Ronald Dellums: “let us talk about where we can cut. First, our whole approach to our force structure, our readiness levels, our…”

“let us talk about where we can cut. First, our whole approach to our force structure, our readiness levels, our modernization schedule, et cetera, are all based on a bible that was generated as a result of the Persian Gulf War. Remember, Mr. Chairman, when Saddam Hussein went into Kuwait, we did not within 48 hours suddenly put our troops out there and start to wage war. We built up troops. The first thing we did was we put 4,000 troops in Kuwait to show resolve. Secondly, we put an aircraft carrier in the area, and then for several months, about 7 months, we built up forces, 500,000 troops. Then we said, now we are going to fight Saddam Hussein. After that was all over, we then created a Bible that said, you have to be on location to wage a war within 48 hours. Now, stop and think about the implications: for the forward deployment, billions of dollars; force structure, billions of dollars; inventory, billions of dollars. All Members have to do is slow down the response time from 48 hours to a more reasonable amount of time and they can save billions of dollars; no radical idea, just sound planning and thoughtful tactical and strategic approaches.”