two-year period, i think the public needs to understand those 14 million are people, and during katrina those were people whose lives were being saved by the volunteers and the staff on the phone of 211. we did rooftop rescues, we did connecting people to the appropriate governmental entities, and the most vivid example happened with someone you know quite well, joe thomas' wife robin was serving as a volunteer and took a call from a man who went back into his home and found his mother's body. there was no one for him to call but 211. i think that your urgency to continue this funding and this legislation speaks to the need of american people, and i want to thank you for that. >> thank you very much. all right. any closing comments? >> senator, i just want to make, also add the thanks to it. you know, having spent a few years doing this, i've gotten

pretty good at realizing there's not been a lot of advocacy on the hill on the issues of disaster response and recovery. and to your point and one of the things that we've seen with the ready communities initiative is i know you're focused on hurricanes, that's your constituency, that's your geography, that's one of the biggest threats we've faced, but over the course of the last 60 days we've had a little bit of a shake in the los angeles region, we've had a scare from pandemic, and i think the one thing i strongly encourage you to do is let's make this about the need for better capabilities to deal with catastrophic events, particularly housing,er respect i have of -- irrespective of what the cause is because as the senator from illinois pointedded out, he's more concerned about tornadoes or microbursts these days, and we've got to make sure we're resonating the argument to the people who are hearing. >> well, thank you. i do want to support the point

you just made. i'm going to call a hearing for earthquakes particularly, and i want to show a film in this committee of what is going to happen when an earthquake, a major earthquake hits not just california, but memphis which is a target, and i'm going to use the risk assessment that's been done by our risk managers to show the likely disasters based on their scientific information. this isn't what senator landrieu thinks might happen, this is what our government and scientists and leaders believe is probable to happen. and what this committee's going to do is to try continuously to show those probabilities and the gaps to respond to what we are predicting is going to happen. and as we work i realize there are other priorities of the government. this is not the only priority of the government. but having represented people

who lived through and survived through a catastrophic disaster, it's hard to tell them that there's another priority. >> that's right. >> and that is what's going to happen. i mean, for the two or three or four million or five million or twenty million people that are caught up in it at the time it happens, it's very hard to tell them that there's a higher priority than giving them a meal, a shelter, a potential job, a place to return, and it becomes a very significant issue for any country whether it's china or india or other countries that we have seen go through, you know, some horrific , catastrophic disasters. and it is just a matter of time until some of these predictions happen. and i'd like to say we're ready, but i'm telling you we're not. in any number of places that we have heard today.

so thank you all. i think we will call the hearing to a close and, again, the record will remain open for 15 days, and we urge anyone either here or listening to submit any data that will be helpful to our committee, and we thank you very much. meeting adjourned. >> with information on house and senate members, the cabinet, supreme court justices and the nation's governors. plus district maps and how to contact committees and caucuses. it's $16.95 online at c-span.org/products. or call 1-877-on c-span.

>> this weekend on swrks than 2's booktv, live. the midwest's largest literary effect, "the chicago tribune" printers row lit fest. panels and authors on the economy, globalization expht american worker, homosexual rights, former illinois governor rod blagojevich. civil rights and sojourner truth. the mob and counterfeiting and a look at the graphic adaptation

of studser the cels working. later on after words, stanley greenberg on advising tony blair and nelson mandela. he's interviewed by mary madeleine, former counselor in the bush/cheney white house. and live sunday in depth with bill ayers, university of illinois professor and former weather underground member. his latest is race course, against white supremacy, and he'll take your calls as well as questions from the audience. for a complete schedule of this weekend's programs and times, go online to booktv.org. >> now a hearing on the fiscal year 2010 budget for the military's special operations command. including navy sales and army rangers. this is about an hour. >> it's right at 1:00. we certainly expect other members to come terroristing in as we proceed -- drifting in as

we proceed, but want to be respectful of the admiral's time and get started on time and welcome you, as always, before our subcommittee, admiral olson. certainly we appreciate the work you do for our country in leading the special operations command. i have an opening statement that i have written that i will submit for the record. just briefly i want to say how important the special operations command is to our nation's national security. and how much we really appreciate and respect the job that you and all of the people under you have done in protecting our national security. all over the world in many, many places some of which are well known like iraq and afghanistan others of which many people are not aware of but in many ways are just as important certainly for the future of broader conflict, and i think the holistic approach that the special operations command has brought to winning that fight is invaluable. without question you are the best in the world at finding and

