Our enlisted members are as smart as they've ever been. I'm impressed, wherever I go, with our people. What really sets us apart from militaries of other nations are our NCO corps and senior enlisted people who are so responsible and capable. Already having on his team what he considers the best troops in the world, Prueher would like to go shopping for some new equipment. I don't think that's a fair rap.
Modernization means future readiness.
My successor, two or three times removed, is going to need modern equipment, so we need to modernize now. We watch carefully what's going on with the Army at the National Training Center, where they're testing a digitized battlefield and comprehensive information awareness. That's something we would like to eventually have in this theater, because it will make our soldiers much more effective. Closer to home, the Pacific Fleet is testing a multilayered information web that would link Pacific Command with all of its components and joint task force commanders. It could eventually reduce the number of people we need on the staff.