>> general, i want to go back to this issue of cyber security and your comments in response to senator, you note in your written statement that the systems -- risks our ability to complete our mission. we know that russia and china are leveraging cyber information to steal government from the united states. the areas of communication and military technologies including aerospace, are the greatest risk of being stolen. can you kmept on what we need to do in mitigate the risks and

vulnerabilities to those systems? >> >> we are focused on the networks that we need tore mission accomplishments. they are security right now, so there's great capability in the hacking world to put at risk points of vulnerability, especially where we have inter connectedness, so we watch it closely. it's a great area of concern, working closing with cyber com. coming up with unique solutions is part of what we are doing. including receiving some information and reinforcement in our cyber warriors in command. >> are you seeing increase in the area of cyber attacks? >> not against u.s. northern command, senator. >> thank you. >> thank you, senator reed. >> thank you both very much for your testimony and thank you for your service to the air force

and nation. it was touched on, maritime capacity in your area of operations and one aspect of this is the reports frequently of submarines being used to transport narcotics, does that pose an emerging problem which complicates further your ability to intercept these vessels in the air? >> it remains a concern. and for the first time we saw submersibles in the caribbean, so the use of those vessels continues to expand within the transnational criminal organizations. as i look at the problem, it's not just a maritime problem, because they are built in the jungles in columbia, they acquire the assets and they are commercially available assets

and they arrive somewhere off the coast of central america and transfer the goods there. it's an expensive proposition to try and find them, follow them, detect them as they work through the maritime environment, requires a lot of assets to maintain that. we are working the entire connection. our focus is on where they are built and where they arrive to address the problem with trying to detect them and then intercept them when we do find them in the maritime environment. >> i presume this is a collaborative effort with the host countries that are not doing it with their permission, but they are doing it in columbia and other places and you are working closely with their intelligence services to do that? >> yes, it's a great collaboration, we rely on great enforcement communities, they address this issue in their

territory and we collaborate as with well. >> you know, one of the consequences of our active commitment in our theaters is overhead and other isr factors do you have support in this area to support these construction projects in the jungles and pinpoint them he early on, or is that a -- them early on? >> we are continuing to look at capacity that can look through triple canopy, jungles that is what we are looking at today, and so i am comfortable, there test programs under way to build that capacity. and so i'm comfortable senator.

>> can you comment on the soon to be expansion of the panama canal, in terms of your operation. i think in 2014 they are going to begin a transit with a new canal which is a huge, huge change to sea born transportation, not just in your area but worldwide, do you have any specific insights? >> senator, you are correct, 2014 is the scheduled time line and the panama canal authority is focused achieving that goal. the amount of commercial activity will increase. maybe not the amount of ships but the commercial activity. we on annual basis conduct an exercise called panamax, which is an international exercise, 18 nations participated last year. the it support -- it supports the government of panama and the canal, we will continue those efforts as we watch the expansion as it relates to

panama, exercises will remain critical to that effort. thank you. general jacoby. >> there's another emerging corridor and that is the arctic ocean and given your requirements and your day-to-day coordination with the authorities, the navy is predicting in some cases sort of at least one or two months of transit by 2020 of commercial ships through the arctic which opens up questions of environmental response and search and rescue. where are we in that endeavor thank you senator. that area is a unique domain and

we work with the canadians how they are planning for that environment. they are working on three, five-year blocks towards the same things we are considering. today, admiral pap and i will sign a white paper that we have done a capabilities gap assessment, principally in the areas of communications, domain awareness, infrastructure, and presence and what we will recommend for the future that might lead to prudent investments to position us for that opening of the arctic, traffic has increased since 2 -- over sixty-one % -- over 61% since 2008. and drilling will be starting prior to the close of the spring. so security interests follow closely behind economic interests and we will be participating in a number of venues to help lead that for the department of defense.

>> many of my colleagues touched on the issue of cyber security and strategic command has assets within your ao missile silos, i presume, bases, etcetera, you have the norad system, have you and strategic command or individually done an vulnerability answer upon your dependence on civilian systems that are less secure than the military systems? >> senator, yes we have and we have comprised those extensively and red teamed to that regard. >> are you confident that you can continue to respond to the

national command nort in pa situation, a cyber attack or my other that would go after, not directly your installations but supporti ining civil complexes? >> i believe our network is secure. and operate in the civilian met yo -- civilian networks are compromised and go down? >> >> i believe so, senator, but as you mow, there's great -- as you know, there's great connectedness, so there will be second and third attacks on the cyber system. but coordinating to our core area, we are adequately defended, but village lens will be required, the cyber enemies continue to advance approximate

-- in this capabilities and have demonstrated an intent to conduct malicious activity on our nets. just a final, and my time is expired. can you operate in an environment under which the worst case environment is that all of the civilian networks have gone down, and you have to go back to, you know, getting on the telephone -- maybe that is the work if it is, work, if it is, like a land line or sending a messenger? i do not want to be too simple, but sometimes we have become so depending on auto computer technology and gps, etcetera, do you exercise to the point where it's worst case, where you have to rely on old fashion technology like people driving a car and getting out an order?

