Mr. Chairman, thank you. And thank you for convening this hearing on a very important topic that will have significant impacts on the readiness of our forces as we wind down in Afghanistan.

I just want to go on record to thank Chairman Wittman for leading a few members here from the HASC Committee to a CODEL in Afghanistan and parts of Africa.

We were all so very proud to see our American troops who are training the African security forces and for the very harsh conditions that they are having to endure.

That kind of money a veteran can't come up with.

I want to applaud the efforts of the Army working with the Air Force, TRANSCOM, and MDA in deploying the THAAD battery to Guam last year.

I am pleased to hear that you are committed to maintaining the Reserve Components as an operational force.

It was recently brought to my attention in my office that the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy may be allowing service members to be honorably discharged without fulfilling their Active Duty service commitments [ADSC] in reference to the…

I am concerned that the strategy does not adequately account for the potential of the Army supporting additional missile defense capabilities in the Pacific.

I have taken a couple of CODELs [congressional delegations] that have visited Guam out to look over the THAAD operation.

I appreciate your commitment to the rebalance of the Asia-Pacific region.

I think we should be repairing in a U.S. facility.

I would like to understand how the budget supports equipping the Navy to address ISR requirements in the Asia-Pacific region.

And I think this year's budget does show a clear commitment on your part to our rebalance strategy.

I understand that there has been an active debate within the Navy regarding the role of the UCLASS program and what missions it will fulfill.

What kind of technologies is the Navy investing in to support the Pacific-focused military strategy?

Would there be any way that we could lift these restrictions on the spending of these funds?

Are we looking to expand this program further in the Pacific and Africa Commands AOR?

I greatly appreciate the commitment to the rebalance in the fiscal year 2015 budget.