At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) questioned Matthew L. Lohmeier, a former Lt. Col. in the Space Force and author of "Irresistible Revolution: Marxism's Goal of Conquest & the Unmaking of the American Military," during his confirmation hearing to be to be Under Secretary of Air Force.
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00:00Mr. Lohmeyer, you were beginning to say what you do believe about January the 6th.
00:10So go ahead and finish that thought.
00:13Thank you, Senator.
00:15What I was saying is that I believe there were many Americans who were gathered that day as part of a protest.
00:20And I also think it's been politically fraught for many years and it continues to be brought up
00:25because there's so much uncertainty about what was really going on, totally outside of my lane.
00:30As a nominee for the Undersecretary of the Air Force, and if confirmed, my job is to organize, train, and equip forces
00:37to provide to combatant commanders in the Air and Space Forces, and that's what I'd be focused on.
00:41Okay, Senator Rono, in light of my intervention, do you have any follow-up questions at this point?
00:48Okay, thank you very much.
00:51Thanks.
00:51My only comment is that his refusal to answer very clearly the questions does not reassure me at all
00:57that he is qualified to take this position.
01:00Thank you, ma'am.
01:02Senator Ernst.
01:04Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thanks to all of our witnesses for being here today
01:09and for continuing your service to these great United States of America.
01:14I do want to start, Mr. Lohmeyer, we'll start and talk about an issue that is extremely important to me
01:20and to all of Iowa, and that is about our Air National Guard refueling wing located in Sioux City, Iowa.
01:29When the National Guard's 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City was converted from the F-16 fighters
01:37to the KC-135 tankers back in 2003, the Air Force said it would upgrade the airfield at the Iowa National Guard facility.
01:49Again, this is 22 years ago.
01:51This is an important issue.
01:53It is one I have pushed with the Air Force for a number of years now,
01:59so this line of questioning should be no surprise.
02:02Because the tankers require, they do have heavier airframes,
02:08they have greater fuel loads that they will be delivering,
02:13the runway is unable to hold that load.
02:17Okay, so this is critical importance.
02:20Unfortunately, the Air Force and the National Guard
02:23never followed through on their promise to upgrade that runway.
02:28They failed in their commitment to complete the runway upgrade.
02:32So, I am additionally concerned with this failure
02:34because now we have a conversion of the 135s to the KC-46s.
02:41And the 185th Air Refueling Squadron could potentially lose its mission
02:48because of the failure to upgrade this runway.
02:52It will directly impact the retention of the immense talent of these guardsmen in Sioux City.
03:00And this is completely unacceptable and the Air Force must live up to its commitment as of 22 years ago.
03:09So, Mr. Lohmeyer, is the Air National Guard a vital component of the Air Force?
03:15Yes, Senator, it is.
03:18Is it essential that the Air National Guard has the infrastructure and resources necessary
03:24to execute its missions effectively?
03:28Yes, every time the Guard comes up, Senator,
03:30I often reflect on the fact that when I was an F-15C fighter pilot,
03:34I never even knew what unit happened to be providing fuel to me on the tanker in front of me.
03:38There's such a seamless integration between our active duty Reserve and Guard personnel.
03:42And so, I think this is a very important issue.
03:44Absolutely, and I appreciate that.
03:47If confirmed, do I have your commitment unequivocally
03:50that you will fully fund the runway upgrade at the Iowa National Guard facility in Sioux City
03:55and ensure it's at the top of the Air National Guard MILCON priorities for the Fiscal Year 26 NDAA?
04:04Senator, like you, I don't like it when people make commitments
04:07and can't keep them.
04:09I think it's important to the trust of the American people,
04:11and it's important for the Air Force to keep its commitments.
04:14So, I'm familiar with the history that you've laid out.
04:17And unlike, perhaps, those that have gone before,
04:20I'll commit a little bit differently to you,
04:22that I will be very transparent in my communications with you.
04:24I will take this particular issue very seriously.
04:27And I want to make sure that if I make commitments to you
04:30or to the American people that I'll be able to follow through
04:32or the Department of the Air Force will be able to follow through.
04:34So, I'll take that very seriously.
04:35That is disappointing, though, Mr. Lohmeier.
04:37I think I heard a commitment to Senator Cotton about his home state priority.
04:45I am asking for a commitment for my home state priority.
04:49The very mission of this unit relies upon an upgrade of its runway.
04:56So, this is very problematic for me.
05:00I have been bringing this up with the Air Force for years now.
05:03I am asking that a commitment be honored for our Iowa Air National Guard
05:11and the community that supports this National Guard unit.
05:16So, given the lack of commitment around this project
05:19and its direct impact on the 185th's ability to perform its mission,
05:24I want to make sure we're not putting the cart before the horse.
05:27So, again, Mr. Lohmeier, I'll give you a second chance here.
05:31Can I at least have your commitment that you will work with the Secretary of the Air Force
05:35to pause any discussion, any discussion,
05:39on changing the 185th Air Refueling Wings mission set?
05:45Senator, yes.
05:46You have my commitment that I will, if confirmed, work very closely with Dr. Mink,
05:50if he's confirmed, to carefully make data-driven decisions,
05:54consider all variables.
05:56I don't think these are decisions that should ever be taken lightly.
05:59I certainly don't like that we can't follow through with commitments that we've made.
06:03So, I make the same commitment to you that I've made to Senator Cotton
06:06or that I'd be willing to make with any senator in this room
06:08that I'll weigh each matter in a non-political manner,
06:13try and make the best decisions for the force.
06:15And, of course, I'm very interested, Senator, as you've suggested,
06:17in honoring the commitments that the Department of the Air Force has made in the past,
06:21where that's feasible.
06:22And I'd like, I'd look forward to learning more about that.
06:24Thank you, Mr. Lohmeyer.
06:25And I want to be clear, this isn't just about the runway.
06:29It's about whether our Air National Guard is treated as an equal partner,
06:35as you stated earlier, in our national defense or as an afterthought.
06:40And, unfortunately, they have been treated as an afterthought.
06:44The Iowa's 185th has served with honor,
06:47and they absolutely deserve infrastructure that matches their operational demands.
06:52I'm going to continue to press on this,
06:54and I hope that I have resolution in the near future.
06:58We need to make sure these commitments are honored.
07:00Thank you, Mr. Chair.
07:02Thank you, Mr. Chair.
07:03Thank you, Mr. Chair.