broader war. to work with our partners in the world, to get them to take the lead in countering insurgencies. and no truer in pakistan. and that training will be an important part of success there. and the broad erer issues of how we communicate, and in your command as impressively, the individual soldiers, marines, and navy seals have developed skills in those areas that are invaluable. not just in special operations commands, but proven to be broader. and to understand how to confront what we are up against and what is learned on the battlefield has been helpful on preparing on all of those issues. and we know that special

operations command take a role. and there are battle over fund, but you seem to do a good job of what we provide. and i believe that congress has recognized this role and what you need to fight that fight. we appreciate what you do and look forward to your testimony. and turn over to ranking member mr. miller. >> thank you mr. chairman. i would like to submit for the record, welcome admiral. thank you for your hospitality, i had a wonderful time to meet with you and marilyn, and thank you for where you are time today. >> thank you, sir, good afternoon, thank you for the opportunity to appear before this committee to highlight the special operations command.

and say thank you for the foresight of this body. and we recognize we were a product of the congress. and we remain well commissioned. and as you know that a special operations command is responsible through the service components commands, the army and marine and naval force command, to organize and provide fully forces to serve under the operational control of commanders around the world. in this role, the special operation command headquarters shares responsibilities and authorities and characteristics of a military development or defense agency, including a special force budget established by the congress, for the purpose of funding equipment, supplies and

training and operational activities that are peculiar to special operation forces. this command has been designated as the command responsible for synchronizing department planning against terrorists that requires activity and of 1,000 people of 40 different agencies and organizations. additionally we have been assigned by the department of defense, in this role we expect to foster the long-term partners that will shape a more secure environment of transnational crime and migration. the form itself assigned to this command for most of their

military careers, compromises army special forces and navy seals and marine special operators and affixed navy operators and practitioners of navy support, all of this augmented by specialists and analysts and acquisition planners and writers and trainers and scientists and technologies and many more, that are great men and women, military and civilian that work for an assignment or two. it's a team of teams. it's a force that's well suited that we are engaged as you mentioned in your opening

statement. and the proven abilities have proven an unprecedented command in areas. whether the assigned mission is to train or provide assistance, the capabilities of the special forces make them a force of choice. while the high long-term demand for forces in afghanistan and iraq have lead to 86% of the force being deployed. special operation forces do maintain a global presence. in 2009, the special forces have provided operation in training in 106 countries. special forces have taken a long-term force to engagement and regional stability. the balance of effective,

direct and indirect actions and skills and an understanding of context of their application is the core of special operations. from support to major combat to the warfare, the special operations is first in and last out with agile forces. it's important to note that special operations are not new. in combat terrorism, and psychological operations and foreign defense are long standing core activities. as a result significant resources are required to ensure that special operation forces are properly manned and equipped to operate globally

with unmatched speed and develop. -- discipline. this includes the resources necessary to provide full spectrum global mission that will equip the united states with comprehensive set of unique abilities. and while the command major force budget has been robust enough to meet the requirements. the success of special operation forces depend not only on the budget, but also on special operation commands service and departments. relying on the services for a broad range of support. some that are provided are mobility and field services and planning and construction and intelligence and security and more. with a combination of special

operation plans budget and support of the services, we seek a balance first to have a sufficient, organic special operations peculiar to response. and second to have enabling capabilities for expansion of operations. the command special forces will continue to lead the special terrorism force. and will train and advisor and with the skill sets to meet today's and tomorrow's challenges. we will continue to find, kill or capture irreconcilable enemies. to pursue the tactics and procedures to keep us ahead of

emerging threats. thank you for the opportunity to be here today, and with the pride of special operation forces, we committed globally, every day fighting the enemies and training the partners and bringing value to ten's of thousands of villages that still decide their allegiances. >> thank you, we will stay to the five-minute rule. first is 1208 authority that is a critical tool of what you have are able to do. you are asking for expansion of the money, and asking for $50 million. can you tell us how those funds are used and why they are so important?

