HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
DEFENSE SUBCOMMITTEESTATEMENT OF
GENERAL MARK A. MILLEY, USA
20TH CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE BUDGET HEARING
MAY 27, 2021

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Introduction
It remains my distinct honor and privilege to represent the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines
and Guardians of the United States Joint Forces-The most capable military in the world. Our
troops are the best led, best equipped, and best trained force anywhere. Alongside our allies andpartners, American Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Guardians are currently standing
watch in 165 countries and conducting operations that keep Americans safe.
The United States Military is a critical component of national power which in concert with our
diplomatic efforts, economic engine and overriding hope of the American message deters ouradversaries and preserves peace. We are prepared to fight and win if those who seek to attack theUnited States and our allies and partners are undeterred.
The Joint Force appreciates the work that our elected representatives do to ensure that we havethe resources needed to train, equip, and man the force in order to be ready. The days of the
Budget Control Act of 2011 and repeated continuing resolutions which eroded readiness are
hopefully behind us for good.
The Joint Force will deliver modernization of our armed forces and security to the people of theUnited States at the FY 2022 budget request of $715 billion. While it is a modest increase fromthe enacted FY21 budget, it is a significant commitment of treasure that the people of the UnitedStates have entrusted to us and we will work diligently to ensure it is spent prudently in the bestinterest of the Nation. This FY 2022 budget is the result of hard choices in a year in which thenation has suffered economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In alignment with theInterim National Security Strategic Guidance (INSSG) this budget delivers a ready, agile, andcapable Joint Force that will compete, deter and win across all domains and which is postured forcontinued dominance in the future.
Consistent predictable budgets informed by the will of the American people are critical to our
Nation’s defense. The passage of timely budgets enables planning and prioritization.

Strategic Environment
The current strategic landscape is witnessing rapid change and potential for increased threat tothe peace and stability of various regions and for the world.
China: is our #1 geostrategic security challenge. History is not deterministic, war with China is
not inevitable. China is clearly an increasingly capable strategic competitor and we need to keep
our relationship at competition, not conflict. This is best done through integrated deterrence
where the United States remains militarily strong relative to China and we retain military
overmatch in all the various domains of war. If we remain militarily superior to our adversary,then conflict is less likely.

2China is challenging the peaceful status quo in the Pacific, and is intent on revising the global
international order by midcentury. China is conducting large-scale exercises in the region with anemphasis on amphibious landing, joint fires, and maritime strike scenarios. These actions
threaten our allies and partners' autonomy, jeopardize freedom of navigation, overflight and otherlawful uses of the sea, and compromise regional peace and stability. In short, China has andcontinues to develop significant nuclear, space, cyber, land, air, and maritime militarycapabilities.
Russia: retains a large nuclear capability to deter and threaten the United States and our allies
and partners. Russia has also demonstrated the capability and will to conduct complex malicious
cyber activities targeting American protected digital infrastructure, both military andcommercial. Increasingly Russia uses irregular warfare and mercenary contract support, alongwith regular troops, to conduct aggressive operations, the most notable being illegal seizure of
Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine. Its actions in Libya as
well as Syria and elsewhere demonstrate Moscow’s relative flexibility, resourcefulness, andopportunism.
North Korea: continues to enhance its ballistic missile capability and possesses the technicalcapacity to present a real danger to the US homeland as well as our allies and partners across the
Indo-Pacific. They show no signs of moderation in their focus on military capability at theexpense of their most vulnerable citizens and peace of the Korean Peninsula.
Iran: The current irregular warfare conflict between Iran and its neighbors threatens to push the
Middle East into broader regional instability. Through its funding of terrorist activities, and aproxy army inside the borders of its neighbors, and through its ballistic missile programs, Iranseeks to revise the regional order and balance of power in Iran’s favor.
Violent extremist organizations such as Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Al Shabaab, and others continue toexport their terror, destruction, and destabilization. Until and unless the root causes of instability
that give rise to these types of groups are resolved, we will continue to deal with their attacks toundermine legitimate governments worldwide. The root causes can only be effectively addressedby including governments of the region and we can best influence outcomes with diplomatic,
economic, information and stability efforts along with train, advise, assist and intelligencesharing. Through coalition efforts and in concert with the local governments affected by thesegroups, we will continue to ensure they do not possess the capacity and capability to exert theirwill.