>> that is a great question, that is exactly what we comprised in november -- that is what we exercised in november and i will tell you that it is a very painful doable task and takes a long time to recover your network. it takes a long time to put it back up. >> thank you mr. chairman, thank you general fraser and general jacoby for your service and general fraser thank you for all that you've done for our country. certainly, we will miss having you around here and testifying before our committee. general fraser, i wanted to ask you, in your written testimony, you described the role of russia in the south-com in the region and said their presence is centered on arms sales is that correct? >> yes. >> and their arms sales are to

venezuela? >> the main purchaser is venezuela but they are he will -- but they are selling on other countries. >> is it is. -- is it accurate that chavez regime is the largest importer of russian arms as well >> for last year, yes, ma'am. >> there also, they are selling arms to cuba? >> yes, ma'am. >> nicaragua? >> yes, ma'am. not the most enlightened rumors in your area of jurisdiction, are they. >> they have been putting pressure on radial checks and balances in democratic institutions. >> unfortunately this is part of a pattern for russia, this is something that we had before the committee last week, we are deeply concerned about that and that is russia's role to selling

arms to syria even as the bloodshed continues there. in fact the state controlled russian company, it's an export company, continues to provide the syrian government with weapons and i just want to take this opportunity, if you look at the pattern here, in addition with russian obstructionism, with efforts to strengthening iran, this is a troubling, troubling pattern. when it comes to syria, i want to say this, that i have -- i was proud to join my colleagues in writing a letter to secretary panetta, regarding the outrage of the russian arm sales, in fact to syria, my senators and yesterday, on you are secretary of state, secretary clinton sparred with a representative from the russian government and she said rightly so, and i stand by our secretary of state in

saying this. that russia was standing silent as assad kills his own people. i would go further, in my old profession, if you know someone is killing someone, and committing murder, like the assad regime is doing with their own people and you knowingly provide them with arms, you are not just standing silent, you are an accomplice with those killings. i want to take this opportunity to express my outrage that russia is providing arms to these regimes and one that is killing its own people and i hope that russia stops this and that they should come forward and be a member of the international community to support sanctions against syria.

so, thank you for giving me the opportunity now to could that. and again, i would hope they stop selling arms to people like chavez a as well as their enter actions with cuba. i want to ask you both about the national guard and in particular our state partnership program, general fraser, the guard in new hampshire had a strong state partnership program in the southern command with el salvador. can you let us know what you think is the value of the state partnership program and also what your view is on particular the partnership between the guard in new hampshire and the program in el salvador, and how does it help our national interest? >> i am supporter of the state partnership. one of the value that it brings is that guard members stay in our units longer than active duty members do. that provides the ability to

form a deeper relationship with the countries. it is a critical long-term partnership building capacity that we see. new hampshire has a close connection and helps to build their budgeting capacity and and just a good relationship back and forth between the two partners. >> is this an effective use of our resource in terms of building partnerships? >> it's a very effective tool. the other benefit that we gain from the state partners is because of their civilian jobs they have opportunities to share our experience that goes beyond military experience when that can be authorized. >> general jacoby, you want to add to that?

>> it's a efficient use of resources, it's consistency over time, it helps us broaden and deepen our relationships around the world. and i was struck in your written testimony, general jacoby, how you talked about how the national guard is a natural partner in all that we do is the language that you use, as we look at the challenging time in terms of the prospect of unfortunately not only the cuts that the department is facing now, and on top of it, sequestration, how important is it that we not only maintain the active duty and resources for that in terms of training and for our guard as well? >> senator, the guard is our natural partner, they functions in all of my mission statements. >> and i should include the reserves too.

>> and thanks to the congress, reserves can function in defense support to civil authorities. it makes sense, you know, we saw problems locally and the guard is available fast and efficient in that way, so, from defending the homeland to supporting civil authorities to helping us with some of our engagements with the countries in this area, the guard is an important partner to us. >> did you want to add anything further? >> i think we are in agreement here that the state partnership program, we work and heavily defend on the national guard in our engagement not only with our partners but as we work within our headquarters and within our capacity to provide exercise support and other capacities so across the board, we rely heavily on the national guard as well as reserves to conduct the mission.