>> yes, sir, the 1208 authority is peculiar to special operations. it requires that the funds be used to support ongoing special operations. this is enabling the special operation forces to extend their operations through the use of surrogates and counterparts to conduct activities and partnerships in support of the special operations forces on that operation. it's an authority, not appropriation. and after coordinating with the commander and chief of commission 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's an agile fund, and used for purposes that are world coordinated. and in a closed session, i could provide detail how it has effect around the world. >> thank you, it's a program that we strongly support. and the second question, the importance of the counter and insuriency fight, there are a lot of pieces that have to be pulled together to make it work. and i have seen special operations command in your leadership and out in the field under general mcchrystal, pulled those pieces effectively in government.

as we go forward and look outside of areas of iraq and afghanistan, but look to emerging threats around africa, what do you think is important of pushing that cooperation. dod and state and intel communicate? >> the most important thing to push forward are structures that provide a forum so that the community can provide the content to the discussions. these are relationships that are building over time. we are way better than we have been. we are not as good as we will be next year or the year after. so much has to do with understanding each other's organizations and cultures. and now seeing what i call

second or third generation effectings, people working together in one place and have a relationship so they can move much more quickly together. general mcchrystal i think set the standard aggressively at the operational level. and that command is serving as a higher sorts of the headquarters. we wake up with 85 members of the special operations command going to work in agencies of government. some you may expect and some you wouldn't, and small teams two to four people, with an o 6 colonel. and we wake up in tampa with those in our headquarters. full members of the team sitting on the discussions and

on the global collaborations kind of briefings and this has provided a transparency that is helpful. and it's hard now to imagine back what it was like back when we used to look around the room and see only uniform members. it's a good solid team. >> and that's something that we want to encourage, to get agencies to work side by side. you have done an excellent job and sprinkling those in other places. other agencies need to do that as well. and we want to see that happen more and more. and in particular some title 10 or title 50 conflicts between

intel and dod, can be resolved better if we have more sharing back and forth. and we understand that all have a personnel manage. that's a challenge, and you have a core mission to accomplish. along the way if there are ways we can help you free up more personnel, please let us know. i know we have an ongoing issue of management in your entity of different service members. and we are communicating that concern to d.o. d. to give you that authority. and we look for those opportunities to build those relationships and to continue on with the gold, water, nickels principles. with that i will yield to mr. miller. >> mr. chairman, i served on the nato parliamentary

assembly, and have had the opportunity to serve with allies and they are proud of that made in soft community. and certainly in afghanistan, what would i would like to ask for the record, explain the soft record for afghanistan and an update on iraq as we transition out. >> yes, sir, from your visits from the nato soft coordination center, you understand how this team is coming together and this is inspired and stimulated the act s, and that is beyond

my realm and not sure my responsibility is to give that answer. in my discussions with nato soft leaders, there is a form of community forming, and i would term it loosely, perhaps special operation flags is something where nato forces can rally. it's a relatively inexpensive investment that nato can provide. the nato soft coordination center is less than three years old.

but it has 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 their soft units? >> sir, there is already robust activity in nato, and seeing some nato countries step forward of forces and disciplines and using that to attract others. so there is a synergy occurring bilaterally where the united states is not involved and where we are. my shortest answer would be to explore ways to see the nato center, and i am not sure how

nato works for the nuances of that. the nato core center is that of the leader of the role of the european command. i would suggest exploring ways by which we might form a separate director for the nato soft coordination center. >> one question moving away from nato of the gunships. it appears in my district there is a short fall. but the budget doesn't address additional funding for short falls this year. can you talk about your plans for that short fall and to

maintain and upgrade the existing aircraft out there. >> yes, sir, we have a recapitalization program for the rest of the fleet of mc-hj's. will come into the program. that was a higher priority than the ac-130 gunship because of the ages of air frames involved. the recent level of activity in afghanistan helps us understand how important precision gunfire is. and we understand clearly that our capacity is insufficient. and that other flat forms, substitute platforms don't bring the same response to troops in contact that an

ac-130 does. it's in the a precision platform, it's an air weapon that's accurate. to augment this fleet, what we are seeking to do immediately is modify our mc-130 w fleet to serve as a platform for a stand-off precision as a guided mission as the primary weapon and 30 millimeter gun as. and of all systems it's a platform not used in that purpose before. we are seeking funds to do this. and we think because the technology risk is so low, we can deliver it quickly. >> thank you, that's all for now. >> thank you, mr. mcintyre.

