Rob Wittman

Tactical lift is critically important. Maintaining the skill level and the experience with those aircrews and those pilots is key.

There is a tremendous amount of innovation and creation out there, and what I hear constantly is the high level of frustration

I want to know what you are doing internally to fix this systemic acquisitions issue

I just don't think the appropriators understood the critical nature of that and why it was needed.

I think mobility is critically important. If you can move, you obviously lessen the risk there in the battlefield.

I want them to come into my National Defense Reserve Fleet.

I share your frustration, because I wanted to move faster, but we are heading in that direction, sir.

By any other measure in any other place, that would be unacceptable, and I would say it is unacceptable here

If there is not a long-term strategy about how we recapitalize, then it deeply concerns me

This reduction further limits our ability to project forces in times of conflict. In my estimation, this is quite simply a dereliction of duty.

This committee and our Nation is better because of your service, and we honor you, and we will miss you.

I appreciate your leadership and your friendship.

It is also not helpful that when we do one of these exercises against a partner or an upcoming ally, to go public with these operations.

The freedom of navigation Ops themselves, and also associated operations, special reconnaissance-type operations, being routinized over the last few years, is extremely positive.

Frankly, China is not abiding by cues, as I understand it from talking to naval operators.

These operations are designed to gain advantage without provoking a conventional military response, and they are, therefore, difficult to counter effectively.

I have faith in our Nation, our democracy, and our ideals.

I fervently believe that the best way to preserve the peace is to prepare for war.

I believe the United States needs to take several steps to deter this collision.

This increasing Chinese brinkmanship may likely, at some point, conclude in a violent confrontation.

Weakness begets aggression, and I categorically reject this path.

The U.S., in both the Obama administration and the Trump administration, endorsed the tribunal's ruling.

This is an incredibly important strategic issue.

I am concerned about what Russia is doing on the continent.

That is a constant dynamic is mitigating risk today versus risk in the future