Time to Start Asking the Tough Questions on Defense

Fortunately for America, it now seems like we are fully emerging from the pandemic and things are finally starting to look normal again. Even in Washington D.C. – which was one of the holdout regions to remain under some degree of pandemic-related restriction – things are thankfully starting to hum again. This is both good and timely, because the country is facing serious concerns both at home and abroad, and policymakers in both Congress and the Administration are playing catch-up on several fronts.

And finally, while the Army recalibrates after a generation of war in the greater Middle East, its program to upgrade hundreds of Blackhawks to the UH-60V model for the National Guard has been beset with serious delays and technical development challenges.  This is further exacerbated by the Regular Army’s Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program, encompassing the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA), and Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) programs, and their heavy draw on funding for the development portion of those platforms.

Many of these issues have been lurking in the background for years and have been the result of multiple problems over time – in everything from costly and short-sighted acquisition decisions to the inability to deliver critical assets to the services on budget and on schedule. But they are all coming to a head now, with real consequences, and they simply can no longer be ignored.

Unfortunately, while the pandemic may be receding – a situation that should allow for more hearings, more site visits, more interaction between the Congress and the Administration – this year also happens to be an election year with major power-control dynamics at stake for both political parties. As such, the time that members of Congress will be in D.C. – working these issues, digging into programs, conducting oversight, tasking GAO, and ensuring that America has the best and most capable military on the planet – will be quite limited.

Certainly, professional committee staff will be hard at work, as they always are. But with limited time on the Congressional calendar between now and the mid-terms, the opportunities for elected members to ask the tough questions necessary to ensure programs are on track and not over budget, or to ensure that each service’s respective force structure and posture addresses the threats facing the nation are going to be small.

Of course, Congress has a lot on its plate – and economic concerns, particularly with slowing growth and high inflation, are going to be key issues for the voters in November. However, with deadly serious global security challenges rising around the globe – a hot war in Europe, China moving forth unabated, unconventional threats flaring in Africa, the Middle East and South America, and the looming prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran – ensuring America’s national defense is both ready and dominant should be a priority obligation of the legislative branch.

It is clear that several things have occurred over the course of the last few months – most notably Russia’s illegal, ghastly and unprovoked war on Ukraine – to re-alter thinking about national defense. In fact, Russia’s war on Ukraine is starting to force conversations about readiness, alliances, interoperability, security assistance and posture. It is challenging assumptions about force strength and intent. And it is altering attitudes about trade, business partnerships and economic interaction.

For all of these reasons, Congress – if not in this last half of the 117^th session, certainly in the first half of the 118^th – needs to drill down and focus on the state of the joint force, the real problems the services face, and how to start chipping away effectively at the hurdles impacting our ability to defend America and to fight wars if martial action is what is required to execute policy.  We simply cannot afford to push sticky issues to the right or fail to pay adequate and necessary scrutiny to defense department planning or acquisition because it is uncomfortable. It is time for Congress to start asking the tough questions on defense.

Miguel Alejandro Laborde is a former NCO in the 160th SOAR (A), and a subject matter expert on defense aviation programs, capabilities and platforms, with decades’ worth of experience in the aerospace industry supporting the joint force.