Pentagon nominees grilled on operations and recruiting

Senate Armed Services Committee members on Wednesday quizzed three four-star military officers on current operations, lagging military recruitment and Pentagon acquisition changes during a confirmation hearing.

Although senators generally supported the nomination of all three officers to top military posts, Republicans and Democrats both voiced concerns about troop levels in Iraq and the Pentagon's buying processes. The hearing was held on President Bush's nominations of Marine Gen. Peter Pace to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Admiral Edmund Giambastiani to serve as vice chairman, and Gen. Michael Moseley to be Air Force chief of staff.

Moseley in particular was grilled by Armed Services Airland Subcommittee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., for his role in the Air Force's now-defunct deal to lease 100 aerial refueling tankers from Boeing. Moseley "clearly advocated" for and "zealously pursued" the lease agreement, McCain said.

Considered the largest Pentagon procurement scandal in more than two decades, the deal involved several former Air Force and Defense Department leaders and has resulted in the incarceration of two top Boeing executives. Moseley stressed that traditional acquisition processes have worked well in the past, but urged that the Air Force's acquisition corps -- depleted during troop draw-downs in recent years -- should be beefed up. In particular, he said, placing uniformed officers in the "right places" within the acquisition office would expand oversight over multibillion-dollar contracts. Other committee members used the tanker deal as a platform for advocating changes in weapons buying policies.

"If I ran my business back home ... like we run aspects of the Department of Defense, we simply wouldn't last very long," said Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.

Armed Services Chairman John Warner, R-Va., noted that Moseley will take over the helm of the Air Force during the "aftermath of a very troubled period." Moseley's goal, Warner added, should be to "right the keel and bring her back."

McCain also said he has been "disappointed" in Pace's continued assertion that the U.S. military does not need to send more troops to Iraq, despite objections from retired Pentagon brass. Pace countered, stating that Defense Department leaders have "struggled over the proper size" of the force in Iraq and consider the issue almost weekly.

Pace, who currently is the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he is "personally comfortable with the size of the force we have." Pace also fielded questions about the military's equipment needs in Iraq and Afghanistan, stating that they do not need any funding or emergency procurement authorities above those already approved by Congress. Pace also acknowledged that protective equipment, such as armor for lightweight Humvees, is helpful but will not necessarily protect all troops from insurgent attacks. "Bigger armor can be defeated by bigger bombs," Pace said. "We cannot put a cocoon around every soldier, sailor, airman and Marine."

The committee also considered the nominations of Eric Edelman to be the Defense Department's policy chief, David Stanley to be assistant Defense secretary for legislative affairs, and James Rispoli for assistant secretary of Energy for environmental management. Armed Services ranking member Carl Levin, D-Mich., has warned that he will oppose Edelman's nomination unless documents from his predecessor are handed over.