As we move into the middle of the twenty first century, it is imperative that we maintain our
technological advantage over our competitors. As the diffusion of military technology
permeates the globe, it will become increasingly difficult to maintain the advantage that we’ve
enjoyed for last seven decades.
This year’s budget will adequately fund our department priorities, with bias on the future while
ensuring we continue to deter the adversaries of today. The character of warfare is changing in afundamental way. How we fight, the weapons, doctrine, organizations and leader development
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are all undergoing a transformation not seen in scale and scope since the decades between WorldWar I and World War II. The current rapid and radical change in technology along with its
diffusive nature will provide decisive advantage to those nation states that best master theconvergence and capability in precisions munitions, all domain sensors, all domain commandand control, robotics, hypersonics and artificial intelligence. Our collective success or failure toadapt the United States military to this future as a Nation is an increasingly challenging security
environment.
Climate change presents a growing threat to U.S. national security interests and defense
objectives. The adverse impacts of climate change are already being felt across the Joint Force interms of increased operational demands, adverse impacts on our installations and new
requirements for equipment and formations able to operate in a world defined by climate change
and as a contributing factor to regional instability.
As we enter the third quarter of this fiscal year, it is imperative that we finish the fight against
COVID-19. The Joint Force has contributed planning and logistics expertise during all phases ofthe pandemic response and continues to assist with vaccination efforts. We will continue to beable to provide equipment, personnel, and vaccine deployment and development assistance whencalled upon to assist. We all should be very proud of the conduct of our Joint Force and ourability to continue to deploy and defend the interests of the United States during thisunprecedented global event as the pandemic has only modestly impacted the Joint Force’s
readiness.
Our alliances and partnerships are key to maintaining the international rules-based order thatoffer the best opportunities for peace and prosperity for America and the globe. This budget
allows us to build our partners and allies capabilities, foster interoperability, and strengthen
relationships. Doing so allows us, our allies, and partners to counter the coercion of our strategiccompetitors, the malign activity of regional threats, and meet the varied security challenges stateand non-state actors, terrorism, climate change, and pandemics or any other threat that may
emerge. We are stronger when we operate closely with our allies and partners.
Readiness and Modernization
The Joint Force is in a position where modernization is an imperative. We must avoid thetyranny of the now at the expense of our future. The United States as a nation has always had theadvantage and time to conduct a long build up prior to the beginning of hostilities. The operating
environment of the future will likely not afford us the luxury of time to project force so having
modernized forces in sufficient size and readiness will be the key to sustaining deterrence andmaintaining the peace and if deterrence fails then fight and win.
The Interim National Security Strategic Guidance, National Defense Strategy, and National
Military Strategy discuss the re-emergence of strategic competition and directs the Joint Force todevelop the capabilities and capacity to counter near-peer threats. Strategic adversaries areaccelerating military modernization; to maintain military advantage, the Joint Force must adapt
to the future operating environment. It is imperative that we maintain US technological4

advantage over our adversaries and improve the concepts and doctrine which organize ourconduct of warfare. In the fall of 2019, the Secretary of Defense tasked the Joint Staff to develop
a threat-informed Joint Warfighting Concept (JWC) to address strategic conflict. The Joint
Warfighting Concept will guide and revitalize how we organize, train, and equip the Joint Force.
It will constantly evolve to help us shape our strategic environment and future operations. The
JWC is a multi-year effort to develop a comprehensive approach for joint operations against
future threats and provide a guide for future force design and development. Supporting concepts
to the JWC describe key warfighting functions. They are fires, logistics, C2, and information
advantage. The Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) framework enables theholistic development and realization of the JWC and Supporting Concepts. JADC2 today is
beginning to deliver the capability to sense, and act at speeds greater than our adversaries.
JADC2 uses data, artificial intelligence, machine learning and predictive analytics to create
decisive information advantage at all echelons in the Joint Force.
Utilizing cloud-based networks and agile software development, our modular open sourced
systems will deliver the necessary strategic operational advantage required within bothcompetition and conflict. Our JADC2 architecture is increasingly providing the attributes andinterfaces to transition to a data-centric force able to operate at scale within multiple security
levels and across all-domains and the electro-magnetic spectrum.
We will also revise our leader development Joint Professional Military Education to support the
JWC. Specifically, we are increasing the amount of JPME devoted to the study of the changing
character of war and both China and Russia as potential adversaries.