disrupting terrorist networks, at targeting individual terrorists and either capturing or killing them, and that skill, regrettably, will continue to have an important role in our national security. but you also understand how important it is to win the broader ideological war, to work with our partners out there in other countries in the world to get them to take the lead in counterrerring insurgencies, to give them the training and the help they need and nowhere is that truer or in need right now than pakistan, and that training will be an important part of success there as well. and also just the broader message issues, how do we communicate? how do we do counterradicallization? both your command and as impressively the individual soldiers, marines, airmen, and navy seals out there have developed skills that are invaluable not just the special operations command, but have proven to be valuable in the broader department of defence in

truly understanding what we're up against and also how to build on alliances out there. what has been learned on the battlefield has been helpful in terms of preparing on all of those issues, and we know special operate command takes a strong leadership role, and our subcommittee is very interested in being supportive and helpful. we know there are inevitable battles over funds, but you always seem to do a very, very good job with what we provide, and i do believe congress has also recognized the importance of this role and has done our best to provide what you need to fight that fight. so we appreciate what you're doing, look forward to hearing your testimony, and with that i will turn it over to the ranking member, mr. miller, for any opening statement he may have. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. i would like to say welcome, admiral, hope your travels up were good. thank you for the hospitality. had a wonderful chance to visit with you in maryland monday evening, and we thank you so much for hosting us and look forward to your testimony today. >> thank you, sir. >> thank you. with that, admiral olson.

>> thank you, sir. good afternoon. chairman smith, congressman miller, thank you very much for the opportunity to appear before this committee to highlight the current posture of the united states special operations command. we'll say thanks to the foresight add slow advocacy ando the support of this body and we recognize that we were a product of the congress, we do remain well positioned to meet the nation's expectations of its joint special operations forces. primarily as you well know u.s. special operations command is responsible through its service component commands. the u.s. army special operations command, the air force special operations command, the marine corps fors special operations command and naval special warfare command for organizing, equipping, training and providing fully-capable special operations forces to serve under the operational control of geographic combatant commanders around the world n. this role united states special command

headquarters share authorities and characteristics of a military department or defense agency. for the purpose of funding equipment, material, supplies, services, training, and operational activities that are peculiar to special operations forces. united states special operations command has also been designated as the combatant command responsible for synchronizing department of defense planning against terrorists and terror networks globally, a function that requires robust daily activity, punctuated semiannually by a conference that now attracts over a thousand people from about 40 different agencies and orses. additionally, we've been assigned propone si by the department of defense for security force assistance. in this role we expect to foster the long-term partnerships that will shape a more secure global environment in the face of global challenges such as

transnational crime, extremism and migration. the joint special operations force itself, those assigned to the united states special operations command by the military services for most of their military careers comprises army special forces, rangers, navy seals and many submarine operators, marine special operators, fixed and rotary wing aviators, combat controllers, practitioners of military affairs, all of these and more augmented, supported and enabled by a wide variety of assigned log stitions, acquisition professionals, operations planners, strategists, communications experts, doctrine writers, scientists, technologists and many more who are great men and women, active duty and reservists, military

and civilian. this is truly a team of teams. it is a force that is well suited to the irregular operating environments in which we are now engaged as you mentioned in your opening statement, sir. and its proven abilities have created an unprecedented demand for its effects in remote, uncertain, and challenging operating airs. whether the assigned mission is to train, advise, fight, or provide humanitarian assistance, the broad capabilities of special operations forces make them the force of choice. and while the high, long-term demand for special operations forces in afghanistan and iraq have led to 86 percent of the overseas force currently being deployed to the united states' central command area of responsibility, special operations forces do maintain a global presence. in fis cag year 2009, special operations forces have already

conducted operations and training in 106 countries around the globe. throughout these operations special operations forces have taken a long-term approach to engagement designed to forge enduring partnerships. this balance of direct and indirect actions, the combination of high-end technical skills and an understanding of the context of their application is the core of special operations. from support to major combat operations to the conduct of irregular warfare, special operations forces are normally the first in and last out. accomplishing their missions with a very small, highly capable and agile forces n. our current environment it's important to note the traditional activities of irregular warfare are not new to special operations forces. unconventional warfare, counterterrorism, civil affairs operations, information operations, psychological operations, foreign and internal defense are long standing core