>> thank you both. >> thank you, senator, thank you? >> thank you very much, general fraser, general jacoby, good to see you. i feel like i'm in alaska right now as you are both up there commanding operations. it's great to be back in a forum where we are all three here. thank you very much. let me first start if i can, general jacoby, we had a brief meeting last week in regards to alaska command. i guess the general description or discussion is, can you tell me, from your perspective, the value of alaska command in regards to the connection with northern command or north-com, can you give me a sense of how that plays of course i'm biased and hope it's a good answer. >> when i was the commander, the

commander was doug fraser and commanded brilliantly. so it was valuable. alaska's unique strategic significance to the country and now even more so as our gaze turns toward the arctic, i believe it requires a three-star command and a joint command and so, i think that al-com remains relevant and important to the defense of the homeland. many, many tasks that are -- that take place in alaska are tasks that support north-com and norad in our home land defense role. and to support civil authorities through jtf alaska, very important to norad and norcom, not only norcom but pack com

too, and even though you are southern commands, general fraser, maybe you can respond? >> we have had a good working relationship with pacific command. but, and they have important equities in the strategic significance of alaska, however as the norad commander and north com commander, i probably occupy 80% to 85% of the al-com commander's time. >> let me ask you this, and senator reed was leading into that and i think you said today that admiral pap and you are signing a document defining the

gap analysis or resources that may be needed. first off is the analysis, i'm assuming it's a long-term analysis of what will be needed to make our presence known and my sense is by you sign issiing agreement, and you can correct me, that this kind of agreement in the future of the piece of n to our military positioning, is that a fair statement? >> senator, yes it is. we need to move forward with consensus of what are the capabilities that will be required and what are the investments that should be made, so we have an opportunity while we watch the arctic to begin to open up, to get ahead of potential security requirements and to that end, working closely with the coast guard and the

department of homeland security, and also staying tied closely to the canadians is the right frame work to be working on now. >> okay. data that i got from the coastal alaska, you would see 50 ships and now it's close to 1,000. so it's moving in a rapid pace of activity up there and now we know our friends from china and russia are interested, china, curious about our efforts. your gap analysis, will that be utilized as you move forward in your long-term the budget planning of how the pieces fit in and where you need toal oh, indicate assets? >> that is an important first step with our closest partners to look at the gaps and

particularly in how you communicate and how you see and understand what infrastructure we may need and what kind of continued presence you may require in the arctic. we come to a consensus on that and then we help inform our integrated priority list and our scientific priority list, that is the start of the process, we received this responsibility in the latest unified command plan update and i'm happy to say we are moving out on it. >> thank you, very much. if i can general fraser, thank you for your long-term service in your career, first off. i know you'll be missed and i know you have been an incredible asset for this country. let me ask you a couple of questions about southern commands. first, it's kind of a general comment, as we move down the path with the panama canal going to -- out of our control to some

extent and then outs of total control. do we have any worry as we worry about commercial lanes with somalia, and piracy, i know it's an odd question, but, you mknow when you are from alaska and you deal with fisheries, we hate e pirates, and i'm thinking of panama. how are they managing it? >> they are doing a great job of managing it, we do not see any indications right now of any piracy on either end of the panama canal, it's an area we ton watch. >> also, we had great conversations when the hurricane went through haiti. tell me how southern command is

preparing to be ready for those natural disaster? that was the first one that was significant that i as a member of the senate was seeing southern command respond to, give me your thoughts on that and how we are prepared for other natural disasters in the regi region? >> the hurricane season is obviously our number one conditioner because that happens on an -- one concern because that happens on a annual basis and we have a plan that was created post haiti, and revised our disaster response plan. it's a graduated plan depending on the needs of any request would be and we continue to exercise that on annual basis. as we look at the hurricane season, we prepare for that, not within only our head quarter says but with others in the area. and we work with the government to be able to respond should a

hurricane impact them. >> and this is my last comment because my time is expired you saw areas that were successful and areas that needed improvement and you worked on that to expand the improvement response? >> it is a fair statement. to include, normally we do not have the authority to spend d.o.d. dollars outside of a 72-hour emergency response capacity. associated ha associated with haiti specifically we have received up to $3 million so we can start the process and respond on a rapid basis. >> very good, thank you very much, it's good to see, you i consider you alaskans so thank you both for your service. >> thank you. senator brown? >> i had the honor of meeting both of you and i appreciate you taking the time to come to the office and kind of address my

questions. i had a follow-up about the state fellowship program. i participated and went to paraguay and found a relationship with morrocco, and other places where we could not have a lot of money -- we do not have a lot of money. but i want to keep that program where it is so we can continue to train and use it as an asset so thank you for that support. general jacoby, i wanted to know if you can expand on natural and man made disasters? can you expand on that just a touch? >> thank you, senator. we had a great initiative last year, with the dual statistics us commander, and i mentioned it in my opening statement, and we had an opportunity to test that in a way that we have not done

in the past year in august with hurricane irene, and i'm proud to report as a team, that the very first opportunity we had to employ dual status commanders we did, and put four dual status commanders in position with their title ten deputies just as was the intent of congress and the council of governors. so, that program is a live and well, it made a lot of sense and we will continue to grow that and look at ways to employ dual commanders in many other events. i'm working with reserve forces and the army to take advantage of the the authorization that we have, to involuntarily activation, there's huge capacity in the reserves around the country and that was a great move that we are continuing