F-35 Caucus Chairs Share Letter of Support for F-35 From 100+ Retired General Officers
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Congressional Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Caucus Co-Chairs, Reps. John B. Larson (CT-01), Marc A. Veasey (TX-33), Martha Roby (AL-02), and Michael R. Turner (OH-10), shared a letter signed by 128 retired General Officers in support of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
"Earlier this week, more than a hundred General Officers who have served in the United States Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps reiterated our call to the appropriators and authorizers that now is the time to increase procurement to ensure our continued air dominance, enable the realization of cost savings, and assure our partners that we are committed to 5th Generation Aircraft.
"With Russia and China advancing their qualitative military edge, the 40-years old 4th generation legacy fighters are rapidly losing relevance in today's battlefield. Investing in ‘new' old aircraft does not align with congressional intent, presidential direction, nor does it align with the National Defense Strategy. It is of unequivocal importance for Congress and the Pentagon to provide our men and women with the best equipment we can. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is the world's most advanced fighter capable of countering those threats," said the Caucus Chairs.
The full letter can be viewed here and below.
April 30, 2019
The Honorable Adam Smith, Chairman
House Armed Services Committee
2216 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Peter J. Visclosky, Chairman
House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee
H-405, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Mac Thornberry, Ranking Member
House Armed Services Committee
2216 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Ken Calvert, Ranking Member
House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee
H-405, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chair and Ranking Member:
As former U.S. Flag Officers who have served in times of sequestration and military conflicts, we know the impact cutting costs from vital programs has on defense readiness. With China and Russia aggressively ramping up efforts to improve and modernize weapons, maintaining air superiority is essential to countering emerging threats both at home and abroad. Maintaining a competitive edge in the skies means our military must advance both capacity and capability of our fighter force with continued procurement of the world's most advanced fighter, the F-35 Lightning II.
As the only 5th generation aircraft in production, the F-35 ensures air advantage over emerging peer adversaries through cutting-edge technologies. It is with the nation's security interest in mind that we join the nearly 130 U.S. House and Senate Congressional members to request that the Congress increase the procurement rate of the F-35 within the Fiscal Year 2020 defense authorization and appropriations. It is essential that our Congress does not sacrifice funds from the F-35 program in favor of new 4th generation, legacy fighter programs with little operational relevance in a near peer conflict.
Winning in the modern battlespace requires stealth, advanced sensing capability, coalition interoperability, cyber security and ability to connect in a multi-domain conflict. The F-35 delivers on all these capabilities above and beyond any other fighter in the U.S. inventory or around the globe. It is the most advanced multi-role fighter– delivering unmatched lethality, survivability and connectivity.
Despite a National Defense Strategy (NDS) that calls for competing with near-peer threats, the DoD proposed funding in FY2020 for only 78 F-35's, even though Congress appropriated 93 airplanes last year in FY2019. Additionally, the DoD has proposed funding a legacy, 4th generation aircraft that has limited survivability in a high-end fight today and is equipped with decades old technology. The 4th generation airframe is simply unable to win against near-peer threats, which are the biggest concern to our NDS.
The DoD Fiscal Year 2020 budget request of only 78 airplanes jeopardizes the ramp of the F- 35's program production rate and presents a capability gap in our U.S. services that legacy aircraft simply cannot meet. We ask Congress to provide authorization and funding for 60 F- 35As (+12), 22 F-35Bs (+12), and 20 F-35Cs in Fiscal Year 2020. This is a total of 102 F-35 aircraft in FY 2020 defense authorization and appropriations bills, which is an increase of 24 aircraft over the President's budget request.
This increase will reestablish the original F-35 production rates that in the past years have been tamped by sequestration era budget caps resulting from the Budget Control Act. The U.S. must start buying the F-35's in larger quantities to reach the minimum 50% of 5th generation fighters in the timeframe required to meet the emerging global threat.
The aircraft is exceeding in performance with the U.S. Marine Corps executing a successful combat mission in Afghanistan with F-35B's, to the Air Force reporting the F-35A reportedly logged a 28:1 kill ratio at the recent Red Flag exercise in Nevada. With the Navy recently declaring Initial Operational Capability, our three U.S. services and numerous ally partner countries are now flying more than 380 aircraft at 17 locations around the world.
To maintain air dominance and further decrease F-35 costs, it is vitally important that we continue to increase our nation's only 5th generation stealth aircraft in production. Our congressional leaders must increase F-35 production and provide the necessary program investments in the upcoming defense authorization and appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2020 to keep the F-35 ahead of our adversaries.
Maintaining the most up-to-date, sophisticated technologies possible is fundamental for our country and allies to address growing threats from Russia and China.
Thank you for your consideration as you begin defense authorization and appropriations process for FY2020.
