WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) spoke with Lieutenant General John D. “Razin” Caine, nominee to be general and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during a Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearing. Sen. Tuberville and General Caine discussed the importance of being impartial when advising the President of the United States on national security matters, as well as working with our nation’s military academies to build a higher standard of leadership and excellence for the next generation of warfighters.
Read Sen. Tuberville’s remarks below and watch on YouTube and Rumble.
TUBERVILLE: “Thank you, General, for being here, your service, and congratulations on your nomination. You’re nominated to be the senior military adviser to the President of the United States. What a chore. I remember a time when generals and retired senior officers would avoid political discussions.
It was extremely uncommon for a former senior officer to even endorse a candidate for political office. Lately, that approach seems to be an exception, not the rule. You know, some of your predecessors even appear to support political positions while in uniform. Your predecessor was deeply involved in politics, which should not be part of this approach. General Caine, in your own words, how would you describe to this committee the importance of your responsibility and commitment to provide the best military advice, even when that advice might differ from what the President of the United States believes?”
GEN. CAINE: “Well, Senator, thank you for that question. It ultimately is, the whole job, is to be the principal military adviser to the President. And pursuant to that job, provide the President with best military advice, even when the President may have different feelings about it. And that is exactly what the nation pays me to do. So, if confirmed, that is exactly what I’ll do.”
TUBERVILLE: “General, when you take this job, what’s your number one concern?”
GEN. CAINE: “Senator, right now, the number one concern is the passage of time. And ensuring that the joint force is ready, properly armed with the right capabilities out at the tactical edge, properly, globally integrated with the services themselves, with the other elements of the interagency, with our allies and partners, and with the private sector and ready to go tonight. And that means their families are ready. They’re ready. They’re properly trained and equipped. So, we have much to do, Senator.”
TUBERVILLE: “We all know that the machines that we build, the guns, and the bullets that we have, everything is at the disposal of the warfighter. […] Recruiting has much improved in the last couple of months. What do you see your role as an adviser to the President in recruiting for all of our military?”
GEN. CAINE: “Well, Senator, we don’t have much of a military without the incredible 2.8 million members of the joint force that selflessly joined the service to do something more important than themselves. And, you know, to answer your question, if confirmed, I think it’s an opportunity for me to be another voice of encouragement for those young men and women who have the capability and meet the standards to come into the service. And do something that they will forever hold so high in their past history. The chance to serve this nation is a special privilege for those of us that have come into the cloth of our nation and served, and I hope that I’ll be able to encourage others to do so.”
TUBERVILLE: “Being the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Personnel [in the Senate Armed Services Committee], we had a hearing last week with our Academies—[Westpoint], Naval Academy and Air Force Academy. I would hope in the future, and I know your job is to inform our President and keep him advised of everything. But I think that your job too would be able to work with our academies in terms of our leadership, help build that leadership to a higher standard. To keep it to a higher standard, to build, and let our young men and women know that that’s where it all starts. If we don’t have leadership, we don’t have anything.
And I think that’s a good point, you know, that’s passed on to the President. Obviously, the information you give to the President is going to be number one but also build and help build our military is going be a huge part, I think, of your job. What do you think?”
GEN. CAINE: “I agree, sir.”
TUBERVILLE: “Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.”
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.
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