WASHINGTON \u2014 Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned that troop readiness and retention is at risk as the Army\u2019s chief stepped down Friday, leaving the military\u2019s two ground combat forces without Senate-confirmed leaders for the first time in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking during a ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Austin said the Senate\u2019s failure to confirm the services\u2019 new leaders is disruptive to the force and could impact relationships with allies and partners around the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The confirmation of the next Army chief and Marine commandant are among more than 300 military nominations stalled by Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican, over the Pentagon\u2019s policy to pay for travel when a service member has to go out of state to get an abortion or other reproductive care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday for the first time in the history of the Department of Defense, two of our services will be operating without Senate confirmed leadership,\u201d said Austin. \u201cGreat teams need great leaders, and that\u2019s central to maintaining the full might of the most lethal fighting force on earth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Army Gen. James McConville is retiring and Gen. Randy George, the current vice chief has been nominated to become the next chief of the service. On Friday, George became the acting chief. Similarly, Marine Gen. Eric Smith has been nominated to be the next commandant, but is serving in an acting capacity now because he hasn\u2019t been confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both can serve as \u201cacting\u201d chiefs, but can do nothing that would presume confirmation. As a result, they can\u2019t move into the main residences or offices, or issue formal planning guidance, which is traditional for a new leader. And officials have also warned that there are some authorities, including some budgeting powers, that don\u2019t shift to acting leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe need these leaders in place to ensure the readiness of our force,\u201d said Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, speaking at the ceremony. \u201cAnd we need to end all of this uncertainty for our military families.\u201d She noted that officers and their families are in limbo, waiting to see if they will move or not to new bases, states and job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Smith addressed the issue in a letter to the force on Thursday, laying out the need for the Corps to continue modernization efforts and broader programs to improve warfighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUntil the Senate confirms our 39th Commandant, this guidance will serve as our reference point,\u201d Smith said. ” I cannot predict how long this process may take, but waiting is not an option for Marines, so we will move out as a team \u2013 just as we would in combat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tuberville has blocked efforts to have Senate votes on all nominations for senior military jobs because he disagrees with the travel pay policy. And congress is now out on summer vacation, which means there will be no action on the jobs for weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adm. Michael Gilday, chief of naval operations, will step down on Monday. Adm. Lisa M. Franchetti, the current vice chief, has been nominated to take over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Further complicating things, Air Force Gen. CQ Brown has been nominated to become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, when Army Gen. Mark Milley leaves, as required by law, on Sept. 30. The current vice chairman, Adm. Christopher Grady, would serve as acting chairman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brown, whose term as Air Force chief goes for another year, will remain in that post. Gen. David Allvin has been nominated to be the next Air Force chief, if Brown moves to the chairman\u2019s job.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the Senate\u2019s failure to confirm the services\u2019 new leaders is disruptive to the force, and to U.S. alliances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":107220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":38,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[38,31,9],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1308],"class_list":["post-30734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress","category-home","category-federal-oversight"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"E72BTOWACVD4ZBPIBYHULCKZ2M","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2023\/08\/04\/dod-chief-warns-of-disruptions-as-army-marines-lack-confirmed-leaders\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n