans call for the creation of 133 cyber mission teams manned by over 6,000 highly trained personnel by the end of FY16. To date, 17 of those teams are fielded and engaged in a variety of missions. The majority of these teams will support the combatant commands with the remainder supporting national missions. Budget stability is the key to achieving this vision, as every training day we lose to fiscal constraints will cause further delays in fielding the CMF.

Missile Defense

I believe that effective missile defense is an essential element of the U.S. commitment to strengthen strategic and regional deterrence against states of concern--continued investments in this area are essential to national defense. Today, 30 operational Ground Based Interceptors (GBIs) protect the U.S. against a limited ICBM attack from potential regional threats such as North Korea. In March of 2013, Secretary Hagel announced the decision to add 14 GBIs in Alaska and a second Army/Navy Transportable Radar Surveillance-2 (AN/TPY-2) radar in Japan, study a potential third CONUS GBI site, and restructure the SM-3 IIB interceptor into an advanced kill vehicle technology program. These decisions will hedge against a growing North Korean threat, add additional sensor capability to improve coverage, introduce needed Exo-atmosphere Kill Vehicle (EKV) improvements, and will facilitate quickly adding a third CONUS GBI site if needed. We continue to examine new threats and consider alternative ways and means for a future architecture to improve sensors and discrimination for greater Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) effectiveness.

USSTRATCOM's Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense (JFCC-IMD) is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado and continues to conduct a variety of activities aimed at maturing our missile defense capabilities. First, they are working to operationalize developmental missile defense capabilities in coordination with other combatant commands and the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). These efforts serve to integrate sensors across mission domains and geographical areas, synchronize and manage the availability of missile defense assets, and hedge against the possibility of threats developing faster than originally anticipated. Second, they are working to develop and implement joint training to enable integration and synchronization with other combatant commands, and host and orchestrate international missile defense wargaming scenarios. These efforts identify and recommend sourcing solutions to ensure appropriate forces are employed; synchronize global missile defense planning at all levels to ensure unity of effort across our geographically distributed network of sensors and shooters, across multiple organizations, and across multiple domains; and collaborate with key allies and partners. Finally, they are integrating warfighters into missile defense testing and evaluation.

The European Phased Adapted Approach (EPAA) protecting our NATO allies is on schedule with Phase I becoming operational in Dec 2011 using a forward based radar and Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) ships. Phase II is on track for completion in 2015 and will add an Aegis Ashore system in Romania, SM-3 IB interceptors, and additional Aegis BMD ships. Phase III planned for 2018 will add an Aegis Ashore in Poland and a more capable SM-3 IIA interceptor both on land and at sea. Steady progress was made in 2013 as we continued development and testing of Aegis BMD software, construction of Aegis Ashore test and operational facilities, SM-3 Block IIA system design, and successful SM-3 operational and developmental flight tests.

The Cobra Dane radar located at Eareckson AFS, Alaska is critical to homeland defense and must be sustained. This unique asset provides unmatched coverage against long range threats from northeast Asia as well as helping to catalogue many thousands of space objects. Cobra Dane is an aging system and requires continued investment. Additionally, the deployment of an operational THAAD missile defense system to Guam provides vital protection against North Korean provocations toward one of our key Territories.

Global Strike

USSTRATCOM's Joint Functional Component Command for Global Strike (JFCC-GS) operates from Offutt AFB, Nebraska with headquarters at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. JFCC-GS provides a unique ability to command and control our global strike capabilities and build plans that rapidly integrate into theater operations. This includes integration of combat capability including those associated with kinetic and non-kinetic effects. The following key capabilities are integral to supporting my Global Strike mission.

USSTRATCOM's Joint Warfare and Analysis Center (JWAC) in Dahlgren, Virginia enhances our Strategic Deterrence and Global Strike missions by providing unique and valuable insight into selected adversary networks. JWAC's ability to solve complex challenges for our nation's warfighters--using a combination of social and physical science techniques and engineering expertise--is invaluable to protecting the nation and helping the Joint Force accomplish its missions.

Our Mission Planning and Analysis System (MPAS) is the nation's only comprehensive planning system for developing nuclear options. MPAS supports my responsibilities for Strategic Deterrence and Global Strike through the development of nuclear options for the President, as well as holding time-sensitive targets at risk through crisis action planning. Continued modernization of MPAS is essential to our ability to conduct global strike operations.

Conventional prompt strike (CPS) capability offers the opportunity to rapidly engage high-value targets without resorting to nuclear options. CPS could provide precision and responsiveness in A2AD environments while simultaneously minimizing unintended military, political, environmental, economic or cultural consequences. I support continuing research and development of these important capabilities.

Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD)

A WMD-armed terrorist is one of the greatest potential threats we face today, and no region of the world is immune from potential chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear risks. USSTRATCOM is DOD's global synchronizer for CWMD planning efforts, leveraging the expertise resident in our Center for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction (SCC-WMD) and our partners at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)--both located at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. Together, our organizations conduct real-world and exercise CWMD activities with the other combatant commands to identify, prioritize, and mitigate WMD risks posed by proliferation of WMD technology and expertise to nation states and non-state actors. We have been successful so far, but given the magnitude of the WMD threat, we can ill afford to short-change these efforts.

