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Secretary for Homeland Defense was created to coordinate all DOD civil support functions.

These are important steps toward aligning Pentagon management with current missions. But below those top-level structures, particularly in the National Guard and Reserve units trained in security operations, there has been little change in what many view as an accelerating, unsustainable tempo of domestic taskings and foreign deployments. Personnel and equipment used for homeland defense missions are not available for war fighting tasks. Reserve and Guard call-ups draw heavily from local first responder ranks, degrading domestic readiness.

This apparent conflict between global security and homeland defense responsibilities strains a total force structure heavily reliant on seamless integration of Reserve components and active duty units.

The threat of terrorism demands new tactics abroad and new modes of military vigilance at home. Missions and skills that were scattered in secondary considerations in the cold war strategy must now be as manned and ready as global force projection packages. To train as they fight, military units have to practice on our streets alongside civilian first responders. Equipment inoperability standards and communication channels have to be established before the next attack is upon us.

So today we ask how military force structures, doctrine and training are being transformed to integrate homeland defense and civil support missions into a unified, sustainable defense posture. Our witnesses all bring impressive experience and important insights to our discussion today. We appreciate their time, we appreciate their devotion to our country, and we look forward to their testimony.

[The prepared statement of Hon. Christopher Shays follows:]

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Statement of Rep. Christopher Shays
April 29, 2003

We fight abroad to be safe at home. Successful military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq demonstrate an unmatched capacity, and newfound willingness, to confront emerging threats where they nest, before they can migrate to our shores. But the battle lines in the global war against terrorism reach from Kabul to Cleveland, from Baghdad to Bridgeport. The threat demands a new military posture on the home front as well.

Today we examine efforts to reform and restructure Department of Defense (DOD) capabilities to defend the U.S. homeland and support civil authorities in the event of terrorist attacks.

The Cold War strategic pillars of containment, deterrence, reaction and mutually assured destruction crumbled on September 11th 2001. Since then, we have been building a new security paradigm, a strategy that is proactive, preventive and when necessary preemptive. Significant strides have been made to reshape and refocus military capabilities to meet an uncertain world of lethal intentions and unconventional capabilities overseas. But at home, less has been accomplished to clarify the structural, legal and fiscal implications of new military operations within the sovereign borders of the states.

Statement of Rep. Christopher Shays

April 29, 2003

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New strategic realities prompted the creation of the Northern Command, or NORTHCOM, to unify all DOD homeland defense activities under one military authority. And the position of Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense was created to coordinate all DOD civil support functions. These are important steps toward aligning Pentagon management with current missions.

But below those top-level structures, particularly in the National Guard and Reserve units trained in security operations, there has been little change in what many view as an accelerating, unsustainable tempo of domestic taskings and foreign deployments. Personnel and equipment used for homeland defense missions are not available for war fighting tasks. Reserve and Guard call-ups draw heavily from local first responder ranks, degrading domestic readiness. This apparent conflict between global security and homeland defense responsibilities strains a "Total Force" structure heavily reliant on seamless integration of reserve component and active duty units.

The threat of terrorism demands new tactics abroad and new modes of military vigilance at home. Missions and skills that were scattered and secondary considerations in the Cold War strategy must now be as manned and ready as global force projection packages. To "train as they fight" military units have to practice on our streets along side civilian first responders. Equipment interoperability standards and communications channels have to be established before the next attack is upon us.

So today we ask how military force structures, doctrine and training are being transformed to integrate homeland defense and civil support missions into a unified, sustainable defense posture. Our witnesses all bring impressive experience and important insights to our discussion today. We appreciate their time and we look forward to their testimony.

Mr. SHAYS. At this time, I would like to call on my colleague, Mr. Murphy, to see if he has any statement to make.

I note for the record the vice chairman has come in. So let me just call on the witnesses.

We have two excellent panels. Our first panel is the Honorable Paul McHale, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense, Department of Defense, former Member of Congress, a good friend, and I will say one of the best Members of Congress when he served here. So I think that the Department of Defense is blessed to have you.

Mr. MCHALE. Thank you, sir.

