44. Ar 5/29:965-66/56 [No. 56] DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DECISION TO REDUCE THE NUMBER AND TYPES OF HEARING BEFORE SUBCOMMITTEE NO. 2 OF THE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SECOND SESSION JANUARY 25, 26, 27, 28, FEBRUARY 1, AND 2, 1966 LAW LIBRARY U. S. GOVT. DOCS. DEP. MAY 10 1966 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNI [Pages of all documents printed in behalf of the activities of the House gress. Page numbers lower than those in 50-066 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1966 HOUSE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES 2D SESSION, 89TH CONGRESS L. MENDEL RIVERS, South Carolina, Chairman PHILIP J. PHILBIN, Massachusetts F. EDWARD HÉBERT, Louisiana O. C. FISHER, Texas PORTER HARDY, JR., Virginia RICHARD (DICK) ICHORD, Missouri FLOYD V. HICKS, Washington HERVEY G. MACHEN, Maryland SPEEDY O. LONG, Louisiana E. S. JOHNNY WALKER, New Mexico SANTIAGO POLANCO-ABREU, Puerto Rico, WILLIAM H. BATES, Massachusetts BOB WILSON, California CHARLES S. GUBSER, California CHARLES E. CHAMBERLAIN, Michigan DURWARD G. HALL, Missouri ROBERT T. STAFFORD, Vermont [No. 56] THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DECISION TO REDUCE THE NUMBER AND TYPES OF MANNED BOMBERS IN THE STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES, SUBCOMMITTEE No. 2, Washington, D.C., Tuesday, January 25, 1966. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 o'clock a.m., in room 2118, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C., Hon. F. Edward Hébert, chairman of the subcommittee, presiding. Mr. HÉBERT. The subcommittee will be in order. Mr. Kelleher, is the room cleared? Mr. KELLEHER. Yes, sir; it is. Mr. HÉBERT. Members of the committee, I have a prepared statement with which you are familiar. The Secretary is not. I ask Mr. Slatinshek to read the statement as though I were reading the statement. Mr. Secretary, in this statement the committee is cognizant of its contents. It has been discussed with the committee, and sets forth the committee's position, as well as my position. The reason I make this preliminary observation is I want you to know that the committee wants to cooperate in every way possible with you, in order that we may get the facts on the record as to the substance of the inquiry. Usually the chairman reads his own statement. This is the statement of the chairman and the opinion of the committee itself. We wish to assure you that all we are interested in are the facts in the case. Mr. Slatinshek. Mr. SLATINSHEK. This is Mr. Hébert's statement. Mr. HÉBERT. On January 11, 1965, the chairman of the Committee on Armed Services, with the concurrence of the full committee, delegated to our subcommittee the responsibility of conducting a complete inquiry into the recently announced decision of the Department of Defense to accelerate a proposed reduction in the number of B-52 and B-58 aircraft assigned to the Strategic Air Command and the introduction of a new aircraft, the FB-111, into the SAC inventory. This inquiry was made necessary by the express concern of many Members of Congress who questioned the wisdom of further reducing the numbers of our strategic bombers. Contributing to this basic reservation expressed by Members of Congress is the fact that only last year the Secretary of Defense advised the Congress and this committee that it was the Department of Defense's intention to maintain a strategic bomber force of some 672 aircraft into the early 1970's. Under the proposed change recently announced by the Secretary of Defense, our B-52 and B-58 strategic bomber force will be phased down drastically from the fiscal year 1966 programed 680 aircraft to an estimated 255 B-52 aircraft in 1971, a force reduction of 425 of this type bomber. However, there would in the interim be added to the SAC inventory 210 new aircraft, the FB-111, which would ultimately provide a total of 465 aircraft to SAC in 1971. (6077) |