Defense & National Security — US plans expansion of training of Ukrainian troops
The United States plans to expand its training of Ukrainian troops in Europe as Russia began a fresh round of missile strikes across the country.
We’ll share what the plans are plus progressive lawmakers raise the alarm over the price tag of the defense authorization bill. Meanwhile, President Biden gets personal during a victory lap on new burn pit law, and a pilot survived a fighter jet crash in Texas.
This is Defense & National Security, your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. For The Hill, I’m Ellen Mitchell. A friend forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here or in the box below.
US to expand training of troops in Ukraine
The United States plans to expand its training of Ukrainian troops in Europe as Russia continues to bombard the country with missile strikes, the Pentagon announced.
“We will expand U.S.-led training for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, to include joint maneuver and combined arms operations training, while building upon the specialized equipment training that we’re already providing to the Ukrainians,” Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters Thursday.
The next step: Ryder called the combined arms maneuver training a “logical next step in our ongoing training efforts.”
The extra training — to take place in Germany by U.S. Army Europe and Africa Command’s 7th Army Training Command — will take on roughly 500 Ukrainians per month starting in January, he said.
What it’ll entail: The training will include “live fire exercises,” then squad, platoon and company-level training that will culminate in battalion-level maneuver training, in addition to battalion headquarters staff training.
Staying flexible: The Defense Department may adjust the program in the future “based on the needs of our Ukrainian partners and the evolving situation in Ukraine,” Ryder added.
Ryder was “not aware” of any need to increase U.S. forces in Europe to accommodate the training.
Earlier efforts: Over the last seven years, the U.S. has trained some 23,000 Ukrainian soldiers inside the country, a $126 million effort, with training provided mostly by National Guard troops.
But the Pentagon had to make some adjustments on how to go about such aid since Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
The United States since spring has given Ukrainian forces weapons training for artillery systems, drones and radars. More recently, Washington has trained Kyiv’s troops on air defense systems recently given to the embattled country.
Defense budget soars, lawmakers clamor for change
Progressive lawmakers are raising the alarm over a behemoth $858 billion defense authorization bill sent to President Biden’s desk by the Senate on Thursday.
The price tag for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — which lays out how the Defense Department will allocate its budget in fiscal 2023 in addition to funding various national security programs outside its jurisdiction — comes in
$85 billion higher than what the Biden administration first requested earlier this year prior to congressional negotiating.
Overblown: Democrats in both the House and Senate have labeled the final figure as a money grab that does more for padding the pockets of defense contractors than it does for the average warfighter or combating threats.
- “I think the Pentagon’s budget is so big and overblown even Dr. Strangelove would be impressed,” House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) told The Hill.
- Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, warned that mega defense spending was coming at the expense of priorities such as domestic manufacturing and funding child care and health care.
- “We’re heading towards a $1 trillion defense budget. It’s concerning,” Khanna said.
A yearslong push: Progressive lawmakers for the past several years have pushed for steep cuts to the defense budget while Democrats have been in control of the House, Senate and the White House.
Rising numbers: Total national defense spending has been pushed well beyond $700 billion since early in former President Trump’s term, when he and Republican defense hawks argued the military must be brought up to snuff following years of budget caps.
Next year’s military budget will be about 10 percent larger than last year’s $770 billion NDAA, which was itself about 5 percent higher than the year before.
Biden gets personal during burn pits victory lap
President Biden on Friday took a victory lap for legislation approved by Congress that expands benefits for millions of veterans who were exposed to toxins during service.
“I made it real clear to the United States Congress, if they didn’t pass this damn burn pit bill, I was going to go on holy war. Not a joke,” Biden said. “It’s one of the most significant laws in our history to help millions of veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during their military service.”
On location: Biden made the remarks during a town hall at a National Guard/Reserve Center in New Castle, Del., that is named after his late son Beau Biden.
- The younger Biden served in the Delaware National Guard, and the president has suggested that his exposure to burn pits in Iraq could have been the cause of the brain cancer he died from in 2015.
- “I’m no doctor, but it’s pretty clear a lot of guys and women getting sick,” Biden said. “Many when they came home had gone the best trained, fittest warriors in the world and came home with headaches, numbness, dizziness, cancer.”
A major event: The Delaware event is one of more than 90 events occurring across the U.S. on Friday to encourage veterans to sign up for health care, get screened for toxic exposure and submit a claim if they are experiencing a toxic exposure-related condition, according to the White House.
Pilot ejects from fighter jet in bizarre crash
A U.S. pilot ejected and suffered no serious injury from an F-35 fighter jet in Texas on Thursday during a strange, slow-motion crash that was captured in video widely shared across social media.
What happened: The F-35B, the Marine Corps’ version of the fifth-generation fighter jet, was slowly descending toward the runway at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth when its landing gear appeared to bounce after it first touched down. The plane then crashed nose-first and began to spin, at which point the pilot ejected.
Officials have not publicly identified the pilot, who fell for only a few seconds. They were taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure and subsequently released with no serious injuries reported, according to a statement from the Defense Department’s Contract Management Agency.
Transfer pending: Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters that the F-35 is owned by the plane’s maker Lockheed Martin and “had not been transferred to the U.S. government yet.”
The company assembles the fighter jet at a facility that shares the runway with the base.
Under review: Lockheed Martin, meanwhile, said in a statement that the crash happened as the pilot was ending an acceptance flight for delivery of the aircraft to the U.S. military.
The company is currently working with officials at the base and “are thankful that the pilot involved is safe. Safety remains our top priority, and we are supporting the investigation,” according to the statement.
WHAT WE’RE READING
- Biden official tells Congress Ukraine could take back Crimea: report
- Bill awarding Congressional Gold Medal to Americans held in Iran hostage crisis heads to Biden’s desk
- Photos of the Week: Portraits, summits and diving saves
- The Associated Press: Pentagon has received ‘several hundreds’ of new UFO reports
- Military Times: More military justice reforms included in defense policy bill
That’s it for today. Check out The Hill’s Defense and National Security pages for the latest coverage. See you Monday!
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