In addition to adapting our concepts, doctrine, training, and military education, we must continue
to invest in capabilities that close gaps or sustain our advantage. Key investments in this budget
are nuclear modernization, long range fires, hypersonic technology, shipbuilding, space andcyber.
Nuclear modernization: The nuclear triad has been the bedrock of our strategic deterrent for
decades. Together, the three legs of the Triad allow us to hedge against geopolitical,
technological, operational and programmatic risks. Our Cold War era systems have been
extended beyond their original service lives and we must recapitalize our nuclear enterprise.
Modernization of our nuclear forces, weapons complex, and requisite nuclear command, control,and communications (NC3) capabilities are a high priority. The Department projects the cost ofmodernization will peak at 7% of the DoD budget in 2029 before decreasing again. If theseprojections bear out, compared to past modernization efforts, the cost would be significantly lessas a proportion of the overall DoD budget – the nuclear recapitalization in the 1980s cost 10.6%
at its peak and 17% in the early-1960s.
Long range fires: provide key offensive capabilities that are both cost-effective and costimposing means of improving deterrence. By enabling power projection from standoff ranges,
the risk to critical U.S. assets decreases while the defensive burden imposed upon the enemy
increases. China has thousands of ground-launched theater-range missiles in its arsenal that5

would be difficult for the U.S. to counter given its current inventories. Investments in long range
missiles are a cost-effective strategy that improves our ability to compete with China. Recent
budget requests have enhanced the lethality and resilience of the Joint Force by developing andexpanding the long-range fires portfolio. PB22 funding is essential to mitigate offensive fires
capacity shortcomings, enhance operational flexibility in multiple domains, and accelerate thetransition of hypersonic weapons from development to procurement and fielding. PB22 balances
long-range fires investments between both proven solutions and higher risk/high-payoff systems,
such as hypersonic fires.
Hypersonic technology: Hypersonics are a suite of capabilities that provide transformational
warfighting capability to our Joint Force. Our competitors are investing in this capability and inorder to provide our Joint Force with the best possible technology we will need to invest to
defend the nation, our allies and partners.
Legacy platform divestment: Continuing to purchase and maintain legacy equipment takesneeded defense dollars away from the acquisition of systems that are needed for modernization.
We need to divest select legacy platform to ensure that every defense dollar spent on programsand equipment that will be relevant in the next fight.
Shipbuilding: The industrial base continues to be the fundamental enabler for achieving andsustaining the Navy’s future fleet. Our shipbuilding and supporting vendor base are a national
security capability that needs support to grow and maintain a skilled workforce. The FY 2022
President’s Budget reflects the Administration’s strong commitment to continued American
naval dominance, including a properly sized and well-positioned industrial base to meet thedemands of our current and future defense needs. Commitment to the steady acquisition profiles
underlying our budget is key to ensure the industrial base achieves the capability and capacity
required to build and maintain the Navy’s future fleet. The conclusions from past force structure
analyses have been fully considered and simple ship count is an incomplete metric, as it fails to
fully capture the capability, payload capacity, and employment of ship classes in the fleet. Thisbudget specifically procures warships and submarines with credible combat power to deter China
while continuing remotely operated ship development and investing in the industrial base tosupport fleet modernization and on time delivery of the Columbia class submarine.
Space: Space is essential to our way of life; space capabilities are essential to our economy,
quality of life, our exploration initiatives, and our ability to wage war. Competitors are testing
and fielding space weapons that threaten not just our National interests and advancements inspace, but those of all nations that rely upon space. Russia has recently tested both a groundbased anti-satellite missile and an on-orbit anti-satellite weapon prototype which threatens ourspace capabilities. In 2007, China destroyed a satellite to demonstrate their anti-satellite
capabilities and the resulting debris will remain in orbit, threatening commercial, civil, andnational security satellites for more than a century. Left unsecured, our capabilities in space may
become strategic vulnerabilities.

6Cyber: Adversaries continue to use operations in the cyber domain as a means to compete with
the U.S. and pursue a position of advantage in crisis and conflict. Malign cyberspace actors
increasingly exploit supply chain vulnerabilities, such as commercial software, to gain network
access and conduct cyber operations against U.S. citizens, organizations, and institutions. The
low cost/barrier to entry and anonymity that cyberspace provides make this domain a priority
focus for adversaries to asymmetrically compete without escalation. Therefore, we must increase
our ability to compete in cyberspace and ensure all elements of informational power are
integrated into operations, activities, and efforts to deter our adversaries and protect the U.S.
homeland. This requires DoD to invest in partners and technology, building and maturing cyber
operations and readiness, reducing risk to weapon systems and critical infrastructure,strengthening cybersecurity, and improving network resiliency.
