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Thank you , Chairman McConnell , 

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Ranking Member Coons , distinguished 

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members of the committee . Thank you 

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for your support for the Space Force 

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and our nation's guardians . As the 

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past year has demonstrated , space is 

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more vital than ever to our economic 

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prosperity , our national security , 

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and the effectiveness of the joint 

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force . However , our adversaries are 

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constantly working to take away our 

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military and economic advantages in 

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space . To defend our nation's 

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interests in space , the Space Force 

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must do more than grow . We must evolve 

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to meet the challenges of this new era . 

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To that end , the FY 27 budget's 

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landmark investment of $71.1 billion 

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for the Space Force represents a 

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generational opportunity to position 

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the force to meet the rapidly expanding 

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threats and demands of the nation . And 

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I know some of the budget increases 

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being considered to sound big , but the 

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Space Force budget in comparison to 

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other services will still be less than 

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5% of our nation's total military 

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spending , an extraordinary value and 

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return on investment for the nation . 

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That investment is critical , is a 

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critical down payment to meet the 

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accelerating demands on the service . 

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In 2025 , the Space Force saw a drastic 

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increase in mission requirements across 

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space access , global mission 

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operations , and space control , and 

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this trend shows no signs of slowing . 

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To position the service for this 

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mission growth and inform our future 

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needs , the Space Force has been 

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working hard to define what we believe 

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our future operating environment will 

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look like over the next 15 years , and 

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then designed our objective force 

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structure to meet the nation's 

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expanding needs . That analysis makes 

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it clear the Space Force we have today 

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is not the space force we will need in 

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the future . Increases in the service's 

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budget and end strength are a national 

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security imperative . That is why the 

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FY 27 budget boosts our top line by 

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130% and our end strength by 27% . The 

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proposed budget paired with this 

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increase in end strength will allow the 

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Space Force to recruit and train the 

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guardians we need , build vital space 

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capabilities for the joint force in the 

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nation , and provide the support and 

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infrastructure that the mission growth 

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demands . In order to execute all of 

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our expanding missions , it is 

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imperative that we responsibly and 

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effectively convert this increased 

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appropriation into combat capability 

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and warfighting advantage . Unlike the 

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other services , the majority of our 

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budget , nearly 2/3 , is dedicated to 

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developing and fielding new systems 

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instead of personnel or operations and 

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maintenance . And that is why the Space 

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Force is so focused on taking advantage 

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of this once in a generation 

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opportunity to enhance our acquisition 

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processes , all with the goal of 

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accelerating the fielding of vital 

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combat space systems at the speed and 

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scale required for each mission . To 

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that end , newly empowered portfolio 

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acquisition executives are positioned 

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to make better and faster program 

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trades , expediting our ability to 

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deliver combat credible systems on 

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operationally relevant timelines . 

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We're simplifying our approach to 

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requirements , bolstering our 

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relationships with industry , and 

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ensuring our vital guardian workforce 

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is expertly trained in the complex task 

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of acquisitions . Unlike other services 

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that are modernizing existing systems , 

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the Space Force cannot modernize what 

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it does not have . We are creating some 

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of the innovative capabilities for new 

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missions from the ground up , 

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particularly in space control , where 

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we are investing in all categories of 

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counterpace systems necessary to deter 

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and defeat aggression in space . 

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Additionally , we are aggressively 

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pursuing more resilient space 

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architectures that can withstand 

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attacks and continue to operate through 

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extended conflict , but the added 

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manpower , missions , and capabilities 

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require commensurate increases in the 

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structures that support them . So the 

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FY 27 budget request also includes 

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required MLCon to ensure our guardians 

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are fully supported . The Space Force 

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has laid the organizational foundation , 

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defined the compounding threat , and 

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delivered the blueprint required to 

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counter it . Now we must build those 

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structures and systems to ensure space 

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advantage for years to come . Although 

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our growth request looks large in the 

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vacuum , the request is actually quite 

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small relative to the overall budget . 

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With a continued advocacy from Congress , 

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our guardians stand ready to deter 

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aggression , protect our space enabled 

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way of life , and if called upon , 

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fight and win . As I conclude my final 

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presentation to this committee as the 

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CSO , um , let me say thank you for 

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enabling our successes and for the 

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opportunities to highlight the 

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exceptional work that our guardians are 

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doing every day to secure our nation's 

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interests in , from and to space . I 

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look forward to your questions .