how do you justify retaining it as an O-10 position in light of the Army decision that the Commander of U.S. Army Europe is a lieutenant general?

So you get overall statutory authority from Congress.

Right. I understand, but you could have a totally different allocation among the Services if the Secretary of Defense, for instance, were to decide--is that a correct assumption--from this statutory ceiling.

Thank you, Dr. Freeman.

We all know that when someone looks at the rank on an Active Duty member's shoulders and sees the general officer or an admiral, they pretty much tend to think--and I hope rightly so--that there is equivalence in terms of what it takes to…

What is the plan to review the general and flag officer requirements in the Reserve components?

Sir, the bottom line, we have looked at both a functional alignment and a regional alignment and the scope and breadth and depth of the requirements of those, and over time, the combatant commanders in each case have advocated through the…

Let me be clear about a couple of things. I totally agree with you.

You indicated in the study--I will start, Secretary Stanley, with you again--that the objective in this case was not to determine how many G/FOs were required. What would have been your methodology if you actually were to determine how…

So essentially in terms of how this process works inside DOD, you have a statutory ceiling in terms of the number of flags that can be allocated among the Services. Is that correct?

I would assume that Secretary Panetta also supports this process that Secretary Gates put into play?

I think that this is an area that we are just beginning to get a look at, and there is a Guard and Reserve component in here that has not been examined.

does the presence of a four-star commander unnecessarily lead to inflated grades of the principal staff officers and is further study of this required?

each Service has a Chief and Vice Chief, but beyond that there appears to be little consistency across the Services

Has your Service reviewed your European Command position to determine whether it should remain an O-10 position?

Their testimony, their assertions, are absolutely false. My legislation does not in any way change the size standards of the existing program and in fact explicitly has a provision that this pilot program at GSA for mid-tier companies to…

I don't believe that is true. I believe experience will prove that it is not true.

Some of the fears expressed are understandable, but I think if you look at the respective bills Mr. Rogers and I have introduced, they are limited pilot programs and they keep the small business set-aside entirely intact.