Advanced Capabilities
The changing character of war necessitates that we continue to modernize and innovate. We
must be able to have clear linkage from sensors to shooters in an advanced information
environment with the technology present to protect our warfighters, critical assets, andhomeland. Investment in ensuring reliable supplies of microelectronics, advanced network
technology such as 5G, and artificial intelligence will ensure that we maintain our technologicaledge over our adversaries. The current globally distributed supply chains present vulnerabilities
to the Joint Forces’ ability to acquire necessary parts and technology in the event of a crisis thateither prevents the manufacture, or shipping of material to our units in the field.
Advanced microelectronics are the key element in all of the Department’s modernization
efforts, from Artificial Intelligence and Hypersonic Weapon Systems to Fifth Generation
Wireless Networks. High-speed connectivity will transform the way militaries operate.
Tomorrow's warfighters will use local and expeditionary 5G networks to move massive amountsof data to connect distant sensors and weapons into a dense, resilient battlefield network.
Communication networks are fundamental to how the United States trains, plans, and engages
adversaries. The U.S. military must utilize the connectivity provided by 5G to operate with the
speed, precision, and efficiency necessary to remain effective and survivable in the future.
U.S. Army: The Army faces an inflection point that requires innovation, creativity, andentrepreneurship in the application of combat power. The battlefield is increasingly faster, morelethal, and more distributed. Overmatch will belong to the side that can make better decisions
faster. To meet emerging challenges, the Army is transforming to provide the Joint Force withthe speed, range, and convergence of cutting edge technologies that will generate the decision
dominance and overmatch required to win the next fight. The Army’s materiel modernizationtransformation is based on the six modernization priorities announced in 2018: Long Range
Precision Fires, Next Generation Combat Vehicle, Future Vertical Lift, the Army Network, Air
and Missile Defense, and Soldier Lethality. By 2035, the Army will realize its vision of a multidomain force. Decisive outcomes in war are ultimately achieved on land where people live andmaintaining a capable land force in the United States Army is key to our overall deterrence
capability and national security.
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U.S. Navy: America is a maritime nation. Our security and prosperity are inextricably linked tothe seas. To sustain America’s advantage at sea, we must deliver combat-ready forces to deter
aggression and keep the seas free and open. Deploying battle-ready ships, submarines, andsquadrons around the world—from the South China Sea to the Arctic—deters aggression,
reaffirms our commitment to allies and partners, and keeps the seas open and free. Readinessunderpins our forward-engaged posture and touches all elements of the Navy, from our shipyards
and aviation depots to the steaming and flying hours our Sailors use to hone their skills. Thisbudget prioritizes a fleet that is ready for combat over a larger fleet that is not ready to fight.
U.S. Marine Corps: The Marine Corps is optimizing the force for competition in the vast littoral
regions of the globe by modernizing the force for Strategic Competition. As codified in law,
Marines serve in cooperation with the Navy in the conduct of naval campaigns. As international
relations are defined more by periods of cooperation and competition, the Marine Corps will
focus on the competition phase before conflict by generating a persistent reconnaissance force
for the Joint Force that has organic long-range, precision fires with mobility. Thus far, they havefully invested in their modernization by divesting of capabilities and capacities that no longer
offer the best value for a maritime force in the contact and blunt layer.
U.S. Air Force: Moving forward, the Air Force will prioritize its resources to transform ourequipment, support our Airmen, and bolster our core missions. To deter and defeat today’scompetitors and tomorrow’s adversaries, this budget continues to re-capitalize our Air Force.
The Air Force is retiring legacy platforms with a bias toward the future, so that we can focus onaircraft that can penetrate high end defenses. A cutting edge Air Force that is without peer isfundamental to successful land or sea operations and is the key element to maintaining
deterrence and sustaining the force.
U.S. Space Force: The Space Force investments accelerate modernization of the entire Joint
Force. Space Force capabilities underwrite, enhance, and enable Joint Force operations. The
Space Force protects U.S capabilities and freedom of operation outpacing actions of ourcompetitors.
Ongoing actions to fully resource the United States Space Force (USSF) including transfer of theSpace Development Agency (SDA) and unit transfers from the Army and Navy, will enhance the
USSF’s ability to organize, train, equip and present forces who can compete, deter and if
necessary prevail should war initiate in, or extend to space.

