Manchin Questions Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Nominee Admiral Grady During Armed Services Committee Hearing

 

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Cybersecurity Subcommittee and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), questioned Admiral Christopher Grady, the nominee to be Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Senator Manchin questioned Admiral Grady on military training opportunities in West Virginia, capacities of the U.S. Cyber Command and Space Command and current geopolitical threats.

 

Senator Manchin continues to advocate for the Department of Defense to utilize West Virginia’s remote and austere environment for training operations and facilities and asked Admiral Grady for a commitment to visit the state to see firsthand the potential training locations.

 

Senator Manchin said in part, “I also enjoyed our conversation that we had before Thanksgiving, and congratulations on your nomination. And I'm sure you're going to be confirmed, Sir, without any problems…You know, first of all, we do an awful lot of training in West Virginia. And we have had a tremendous opportunity to work with special operations. And we're hoping as you are looking into that, that some of the other branches of service can use, or look at our state, from the standpoint of the effectiveness and the cost effectiveness, just especially in a location being so close to DC. And I don't know if you've had a chance to visit some of the operations we have. If not, we'd like to bring you and show you what we have been able to develop in West Virginia.”

 

As Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Cybersecurity Subcommittee, Senator Manchin works to ensure America’s military is informed and prepared to confront any cybersecurity risks. Senator Manchin questioned Admiral Grady on the challenges and capabilities of U.S. Cyber Command, as well as U.S. Space Command.

 

“Cyber Command and Space Command are two of the combatant commands that influence nearly every weapon and support system in our inventory. Tell me if you will, your plan to resource each of them as the challenges and capabilities in these domains increases,” Senator Manchin continued.

 

Senator Manchin also questioned Admiral Grady on his thoughts of the recent geopolitical instability, especially with Russia and Ukraine, as well as China and Taiwan.

 

Senator Manchin continued, “With what we see going on in China and Taiwan and the South China Sea, and also what we see going on now with Russia, Ukraine, do you have any comments or any thoughts that would helpful in our in our deliberations?”

 

Senator Manchin also questioned Admiral Grady on logistical capabilities in case of aggression from counties like North Korea or near peers.

 

Senator Manchin said, “I'm interested to hear about any concerns you may have in logistical capabilities, or the capacity to serve as necessary combat power…if needed in regions if we needed to combat a North Korean or near peer aggression, what would be your thoughts on that and how do you think we can meet those concerns?”