>> thank you admiral, last year when i joined you in tampa, and thank you for the service you give to us here and around the world. the concern about wear and tear on equipment, is one that we have had since the situation occurred in iraq. and tell me specifically with special operations resources, what resources do you find experience the greatest wear and tear. and to what do you attribute this aging process. and do you have thoughts of how we can help you address that situation? >> sir, thank you. i don't think it will surprise anyone, the answer is our mobility systems that are suffering the most wear and tear. because of the ways they are used and the pace they are used.

so as my staff just recently gave me the top five items of what we see wear and tear. and it's the fixed wing and rotary wing aviation and the flat time, we are driving more hours and spending more time on the water. and this is at a pace beyond what we predicted when the systems were procured. so we are refurbishing them more often and we are resourced to do that. my concern looking ahead is that we sustain the level of resources to permit us to keep this equipment going. as we look forward to some forces drawing down in iraq. we don't see that happening in special operations forces at all. as we have come to depend on

special funding means to keep this equipment going, in the operational environment we have to find a way to work that in the baseline budget. >> on that point, as we draw down the conventional forces, there are challenges to stay in the same numbers and continue to get the support you need from the conventional forces in field. how is that playing out? >> i think it's playing out well. recently we have had service lead talks and the chief staff the army, we are in complete accord of what the challenges are and seeking to resolve those. there is a broad understanding whether a small force in an area or large force, you need someone to control the air space and provide the medical

support and all the rest it takes to look after the force that is forward. so we are helping them help us, doing the detailed analysis of what it is that will have to be left behind, if you will, by the forces to sustain the activity that stays behind. i think we are on a good track of that with the services. >> thank you. >> can you tell us what the typical rotational cycles are soft personnel, particularly in sitcom, and how you think that affects what you can best do to keep up with a pace. and i know it's an issue that has come up in the broader context. but i want to be concerned how it affects your special operation forces. >> yes, sir, the service components has sort of evolved

into different rotational paces, depending on the nature of the course and the operations they are conducting. it ranges from 90 days on the short end of aviators that fly at lot of hours at night and burn up the allotted hours more quickly. and through seven months of special operation task a-teams the pace and extends beyond that to rotations at the higher headquarters for a campaign flying continuity of effort at senior levels. the rate now is sustainable. the predictions of how long we could sustain were wrong. we didn't think that we could

sustain this long. but the forces are resilient beyond our estimates. i think we are at the maximum rate we can sustain. but i think we can sustain this rate for some time longer. it is now become the new normal. it's the way we operate, the people doing this have done it long enough to know that what it is they can expect to do. and our retention rate is high and recruiting rate is healthy. so if the demand didn't increase, we are probably pretty ok. but we see an increasing demand for operational forces, and we have a growth plan in place. >> good to have you here. >> thank you, mr. elsworth.

>> thank you mr. chairman. i apologize being late, i had hoosiers in the office that didn't want to let me go. and if this question is discussed, if you can talk about the interoperationability of the agencies and what challenges you may have faced and what are best practices and what are you facing? >> we did address that to some level, and what i said quickly, it's better than it's been and it will get better. we are at a point where the structures have evolved to provide the venues for the interactions . and now it's the people to get

the languages to optimize the efficiency. the trends are ahead of where we thought we would be. >> and if you would, an area of particular interest to me, discuss what you can about our attempts and moving in nonlegal field, where we are on vehicle stops or personal stops. that would not be normally discussed in special ops. >> we are in favor of nonlethal technology. we understand that killing people is not the way to success, in places we work. and nonlethal effect can give you time to sort out the situation and people. it ul