Let me just ask you a quick question on the budget.

Today we know we have gay and lesbians soldiers serving. They've served in the past. They're going to serve in the future and they're going to serve in a very valiant way.

The primary purpose of the Armed Forces is to prepare for and to prevail in combat should the need arise.

I'm very proud of your service and your continuing commitment to our military Services.

While the Taliban can't stop the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, it appears that the red cockaded woodpecker in Georgia has at least slowed down the transfer of the Armor School.

Why didn't you tell us that the JET was going to come out with a report that disagreed with the IOC date being met?

I know there's tremendous pressure on you from the administration and other arenas to promote this change, and we look forward to continuing this debate and to the study.

Why didn't you tell this committee last year when we had testimony on the termination of the F-22 program that the JET was going to come back with a report a week after the vote last year on the floor of the Senate that confirmed their…

We need effective systems, but we shouldn't require perfect systems.

The United States will fund the European PAA, and the European PAA will represent the U.S. contribution to NATO's missile defense efforts.

I'm concerned about future policy-related and programmatic challenges.

In my view, BMD testing is qualitatively different from testing for other types of weapon systems.

Are you confident that the Navy can both refit their cruiser-destroyer force with Aegis technology while simultaneously meeting the maritime demands of our regional combatant commanders?

In the short term, I believe that U.S. forces have the ability to prevail in the event of a conflict in the PACOM AOR.

with the exception of the U.S., all nuclear weapon states continue to modernize their nuclear weapon stockpiles and in some cases grow them further.

As you look out 20-30 years in the future, U.S. interests in South Asia will only increase.

China continues to develop weapons systems, technologies and concepts of operation that support anti-access and area denial strategies in the Western Pacific.

There has not been universal acceptance in Congress of this approach.