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People First / People and Families
People are our most important resource in the Joint Force. We must ensure that we are doing allthat we can do to take care of and guard our most critical resource. Taking care of people is a
critical readiness issue, it decisively impacts unit cohesion, recruitment, retention, andconfidence in leadership. The Joint Force has been working to rid our military from the scourge
of sexual assault and sexual harassment for years. We must do more to finally implement real
and lasting change. Sexual assault undermines our military values and undercuts our ability tofield a cohesive fighting force. Sexual assault and harassment prevention, response andaccountability are leadership issues. We will hold DoD leaders at every level responsible forbuilding a safe environment for our people, guaranteeing anyone who does not act within thehighest standards of the Joint Force is held accountable.
We will not tolerate actions that go against the fundamental principles of the oath we share,including actions associated with extremist ideologies. Extremism also destroys readinessbecause it destroys cohesion. Extremism presents a complex and unique challenge to DoD. We
must meet this head-on, and place the highest importance on treating all personnel with dignity
and respect, in an environment free from discrimination, harassment, and maltreatment. We mustbe ever vigilant in our efforts to identify and counter extremist behavior within our ranks.
We continuously earn the trust of our service members and their families by ensuring that they
continue to receive excellent quality of life benefits. Our premier all-volunteer force willcontinue to be the greatest in history only if we continuously affirm how much we value theservice that our military and civilian members provide their country.
The Joint Force is committed to growing our talent and ensuring that all who meet therequirements to serve are able to serve. The Joint Force competes for the talent of America’s
youth along with every other business, and organization who seeks our Nation’s best andbrightest. Service to Nation is a worthwhile cause and we welcome all who are eligible to serve.
Despite our inclusive approach only 29% of today’s youth are eligible for military Service
without a waiver. The Joint Force’s objective is to field the most lethal and combat effective
fighting force in the world. We will continue to support the accessions of all qualified people toall jobs and positions within the Joint Force.
The Nation’s largest employer-sponsored child care program supports our Joint Force, with morethan 27,000 staff members providing daily care for more than 160,000 children aged birth to 12
years in approximately 700 nationally-accredited child care centers. Taking care of families is aholistic approach that ensures that our troops are ready to fight because they know their families
are well cared for.
Housing our forces is critical to ensure that our junior and most vulnerable families are able tolive in a healthy environment wherever the Nation calls them to serve. Families don’t raise theirhand and join the service. We as a nation owe it to our troops to ensure they have what theyneed. The Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI) reform efforts are actions that will
improve the tenant experience, rebuilt tenant trust, and maintain MHPI housing project financial
9viability. The MHPI Tenant Bill of Rights (BOR), issued in February 2020, is a visible andimportant commitment in DoD’s larger effort to regain resident trust.
Achieving Through Teamwork
We in the Joint Force are a team of teams. Sworn to support and defend the constitution,
teamwork is our watchword. There is no daylight between the services when it comes to ensuring
the security of the American people. The Joint Force is a collective effort, and no services everfights alone.
Joint exercises with all services, allies and partners participating are a key component to ourwarfighting readiness. Ensuring that exercises such as Defender Pacific and Defender Europe
continue and that we fastidiously increase the number of participants and complexity in these
exercises will guarantee the best preparation for war and a mechanism to demonstrate ourcommitment and resolve to those who wish to question our friends and our capabilities.
Conclusion
The United States Joint Force is a flexible and adaptable force ready to deter, fight, and win our
Nation’s wars. The PB22 budget request increases the readiness of the force by developing the
Joint Force of the future, ensuring people are our number one priority, and positioning us toachieve through teamwork. America’s network of allies and partners is a strategic source ofstrength. Many enemies have grossly underestimated the United States and the American people
in the past. They’ve underestimated our national resolve. They’ve underestimated our capability,
our skill and our combat power, and each made a fatal choice which ended with their enrollment
in the dustbin of history. The same will be true of any enemy that makes that mistake today or
tomorrow. We are ready now, and will remain so in the future, we are also facing tough strategic
choices, and we are being increasingly challenged with very capable potential adversaries,
clearly acting in opposition of our interests. Our job as your Joint Force, our contract with theAmerican people is that we, the United States military will always be ready to deter our enemies
and if deterrence fails then to fight and win.

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