Yes, if confirmed, I would consider commissioning an independent review and assessment of the BMD acquisition program.

It is my belief that it would be a serious strategic mistake to have all of those key assets of our Navy tied up in one port.

Do you have in your mind that you're going, as CNO, to implement a plan for carrying out this principle of strategic dispersal?

Can you describe for the committee what kind of investments you think that are necessary at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg in order to sustain and modernize these launch facilities so you could have operationally responsive space?

The Atlantic fleet should continue to be dispersed in two home ports.

I want to ask you about--as we're trying to give the warfighter and the commander greater flexibility of getting up smaller satellites in operationally responsive space.

My judgment is that dispersion is still the situation. A nuclear carrier should be in Florida to replace the John F. Kennedy to get some dispersion.

If confirmed, will you pledge to work closely with this committee to ensure rigorous oversight of the Department's missile defense program?

I think that point of view is very important, Senator Collins, to get across, because the way the questions were framed before would cast some doubt on those of us who would support Senator Warner's resolution.

We were not told the truth about weapons of mass destruction, nor about troop strengths, nor about the cost of the war, nor about the sectarian violence.

Let me tell you about a conversation I had with our Ambassador Khalilzad and General Casey. They both said--this was back before Christmas--that they would not support a surge unless there is a specific plan for success, and the ambassador…

I suspect what you have just said is correct, that we do not have the ability to produce a lot more.