Jim Inhofe

The reason I am asking this, we want to get something started on the record now to prepare for that possibility.

You see that is the past. I am projecting forward.

Even though it was totally arbitrary.

The reason for that is--it is a security reason that we have to keep that capability there.

That would be great.

So I think the short answer is no.

Thank you, General Daly.

I am convinced of this, and I think we need to get those up.

What kind of progress have we made on that?

Yes, of course. One of those, obviously, is going to be maintenance. Any time all four services have gone through what you have gone through, it is O&M [Operation & Maintenance]. It is maintenance and modernization.

Well, it wasn't closed last year when it was at 33 at that time. So we are somewhere between there.

It was kind of interesting, when I was watching down at Fort Sill, the 6-foot extension and what it did to the range, while it increased the range from this to this, I do not remember the numbers, it still left a void in between.

We are not ahead in everything.

I am just going to do it one at a time, starting with you, General McConville.

What I want to do is I am going to go ahead and shift over to you, and then come back, and I want to specifically talk about, each branch represented here, about the unique problems that you have.

The answer is yes. But every strategy has some degree of risk to it.

I think we are on the right pace to do that.

I remember talking about this on the floor. What if we are wrong on this? And sure enough, we were wrong.

It might help if the appropriators can give us some flexibility, so we can spend 2018 money in 2019.

Stable funding over time at the right amount, with paying attention to our people, will get us out of the hole.

But truly, lost opportunity and lost time are something that is not a one-for-one recovery.

We know what has happened to us with our 17 years of sustained fighting.

We did dodge a bullet, in terms of CRs.

We ask that Congress end the Continuing Resolution and provide the funds requested in our fiscal year 2018 submission.

A predictable budget, one that we proposed for fiscal year 2018, will ensure our sailors and shipyard employees have the time required to complete maintenance availabilities.