The Heritage Foundation is hosting an event tomorrow titled “Rebuilding the U.S. Military Starts with FY17 NDAA.”  

Overview: “The United States faces a long list of growing threats, including China’s illegal islands, Russia’s aggressive actions in Europe, Islamist terrorism, state-sponsored cyber-attacks, and long-range missiles tipped with nuclear weapons from North Korea and potentially Iran. At the same time, the U.S. military budget has been cut by 25% in real terms over the last five years, resulting in dramatic cuts to the size and readiness of the military. Grim testimony to Congress from military leaders on the state of the military’s readiness has combined with disturbing anecdotes in the press about the weakness of the U.S. military. Marines are pulling F-18 parts from museums. The Air Force is cannibalizing F-16’s to keep others flying. The Navy is struggling to keep its fighter aircraft flying and the Army has a historically small force that is also under-trained and under-prepared.  

“As the fiscal year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) heads to conference, Chairman Mac Thornberry will give remarks followed by a discussion with Dr. James Jay Carafano regarding the national security challenges facing the United States, and what Congress can do to improve the situation.”  

“Chairman Thornberry is in only his second year at the helm of the House Armed Services Committee, but he is widely respected as one of the smartest minds in Congress on issues of national security. In addition to his leadership of the Armed Services Committee, Thornberry has served on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Budget Committee, and the Select Committee on Homeland Security.”