activities. as a result significant resources are required to insure that special operations forces are properly manned, trained, and equipped to operate globally and with unmatched speed, precision, and discipline. the united states special operations command fiscal year 2010 budget request includes the resources necessary to continue providing full spectrum multimission global special operations forces that will equip the united states with a comprehensive set of unique capabilities. and while the united states special operations command major force program 11 budget has been historically been robust enough to meet the peculiar mission requirements, the success of special operations forces depends not only on dedicated budget and acquisition authorities, but also on special operations command's service parents and partners. we rely on the services for a broad range of support. some of the enabling

capabilities that must be provided by the services include mobility, area y'all sensors, field medical capabilities, construction, intelligence communications, security and more. and with the combination of the united states special operations command budget and the support from the services, special operations command seeks a balance first to have a sufficient organic special operations peculiar force for speed of response to operational crises and, second, to have enabling capabilities assigned in direct support of special operations forces for sustainment and expansion of operations. united states special operations command headquarters will continue to lead, develop, and sustain the world's most precise and lethal counterterrorism force. we will provide the world's most effective special operations trainers, advisers and combat partners with the skills, leadership, and mind set necessary to meet today's and tomorrow's unconventional challenges. this nation's joint forces will continue to find, kill, or

capture our irreconcilable enemies, to train, mentor and partner with our global friends and allies, and to pursue the tactics, techniques, procedures and technologies that will keep us ahead of die page in, emerging threats. i thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today. i'll conclude my opening remarks with a simple statement of pride in the special operations force that i am honored to command. special operations forces are contributing globally well beyond what its percentage of the total force would indicate. every day they're fighting our enemies, training our partners and through personal contact and assistance bringing real value to tens of thousands of villagers who are still deciding their allegiances. i stand ready for your questions, sir. >> thank you very much. several questions, we will adhere to the 5-minute rule just to keep structure to the questioning. first question i have is about 1208 authority which i know has been a critical tool for what you've been able to do in a

number of different places. you're asking for an expansion, a little bit of the money. i think it's 35 million, now we're asking for 50 million. can you tell us about how those funds are used and why they're so important to what you're doing. >> yes, sir. the 1208 requires that the funds be used to support ongoing special operations. this is really enabling the special operations forces to extend their operations through the use of surrogates and counterparts to conduct activities in partnership or in support of the special operations forces who are, who are on that operation. it is an authority and not an appropriation. it authorizes united states special operations command to recommend to the secretary after -- secretary of defense after coordinating with the geographic combatant commander and the chief of mission in the country.

to utilize up to currently $35 million of o&m funds from within the special operations budget. so it is an issue of prioritization within our budget. it's enormously important because it is an agile fund, it's a focused fund. it's used for purposes that are well coordinated, and in a closed session i could provide a fair bit of detail about how it has had effect around the world. >> certainly. i think it's a program that we strongly support, and i think it potentially contributes to sort of the second area of questioning, and that is the important of interagency cooperation in what you're doing which is increasingly important. when we look at this broadly, globally as a counterinsurgency fight, there are a lot of different pieces that are going to have to be pulled together in order to make this work, and i

think sh you know, i've seen special operations command under your leadership and also out in the field under the leadership of at one point general crystal i think pulled those pieces together about as effectively as anywhere i've seen in government. as we go forward and you look outside of areas like iraq and afghanistan where i think we're sufficiently aware of the struggles there, you look around the horn of africa and aq, what do you think is most important towards a push forward that level of cooperation between socom, other elements of dod, state and the intel community? >> the most important thing to push forward are structures that provide a forum so that the interagency community can provide the content to the discussions. these are relationships that are building over time.

we are way better than we have ever been. we're not as good as we will be next year or the year after, but so much of it has to do with just understanding each other's organizations and cultures, and we're even seeing now what i call second or third generation or second or third order effects of people who have worked together in one place now coming together in another place and having a relationship so that they can move much more quickly together. general mccrystal, i think, set the standard aggressively at the operational level. i think the united states special operations command is serving as a model of sorts at the higher headquarters level. we wake up every day with about 85 uniformed members of the special operates command going to work in other agencies of government inside the national capital region. most of the agencies you would expect and perhaps some you wouldn't normally expect us to be in, small teams typically 2-4 people with an 06 colonel or

