Whatever the number is, and I'm pleased to get it to us broken down along those dimensions, would you agree with my first statement that the upshot number is not good for the health of the Air Force and for the security of our nation?

The nature of this future battlefield... makes that unavoidable.

No doubt about that as was true in the Cold War as well in Central America and Grenada and the threats from Cuba.

Given the changing face of war in the future... what differences would you expect to see in ground combat leaders of the future?

For the life of our country, we have mostly thought away games, especially in the last 100 years.

I commend Chairman Cotton, Senator King, and the rest of the Airland Subcommittee for beginning this conversation.

Deploying large numbers of American military forces onto foreign soil to nation-build vice accomplishing a defined mission is counter-productive.

The pace and tenor of our lives has been irrevocably altered by the acceleration of change.

The biggest challenge our defense establishment faces is one of institutional inertia.

We can no longer afford this misalignment--not only is it costly, but it also poses undue risk.

We got stuck in Iraq and Afghanistan because we cared about the political outcomes of those countries afterwards.

I do expect that we will be fighting away games because, quite frankly, that is a premise of our national security strategy.

Very good. That is a great step in the right direction. That is encouraging.

We have to contend with increasing personnel and procurement costs at a time when defense budgets are decreasing.

I was pleased that recently, I believe Dr. Shulkin said that we were going to be looking at commercial applications.

Our defense strategy must contend with non-state and transnational actors; a rising economic and military powerhouse in China.

We are currently moving ahead to implement a commercial scheduling solution called MASS, the Medical Appointment Scheduling System.

We appreciate your preaching job for today, and we appreciate all of you for being here.