Secretary of Army nominee commits to work to keep troops in Alaska

(Click the image above to watch Sen. Sullivan at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing)

“If confirmed, I need your 110 percent commitment that the very last soldiers that we’re cutting are the combat-effective, tip-of-the-spear, strategically located infantry soldiers who can fight tonight if they need to,” Senator Sullivan said. “In other words, that you and General Milley would commit to cut these trigger-pullers, strategically located like the 4-25, absolutely, positively last relative to any other soldiers you're looking at cutting.”

Fanning said, “You absolutely have that commitment.”

As mandated by President Obama, the Army is cutting troops across the country to downsize from 490,000 to 450,000. Currently, out of the total number of Army personnel, there are 1,500 band members and 1,100 prisoners at Ft. Leavenworth, and more than 15,000 members of the Army who are in the process of leaving the Army and are not available for deployments or combat.

“So when we talk about the 450,000, there are literally thousands, tens of thousands that are not deployable, not capable of fighting,” Sullivan said.

Earlier this year, the Army announced that it planned to downsize the 4-25 Airborne Brigade Combat Team. However, the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Mark Milley, has said that decision is “on hold.”

After agreeing with Senator Sullivan on the significance of the 4-25 for possible conflicts in the Arctic and with North Korea, Fanning said at the hearing that if confirmed, he would work with General Milley to reverse the Army’s decision. He said that he has a particular interest in Alaska’s strategic importance to national security “(b)ecause of the range space…the proximity, not just to adversaries or potential adversaries in the Pacific, but proximity to our partners in terms of training.”

Further, other members of the Senate Armed Services Committee—Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Deb Fischer (R-Neb), and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) —also shared Senator Sullivan’s concern over cutting troops in Alaska.

(Click the image above to watch Senators King, Fischer and Ernst discuss the planned 4-25 reductions)

Because of “huge” military buildup by the Russians in the Arctic, Senator King questioned whether cutting troops in the area made strategic sense.

“(T)he idea of the depopulating or diminishing our force availability in that region, it seems to me -- again, given changed assumptions, it may have made good sense, two years, five years ago. I'm not sure it makes sense today,” Senator King said.

Senator Fischer also shared Senator Sullivan’s concerns. “I would like to begin by thanking Senator Sullivan for bringing to your attention some questions and comments that he has about our concern that we have with Russia, especially in the Arctic,” Senator Fischer said. “I think many times we don't focus on that because of the truly large challenges that we see all around this world, but I do appreciate his comments and I do share his concerns that he has about the 4-25.”

Senator Ernst said possible cuts to the 4-25 and protecting our assets in the Pacific Northwest were “of great concern,” to the committee. “Many of us have talked that through. And so I would appreciate your consideration with that as well,” Senator Ernst said.

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