Pete Aguilar Asks DoD Official About The Process In Upgrading National Guard’s Aircraft Fleet

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During a House Appropriations Committee hearing prior to the Congressional recess, Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) questioned General Steven S. Nordhaus, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau at the Department of Defense, about their aircraft fleet.

Transcript

00:00Mr. Aguilar. Let's hope there's no tariffs on that, could he?

00:03We should put a tariff on it. That's basic.

00:06Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you all for the testimony today.

00:12General Nordhaus, I know Chairman Calvert thanked you for the support that the Guard has offered

00:19Los Angeles during the wildfires, and we appreciate that to all of you.

00:24General Nordhaus, as you're aware, the Air Force is in the process of decommissioning F-15Cs.

00:31The California Air Guard is scheduled to receive F-15EXs to replace their aging F-15Cs.

00:38I'm concerned about recent announcements that appear to direct some of the F-15EX aircraft

00:44to Selfridge over Fresno and New Orleans.

00:47My first question is, can we expect to see delays in the delivery of the F-15EXs to Fresno,

00:54and how are you working with the department to ensure that the Cal Guard doesn't have a gap in the F-15 mission?

01:03Congressman, thanks for the question.

01:05In a previous role as a Kona First Air Force commander, I understand the mission set very well

01:11and what Fresno does for Nord-Northcom in that mission space set.

01:16Incredible unit out there.

01:18I recently was out in Portland and had the opportunity to fly in an F-15EX,

01:22so it's a great aircraft that will come into the Air Force,

01:25and the Air National Guard is bringing that on board.

01:27We also work very closely with the Air Force as we continue to modernize the force,

01:32and we appreciate the additional F-15EXs coming into the Air National Guard.

01:39We're working very closely with the Air National Guard.

01:42General Pierak, our acting director of the Air National Guard,

01:44working very close hand-in-hand with not only the Air Force,

01:47but the Air Force Reserve about what bed down for fighters looks like in that future.

01:52As we look to the F-15EX and the C model transition there,

01:56they're working that very closely, so there's no gaps or seams,

01:59and they're trying to mitigate any impacts.

02:04Will there also be, with the training courses for the A-10 pilots,

02:09transitioning, could the A-10 to F-15EX transition cause some manning shortfalls

02:16across the F-15 enterprise?

02:19Well, Congressman, I would say this.

02:21Transitioning from an A-10 to an F-15C will be a longer training program,

02:25and so that will have to be planned and really thought out very, very well.

02:29Going from an F-15C to an F-15EX, like I'm seeing up in Portland,

02:34is a very quick transition.

02:36And so the pilots up there, I was very impressed by them.

02:39They have 36 pilots at Portland.

02:41Twenty-two of them are instructor pilots.

02:42So I know the vast capability and experience,

02:46and that will help make transitions from F-15C to F-15EX go very quickly.

02:52Are you passing any concerns, you know, up the chain?

02:55I mean, I hear what you're saying,

02:56but clearly with the change in Selfridge, this could be a problem.

03:02I mean, some of these transition from the A-10,

03:04it'll have a longer education gap, a training gap there,

03:09and the potential for the gap with the EXs to Fresno.

03:14I mean, you're conveying any concerns you may have,

03:18not saying that you have any,

03:19but any concerns you have are being conveyed when it comes to timeliness.

03:26Certainly.

03:26All the bases are talking to the Air National Guard Readiness Center,

03:30and they're passing that information up to the director of the Air National Guard,

03:34and we're working with the Air Force.

03:36As we look to the future, understanding each of those pieces,

03:40and then you also have the production of the F-15EXs coming off the line,

03:45and so we want to understand what that looks like in the future,

03:48and then we'll take that into consideration

03:49and minimize any gaps or seams so that we keep warfighters flying healthy aircraft

03:56to get after deterring our adversaries.

03:59General, I don't mean to pick on you here.

04:02The administration has expressed interest in establishing a Space National Guard.

04:07Can you share how the Bureau is interacting with the DoD

04:10and the administration in establishing a Space National Guard?

04:13Congressman, yeah, thank you for the question.

04:17Once again, in a previous role, I was the AFT Space Commander for Space Com,

04:21so I understand the space mission pretty well.

04:24I know our Air National Guardsmen have been doing this mission set for 30 years.

04:28NDAA-25 has that transfer of 578 into the Space Force.

04:34We're working very closely with the Space Force

04:37and with the Air Force on that transition.

04:42Yield back, Mr. Chairman.

04:43Yield back, Mr. Chairman.

04:43YIELD BACK, Mr. Chairman.

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