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Thomas F. Hall, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, Department of Defense; and Lieutenant General Edward Anderson III, Deputy Commander, U.S. Northern Command and Northern Aerospace Defense Command.

Gentlemen, as is our custom, we swear our witnesses in, so I would ask you to rise.

[Witnesses sworn.]

Mr. SHAYS. I will note for the record that all three of our witnesses and an assistant have responded in the affirmative.

I am going to do our housekeeping part here and ask unanimous consent that all members of the subcommittee be permitted to place an opening statement in the record and that the record remain open for 3 days for that purpose. Without objection, so ordered.

I ask further unanimous consent that all witnesses be permitted to include their written statement in the record; and without objection, so ordered.

We will-this is what we do in this committee. We have the clock set for 5 minutes. We roll over for another 5, so you have technically 10 minutes. We would like you to finish somewhere between that 5 and 10. If you get to 10, all hell breaks loose.

Then we would-with the number of Members here, we do 10minute questioning. We think that gets at better getting the information we need. So we will just go in the order that I introduced

you.

Mr. McHale, welcome; you have the floor.

STATEMENTS OF PAUL MCHALE, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR HOMELAND DEFENSE; THOMAS F. HALL, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR RESERVE AFFAIRS; AND LIEUTENANT GENERAL EDWARD G. ANDERSON III, DEPUTY COMMANDER, U.S. NORTHERN COMMAND AND AEROSPACE DEFENSE COMMAND

Mr. MCHALE. Thank you, sir.

Good afternoon. I truly am deeply honored to be here; and I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your kind words a few moments ago.

As noted, Mr. Chairman, I previously submitted my formal statement for the record. Rather than reading that in terms of its verbatim text, I will simply submit it for the record.

If I may, sir, with your consent, I will provide a brief opening comment for the record.

Mr. SHAYS. Sure.

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Mr. MCHALE. Mr. Chairman, distinguished members of the subcommittee, President Bush has said that the world changed on September 11, 2001. We learned that a threat that gathers on the other side of the Earth can strike our own cities and kill our own citizens. It is an important lesson, one we must never forget.

Oceans no longer protect America from the dangers of this world. We are protected by daily vigilance at home, and we will be protected by resolute and decisive action against threats abroad.

Secretary Wolfowitz echoed those comments when he said, perhaps even more pointedly, "as terrible as the attacks of September the 11th were, we now know that terrorists are plotting still more and greater catastrophes. We know they are seeking more terrible weapons, chemical, biological and even nuclear weapons."

Congressman Shays, in your opening remarks you noted that we fight abroad to be safe at home, and therefore at the outset we should recognize that America's first line of domestic defense really begins overseas and results from the capabilities of our forward deployed forces. In that sense, Secretary Rumsfeld has correctly noted that the annual homeland defense budget of the Department is $380 billion.

After September 11, it was recognized that in order to ensure the security of the American people it was necessary to create a new geographic combatant command with the specific assigned mission of defending the United States, our citizens, our territory and our freedoms.

The mission of NORTHCOM is, "United States Northern Command conducts operations to deter, prevent and defeat threats and aggression aimed at the United States, its territories and interests within the assigned areas of responsibility; as directed by the President or Secretary of Defense provides military assistance to civil authorities, including consequence management operations."

NORTHCOM therefore has a mission statement that can be separated into two parts. Preceding the semicolon, the mission statement is one of war fighting. That is to physically defend the United States of America.

The second part of the mission statement relates to civil support; and that is, under extraordinary circumstances, when the Department of Defense has a unique capability or civilian officials are overwhelmed by the task at hand, to provide to those civilian agencies, both State and Federal, with the lead civilian agency establishing the goals and the military providing the support to assist those civilian agencies in addressing the mission at hand.

NORTHCOM's force structure is unique among the combatant commands. Very few forces are permanently assigned, although appropriate units have been identified for possible mission employment.

NORTHCOM's Commander is Air Force General Ed Eberhardt. He is located with his command at headquarters Peterson Air Force Base.

The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense is a position that was newly created by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2003. I was privileged to be nominated for that position and 3 months ago confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

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