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Next witness is Chief Master Sergeant 

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of the Air Force , David Wolf . 

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Chairman Tuberville , Ranking Member 

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Warren , and distinguished members of 

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the subcommittee , it is an honor to be 

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here . As the 21st Chief Master 

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Sergeant of the Air Force , I represent 

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more than 665,000 total force airmen . 

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And I thank you for your focus on their 

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well-being . Your help is critical 

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because their quality of life is 

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fundamental to our readiness and our 

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ability to defend the nation . Over the 

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last 50 years , military spending as 

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part of our GDP has been cut in half 

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while our global commitments have grown . 

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At the same time , we face the 

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challenge of an aircraft fleet that has 

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nearly doubled in age over the last 30 

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years . This has created an imbalance 

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between the demands we place on our 

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force and the resources available to 

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sustain them . Because of this , we've 

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had to make hard choices . But it is 

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also , it has also encouraged 

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innovation and enhanced a relentless 

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focus on what matters most , our people . 

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Like any advanced system , people 

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require sustainment . This isn't 

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measured in spare parts or fuel , but 

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in family stability and quality of life . 

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I'm proud to report our Air Force is 

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meeting these challenges head on and 

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delivering solutions . We met our 

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active duty recruiting goals last year , 

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bringing a ready and talented new 

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generation into our force , and we are 

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on track to meet and even exceed our 

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goals for this year . We're also making 

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progress to counter the challenge of 

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our aging infrastructure . We are 

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executing the largest investment in 

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dormitories in over a decade to ensure 

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our airmen have safe , clean , a safe , 

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clean place to call home . In childcare , 

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with this committee's support , we're 

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making powerful strides by funding 17 

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new child development centers to 

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directly tackle our waitlists . And 

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while we appreciate the 4% requirement 

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for recapitalization of our facilities , 

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if it doesn't come with the requisite 

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top line budget increase , we will find 

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challenges in meeting the goal . Over 

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the last few years , the demands for 

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our Air Force to modernize have been 

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clear with the announcement of 

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platforms like the B-21 , F-47 , and 

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Sentinel . But the following question 

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remains . If we are going to have a 6th 

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generation Air Force , are we going to 

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be able to provide a 6th generation 

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quality of life for our airmen ? People 

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and platforms are part of the same 

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readiness equation . When one side of 

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that equation is weak , the entire 

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system fails . We cannot allow that to 

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happen . We must ensure our airmen have 

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the training , resources , and quality 

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of life to fight today while ensuring 

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our force is modernizing to deter those 

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who challenge our way of life . It's 

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not either readiness or modernization . 

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It's both . We are committed to getting 

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this right , and we are proving it with 

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action . We see this committee as an 

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essential partner in that effort . I 

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look forward to your questions and to 

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working together to ensure our airmen 

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have everything they need to fly , 

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fight , and win . Thank you . Thank you .