During Thursday’s Armed Services Committee hearing, Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) questioned General Randy A. George, Chief of Staff of the Army, about the advantage of domestic automotive manufacturing.
00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen. Welcome to the committee, and thank you for your service.
00:06As we've discussed here in the committee, and both of us have had a chance to discuss in my office and other places,
00:13certainly the Army Transformation Initiative is going to refocus the Army towards future conflicts
00:19and there's some real creative thinking, I believe, going into that, and I appreciate that.
00:23But as the Army begins this rapid modernization efforts, I'm hopeful we're going to continue to capitalize on my state,
00:32the state of Michigan's really unique commercial automotive expertise,
00:37including billions of dollars of research and development and advanced manufacturing talent that is located there.
00:44And at the same time, I think we also must ensure that ATI does not compromise readiness, innovation, and manufacturing.
00:51And I'm specifically concerned about potential impacts on some critical hubs like the Detroit Arsenal,
00:59as well as the Ground Vehicle Systems Center in Michigan.
01:03These sites, as I think both of you know, are central to the Army's modernization goals
01:08and the key for both shaping, for testing, and fielding the next generation capabilities.
01:15So my first question is for you, Secretary Driscoll.
01:18Mike, do I have your commitment to work together to maintain both the arsenal and GVSC's role
01:24in supporting the future for the Army's both wheeled as well as tracked vehicles?
01:30I would love to work with you, Senator.
01:33And the ISV, the Infantry Squad vehicle, it comes off a Chevy Colorado, so it's dual use.
01:39The GM defense have been incredible partners.
01:44I saw them a couple weeks ago as we were visiting, and what they have been able to make for our soldiers.
01:50And their CEO actually goes out into the field with our soldiers to figure out how can it be better,
01:56and then they will iterate those changes within a couple of weeks.
01:58So I completely agree that what has occurred in the vehicle manufacturing in Michigan is incredibly valuable for soldiers.
02:09And my understanding, well, thank you for bringing that vehicle up, and General, you and I talked about that as well,
02:13but I'll ask you another question.
02:15But my understanding is when you leverage that commercial expertise,
02:18you mentioned the Silverado used for this particular vehicle,
02:22you can go from concept to prototype to low-rate production within six months.
02:26That doesn't happen very often in the procurement process.
02:30And that's my question for you, General George.
02:32Can you speak to how the Army is going to continue to leverage Michigan's automotive manufacturing and R&D efforts
02:40and kind of build on what Secretary Driscoll told us?
02:43Certainly, Senator.
02:43I think this gets back to, too, you know, what we're looking at for all across acquisitions.
02:49And we do have, you know, Detroit Arsenal is important to us.
02:53But what's really important is our access to adopt and modify technology that's coming from the commercial sector.
03:00That's been, you know, really important to us.
03:02And what GM and Ford and those companies spend on R&D and what they're doing with autonomous systems,
03:10in certain ways, what we're looking at is how do we restructure to make sure that we are taking advantage of that
03:16and not trying to build our own systems.
03:19We can't compete with what those two amazing companies can do up there.
03:23So what specifically do we need to do?
03:25And that's been our focus.
03:26And we've talked to a lot of the companies that are up there and will continue.
03:30So that will continue to be important to us.
03:33I think we need to adapt a little bit how we're, you know, how we're doing that to take full advantage of what the commercial sector in Detroit offers us.
03:43Great.
03:43Well, thank you, both of you, for that answer.
03:45General George, exercises like Northern Strike and Northern Michigan strengthen our ability to work with our allies and deter potential conflicts.
03:54Northern Strike currently brings over 6,300 participants from across the U.S.
04:01as well as our international partners to Michigan's national all-domain warfighting centers.
04:06It's the largest training area east of the Mississippi.
04:10And both Admiral Paparo and the African Command Commander General Langley have praised Northern Strike for its strategic value
04:18as well as its importance to joint force readiness.
04:21So my question for you, sir, is do you support training exercises for increased interoperability with our partners,
04:28including multinational joint training exercises like Northern Strike?
04:32And will you also commit to working with me to expand both active and reserve components that will operate and train at Northern Strike?
04:42Absolutely, Senator.
04:43I think what's, and I've been up to Northern Strike, and I think it's very unique.
04:47I've been really proud of what the TAG and the Guard has done up there to make that a great training opportunity.
04:53And I think we're looking everywhere.
04:55You know, one of the things we need to do is expand our capability to do, operate drones,
05:00operate in the electromagnetic environment, countering drones.
05:05So all of that, using those kind of spaces to do that will be critically important to us today and in the future.
05:11And, Senator, I think my office is coordinating with yours, but I'm actually going up there this year, I think, with you and your colleagues.
05:17So I look forward to seeing Northern Strike with you.
05:20Well, I appreciate that.
05:21I look forward to that, and you'll be impressed like the general has been, I'm sure.