capital as the team leader. we also wake up in tampa with about 140 members of other agencies coming to work in our headquarters. full members of the team sitting in on all the discussions, sitting in on all the, all the global collaboration kinds of briefings, and this has provided a transparency in the interagency environment that's very helpful, and it's hard now having seen it in action for a few years to imagine, to remember back what it was like before we looked, back when we used to look around the room and see only uniformed members. it really is a good, solid team effort at this point. >> and that is something we really want to encourage. i think you hit upon the absolute key to it, getting people from the different agencies to actually work side by side day in and day out, and you've done an excellent job of springing some socom people out

in other places. i think the nctc is a good forum for that, but we want to see that happen more and more and rock for ways to encourage it, and i think in particular some of the title 10, title 50 conflicts between spell and dod can be resolved better if we start having more sharing back and forth. now, obviously, we understand all of those different pieces have personnel to manage. that's the great challenge, i know, for you. and if your personnel is sent all over a bunch of other places, you've got a core mission to accomplish. so along the way if there are ways we can help you free up more personnel, please let us know. i know we have got an ongoing issue in terms of the management within your own entity of different service members, and we are communicating that concern to dod and trying to give you the authority you need to better manage your own personnel within socom, and certainly we look for those opportunities also to build those relationships and really just sort of continue on with the goldwater-nichols principle

and now apply it across agency lines as well as the dod. we look forward to doing that. with that i will yield to mr. miller. >> thanks, mr. chairman. i've had an opportunity to visit with some of our nato allies, and they are, indeed, proud of the contributions that they are making certainly within the soft community and, you know, certainly in afghanistan. and what i'd like to ask you for the record, if you would, explain the impact of the soft capabilities of those partners in the current fight as it exists in afghanistan, and you could an update as well on iraq as we transition out. >> yes, sir. from your visits to the nato soft coordination center, you understand how this team is coming together, and there's bonding that's occurring across the special operations forces of nato at the headquarters environment. i think it's inspired. its certainly stimulated the

activities of some special operations forces being provided to, to the isaf effort in afghanistan. so i'm not the expert on how individual nations' special operations forces are performing, what their activities are in afghanistan that's outside my realm of responsibility, and i'm not sure my monitorship is strong enough to give an accurate answer on that at this point. i will say that in my discussions with nato's soft leaders there is a sense of community that is forming within the special, across the nation's special operations communities. i would term it loosely perhaps special operations forces, you know, special operations flag is something around which nato forces can rally. it's a relatively inexpensive,

relatively low-level investment in a much broader military capability that nato can provide. the nato soft coordination center now, as you know, is less than 3 years old. but it has got its legs up under it pretty well. >> what can we do, what do you think we can do to assist our allies as they develop, you know, their soft units? >> sir, i think there's already robust activity in nato, and we're seeing some nato countries step forward in terms of presenting their special operations forces as subject matter experts in particularly disciplines and then serving, using that to attract others to exercise and train with them. so there's a synergy that's occurring bilaterally in areas where the united states isn't involved and multilaterally and bilaterally where we are. i think that my shortest answer

to that would be to explore ways to operationalize the nato soft coordination center, and i'm not knowledgeable enough about how nato works organizationally to understand the details and nuances of that. the nato soft coordination center directer is now a dual-hatted american two-star general who serves in his primary role as the commander of special operations european command, and so i would suggest exploring ways by which we might form a separate, a separate commander, a separate directer for the nato soft coordination center. >> one question moving away from nato involves where we are with our gunships. certainly with afsoc in my district it appears, you know, that there is a shortfall, but

the budget doesn't request any additional funding for gunships this year. can you talk about our plans or your plans to address that particular shotfall along with your plans to maintain, modernize, and upgrade the existing aircraft that are out there? >> yes, sir. we have a recapitalization program for most of the rest of our c-130 fleet, mc-130js will come into our program. that was a higher priority initially than the ac-130 gunship for recapitalization because of the ages of the airframes involved. the recent level of activity in afghanistan is causing us to understand again how important precision firepower is. in that tactical environment,

and we have, we are understanding clearly that our capacity is insufficient and that other platform, substitute platforms simply don't bring the same response to troops in contact. that an ac-130 does. ac-130 is not a precision fire platform, it's actually an area fire platform that's accurate with its sensors and guns, so what we are doing to augment the ac-130 fleet, what we are seeking to do immediately is modify our mc-130w fleet to serve as a platform for a standoff parisian-guided munition as a primary weapon and a 30 millimeter gun as a secondary. all proven systems, it's simply a matter of integrating them in a platform that hasn't been used for that purpose before. we are