Key Takeaways
- •James W. Kilby (Vice Chief of Naval Operations, U.S. Navy) confirmed the Joint Force is engaged in Operation Epic Fury, revealing a U.S. submarine recently sank an Iranian combatant.
- •Diana C. Maurer (Director, Defense Capabilities and Management, U.S. Government Accountability Office) reported a mixed readiness picture, citing 150 open recommendations and "vendor lock" issues hindering critical weapon system sustainment.
- •Sen. Warren (D-MA) obtained commitments from all five Vice Chiefs to submit data by month's end identifying equipment where lack of technical data prevents service members from performing repairs.
- •Sen. Sullivan (R-AK) highlighted Arctic incursions and Iranian aggression, while Sen. Hirono (D-HI) criticized the "politicization" of the military and questioned the review of women in combat roles.
- •These readiness assessments and munitions burn rate data will inform the subcommittee’s markup of the National Defense Authorization Act to address industrial base deficiencies and sustain high-end combat capabilities.
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Hearing Analysis
Overview
The Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support met on March 4, 2026, to examine the current readiness of the United States Joint Force. Chaired by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), the hearing occurred against the backdrop of active military engagements in the Middle East, specifically Operation Epic Fury against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies. The hearing served as a foundational session for the upcoming markup of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), focusing on lethality, sustainment, and the health of the defense industrial base.
Key Testimony
The witness panel featured the Vice Chiefs of the five primary military branches and a representative from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). General James J. Mingus, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, highlighted the Army’s modernization efforts, including the XM30 Infantry Fighting Vehicle and the M1E3 Abrams prototype. Admiral James W. Kilby, Vice Chief of Naval Operations, reported on the Navy’s combat operations in the Indian Ocean and its success in exceeding recruiting goals, though he expressed concern over the material condition of amphibious ships. General Christopher J. Mahoney, Assistant Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, discussed the "Barracks 2030" initiative and the requirement for a 31-ship amphibious fleet. General James C. Slife, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, focused on pilot training and the deployment of the B-21 Raider. General Michael A. Guetlein, Vice Chief of Space Operations, emphasized that the U.S. Space Force must double in size to meet operational needs. Finally, Diana Maurer, Director of Defense Capabilities and Management at the GAO, provided a "mixed picture" of readiness, noting that while the military remains the world's strongest, it suffers from chronic under-maintenance and a shrinking industrial base.
Overview
A significant portion of the hearing addressed the ongoing conflict with Iran. Sen. Sullivan characterized Iran as a long-term catalyst for terrorism, while Ranking Member Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) criticized the administration’s lack of a clear strategy, suggesting that shifting rationales for the war increased risks to service members. Witnesses confirmed that the joint force is currently "burning through" precision-guided munitions (PGMs), leading Sen. Hirono to request classified data on inventory burn rates and "magazine shifting" to meet the demands of United States Central Command (CENTCOM).
Partisan Dynamics
Recruiting and retention emerged as a rare point of bipartisan consensus. After years of crisis, all services reported meeting or exceeding their 2025 and 2026 targets. General Mingus attributed the Army's turnaround to streamlining the "recruiting ecosystem" and investing in quality-of-life infrastructure without lowering standards. Admiral Kilby noted the Navy reduced its "gaps at sea" from 23,000 to 18,000. General Mahoney credited the Marine Corps’ success to its "ironclad discipline" brand and board-selected recruiters.
Organizations & Entities
Partisan friction was most evident regarding the use of the military for domestic missions. Sen. Hirono expressed deep concern over the $2 billion in Department of Defense (DOD) resources diverted to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for southern border operations. She questioned General Mingus regarding a measles outbreak at a migrant detention facility on Fort Bliss, which is managed by DHS and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Sen. Hirono also criticized the Navy’s use of the Worldwide Expeditionary Multiple Award Contract (WEXMAC) to fast-track detention facilities for ICE. Conversely, Sen. Sullivan argued that funding DHS is a national security priority to prevent Iranian-linked terrorist actions within the homeland.
Overview
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) led a focused discussion on "Right to Repair" policies. She argued that giant defense contractors use intellectual property (IP) concerns to create "vendor lock," preventing service members from making simple repairs. She cited a 2018 GAO report involving the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) that found zero instances of IP mishandling during reverse engineering programs. All five Vice Chiefs committed to providing the committee with data on programs lacking sufficient technical data for repairs by the end of the month.
Arctic readiness was a primary focus for Sen. Sullivan, who highlighted joint Russian and Chinese naval and air incursions into the U.S. Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) near Alaska. General Mingus discussed lessons learned from Arctic exercises, such as the rapid drainage of batteries in extreme cold and the need for specialized Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicles (CATVs). Admiral Kilby discussed the importance of the ICEX submarine exercises in the High North.
The hearing was briefly interrupted by protesters criticizing U.S. support for Israel, leading Sen. Sullivan to call for order and the United States Capitol Police to escort the individuals out. Notable policy discussions included the "Golden Dome" missile defense initiative, the procurement of 100 B-21 bombers, and the Air Force's struggle with KC-46 tanker deficiencies. The subcommittee concluded with a commitment to follow up on munitions stockpiles and the 80% combat surge readiness goal for the naval fleet.
