WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today chaired a hearing examining the posture of and threats to U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM).

In his opening statement, Chairman Wicker offered an update on the war in Ukraine, noting that Ukraine continues to heroically resist efforts of Russian subjugation, and that Russia will remain a long-term threat to the United States. Specifically, Chairman Wicker cautioned that reducing our military footprint in Europe would be dangerous for European peace, especially as many of our NATO allies have taken major steps to invest in their defense.

Read Senator Wicker’s hearing opening statement as delivered below.

The hearing will come to order. And today, we welcome General Christopher Cavoli, the Commander of U.S. European Command, and General Michael Langley, the Commander of U.S. Africa Command. We thank them both for being with us today.

First of all, we meet today in the wake of the difficult news that that we have been learning more about over the last few days. We've been saddened by the death of four American service members and we now know the names of them all. They passed away in a tragic training accident in Lithuania, and so we recognize them and send our best to their families and friends.

But this morning, we talk about two very important areas of responsibility. The European continent is now entering its third year of war as Russia continues its brutal assault against Ukraine. There's no question who started this war.

Despite the physical and psychological exhaustion and material constraints from the conflict, the Ukrainian military and people have heroically and successfully continued to resist Russian efforts to subjugate them. The war serves as a brutal reminder that Vladimir Putin has chosen to become an enemy of the West, and to throw away Russia's future.

The Department of Defense is right to label China as our pacing threat. Nonetheless, Russia and its thousands of varied nuclear weapons continue to pose an existential danger to the United States and to our allies. Moscow's military aggression sows uncertainty and threatens vital U.S. interests every day, as Europe remains by far our largest trading partner and source of investment in the United States.

The war in Ukraine has exposed the Russian army's weakness, but it also has shown that Russia can adapt to changing circumstances and can endure heavy costs. The Russian industrial base, aided by China, North Korea, and Iran, has demonstrated its ability to sustain Putin's army. Russia would likely use any pause in fighting to reconstitute its military.

I say all this to make a simple point: we cannot wish away the Russian threat. Despite Russia's aggression, there are some who believe now is the time to reduce drastically our military footprint in Europe. This is a viewpoint with which I disagree. I’m troubled that this deeply misguided and dangerous view is held by some midlevel bureaucrats within the Defense Department. They've been working to pursue a U.S. retreat from Europe, and they've often been doing so without coordinating with the Secretary of Defense and the National Security Council. As I have said, Russia is now mobilized for a permanent war. Withdrawing now would do away with any hope of lasting peace in Europe.

Right now, we have a unique opportunity in Europe. President Trump's leadership and the Russian threat have jolted Europe awake. Many nations have begun rebuilding their militaries. Our allies on the eastern flank – Poland, the Baltic States, and Romania are all spending much more than we are. The United Kingdom and France are awakening. Even Germany shows signs of stirring.

NATO should be led by the United States, but Europe should shoulder most of the military burden. We can achieve that by combining the right incentives with low-cost assistance from the United States, including a drastically overhauled foreign military sales system. To build that NATO, we must maintain our current posture, which will serve as a bridge to the planned buildup of combat power by our European NATO allies.

After three years of war, we probably should make some posture adjustments, including moving forces east, but we must maintain a strong military posture in Europe overall. l Failing to do so risks tempting Russian adventurism before our European allies have been able to ramp up their forces fully and their capabilities.

The Chinese Communist Party views its competition against the United States as a global project. To China, the continents of Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa are all critical in Xi Jinping's unprecedented global military expansion. In particular, Beijing has been active on the African continent. In Djibouti, China's naval base has grown substantially. It's now capable of hosting China's most advanced naval vessels and serving as an intelligence collection outpost against American and allied forces in the entire region.

China is also actively pursuing a naval base on Africa's western coast, the Atlantic coast, which would provide an enduring foothold along the Atlantic Ocean. According to General Langley, this would “change the whole calculus of the geostrategic campaign plans of protecting the American homeland.”

Russia also has designs on the African continent. Its destabilizing strategy is to trade security assistance for access to Africa's abundant natural resources. This would help fund Vladimir Putin's malign activities around the world. At the center of Putin's Africa strategy is Libya which, serves as Russia's key logistical node and enables its activities across the continent. I look forward to General Langley's assessment of Africa's importance to Vladimir Putin's strategic objectives, as well as his description of what's being done to counter Russian efforts, particularly in Libya.

We cannot ignore the enduring threat posed by ISIS and al-Qaeda in Africa. Without sustained pressure, these vicious terrorists will reconstitute and continue to threaten America. President Trump was absolutely right to approve strikes against ISIS leadership targets in Somalia in recent weeks.

Our adversaries view their fight against America as a global fight. We see their efforts playing out across Europe and Africa in particular. Now is not the time for an American withdrawal from these theaters. We cannot allow the Chinese Communist Party and its partners in Moscow, Tehran, and Pyongyang to overcome us strategically, or to erode the ability to protect American interests around the world.

So, we have a lot of important topics to talk about today. I look forward to hearing our witnesses address these and many other concerns during this hearing, along with my friend, the Ranking Member whom I recognize right now.