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Marc Berkowitz, the Trump administration’s nominee to function assistant secretary of protection for area coverage, advised lawmakers he would contemplate “all choices” for enhancing the effectivity of the nationwide safety area enterprise, together with combining some capabilities of the House Drive and the Nationwide Reconnaissance Workplace.
A former assistant undersecretary of protection for area coverage, Berkowitz has written on the subject on a number of events. In an essay revealed this July, Berkowitz argued for a better relationship between the 2 organizations, notably for acquisition capabilities.
The essay, co-written with former DOD official Chris Williams, mentioned the potential deserves of merging the NRO and the House Drive’s major acquisition hub, House Methods Command. It additionally thought of choices to increase technical collaboration between DOD and the Intelligence Group and higher combine power design actions between the NRO and the House Warfighting Evaluation Middle.
In a separate editorial revealed in House Information in February, Berkowitz stated “consideration needs to be given” to higher aligning House Drive and NRO acquisition authority and funding. Additional, he pointed to the potential value financial savings that would come from merging NRO and SSC and shutting Los Angeles House Drive Base in California, which hosts the acquisition area command.
In response to a number of questions throughout his Oct. 28 affirmation listening to earlier than the Senate Armed Companies Committee, Berkowitz stated the essays have been “deliberately thought-provoking,” however that he wasn’t advocating for a selected strategy.
“I frankly simply imagine that we needs to be open to all choices to enhance the effectivity and effectiveness of nationwide safety area capabilities,” Berkowitz advised lawmakers.
Berkowitz additionally famous in his reply to a query from the committee’s rating member, Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) that for many years the NRO director’s function was dual-hatted, with that official additionally serving as Air Drive Undersecretary or in one other senior place. Certainly, that was the observe from the formation of the NRO in 1961 till the early 2000s, when then-Protection Secretary Donald Rumsfeld cut up the function into two distinct positions.
On the time, Pentagon leaders stated the transfer was essential to make sure each roles obtained the dedication they deserved. Berkowitz, nonetheless, stated the dual-hatted strategy was largely profitable.
“All through a lot of the historical past of the nationwide safety area program, both the secretary, undersecretary, or assistant secretary for area within the Division of the Air Drive was dual-hatted because the director of the NRO,” Berkowitz stated in the course of the listening to. “For a lot of that point, each the protection and Nationwide Reconnaissance applications have been run very effectively and successfully, and so if that’s an choice that’s value contemplating, I’d help it if it was applicable.”
In written responses to the committee’s advance coverage questions, Berkowitz acknowledged that any main change from present coverage might be disruptive and famous that the division ought to “first do no hurt and weigh the results” of both sustaining the established order or shifting forward with consolidation or different reforms.
Senators additionally raised questions on Berkowitz’s area coverage priorities and his perspective on threats posed by U.S. adversaries like China and Russia. Berkowitz stated his first goal, if confirmed, could be to make sure DOD has the capabilities it wants to take care of dominance within the area and shield towards aggression.
“The challenges that I’d anticipate to confront, if confirmed, are actually twofold,” he stated. “The primary is addressing the nationwide safety coverage points required to allow us to deal successfully and urgently with the tempo, scope, and complexity of area and missile threats. And the second is the broader nationwide coverage points to maintain the US’ place because the world’s chief in area exploration and use.”
Berkowitz pointed to the Pentagon’s Golden Dome missile protection effort as an necessary aspect of that structure, noting that the command-and-control components of that superior missile protection community are key enablers for capabilities like ground- and space-based interceptors.
“The fusion capabilities and the sense-making capabilities are going to be important for making certain that we truly can interact and defeat any threats,” he stated.
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