Transcript
The hearing will come to order. I want to thank our very distinguished witnesses for this readiness subcommittee to receive testimony on the current readiness of the United States Armed Forces. This is certainly one of the most important topics we address each year. In many ways, it sets the foundation for every other discussion we have as it relates to defense and the military. It also helps this committee prepare for the markup of the National Defense Authorization Act, which we do each year. This year has shown us that lethality, sustainment, and readiness are more important than ever. Without these factors, we lose deterrence. Ensuring readiness, we can take the fight to the enemy at any time and place of our choosing. First, I want to acknowledge with solemn gratitude the six fallen heroes that have been lost in action during Operation Epic Fury. I know that our witnesses feel the same. We want to appreciate their sacrifice and pray for their families. Second, I want to thank our witnesses for their willingness to be here today. When you look across the dais here, there is literally decades and decades of exceptional service from all of you gentlemen and ladies and your families. So I want to thank you for that. I think I can speak for all my colleagues, we hold our deployed members under your leadership in our thoughts right now. They're protecting our nation day in and day out, not just in the Middle East, but all over the world. So I want to talk about the current conflict briefly, as I'm sure there'll be questions on that. Iran has been a catalyst for terrorism, mayhem, and violence across the Middle East and the world for decades. The terrorist leaders of Iran have, in essence, been at war with the United States since the Ayatollahs took over Iran in 1979. They have killed and maimed thousands of American service members over the years. The list is long. The Beirut Marine barracks, Khobar Towers, the sophisticated roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan literally cost the lives of thousands of American service members and killed certainly just with the IEDs over 600. The regime has recently attempted to assassinate President Trump when he was running for president in 2024, and we know that they've attempted to assassinate former Secretary Pompeo and former National Security Advisor John Bolton. That's why it's been a bipartisan goal of every president since the Iranian Revolution to ensure that the largest state sponsor of terrorism doesn't have nuclear weapons or ballistic missiles. The world is not safe with an Iran with relentless nuclear and terrorist ambitions and an expanded ballistic missile inventory. This current conflict raises and reminds us of a number of critical challenges. At front and center is our munitions and the defense industrial base. The conflicts we are observing, not just in Iran, but in Ukraine as well, have underscored the importance of sustained production capacity in the United States. At the briefing we received yesterday from the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, they declared undeniably that we have sufficient current stocks to carry on and win decisively in Operation Epic Fury. I think that's an important message for everybody around the world to make sure other adversaries of ours don't see this as a moment where they can take action in other parts of the world. But we must ensure that our stockpiles, surge capacity, and organic industrial base are sufficient to support a prolonged high-end fighting in other theaters for future conflicts, if they should arise. We should also not lose sight that we are meeting at a time when the global threat environment is as complex and dangerous as it has been in decades. Strategic competition with China continues to intensify by investing heavily in capabilities designed to challenge our ability to project power and sustain operations not just in the Indo-Pacific, but across the globe. Russia's war in Ukraine has reshaped the security landscape in Europe and in the homeland. Particularly in my state, we see increased aggression from Russia and China in the Arctic and the North Pacific. This is a chart I put out on a number of times. We had a field hearing just last weekend in Anchorage with the Commerce Committee, where I chair the subcommittee in charge of the Coast Guard. And I displayed this chart. These are the recent ADIZ incursions, EEZ incursions by the Russian Air Force strategic bombers, Chinese Air Force, Chinese and Russian Navy. The unprecedented element of this chart are the green ones. Those are joint Russian-Chinese operations into our ADIZ, into our EEZ, strategic bomber task forces, joint naval task forces. At the hearing last week, a very distinguished retired four-star general, Joe Ralston, former NATO commander, said there's no way that the Chinese and Russians would be doing joint ops into America's Arctic and North American ADIZ and waters without full approval of Xi Jinping and Putin. So these are aggressive actions that we must keep in mind. Indeed, Russia continues to expand and modernize its Arctic military footprint, deep water ports, airfields, radar systems, forward operating bases. The Russians have over 54 icebreakers, many of which are nuclear-powered and weaponized. China, despite having no Arctic territory, calls itself a quote near-Arctic state, whatever that means, and is rapidly expanding its polar capabilities. Over the past two years, we've seen a dramatic increase in these kind of incursions into our air and waters in the United States, in Alaska. As a matter of fact, just two weeks ago, we had another Russian strategic bomber task force into our ADIZ, where the United States military did an exceptional job as they always do, detecting and intercepting these Russian Bear bombers. We should be clear that when we talk about readiness, we also need to talk about homeland readiness right now. Secretary Rubio in our briefing yesterday said we should assume Iran and its terrorist proxies are planning terrorist actions around the world, including in our homeland, which is why I think particularly given the current circumstances in terms of our own homeland defense, we need to resource the Department of Homeland Security to prevent any kind of homeland attack from Iran or anyone else. Every day DHS is not funded is another day U.S. citizens are vulnerable. I know the White House is working closely and has put forward offers with my Democratic colleagues. I certainly hope that we are not going to defund, not we, the Senate Democrats defund Homeland Security. We need to fund Homeland Security now. This is a national security issue, a readiness issue that we can fix today, and it needs to happen. But we need to do more to prepare and ensure readiness. I'm going to be asking the panelists the issues relating to personnel and recruiting. We have gone through a crisis. We've come out of that crisis, but I think there's it's important to have lessons learned what just happened over the last few years. Second, we have aging platforms and maintenance challenges in all our services. We need to be able to get in front of those. Third, the issue of sustainment and contested logistics and force projection capabilities is another challenge and a new reality for all of our services as well. To our witnesses, I look forward to your candid assessment of where readiness stands today, not just in terms of reported metrics, but in real-world capability. Where are the gaps? Where are the risks? And what actions are required in the near term to ensure that the United States military remains fully prepared to deter and, if necessary, defeat our adversaries. So again, I want to thank the witnesses for being here today. We look forward to your testimony, and I now want to turn the comments over to my ranking member, Senator Hirono.
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