Sincerely,
T. Michael Moseley
General, USAF (Ret)
18th Chief of Staff
Thomas Hayward
Admiral, USN (Ret)
21st Chief of Naval Operations
John Jumper
General, USAF (Ret)
17th Chief of Staff
Michael Ryan
General, USAF (Ret)
16th Chief of Staff
Merrill McPeak
General, USAF (Ret)
14th Chief of Staff
James Amos
General, USMC (Ret)
35th Commandant of the Marine Corps
Michael Aguilar
Brigadier General, USMC (Ret)
Granny Amos
Brigadier General, USMC (Ret)
Joseph Anderson
Major General, USMC (Ret)
David Architzel
Vice Admiral, USN (Ret)
Joseph Ashy
General, USAF (Ret)
Dana Atkins
Lieutenant General, USAF (Ret)
John Baker
Lieutenant General, USAF (Ret)
Michael Basla
Lieutenant General, USAF (Ret)
Mark Beesley
Brigadier General, USAF (Ret)
William Begert
General, USAF (Ret)
Brent Bennitt
Vice Admiral, USN (Ret)
Brian Bishop
Major General, USAF (Ret)
Harold Blot
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Stanley Bozin
Rear Admiral, USN (Ret)
Tom Braaten
Major General, USMC (Ret)
Philip Breedlove
General, USAF (Ret)
John Brooks
Major General, USAF (Ret)
John Bullard
Brigadier General, USMC (Ret)
Darryl Burke
Major General, USAF (Ret)
Bobby Butcher
Major General, USMC (Ret)
Hugh Cameron
Brigadier General, USAF (Ret)
Henry Canterbury
Major General, USAF (Ret)
John Castellaw
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Carrol Chandler
General, USAF (Ret)
Mark Clark
Major General, USMC (Ret)
Scott Van Cleef
Brigadier General, USAF (Ret)
Casey Coane
Rear Admiral, USN (Ret)
Donald Cook
General, USAF (Ret)
John D.W. Corley
General, USAF (Ret)
John Dailey
General, USMC (Ret)
Terry Dake
General, USMC (Ret)
Jon Davis
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Walter Davis
Vice Admiral, USN (Ret)
David Deptula
Lieutenant General, USAF (Ret)
Dan Dick
Major General, USAF (Ret)
Walter Druen
Lieutenant General, USAF (Ret)
David Dunaway
Vice Admiral, USN (Ret)
Michael Dunn
Lieutenant General, USAF (Ret)
Neil Eddins
Major General, USAF (Ret)
Marvin Esmond
Lieutenant General, USAF (Ret)
Barbara Faulkenberry
Major General, USAF (Ret)
Gregory Feest
Major General, USAF (Ret)
Mark Fitzgerald
Admiral, USN (Ret)
Robert Flanagan
Brigadier General, USMC (Ret)
James Flock
Major General, USMC (Ret)
H.H. Forsythe
Major General, USAF (Ret)
Ray Fox
Major General, USMC (Ret)
John Gallinetti
Major General, USMC (Ret)
Emerson Gardner
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
John Goodman
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Mike Gould
Lieutenant General, USAF (Ret)
Ken Glueck
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Chip Gregson
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Earl Hailston
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Blair Hansen
Major General, USAF (Ret)
Richard Hawley
General, USAF (Ret)
David Heinz
Major General, USMC (Ret)
Sam Helland
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Charles Horner
General, USAF (Ret)
Jefferson Howell
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
James Hunt
Major General, USAF (Ret)
James Hyatt
Major General, USAF (Ret)
Gregory Ihde
Brigadier General, USAF (Ret)
Kenneth Israel
Major General, USAF (Ret)
L.D. Johnston
Major General, USAF (Ret)
Silas Johnson Jr.
Major General, USAF (Ret)
Jan-Marc Jouas
Lieutenant General, USAF (Ret)
Thomas Kilcline
Vice Admiral, USN (Ret)
Joseph Kilkenny
Rear Admiral, USN (Ret)
James Lair
Rear Admiral, USN (Ret)
William Lake
Brigadier General, USAF (Ret)
James Latham
Brigadier General, USAF (Ret)
Daniel Leaf
Lieutenant General, USAF (Ret)
Frederick Lewis
Rear Admiral, USN (Ret)
John Michael Loh
General, USAF (Ret)
William Looney III
General, USAF (Ret)
Steven Lorenz
General, USAF (Ret)
Robert Magnus
General, USMC (Ret)
James McArthur
Vice Admiral, Jr., USN (Ret)
Fred McCorkle
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Rich Mills
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Robert Milstead
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Carol Mutter
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Richard Natonski
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Robert Natter
Admiral, USN (Ret)
Lloyd Newton
General, USAF (Ret)
Andrew O'Donnell, Jr.
Major General, USMC,(Ret)
Pete Osman
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Robert Otto
Lieutenant General, USAF (Ret)
Chris Owens
Major General, USMC (Ret)
Frank Panter
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Chip Parker
Brigadier General, USMC (Ret)
H.D. Polumbo
Major General, USAF (Ret)
Robert Polumbo
Major General, USAF (Ret)
Martin Post
Major General, USMC (Ret)
Douglas Raaberg
Major General, USAF (Ret)
Dave Richwine
Major General, USMC (Ret)
Gene Renuart General, USAF (Ret)
David Robinson
Major General, USAF (Ret)
Terry Robling
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Michael Ryan
Major General, USMC (Ret)
Robert Schmidle
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Don Shepperd
Major General, USAF (Ret)
John Simmons
Brigadier General, USMC (Ret)
Keith Stalder
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Denby Starling, II
Vice Admiral, USN (Ret)
Gregg Sturdevant
Major General, USMC (Ret)
Larry Stutzriem
Major General, USAF (Ret)
Peter Talleri
Major General, USMC (Ret)
Larry Taylor
Major General, USMC (Ret)
Duane Thiessen
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Steven Tomaszeski
Rear Admiral, USN (Ret)
John Toolan
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
George Trautman III
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Lance Undhjem
Major General, USAF (Ret)
Jerry Unruh
Vice Admiral, USN (Ret)
Loyd Utterback
Lieutenant General, USAF (Ret)
Tome Walters
Lieutenant General, USAF (Ret)
Randall West
Major General, USMC (Ret)
John Wissler
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Harry Wyatt
Lieutenant General, USAF (Ret)
Ron Yates
General, USAF (Ret)
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