The Standing Joint Force Headquarters for Elimination (SJFHQ-E) was certified for initial operating capability in September 2012. SJFHQ-E provides a full time, trained joint command and control element that can quickly integrate into strategic- to operational-level headquarters to provide WMD elimination planning, intelligence, and operational expertise for a Joint Force Commander. Additionally, the SJFHQ-E recently completed its relocation from Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD to Ft Belvoir, VA to better leverage DTRA's expertise and manpower.

USSTRATCOM has and continues to support United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), United States European Command (USEUCOM) and DTRA as part of the international effort to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons program. Our personnel are providing direct support to USEUCOM in preparation for the removal and destruction of chemical materials from Syria and will remain engaged until elimination of Syria's program is complete.

Intelligence, Surveillance, & Reconnaissance (ISR)

The demand for ISR will always outpace our ability to fully satisfy all requirements. At the same time, we are focused on the goal of reducing the "cost of doing business" as articulated in Sustaining U. S. Global Leadership Priorities for 21st Century Defense. Located at Bolling AFB, Maryland, USSTRATCOM's Joint Functional Component Command for ISR (JFCC-ISR) is working with our headquarters, the Joint Staff, the Services, the combatant commands and the IC to improve the management of the DOD's existing ISR capabilities. I fully support this initiative which focuses on maximizing effectiveness of the capabilities we have, while minimizing duplication of effort between DOD and the IC.

Joint Electronic Warfare

Given the importance and need of Joint Electronic Warfare, USSTRATCOM, in collaboration with the Joint Staff and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, continues to drive the development of comprehensive Joint Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations (JEMSO) policy and doctrine that consolidates the activities of Electronic Warfare (EW) and Spectrum Management. The National Military Strategic Plan for EW (NMSP-EW) was approved in late 2013, providing a framework for EW operations, articulating threats and vulnerabilities, and clarifying risks and strategic imperatives for electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) control. The joint architecture plan for Electromagnetic Battle Management (EMBM) is currently under development--the preliminary work done so far will identify applicable architectures in order to better refine requirements.

USSTRATCOM assesses systems to determine vulnerabilities to jamming, orchestrates events to evaluate the ability to detect jamming and operate in such an environment, coordinates with the combatant commands to determine impacts to plan execution, and sponsors initiatives to combat jamming and generate requirements. These assessments and initiatives greatly improve the DOD's understanding and mitigation of JEMSO capability gaps and vulnerabilities.

We seek to use the EMS more efficiently by investing in time and technology sharing and fully investigating spectrum re-use opportunities. There are a number of ongoing spectrum reallocation efforts with potential adverse impacts to DOD operations. We will continue to work closely with DOD CIO, Joint Staff, and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to ensure warfighter requirements are adequately considered prior to any decision.

Command and Control (C2) Facility

In 2012, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) broke ground on a C2 Facility for USSTRATCOM. This project will replace a C2 Facility that is over 57 years old, plagued with numerous heating, cooling, and power infrastructure deficiencies and will provide the necessary information technology infrastructure to support USSTRATCOM in the digital age. The construction team is working hard to keep the project on schedule, to ensure that we are optimizing resources, and to create an infrastructure that has a lower cost of ownership than our current facility. When complete, the new C2 Facility will play an effective and integral part of our strategic deterrent as well as USSTRATCOM's other assigned missions for decades to come. I appreciate the steadfast support that Congress continues to provide for this effort.

OUR PEOPLE

People remain our most precious resource and deserve our most robust support. The critical bonds of trust, teamwork and professionalism unite the USSTRATCOM family. Last year we created a Resilience Coordination Office, an effort that has been noted as a potential benchmark program for the DOD. Resilience coordinators provide training, information, resources and other tools to present healthy behavior options in response to life stressors. Sexual assault, workplace violence, breaches of integrity, alcohol abuse and associated behaviors have my strongest personal condemnation, and my entire staff understands my expectation to report and denounce inappropriate behavior whenever and wherever it occurs.

My travels to a number of USSTRATCOM and partner locations since I took command in November 2013 confirm my belief that we have an outstanding team in place across all our mission areas. I am proud to serve alongside the men and women of USSTRATCOM and have the utmost respect for their professionalism, dedication to our missions and sustained operational excellence even through difficult times. These great Americans will do all they can for their nation, but are rightly concerned about their futures given last year's furloughs and planned manpower reductions over the next several years. These reductions are not inconsequential--we believe we can achieve the Department's goals but not without a commensurate loss of organizational agility and responsiveness.

CONCLUSION

We are experiencing dynamic changes within the DOD as we transition toward a different force posture and a reduced defense budget. In spite of this environment, our UCP missions remain unchanged as we partner with our fellow combatant commands to deter adversaries, assure allies, protect critical infrastructure, preserve freedom of movement, and respond to crises.

In today's uncertain times, I am proud to lead such a focused, innovative and professional group dedicated to delivering critical warfighting capabilities to the nation. We are building our future on a strong and successful past, and your support, together with the hard work of the outstanding men and women of the United States Strategic Command, will ensure that we remain ready, agile and effective in deterring strategic attack, assuring our allies, and defeating current and future threats.

Read this original document at: http://www.armed-services.senate.gov/download/?id=b4a4514b-a7a6-4d1e-8e4b-c7934db41d99&download=1